So perhaps we should re-think the Vegas part and add in more to do along the coast or take more down time!?
I should have clarified that when I say golfing it is a family affair - we all love to golf together.
As for Disney it is a must to do both DL and Cali adventure - we are a big Disney family and really want to see the differences - 2 1/2 days will be plenty for us to see both parks and spend some time relaxing.

Any suggestions as to what to see/do in LA - my 15yo wants to see that hollywood sign and was wondering if there was a studio tour or a specific tour we should consider - perhaps we are spending too much time in LA and there is somewhere else we should go?

Instead of Las Vegas, you could drive up the central coast of California to Santa Barbara and around. It'll be different and I bet there will be golf.

BisnBearsMom - I would pass on Las Vegas - 100% - Southern California coastal areas have plenty to keep your family happy and occupied...

with kids that age you have way too LITTLE time in Los Angeles! Griffith Observatory, The Getty Center, The Science Center, The Museum of Natural History, The Peterson Auto Museum, Autry Wild West Museum, La Brea Tar Pits and the Page Museum, Universal Studios, Warner Brothers Studios, Bicycling Down the Ocean Bikeway, A night at The Hollywood Bowl, Knotts Berry Farm, Six Flags, Day Trip to the Lake, Day Trip to Santa Barbara.........

Some more ideas for the golf part of your trip

http://www.thegolfchannel.com/ultima...f-destination/

I would suggest dividing your time equally between LA and San Diego. There's plenty to do in both those places without driving out to Las Vegas.

One place that was not mentioned is Balboa Park in San Diego. There are any number of smaller museums, like the Model Railroad Museum, the Automotive Museum, and at least a 1/2 dozen more. It's also a beautiful park and the girls can split up from the boys and each enjoy a museum that appeals to them.

http://www.balboapark.org/

One fun restaurant in San Diego is the Green Flash which is a great place to end up for an early evening meal and then a walk the beach.

http://www.greenflashrestaurant.com/

LA is great to visit, but San Diego is easier to navigate and is more relaxing, IMHO. I'd also suggest doing LA first and San Diego second.

As I recall, the view of the Hollywood sign is great from Griffith Observatory. (2 birds with 1 stone)

You can easily spend 3 or 4 days plus in san diego. Hiking the Torrey Pines state park, kayaking in la jolla cove seeing amazing myriad marine life, doing the farmer's market on cedros in solana beach on sunday afternoon, taking in del mar plaza with fabulous views for lunch, biking around coronado....not to mention the golf, and gaslamp and balboa park and zoos etc.


Vegas will be wicked hot then; about 110-115 degrees. San Diego is warm but lovely then.

So many great sounding things to do - So we should seriously consider starting in LA and ending in SD - can anyone suggest hotels we should be considering as a good base - we would prefer to only have 3 different hotels for the trip - 1 in the LA area, DL hotel which we will do for 3 nights and 1 in the SD area. Don't want to spend a fortune on the hotel as we are basically going to be using it as a base to go see everything else and won't be spending a whole lot of time there - clean room and a pool would be a must though!

I also found a harbour cruise that will take us to see the California Sea lions in SD - can anyone tell me about that and if it's worthwhile taking or if you have any other suggestions?

My favorite san diego hotels are the Estancia, the Grand Del mar, and the Lodge at Torrey Pines. Also love the Hotel Solamar in the Gaslamp. They all tend to be pricey. Sometimes I see the Estancia show up with an amazing deal. Cat recently posted a trip report and raved about her hotel in shelter island/point loma. I don't remember it though.