We are a family of 5 (children aged 11,8 and 6)and will be touring California in August for 18 days. Our planned itinerary is currently as follows:

4 nights San Francisco
2 nights Carmel
1 night San Simeon
2 nights Santa Barbara
2 nights LA (Beverley Hills or Santa Monica)
2 nights Disneyland Anaheim
5 nights San Diego

This is our fist visit to California and obviously wish it to be really memorable. Any comments or suggestions on our itinerary would be gratefully received.

Carmel is not a real attraction for kids except for the beach and a visit to Pt. Lobos Park, just north of Big Sur. You could shorten this by a day or you could plan to spend a whole day with them in Monterey. (there are a few hotels in Carmel that will do a one night reservation--if you can't find any, repost and I'll try to help) You can pre-reserve at the Aquarium and pick up your tickets at "Will Call" to avoid lines. Plan to arrive early--first otter feeding is 10AM. Hands on tide pool is a big attraction for that age. It's possible to rent kayaks and go out into Monterey Bay to see the sea otters. You can rent bikes or bring inline skates for the bike path that goes from Cannery Row to Fisherman's Wharf. Fisherman's Wharf is a mini Coney Island boardwalk, full of little restaurants and tourist shops. Kids like it. Alternatively, you could stop in Sta. Cruz on the way from SF and see the old fashioned boardwalk with its great wooden roller coaster and the surfing museum. In the summer there's a little steam train that will take you from Santa Cruz up into the mountains to see redwoods. A fun thing to do with kids. San Simeon is where Hearst Castle is---you'll want to eat and spend the night in the town of Cambria, preferably on Moonstone Beach--lots of affordable hotels.Again, only you know your children, but the Hearst Castle is by tour guide only and lasts about 2 hours. You'll need to make reservations beforehand for tour#1 so you don't need to stand in line. San Francisco is great with kids--if you want to go to Alcatraz, again make reservations early from home. They will mail tickets to your home if there's enough time or will hold them for you. Again, Santa Barbara doesn't hold too much appeal for kids, other than the mission. You could drive them up to Solvang, a cute little "Danish" town just off the 101 freeway. You might want to reduce Sta. Barbara to one night, again, you know the kids, I don't. If they like Mexican, take them to the Super Rica Taqueria in S.B. Would suggest Santa Monica rather than B.H. which is not much for kids. In Sta. Monica you can see the pier and the old carosel, go to Venice Beach Boardwalk and see the wierdies (although not frightening--kids like it), take them to the Farmers' Market, which is so much more than a market. The new Getty museum is wonderful--my nieces, aged 8,11 and 14 love it, but again, you know your kids. If you have boys they would probably like the La Brea Tarpits (girls would also, but maybe not quite as much) and the Automobile Museum. Disneyland is exactly what you've heard about--two days is more than sufficient. San Diego is another terrific city for kids. Even though it will be hot, plan to take them to the Wild Animal Park. You could steal a night from S.D. and spend it in Laguna Beach to see a real Southern California beach town, if that appeals. My biggest area of concern is that you haven't made reservations yet and August is absolutely prime time for family vacations in CA. Get on it right away to avoid disappointment. Good luck and have a great trip.

An additional comment regarding Hearst Castle- We were there last July with kids ages 12 and 10. We did tour number 1. It was semi-interesting for the kids but probably would be somewhat boring for a 6 year-old. I did notice at the ticket window that they had a "family tour" listed. We bought our
tickets in advance so were unable to check it out but maybe this is something that you can investigate for your family.

Kam had some great hints for your trip. I agree that Carmel would not offer a lot of appeal to kids. Instead think about Monterey or maybe rent a cabin in Big Sur along the river.

I know a lot of kids who are fascinated by Hearst Castle. While some of the furnishings may not interest the kids, the overall size of the castle is quite impressive to everyone. And kids love viewing the indoor and outdoor pools. But I agree that it would be better to stay down the road in Cambria as opposed to San Simeon. San Simeon offers very little to do, while Cambria has is a charming town. For food in Cambria, I'd recommend going to The Main Street Grill at the far northern end of town. It tends to be the most popular with kids and is very reasonable for the parents' wallet. The kids can have hot dogs or hamburgers, while the adults can have barbecued ribs or chicken. And they have outdoor tables to enjoy the great summer weather. Lombardi's (Next to the post office) also offers great Italian food at reasonable prices and they offer very ample children's portions.

Another option is to stop at Hearst Castle earlier in the day and then plan on driving a little further down the coast and staying in San Luis Obispo. It's a collge town and offers a lot more for kids. They have plenty of movie theaters, a children's musuem, and a wonderful Farmer's Market if you happen to be there on a Thursday evening. Or stop and stay in the little beach community of Morro Bay. They have a minature golf park, a big old fashioned movie theater. And the family could spend a day trying their hands at learning to kayak. The bay area is a great place to learn, since the water tends to be fairly calm. ANd the kids would probably enjoy wandering around the Embarcadero that evening.

Santa Barbara is more geared towards adults and unfortunately not many of the hotels offer beach access. Your kids might enjoy the area for one day, but beyond that they're likely to get bored. Maybe you should head down and spend an extra day in LA and go to Universal Studios. Or stay in Anaheim an extra night and plan a day at the water park in Buena Park at Knott's Berry Farm.

Beverly Hills is not that bad of a place to stay, since it's centrally located. Farmer's Market would be a good place for lunch.

San Diego will be a great place for kids. So much to do. Make sure and plan on having a Mexican meal in Old Town. And Lego Land in Carlsbad might be appealing to your younger two children. Balboa Park and the San Diego Zoo are wonderful for the entire family, as is the Wild Animal Park.

Have a great trip!

To the top for Harvey. Think you posted twice.

Harvey, hope you're getting these posts--think they will give you some good information. There's a book available from Amazon called Fun Places to go with Children in Northern California---you might want to check it out. We get a lot of houseguests with kids who come to stay with us and ask recommendations so these suggestions come from their feedback. Good luck.

Harvey, maybe you're OK with the time in the car--I looked at your itinerary again and the ages of your kids and it might be OK after all. I think if you really want to see a lot in L.A. you might want another day there, but if you're content to stay on the Westside and Sta. Monica, this is probably fine. Time your drive to Anaheim so you won't get stuck in rush hour. If you're looking for inexpensive lodging in Monterey which includes parking (rare) and is very close to the Aquarium and Cannery Row, look at the little Otter Inn. The kids will be right on the bike path that I told you about previously. One downside is no A/C which should be OK for temperatures, but know that the seals and birds get you up at dawn! The Carmel Village Inn is another nice little place that takes one night reservations if you need to do that. I would spend the time in Monterey and drive into Carmel to overnight the night before driving Big Sur. You can let the kids spend some time at the pretty Carmel City Beach and take them over to Pt. Lobos. That way they can let off some steam and be ready to drive Big Sur the next day. If you do decide to stop in Santa Cruz along the way, it's the roaring Camp and Big Trees Railroad that takes you up into the mountains to see the redwood trees. Also the surfing museum is at Lighthouse Point, West Cliff Drive--open only Wed-Mon 12-4 and the boardwalk is open daily from 11am during the summer. Another suggestion for kids in SF is to take them to the Cable Barn Museum at Mason and Washington after they've ridden on a cable car. They can see the whells that move the cables and see how everything works and It's Free!! How are those reservations coming?