jacolis

Hi all,

We are in the early stages of planning a road trip in California for July 2017. We are travelling with our two daughters (ages 10 and 12). Hubby and I have been to SFO and LAX but never to the central coast. This is a first trip for the girls.

We have already booked our plane tickets (open jaw) into SFO and out of LAX.

Our notional itinerary is as follows:
San Francisco (Jul 5 - 9)
Santa Cruz (Carmel/Monterey area) (Jul 9 - 11)
Cayucos/San Luis Obispo (Jul 11 - 13)
Santa Barbara (July 13 - 15)
Los Angeles (July 15 - 20)

Does this seem like the right amount of time in each spot? Planning a mix of attractions (i.e., Monterey aquarium) and outdoor activities like hikes or renting bikes/kayaks. Want to get onto lodging next so need to figure out how many nights in each place.

Thanks in advance,

Lisa

StuDudley

I've lived in Calif all of my 69 years, and I've never considered Santa Cruz as a "base" for visiting Carmel & Monterey.

I think you are "shorting" Carmel/Pt Lobos and the Big Sur coast. I would spend less time in the Santa Cruz/SLO/Santa Barbara area, and shift that time to Monterey and Carmal, and spend at least 2 nights in Big Sur at the Big Sur Lodge. Lots of hikes & coastal trails to explore.

From your profile, I see that you spend a lot of time in Europe. We visit France & Italy for 2 months each year. I think Santa Cruz, SLO, and Santa Barbara will be a "letdown" compared to Normandy, Tuscany, Provence, and Burgundy. IMO, California's "best" is:
- San Francisco Bay Area
- Carmel and the Big Sur Coast
- Yosemite
- LA Hollywood scene, LA/Orange County beaches, and all the Disney type stuff for the kids. LA gets better weather than the central coast - so I would do most of the Santa Cruz/SLO/Santa Barbara beach stuff in the LA/Orange County area.

IMO, San Francisco, Yosemite, and Carmel & the Big Sur cost are "unique" in the world. I've visited dozens & dozens of places in Europe that are more interesting than Santa Cruz, SLO, and Santa Barbara.

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...mendations.cfm

Stu Dudley

november_moon

Monterey is about 45 min from SC, so definitely within a reasonable distance for visiting. And SC is a good place to visit with kids - you have the Boardwalk, beaches, redwoods in the SC mountains, Roaring Camp, and so on. Whether you choose SC or Monterey as your base is really just a matter of what you want to do with your time in the area and the atmosphere that you want.

More time in Big Sur is always a good idea IMO. A lot of people see it on a drive though, but there is quite a lot to see. Big Sur Lodge is a good choice with a family. Ripplewood is another good choice.

Kykyshka

We drove through CA, starting point LA, end point SF. I have two teenagers. Here are the pointers I can offer.

San Francisco :

Dylan’s Tours – small tour company that will take you around SF (small groups)
http://www.dylanstours.com/

We had only 2 full days in SF and booked our 5 hour tour for the first day. I am glad we did because Dylan gave us such a great introduction and overview of the SF it made our second day more fun. He took us to the places and the neighborhoods where big tour buses would not be able to get to. I would never get some of the info and insights as a single traveler. Dylan shared so much interesting history with us, he is great speaker and fun to be around.
The only part of the trip we were not impressed was the woods. Maybe because we just came from Yosemite park. It was just a little walk around redwoods and it took more than an hour of the trip. The next day we rented bikes from Dylan's shop and biked across the bridge to Sausalidas and took boat back to SF – it is a whole day adventure.

You can ask Dylan for ideas on what to see and what to do as well as where to eat while in SF.



We really liked Mama’s breakfast restaurants, it is very famous local place and we waited 2 hours to be seated, but loved the food: https://www.yelp.com/biz/mamas-on-wa...-san-francisco

Another super delicious breakfast place (we did not have to wait long, maybe only 20 min) is Dottie True Blue Café https://www.yelp.com/biz/dotties-tru...-san-francisco



Monterey

We spent 2 days there. While there we visited the aquarium – which we found to be very disappointing, especially if you visited Shed aquarium in Chicago.

We did whale watching and it was pretty cool – saw whales, dolphins and lots of sea lions. We used https://www.sanctuarycruises.com/ , which was good.


While in Monterey we drove along the coast to see Big Sir. While on that drive we made a stop at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park to amazing waterfall. Here are the details about this : http://www.hikinginbigsur.com/hikes_mcwayfalls.html



Yosemite (good map: https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/maps.htm )

We had 4 days there:
On one of the days we rented bikes and spent our day biking around the park. We made unplanned stop at Lower Yosemite Falls. It is a short trail that will bring you to a big pile of boulders and you will see people climbing those rocks and at some point those who hiked high enough disappear because there is hidden valley at the top with hidden lake. Very cool!! You can easily spend couple of hours there – do not miss it!, many people do not know about this and just observe from the bottom. The water is crystal clear there and the views are amazing.


Enjoy!!!! You are going to have such an amazing trip!!!

jacolis

Thanks very much, all. Sounds like we need to spend more time in the Carmel area!

Will adjust the itinerary accordingly.

I will be back to get more detailed suggestions for meals and attractions.

Stu: We have used your itineraries for Provence/Dordogne/Normandy!

Lisa

jamie99

Not much lodging in Cayucos (cute town though)and SLO has never appealed plus is not on the coast. Look into Pismo Beach instead, you can rent dune buggies in nearby Oceano Dunes.

AustinTraveler

Kayaking will be best in Morro Bay; otherwise, you will be doing sea kayaking which can be pretty rough, especially for kids. Instead of Cayucos, I would stay in Morro Bay...many more options for lodging, restaurants, shops, etc.

Great hikes in Morro, including Black Rock and Montana de Oro State Park. Pismo is not my favorite but it's worth a stop. It gets very crowded in the summer with people escaping the heat inland.

SLO is a very cute town, especially the downtown area. It would be a great stop for lunch on your way south.

July tends to be cool on the coast so be sure to bring jackets and dress in layers.

Patty

Elkhorn Slough (half way between Santa Cruz and Monterey) has calm, protected water for kayaking. You'll see otters and harbor seals there.

MichelleY

Dune buggies at the dunes near Pismo are fun. I think your plan looks fine, but would trade out Cayucos for Pismo or Morro Bay.

marvelousmouse

Unless you plan to go kayaking or something similar, I think I would take one of your nights from Santa Barbara and add it to Carmel/Monterey/Santa Cruz. I loved SB but I think I would have been a bit bored there as a teen.

I did take a kayaking tour of the Channel Islands sea caves with SB adventure company and that was one of the highlights of my trip. Other highlight was hiking and swimming at upper natural bridge trailhead near Sonora. I understand it's probably too far out of the way, but swimming through the cave was an amazing experience!

jacolis

Hi all,

We took out SLO/Cayucos and added more time to Carmel/Monterey/Big Sur. We will skip Santa Cruz.

Also planning to visit Morro Bay and Pismo Beach.

My husband is interested in seeing Hearst Castle. Any thoughts on whether it is interesting for school age kids? My kids have been to Casa Loma in Toronto and some castles in the Loire. Any tour in particular at Hearst Castle? I think we can book tickets 2 months' out.

And any views on Stearns Wharf/Ty Warner Sea Center/Natural History Museum in SB? Not sure if the Sea Center is more for younger kids.

Thanks again!