lanejohann

Hello all!
Back to planning the last leg of our 2016 25 day trip to usa and Canada..the four of us...husband and I and two grown kids...son and daughter early 19 and 22yrs

We will be flying from Banff/ Calgary into San fran on Friday jan 29 ...sometime in the afternoon, spending the weekend in San fran then driving the coast to LA...( we would've visited New York for nine nights and Banff for a week or so by then)

We have the accommodation sorted for San fran ( Columbus motor inn .. Thanks to clarkgriswold here at fodors��) and now we have to pencil in an itinerary for the rest of the days that include the coast road ...2 overnight stays somewhere and then a base in LA

We recently got back from Alaska and drove from Seattle to LA in five days and a bit..it was glorious and we don't mind the long days driving
We took a look around Venice beach and Santa monica while we still had the rental car and milked our vacation time whilst waiting to head to the airport �� .doing a bit of research for this upcoming trip
I'm thinking that t he kids would enjoy the beach area even though it's winter...
We will have a car...Now that husband is joining us for this leg driving won't be an issue for me so we can have a base rather than hop from some Disney hotel back to somewhere else...as I thought I'd have to do when it was going to be just me and the kids


So... What are your thoughts re accommodation in LA?
We need a suite or at least a place with rollaways because kids won't share a bed at their age...we are thinking of getting an air bed just in case we get stuck one night but obviously prefer that son has a proper bed lol!
We are paying 226 uso per night in San fran to accommodate the four of us and that's pretty cheap...it'd be great if we found something in that range for our base in LA but I realise it may not be possible...
I don't really want to book yet because I don't know if we have two or three days to drive from San fran to LA but I better have something up my sleeve with a cancellation policy ..what do you think? Book and change if we extend our trip along the coast?

At this stage I'm saying we do the drive between Monday feb1 and arrive sometime in our LA accommodation on wed 3 February...this gives us Wednesday Thursday Friday nights in la and the whole day on Saturday before our late flight back to Sydney.

Has anyone stayed in Santa monica or surrounds? Anywhere else anyone can think of that is beachy but still more or less handy to Disneyland and universal studios? (Having a car, we can just get around with greater ease...just might have to work with the traffic..get up earlier to whatever to start our sightseeing days)
Need a nice vibrant area we can walk to for dinner at night..not great foodies but still it'd be nice to have somewhere to walk in the evening without getting in the car necessarily ..may not be possible I know and I'm not sure that the likes of Venice beach is all that safe at night?

Now as far as the overnight stays along the way from San fran to LA...I've got Monterey earmarked and maybe Cambria?
Any thoughts on that?

So far I'm thinking we see the pigeon point lighthouse...then onto Santa cruz..walk the boardwalk and arrive in Monterey in the afternoon..maybe see the aquarium ..or not
Any other points of interest?
We don't drink so wineries aren't our thing..we like animal sanctuaries ..scenery... Cute towns ...good cafes for a break

Day 2 we drive to Cambria ..go to pebble beach drive big sur ..maybe visit Hearst castle and stay somewhere in Cambria
Third day we drive to Solvang..that sounds nice and then to Santa barbara through Santa yea valley to lake cachuma
Stop in our LA accommodation..say Santa monica for the next three nights

Needs tweaking I'm sure so all ideas welcome!
Thanks !

lanejohann

Ok
Have been researching and tentatively settled on the inn at marina Delrey
Seemed like a good rate for three nights for the four of us in the king suite..will provide a roller bed for son..has free parking wifi and breakfast

632 usd in total

We drove around that area back in August this year ...can't remember marina del rey specifically ...only Venice beach and Santa monica spring to mind ...

Anyway please feel free to advise , steer towards or away!

Cheers

Ackislander

You can easily cycle from Marina del Rey to Santa Monica Pier, with Venice Beach in between.

janisj

Your plan from San Francisco south is too rushed.

SF > Pigeon point > Santa Cruz > Monterey Bay Aquarium is a LOT for one day. Not in distance, but in time it takes for each. The Aquarium closes at 5PM and you'll want a couple of hours there. So if you manage to squeeze all in and get checked in to your hotel by 6PM -- long after dark so no time for anything else but dinner.

Then the next day you'd want to hit Point Lobos and at least two of the parks in Big Sur so again you'd get to Cambria after dark.

I'd stay two nights in Monterey or Pacific Grove or Carmel. On your full day in the area, visit the Aquarium in the morning and Point Lobos in the afternoon. Then after the 2nd night, explore Big Sur and spend the next night in Cambria or maybe Pismo Beach.

clarkgriswold

I think that the accomodations along the coast are the ones you'll want to be flexible with. We're expecting (hoping for) a rainy season and you'd be driving smack-dab in the middle of that...meaning that coastal route 1 might even (hopefully not) be closed down in some areas (worst case scenario). Since late-Jan early-Feb is not busy season along the coast, I'd wait and book about a week before travel as by then you'll have a good idea of the weather that's forecasted.

Recently we purchased an airbed from Target for just the reason you stated...in case any hotel was not able to provide the promised rollaway, just for a backup. It was about the size of 2 shoeboxes and packed away easily, bought it online but since we didn't use it just returned it in person to Target for a refund.

Whether or not Marina del Rey will work out for you completely depends on what you want to do and see during your short stay in Los Angeles. Traffic and weather may determine that you want something closer to chosen attractions.

For Cambria, Fireside Inn is the one spot I see that will put an extra rollaway into the room. For Santa Barbara, SBCastilloInn.com has one family suite that will work and the cancellation policy is good if plans change.

janisj

OOPS -- meant to add - you are traveling in January so you do need some plan B's incase we do get the heavy rains expected/hoped for. Jan/Feb are the rainiest months and if there is a monster winter storm -- parts of hwy 1 between SF and Santa Cruz and in Big Sur can wash out.

janisj

Was posting the same time as clarkgriswold . . .

Tabernash2

Sorry for my laziness, because I am cutting and pasting my post for another Fodorite:

If you are going to Hearst Castle, we really liked the Best Western Cavalier oceanfront resort. My room had two queens, and a small fireplace, with a nicely-stocked coffee bar.
http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwest...ertyCode=05173

Since Venice Beach is on your list, I have stayed several times at the Pacifica Inn at Venice Beach. It's a couple of blocks to the pier. You will be right in the middle of Venice, so be prepared for quirkiness. They have a loft room, with a queen bed in the loft and a sofa sleeper on the main floor. A complimentary continental breakfast is provided, and there are fridges in the rooms. (When our kids were teens, and we were saving money by staying in one hotel room, we'd put the 'girls' in one bed and the 'boys' in another. It worked for us.) Parking there is a nominal fee, like $10/night, and if you're lucky you get a covered space connected to the hotel.
http://www.pacificahotels.com/innatvenicebeach

Another Pacifica property we like, which is a step up from the Inn at Venice Beach, is the Jamaica Bay Inn. You can get a room that overlooks Marina del Rey, and you can walk the oceanfront from there. It's more expensive, but sometimes they will offer a free, hot breakfast. Parking is more expensive than the Inn, though.
http://www.pacificahotels.com/jamaicabayinn

In Santa Barbara, I may have been the person who recommended the
Castillo Inn at the Beach. We found a really good price there one Easter weekend. It has free parking, very nice & clean rooms, free continental breakfast, and is just a block from the waterfront.
http://www.sbcastilloinn.com

Enjoy your visit to California. We love it there.

jamie99

With older children rather than Cambria I would look into either Pismo Beach (ATV rides on Oceano Dunes weather permitting) or Morro Bay (kayaking). Cambria has always struck me as more of a couples type place.
A few miles north of San Simeon, home to Hearst Castle, you might like to visit the Piedras Blancas elephant seal rookery.
The rec for Best Western Cavalier Inn is a good one, we enjoyed our stay and paid extra for a room with a fireplace. Those are all good towns and have stayed in all of them over the years.