nanabee

Tomfuller I am confused. Did you mean fly into Las Vegas, spend a day and fly out the next day or drive to San Diego or LA and drive or fly back that evening to Las Vegas?

Jean

Oh, gawd. Primm, where Californians buy gas on their way to/from Vegas.

Anyway, check the roller coaster hours. They are limited and mostly in the hottest part of the day. Minimum height requirement is 48".

sf7307

Confession - I am not a fan of Las Vegas (one day every 10 years is enough for me), and I adore Lake Tahoe (I'm here right now in fact ). If you're going to Las Vegas because you want to step foot in Nevada, then I'd choose another place to do that. If there's some other reason you want to visit Las Vegas (as you can see, mostly not recommended by this group), then let us know.

Barbara

I don't think there's time to visit anywhere other than San Diego and LA. As Tahoe is much further than Vegas, I don't see that as a good option for this trip, although it is a much more attractive destination with kids.

janisj

>>As Tahoe is much further than Vegas, I don't see that as a good option for this trip,> There would be a lot of better ways to fit Nevada into a trip - San Francisco/Monterey and Lake Tahoe for instance. In fact -- if you haven't booked your flights yet -- I'd consider changing your plans to do northern California and northern Nevada instead.

mlgb

We did the kid trip out to Hoover Dam on the way to Grand Canyon and threw in San Diego. But we had more time than you do.

For kids, San Diego is going to have far more things to do.

I might even consider dropping LA or just going to the Walk of Fame, Grauman's and seeing the Hollywood Sign, maybe driving along Mulholland or going to Malibu. Most of things listed are probably going to bore them to death at that age.

aliced

San Diego: Recommend you stay in Pacific Beach at the Catamaran; very convenient to Sea World, downtown and also to Coronado. Drive out to Pt. Loma on day to Coronado. Do not miss the beach at the Hotel Del Coronado, have lunch there. Walk across the street from Catamaran (the 101) and find a great beach, bike around Mission Bay along the sidewalk, rent a sailboat, etc. Nice beach at the Catamaran on Mission Bay, and the birds and floral/fauna will be fun for the kids. One day drive to La Jolla and see the seals, drive bit further north (1-2 miles) to swim at La Jolla Shores, eat at Piatti for dinner there. Drive to Encinitas and spend a day at Legoland, eat at Karl Strauss Brewery. Recommend 4 nts.

LA: Stay in Santa Monica -- do the pier, bike, scooter down the path along the beach into Venice (bit crazy, best in mornings); go to Universal, Griffith Park/Observatory. Drive to the public beaches in Malibu bit north, see LaBrea Tar Pits. See Broad Museum downtown, modern, very funky, kid friendly. Yes Disneyland quite different than Disneyworld. Recommend 3 nts.

Skip Vegas this time, nothing for kids.

twinsmom101

Thank you guys for the suggestions n feedback, we decided to spend the whole week in San Diego, thinking about getting 4 days gocard ( it has most attractions)
kids are happy to do Legoland again, now the question is where to stay? We want something reasonable and competitively closer to these places,
we plan on doing zoo, sea world, safari, legoland, la holla beach, ( any other beach/ pier recommendations?)

some one mentioned gas light district ( looking into that but it seems expensive...my limit is under 200 per night )
Plz help

mlgb

Not an expert on hotels for families..but Mission Bay has a lot of them. Also you might look at the Homewood Suites at Liberty Station.

Brian_in_Charlotte

We recently stayed at the Homewood Suites on Hotel Circle and found it to be a pretty good base for the price. Not the prettiest area right off the highway, but plenty safe and provided easy access to anywhere we wanted to go. Not a perfect hotel by any means, but would stay there again if the price were right. Very glad we did not stay out at Pacific Beach (or any of the beaches) as the traffic out that way always seemed to be very bad.

We found 4 days in San Diego with our 10 year old to be just about right, maybe could have cut it down to 3.

Barbara

janisj, I wasn't thinking about your comments. Both Jean and nanabee suggested San Diego and Tahoe.

If you can find a hotel near the beach, then you don't have to try to find a parking space when you go to the beach. That can be hard.

Hotel Circle is right next to freeways making it easy to get on them to go where you want. There are lots of fairly inexpensive places to eat in Mission Valley.

bachslunch

The USS Midway Museum might be fun for kids. There’s also the Maritime Museum, which is a collection of vintage ships you can see.

Balboa Park (where the zoo is) has a lot of museums — for kids, consider the model train museum, the natural history museum, the science museum, the car museum, and the air and space museum, plus there are gardens and fountains and a carousel and a train ride.

Cabrillo National Monument has some nice views when there’s no fog — check before going, though.

The Birch Aquarium is good and not overly large. It’s out in La Jolla, so you could pair it up with a beach visit there.

Barbara

You could also drive to Julian, a historic mountain town about an hour from San Diego. There you can wander around the small town, eat barbecue and apple pie, and tour a gold mine.

https://www.tripsavvy.com/visiting-j...fornia-1476109

Eagle Mining Co. | Mining Tour Julian CA

MichelleY

You will have plenty to do in the San Diego area. Have a great trip!

Barbara

I just heard on our local San Diego news that the ocean water is mostly in the mid 70s and around Del Mar and Solana Beach in the 80s. This is very warm for here.

mlgb

Yeah, stay away fromTahoe now..too much smoke!

One of the places I always visited where I could find parking was Torrey PInes State Beach. Sometimes even free parking..on Carmel Valley Road near Del Mar Scenic Parkway.

Since you are going to Legoland, you might look at hotels around north county Solana Beach, up to Carlsbad.

Macross

Padre tickets are really cheap compared to NY tickets. Take them to a game. You can stay in that area. My husband just did it for game night with friends.