Hi guys,
we are plamning our first trip to west coast, we are family of 5, 9 years old twins n 7 years old
We would be flying from nj to San Diego from aug 21 till aug 29
Our rough itinerary is
3 days San Diego
2 days la
2 Vegas
last day back to San Diego and than fly home in Nj

West coast is Big and totally new for me and I need help in making an itinerary that would at least cover the major family attractions

San Diego : where to stay ?
does buying two days go card pass makes sense?
It has zoo, safari, Uss midway carrier, lego land ( We already did it in orlando)

LA: where to stay?
what to do ? Hollywood Walk of Fame is all I got

Las Vegas: we want to stay on the strip and was thinking about staying at Venetian hotel ...thoughts ?
since there is nothing much to do with kids in Vegas, we were thinking about going to hoovar dam

please pour in your suggestions

Please PLEASE drop Las Vegas from your plans. It will be hotter than Hades - 115F or 20F is not unusual of. Too hot to even lay out by the pool except in the mornings. And much to hot to do any outdoors activities. The kids are not allowed in the Casinos. You will be very limited what you can do with four very young children. I'd split my time between San Diego and Los Angeles/Orange County/beach towns

Given the amount of time you have and that you've got three pretty young kids and that you are traveling in the summer time, I would agree with janisj that Las Vegas may not be the best use of your time for this trip. You could easily fill the entire trip with just the San Diego and LA areas. Is there any particular reason you want to go to Las Vegas this time around? You will be losing a lot of time driving back and forth from LV.

I've been to San Diego a number of times. I have stayed in the Gaslamp Quarter and the Marina District. Marina District might be nice with kids as it has Seaport Village which has shops, restaurants and entertainment. In the Marina District, my preference is for the Marriott Marquis. In Gaslamp it is the Omni.

That says it all - skip Vegas. Hoover Dam is not worth the time you'd spend driving from LA and back.

San Diego - visit Balboa Park and Coronado Beach, maybe the aquarium. Between San Diego and LA you can visit Disney in Anaheim. Go to the aquarium in Long Beach. There are more than enough activities to fill the week without going to Vegas.

As a kid, we went to Las Vegas in the summer. We had a blast. But we also had a month to travel. I absolutely agree with janis and tom, skip Las Vegas this trip. 7 full days between LA and San Diego is just the right amount of time to see both those places and have some beach/downtime.

Thank you guys for ur suggestions, plz keep it coming, west coast novice here 😊

ok so as as far as Vegas is concerned, I agree with you all that it will be crazy hot, the reason we want to do it is, as a family have a target to do all 50 states and we were thinking we are coming too close to skip Nevada ...lol

not sure what we could do in LA, we want to skip Disney ( already done in Orlando)

The beach, La Brea Tar Pits, UCLA and USC campuses, California Science Center, Rodeo Drive, The Grove (if you like shopping, this is a great outdoor mall/entertainment venue), Farmer's Market (adjacent to the Grove), drive out Sunset Blvd to the Beach, Central Market, Angel's Flight, the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Graumann's Chinese Theater, etc., etc.,.

Check out "Destinations" at the top of this page - there is plenty to keep you busy in LA for 3 or 4 days, but without knowing your interests, it's hard to advise.

If you have your heart set on Las Vegas, then maybe skip LA and just do San Diego-Las Vegas. I just wouldn't try to squeeze in all three in an 8 day trip. It's too much, at least it would be for me.

yes I think we can do that, stay the night, drive around a bit and head to Vegas, or do you think LA traffic is not worth it to even do that, ( we are from nj/ny so lil hands on experience in traffic, don’t know how bad is LA traffic compared to ny

we want to do the west coast main attractions, places/ things different from east coast lol
we like beaches but we as a family can’t spend whole day at beach, we always mix it up something else,

You have to decide if 'doing all 50 states' is worth the 10+ hours you'll spend in the car just to check Nevada off the list. You're also close to Arizona and will be right on the border of that state if you visit Hoover Dam. While in Vegas, you'll be close to Utah (relatively speaking).

Or, plan a separate trip where you fly into Las Vegas, then visit the Grand Canyon in Arizona and Zion/Bryce in Utah. That would actually be worth your time, but driving to Vegas just to say you've been to Nevada doesn't seem to make sense for this trip at this time of year.

Disney in Anaheim is different than Disney in Orlando.

>>we want to do the west coast main attractions,

I'll pile on, NO Vegas!!! If you want to see some highlights, take the time to go a bit north of LA up the coast to Santa Barbara or Cambria instead of the drive to Vegas. Maybe see some seals etc.

Plan a separate trip, fly into Vegas, visit Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, loop up to Bryce and Zion and nock off NV, AZ and UT.

More "no Vegas" from me. The only place indoors that would be much fun for your kids would be Circus Circus, which I hate. It will be waayy too hot to go to any of the much-more-interesting outdoor places.

San Diego alone has more than enough things to keep you all interested. It will be hot here too, especially at the Safari Park, but nothing like Vegas.

If you've got kids, definitely see the Safari Park and Zoo. Both are excellent and take a day each -- and if you only choose one, make it the former. Seaworld is great for kids, too.

Originally Posted by twinsmom101
the reason we want to do it is, as a family have a target to do all 50 states and we were thinking we are coming too close to skip Nevada

You will not be as close as you think. Skip it for this trip.

>>You will not be as close as you think

The marketing of Las Vegas as a family vacation destination went out with the last millennium. Many of the kid friendly attractions have disappeared and been replaced with adult party spots. But I suppose taking kids aged 9 and 7 who won't comprehend everything is better than taking pre-teens (or worse actual teenagers) who will know exactly what's going on.

You're the parents, but I would definitely find other places to visit in Nevada. Like the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe. Southwest flies from San Diego to Reno.

https://www.lasvegas4newbies.com/chap1-6.html

I think Jean's suggestion of Lake Tahoe is a perfect choice rather than Las Vegas. Lake Tahoe is half in the state of CA and half in the State of Nevada and as a result part of the city of South Lake Tahoe has legal gambling casinos and high rise hotels with lots of night life and glitz. Not as extreme as Las Vegas.

Then Lake Tahoe has so much more to offer like boating, hiking, and is a beautiful area.
Las Vegas is flat, brown landscape, hot, hotter, and hottest in August.

My solution would be to fly to Las Vegas first and rent the car there (much cheaper). Spend a night there and part of the next day until it gets too hot. Drive out to see Hoover Dam before you head to San Diego (or LA).
In San Diego or LA you want to stay as close to the ocean as you can as it will be cooler than farther inland. Return to Las Vegas at night. If you want to spend another night in Nevada, spend it in Primm (exit 1).
There is a roller coaster built around the casino/hotel there that the kids would like. There is also a good breakfast restaurant inside the hotel in Primm (Miss Ashley's?).