sayko

Having done a few postings inquiring specific items, here is my itinerary for my 6-day trip

Day 1 - Arrive LAS mid-morning; Drive to Grand Canyon and arrive by late afternoon; Stay Overnight in Grand Caynon
Day 2 - Enjoy early morning in Grand Canyon then drive back to Las Vegas Strip; Strip
Day 3 - Depart Las Vegas after early lunch; Drive to LA

Then,

Day 4
Day 5
Day 6

Day 4, 5 and 6 are for 1-full day at Disney, 1/2 day at Santa Monica and full day in Santa Barbara!! I don't know what is the best way to do this, i.e. what is my destination driving to LA, is it Santa Monica or Anaheim? Then what?

Day 6 we are taking a red-eye flight so we have a full-day as well. I can't seem to figure out what is the best plan to scatter out the driving and be most effective at the same time.

1. Any recommendations on our itinerary?

* we know this is a tight trip with alot of driving but this is what we can do..

2. Any recommendations on winiers and spots to visit in Santa Barbara?

clarkgriswold

Spend a day in Laguna Beach or Newport Beach instead of trekking to Santa Barbara on a holiday weekend.
Laguna or Newport are so much easier from Anaheim. Also, in December you could have rain and really messy traffic. You don't want a paid reservation way up in Santa Barbara that you can't get to.

clarkgriswold

I don't like your first day's plan either. Your plane might arrive late, you won't get on the road until early afternoon. Why drive to the Canyon just to arrive after dark?
Spend the afternoon in Las Vegas, relax, stay up late into the evening, get a solid 10:30am start off to the Grand Canyon on your second day, and be there in time to enjoy the sunset. No worries about whether your plane arrived an hour late etc.
Day 3 Enjoy sunrise then head down through Sedona and on towards Palm Springs California, stopping to visit Joshua Tree National Park. Overnight at Palm Springs then on Day 4 an easy drive down to Anaheim, check into your hotel then off to enjoy Newport Beach. Day 5 is all day for Disneyland. Day 6 you check out of Anaheim and head off for a day visiting L.A., with Santa Monica and Venice Beach in the evening leaving you very near your LAX departure.

Driving back to Vegas after Grand Canyon seems a waste of time, there is nothing to see/do between the two that you don't see on the one-way trip. Make your vacation worthwhile by seeing more. I don't mind a "jam packed" vacation for people who like to drive, as long as you're seeing things on the way.

trippinkpj

ITA with clarkgriswold on the going to Grand Canyon and back. I like the idea also of going throungh Sedona and Palm Springs.

mlgb

Whatever you do, do not go to Disneyland on New Year's Eve. It is wall to wall people, you can barely move.

Actually if you have a rain day, that is the best day to go DL!

I agree with those suggesting not to go to Santa Monica. From Anaheim, you are near other nice beaches, such as Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach , and there is Newport Beach's Balboa Island.

Instead of Santa Barbara, either Palm Springs or San Clemente. Santa Barbara takes about two hours from Santa Monica each way. Why did you decide to go there? Laguna Beach, Mission San Juan Capistrano can substitute.

sayko

Thanks very much for the feedback...

After researching online last night about Santa Barbara, I also decided to skip it. (Originally we were to visit SF and Napa during Christmas and we dropped the plan because of being afraid of the rainy weather in SF and Napa Valley, as such I have in mind to go somewhere with wineries and Santa Barbara came to my mind)

How far is Laguna or Newport to Anaheim?

sayko

Clarkgriswold,

How long is the drive from Grand Caynon South Rim to "Sedona and on towards Palm Springs California, stopping to visit Joshua Tree National Park"? Then how long is the drive from Palm Spring to Anaheim?

I am from Canada and not familar with many good cities in LA area which might not be the most popular area. I have been to LA once and visited the Holloywood, Beverley Hills, Downtown area. Kinda want to capture the other parts this time.

The itinerary is based on my limit time to research while starting to get desperate in confirming the itinerary so I can book my hotels. It's Christmas and New Years time, hotels get filled up quickly!

trippinkpj

Also, Temecula (inland, not as far as Palm Springs) has wineries. You can search on this forum for Temecula wineries as there are posts on that subject.

sayko

Also, If I want to spend a day and night in Las Vegas Strip, then an afternoon and overnight in Grand Canynon, eventually drive to Ahaheim or Santa Monica, what should my route be? Is it more efficient is I do the Strip first, then Grand Caynon and move onwards to LA? At this point, I am planning my route based on looking at a map only but not sure about the actual highways in between.

mlgb

Anaheim to Laguna or Newport would be less than one hour. You could chose to stay in one of those places and do a day trip to the other (although I think you will be happy to spend the night that you visit DL in Anaheim).

Anaheim to Palm Springs would be two hours or slightly less, depending on traffic. Joshua Tree is less than an hour from Palm Springs (if you stay in the east end of Coachella Valley, eg La Quinta, it is closer to Joshua Tree).

You are looking at a full day driving from Grand Canyon to Palm Springs.

Grand Canyon to LA is 8 hours, I would say about the same to Palm Springs with a detour to Sedona.

virgi

You better count on traffic. It's horrific around L.A. and the outskirts. By time you get to the Grand Canyon, day one, I'll be shocked if you can do the early morning thing and drive back to the strip.I don't understand why your not contensing all of CA goals together and then Las Vegas together rather than there and back. Unless I'm misunderstanding when you say LAS do you mean LAX?

sayko

Thanks very much!

I am attracted to the idea of going to Laguna and Newport.

-Is the weather in end of Dec warm enough for beach activites?

It is a bit complicated because I am redeeming some pts for a night of hotel stay in Anaheim, close by Disney. Many of the hotels are full already and I need to book ASAP, which I need to sort out my route before I can make a reservation.


- If I leave myself with Disney, Anaheim and Santa Monica/ Venice Beach in Day 4, 5 and 6, which Day 5 will be Disney because I need a full day. I am leaving on a red-eye flight on Day 6. Day 4 I am arriving from Las Vegas which I plan to leave by 9 or 10 am. Which night should I stay in Anaheim?

virgi

P>S> Temecula is much closer to Los Vegas than any of your other destinations.

sayko

virgi,
Yes, my very original plan is Las Vegas or Grand Caynon then LA. The reason for this sequence is that hotels in Las Vegas get very expensive on weekends. My strip is from Dec 25 to Dec 30. Dec 25 and 26 should be pretty quiet with the roads. Dec 29 & 30, the weekend before New Year's Eve is very pricy to get hotels in Las Vegas.

I am flying in from East coast Toronto, that adds a constraint as well. You know how one wants to maximize the return in a trip?

2 years ago I spent 4 days in LA then we drove to Las Vegas and spent 3 days there. It was too much for us to have full three days just on the strip, and we missed Grand Caynon!

sayko

Now looking into hotels around Newport beach, particulary Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa.

What is the weather going to be like around Christmas? Is it going to warm enough to enjoy the beach and walks?

mlgb

December might be sunny and pleasant, but not really weather for wearing bikinis. However it often isn't bikini weather in June, either! They are predicting a drier year, but you never know about rain in Southern California.

If you are going to spend a full day at Disney, I would actually spend two nights there, so that you can get to the park as soon as it opens, can leave your luggage in your hotel, return to the hotel if you need to rest midday, and avoid the traffic at night when everyone leaves right after the fireworks.

I would recommend making a reservation for lunch at Disneyland via (714)781-dine as soon as 60 days ahead. Blue Bayou, Carnation Cafe are two that take reservations.

Start your day as soon as the park is open, and get your Fastpass for Nemo, it's the only way you will get on it. You will have to wait two hours to get the second fastpass in most cases. Don't miss the Billy Hill show for some fun live entertainment and comedy.

sayko

Thanks so much!
If we are only spending 1 full day in Disney, we are a adult couple and not very much into rides. Do you think Adventure of California is better or Disneyland? Is it worth to get a 1-day park hopper? The single park ticket is $66, the 1-day pass is $91 per person.

tracys2cents

It's my opinion that you should skip Disney. Sorry, but the weekend between Christmas & New Year's is just insane there, it would be a total waste of your money. You're just pushing through crowds all day and have to find a place to watch the parade maybe 2 hours ahead of parade time. Ridiculous.

Dec 25 - Great day & night to see lots in Vegas, crowds are thin.

Dec 26 - Wait out the morning traffic rush, then head for the Grand Canyon.

Dec 27 - Early start just after sunrise down through beautiful Sedona for breakfast, then down through Prescott Valley and onward to Joshua Tree National Park in the afternoon. Overnight in Palm Springs.

Dec 28 -Desert drive down to Temecula Wine Country for the day, then onward to Laguna Beach to settle in for two nights.

Dec 29 - Enjoy the beach, visit San Juan Capistrano, or the sidewalk arts fair at Dana Point.

Dec 30 - Head up the coastal route, maybe visit the Queen Mary in Long Beach or if you really wanted to, especially if the weather is too gloomy for the coast, you could easily detour and do a few hours at Disneyland (but after a few hours you will have had enough).

Manhattan Beach is a nice place to head for dinner, lots of good restaurants not far from the beach/pier and then you're only 10-12 minutes from LAX airport and your red-eye flight.

mlgb

I would not get the park hopper. You need a lot of energy to make that worthwhile by going back and forth between both parks. It will just be too crowded that day to make it a good idea. Choice of parks is a tough call. It seems that those of my friends who go infrequently usually prefer to go to Disneyland, but actually I like California Adventure better (but then I go quite a lot, if I didn't go for a few years I would go to Disneyland first).
Cal Adventure is smaller and a bit easier to negotiate, tends to be less crowded, fewer small children in strollers, better "thrill" type rides and the favorite ride of many, "Soarin over California", an IMAX type film. The Aladdin stage show is another adult favorite, there is alcohol in the park, and the restaurants are somewhat better as a whole. However many think the "imagineering" is better in Disneyland, especially in the original parts of the park such as New Orleans Square, Main Street, Fantasyland and Frontierland. It may be difficult to enjoy this on a very busy day. The live entertainment is better in Disneyland, and the fireworks are best viewed from inside Disneyland. Some of the slow rides are excellent, e.g. Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion. I would probably suggest Disneyland if you've never been. After all, it's the original.