Thanks, I will direct them to this page to help make a decision. BTW, ittt was them I was referring to has not having a particular interest in art or architecture, not mo.

Yes, it is worth it.

Check out Secrets of Hearst Castle on The Travel Channel the next time it comes on. They only have about 4 weeks worth of programming so it should be coming on soon.

We just visited the similar Biltmore House in Asheville, NC a few weeks ago and I found the Hearst tour much more interesting and well-organized. The home is just as impressive as the apparently larger Biltmore house, and the views are more spectacular. Heck, just the scary bus ride up and down the mountain is worth half the admission price to the Hearst Castle alone....

I'm taking a trip to California in September and plan to stop at the Hearst Castle and I wish I had my son with me. If it is not a place you can get to often, even though your sons may not be interessted in this right now, if you have the opportunity you should bring them. It really is only half a day of your time spent and you never know the impact the visit to an unusual place will have in the future. A beach is nice, but there are beaches everywhere and if you have time for the beach later that day or another day you will have done both. I agree a bit of info before hand will enrich the experience.It's not just gawking at another man's squander, but getting an understanding of the culture of the time and what this represents. It also is a peak into the art and architecture that your kids have probably learned in school and will now have a context for. My son is 20 and rarely wants to go to these things - but after we have been he sees something else or hears it in school and always has that 'a ha' moment. It's worth it all.

thndrstm ~ I'm sorry if I came across rather blunt. I didn't mean to! Everything is relative and as Kallie said, if you have been to Europe it might not be as impressive. I would have to agree. I have not been to Europe yet, so it was the most lavish thing I have ever seen. Friends we were traveling with suggested we stop in although they are history buffs and avid, seasoned world travelers including Europe 13 times. In light of that, they thought it worthwhile, but of course were not as impressed as we were. I really enjoyed the film they show. It is what really inspired my ongoing interest in Europe. The excesses do give reasonable people a bit of a sick feeling, but it's all about more than just that as other posters pointed out. I knew nothing about it before hand other than a paragraph I read in a guidebook on the way to it. By the way, photos and the travel channel show don't compare to seeing it in person. Even my personal photos didn't. Isn't that often the case? It is interesting to hear who all stayed there and that they were not so interested in the gold, antiques, etc. but the newfangled inventions such as electricity, a phone that would call from one end of the pool to the other, etc. Things nobody else had. There are artifacts dating back to B.C. The first Walt Disney movie was shown there first, before anywhere else, (you'll see the theater) when Walt Disney was a guest there. As if the excesses you see were not enough, they told that he had warehouseS full of stuff he imported that he never even found a place for.

My teens had NO interest in visiting a Southern plantation in LA on the way to a Florida beach until we actually drove up. They thoroughly enjoyed it after all. I hate that another poster went as far as the visitor's center, judged a book by it's cover and turned back. Perhaps they will give it another try. I've probably underestimated places before too and missed out.

When someone commented, "The scary ride up there", is that a big factor? Do others agree? My wife is afraid of heights.
Thanks
Ken

kendu, it's a twisty mountain road that the bus drivers know by heart so they don't take it slow.

So, is going via a tour another good option. Is it far from SF? ANy good tour recommendations?
Thanks
Ken

I would not recommend going with a tour from SF. Most people just drive to San Simeon and stay overnight in Cambria and then take a tour or tours the next day. I would advise making reservations for Hearst Castle tours.

http://hearst-castle.org/

http://www.cambriachamber.org/

kendu - I don't remember anything scary about the ride up nor it even being a big deal.

Go! Your family will enjoy it.

Hearst Castle is wonderful! I went there for the first time as a child of about 11 and was mesmerized by the size and grandeur of it. I have taken a couple of trips back over the years and still think it's pretty darn cool. If you're in the area, I'd recommend taking the basic tour. I think the kids will really like it too!

Personally, I think time is beter spent at the beach. The basic tour takes about 2 hours - 40 minutes on the bus (20 min each way)and about an hour tour where all you see is the two pools, the very dark living room and a pass through one of the guest houses. If you go go early so you don't waste the whole day and you spend a lot of time outside so it's hot in the summer. Skip the movie.