Jane

We're taking the children to new york for 3 nights and then going onto San Francisco, California, we want to drive to Los Angeles, stay at Disneyland, then 3 nights in Las Vegas (have booked the Luxor at $69 a night - great price)back to Los Angeles for a plane home to UK, have planned 3 weeks in July, do you think the children will enjoy this and also any hotels etc in SF or LA you can advise.

Jim

OF COURSE the kids will like California.

woebegone

There is absolutely nothing to do in California. It is a vast wasteland. Soory, but I couldn't resist. In truth I really do not understand your question. What is it that you are asking?

cp

Jane-

Most people love California, so I don't forsee that as a problem.

One thing I noticed about your itinerary is that you plan on driving from SF to LA, and from LA to LV. That's a lot of time in the car. Younger children in particular may get bored and whiny between cities. I strongly suggest that you take a look at the route you plan to drive and see of there are any places where you can stop to break up the monotony of the trip.

annemarie

We did a fly/drive in California a few years ago(2 weeks) and we really enjoyed it. We landed in L.A. and hopped in the car and drove right down to San Diego, where we did Sea World, the zoo, etc., drove up to L.A. and stayed at the Hilton at Universal Studios and did that(did not go to Disney as have many times in Florida), did the standard jBeverley Hills tour, left for Santa Barbara, relaxed there for awhile, Monterey, Carmel, Napa and even Yosemite ending( not in this order, it has been awhile). Stayed in San Francisco a couple of nights and flew out of here. I loved the changing scenery and the weather was great(July)

Noah

California is spectacular. Breathtaking scenery, theme and amusement parks (if that's your thing, I detest them), wineries, etc.,etc.

If you go to San Francisco be sure to go to Pt. Reyes Nat'l Seashore, just north of SF.

Skip Las Vegas; posters on this forum have said that it's still full of sleaze and not suitable for children.

Candace

Jane, I think your trip sounds like great fun. Great mix of different 'themes' as NY, SF, LA and LV are VERY different from one another. I agree with the car time issue. The drives from LA to LV and back will be pretty dull. If your kids aren't too small, should be tolerable though. Keep in mind that it'll be well over 100 degrees F in the Nevada desert in July! As for hotels in the Anaheim area, check out the Anaheim Marriott, which is reasonably close to D-Land and offers free shuttle to/from the park.

Cal

The others have offered excellent advice. I just want to advise you do NOT drive from Los Angeles to Las Vegas unless you absolutely have to. I am a great fan of Las Vegas but the drive there is VERY boring. I suggest that you fly instead. The airfare on Southwest is typically $78.00 /rt. if you book in advance ( 7 days ). Friday dpeartures from Los Angeles will have to booked earlier as they sell out fast. You do NOT need a car in Las Vegas. In fact it is better not to have one.

The drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles can be very boring or beautiful depending on the route that you take. The fastest route is down I-5 but is extremely boring. I would suggest the coastal route but take 2 days to do it.

Jud Compton

We were in San Francisco last October and are taking our North Carolina grandaughter there in April. One place we'd recommend is Metreon. You can find out about it at http://wwww.metreon.com

There are also several activities at Pier 39 on Fisherman's Wharf. http://www.pier39.com

Depending on their ages, they might like to walk through Chinatown. Grant St. goes through it. There is an Exploratorium which we haven't seen but is considered one of the best in the USA. Of course, a cable car ride is a must, and they might like the museum at the Cable Car Barn, Mason and Washington Sts. And so much more (like the Muir Woods National Monument (with its Redwood trees) just 17 miles from San Francisco.

I have a list of attractions with their web sites that we're using for the April trip. Happy to send it to you as an attachment if you wish.

You'll have a great time in San Francisco -- as well as all of California.

Marilyn Brady

Hi -

I couldn't agree more with the suggestions to nix the drive from LA to LV -- it is awful! I've taken my kids to LV and they had a great time. Absolutely try and see Cirque du Soleil at Treasure Island. It's lots of fun. San Luis Obispo or Santa Barbara are both nice stops between SF and LA. I have never understood the appeal of Disneyland myself (it's overpriced and overcrowded in my humble opinion), but if you like amusement parks you should have fun. I would recommend you get a book on Disneyland and study up on crowd management -- I've heard it can be awful especially in the summer. When you're in SF take your kids on the Alcatraz Island tour -- it's great. You must buy your tickets well in advance though -- that tour sells out every day of the week. It is very worthwhile (spend the extra $2 and get the audio headsets. . .they're worth it). Good Luck and have fun! We took our kids to London last summer and had the time of our lives. Marilyn Brady

lisa

Sounds like an incredible trip. You're going to have a great time.

If you do a search of this forum using the words "California coast" you will bring up a lot of old threads with tips on the drive between San Francisco and Los Angeles (one of the posts is mine from last July, which has hotel and restaurant recommendations for the coastal part). There is a lot of gorgeous scenery and there are so many fun things to do on this drive, and I would recommend staying at least one night (or two, or three if you can) in between. Morro Bay, Cambria, Big Sur, etc. offer lots of great opportunities. We saw lots of wildlife on our trip last summer, including seals and elephant seals, so if you're lucky and make frequent stops along the way you should be able to see some neat stuff too. You didn't mention how old your kids are but if they're older than age 5 I would recommend you should not miss touring Hearst Castle. They should love the Monterey Aquarium as well.

Steve

Jane - I assume from your e-mail address that you're from the UK. First family trip to the States? A lot depends on your childrens' ages and how much you like to drive and what interests them & you. Others may disagree, but Las Vegas w/family may not be as exciting or rewarding as San Francisco.
I think SF has so much variety --- culture, parks, city life, ethnic neighborhoods, cheap/wonderful food, MUCH cooler temperatures than LA/Vegas,
the ocean, history, the wonderful smell of clean air, etc. --- that I would suggest dropping the latter two from your list of 'must-see' places.
Again, it depends on what you & your family like. Fisherman's Wharf in SF has 'family stuff' for free, and Alcatraz Island, Golden Gate Bridge, Chinatown, the wilderness parks just north of SF, Exploratorium, and so much
more that I wonder how much kids would miss Disneyland or a fancy Vegas hotel.
Hope you have a great trip. We're from the southeast U.S. but try to visit SF at least once a year.

Julianne

Hi Jane-- I just want to say your kids would love California. And despite some previous postings especially (!!) Anaheim and Disneyland and all it has to offer. We were there in October with our children ages 7 and 4 years and without a doubt Disneyland was the highlight of our trip. We spent 3 days there. They also loved Knotts Berry farm, Universal Studios and Seaworld at SanDiego. I stress you not to miss any of that if you have the time and money. We also drove from L.A. to L.v. it is just straight long desert road, but we are from Australia and it was different and exciting to us. At about the halfway point there is a large outlet shopping mall in a town called Barstow which has a great range of shopping bargains -- the Disney store was heaps cheaper than Disneyland ! There are also a few places to eat etc. It will be very very hot, so be prepared for that. I have also done the drive from SFO to LAX along the coast road (before children) which was really nice, although I would also take 2 days to do it. I liked visiting Carmel and Monterey . In SFO itself we also liked visiting a cute seaside town called Sausalito as well as all the usual attractions. I did leave my heart in San Francisco !
But again may I stress, dont miss out on Disneyland etc, you'll really regret it and your kids wont ever forgive you. It was a great experience for our children and they just loved every second, it was so rewarding to see there faces in Disneyland ! Any other questions, you may email me if you like. Julianne

John

The question is not if they will "enjoy it", but, rather, will you be able to make them leave.