OK, I'm going to jump in here -

without knowing what all you want to do in LA, then 7 nights there is 5 or 6 nights too many.

Grand Canyon is fine as a destination, but that entire interior area: Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Las Vegas, Monument Valley, Death Valley should really be a separate trip itself dedicated to that region in order to do it justice.

In lieu of driving several days through torrid desert in July, I would ask you to seriously consider the suggestion to confine your visit to the coast of California and especially to substitute San Diego for Las Vegas and to add in Yosemite and Lake Tahoe. Both San Diego and Lake Tahoe have plenty of family-oriented activities.

the other portion of your trip I am having difficulty with is spending two nights in Santa Cruz and then dashing down to LA, thereby missing some of the most beautiful and interesting parts of this state along the coast.

If I were planning this trip, I'd plan a loop drive: do San Francisco first without a car, then rent a car in downtown San Francisco (usually cheaper than renting one at the airport), drive south along the coast at a much more leisurely pace, spend less time in LA and drive all the way down to San Diego. Then start looping your way inland and back north, going to Yosemite and Lake Tahoe. end the loop back in San Francisco, return the car. Take BART to the airport for your flight home.

Just my two cents.

Well, here's my two cents, they got a condo in L.A. for a week because they want to visit Los Angeles. What a concept!

With kids that age, consider Universal Studios Tour....The WB Tour..... The L.A.Zoo and the Autry Western Heritage Museum (next door)..... Griffith Park and Griffith Observatory (a must, watch the movie Rebel without a Cause before visiting, always fun).... The Science Center with the current Egypt Exhibit and the National History Museum next door (always a hit with kids that age)....The Grammy Museum and the Hollywood Walk of Fame....The Grove/Farmers Market, LACMA....The Getty Center...The Petersen Auto Museum...The Museum of Jurassic Technology (funky fun)...Santa Monica Beach/ Venice Boardwalk/ Biking along the beach....A Dodgers Game....a day trip to the Lake....a day trip to Santa Barbara...a day trip to Disneyland....more surf lessons....a day trip to Catalina Island...hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains/Runyon Canyon.....

(Oops, I forgot, this thread was supposed to be about Vegas to San Francisco, not "I don't know why you've rented in Los Angeles, one day there is enough")

There's PLENTY to do in LA for a week (in addition to what tracy listed, spend a few hours downtown, go to Pasadena (Huntington Library and Gardens, Norton Simon Museum), wander around Westwood and the UCLA campus, everly Hills/Rodeo Drive/Bel-Air), but I do agree that moving from a house in LA to someplace in Long Beach doesn't make much sense. With that extra 3 days, I'd head to San Diego.

I'm also in the why Long Beach camp. It's not really a place I think of when I want to chill either. Agree there's plenty to do in LA for one week. That part's fine.

Also agree that it'll be incredibly hot in the desert. We had relatives visiting from Germany who went to Vegas and Zion in August. We tried to warn them it was hot. Their response before they left "we like hot". Their response after they returned "we didn't know what hot meant".

I second (or third) taking the coastal route back.

Another vote for spending a couple of days driving the California coast, it is incredibly beautiful, one of the most beautiful parts of the USA.

For car rental, look into carhire3000, it gets good reviews from overseas visitors on another travel forum. They book with the majors and will include the needed insurance plus often they are able to get one way drop fees waived.

I agree, why Long Beach - I live near there and while it is a nice enough town, if you wanted to visit the Queen Mary or the Aquarium of the Pacific, you could do that as a daytrip from your LA rental.

tracy: you are forgetting that they plan to spend another three nights in Long Beach. 3 nights in LB and 1 or 2 nights in LA, that makes 5 or 6 days for "LA", which I believe is more than sufficient time for LA.

I really don't want to get into a big old fight on what's worthwhile and what's not in LA to confuse the OP.

Nevertheless some of your recommendations of what to see aren't what one would recommend to the average visitor to LA. Take the Museum of Jurassic Technology.

<i>Welcome to Los Angeles' very own Diagon Alley.</i> says one Yelp reviewer.

Diagon Alley refers to the Preston and Child books, one of which is labelled "Cabinet of Curiosities", which is what this museum is all about. It has nothing to do with Jurassic Park nor that much to do with technology. One should really read the yelp reviews, particularly the one by E.K. on June 18:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-museum-o...gy-culver-city

As for the zoos, I would definitely recommend the San Diego Zoo, which is one of the world's premier zoos, over the LA zoo.

I am a member of LACMA, but, if it became a choice between LACMA and the Getty Center - to a visitor - I would recommend the Getty Center. A visitor has only so much time. If they are really art lovers, then yes the Norton Simon Museum has the better art collection, as IMHO, Simon had more refined art tastes that Getty.

Overall, however, I'd still recommend the plethora of museums in Balboa Park in San Diego as being much more interesting to kids:

http://www.balboapark.org/in-the-park/museums

Anyhow, it's all in what the OP wants to do and see - and we have precious few details.

" I was really looking for advice to see if we could comfortably do this trip taking in Las Vegas (just to see it at night really and to do a Grand Canyon trip , probably by air). Any advise on this part of our trip would be good. Thank you"

Tracy: No one (except for et) said anything about not staying in LA for a week. OF COURSE there is more than enough for a week.

We were (sensibly IMO) asking if there was a reason for Long Beach -- you must agree that Long Beach is not maybe what they are looking for to 'chill' after a week somewhere in Los Angeles.

It certainly is not a resort area '2 hours' from LA so it just may be the they have the wrong impression about where/what Long Beach is. And especially since they haven't booked accommodations there yet.

Re los Angeles , Tracy your post contains all the reasons we want to visit LA.
OK Ive made a bit of a mistake with how far Long Beach is from LA though, was only having a brief look at it and saw Queen Mary (my Dad worked on that boat in Glasgow) and also whale watching trips from that area, so we could probably do that whilst staying in LA. This would give us 9 night to fill and from everything Ive read here we could probably fly from LA to LV for a couple nights, take in Grand Canyon then head back north from LA taking our time up Californian coast as we will miss out on this on the way down.

Oh, and yes -- they asked what to do after LA/LB and have received a LOT of suggestions. But if we see a bear trap in a plan (Long Beach to chill for instance) should we just ignore it and stick to the specific question?

Guess I'm just not that literal minded.

Elizabeth, please ignore the snarky replies. It sounds like a great trip for your family. Flying from LA to Las Vegas is wise and usually a reasonable price. And the airport itself is kind of an interesting culture spot. Your children will enjoy seeing Vegas, especially at night. It is VERY hot there in the summer, but daytime by the pool is nice. My teen loved visiting New York New York and The Venetian Casinos. (There are areas that are OK for children). The Grand Canyon is amazing and a must-see! There is a lot to see in this area including Sedona, Zion and Bryce, but certainly going north up the coast from LA to San Francisco would be worthwhile. Glad you see why the Long Beach stay might not make sense.
You have a lot of choices for the last part of your trip. Have fun planning, and please ask more questions. I promise there are many helpful Fodorites!

Your new plan sounds great!

Elisabeth: I didn't see your last post (we were posting at the same time) Your new idea is VERY doable. Fly over to Vegas and back for a couple of nights - from LV you can do a tour or flight to the Grand canyon. Then drive up the coast to SF.

You'll enjoy an excursion to the Queen Mary -especially w/ the family connection. I've stayed on the QM twice and it was fun. But otherwise Long Beach isn't really a "destination". There is an aquarium -- but the one in Monterey is better.

Like the revised trip schedule. In Vegas there is plenty to do and see - including taking in the Grand Canyon - and you might even consider spending more time there - and at the GC - maybe Sedona, etc.

You might also consider that rather than flying from say either Vegas or Phoenix back to LA for your drive back up the Coast - assuming after traveling south the first time from SF - you have seen what you wanted to - you might consider flying back to SF and spending more time to take in the great SF area, even possibly a couple of days in Yosemite, whatever, a 4 hour drive from San Francisco - if you don't hit traffic.

see: http://www.nps.gov/yose/index.htm

You could also fly from Vegas to Sacramento and be closer to Yo.