Ideas please! Must sees from San Fran to Disney?

[peyjax]

Planning a trip to Cali this fall. Traveling with my family of 5 (3 small kiddos) plus my parents. My parents lived in southern cali for a few years as well as Las Vegas. Have seen most of that stuff so would like to see things north of LA.

Thinking of flying into San Fran to see Sequoias and driving down PCH through Monterey for whale watching. Not sure to go from there. Disney would be at end for 4 days. Would 5 days be good for the road trip from San Fran to LA? What would be your must do's? TIA for your suggestions.

 

[pixarmom]

Hi peyjax! We have three boys (ages 5, 11 and 12) and we just did this a couple weeks ago! As for the timing, we did this in seven nights and eight full days.

We started in San Francisco, and spent two nights there. We took the kids across the Golden Gate bridge, walked around the Embarcadero, Fisherman's Wharf, Ghiradelli Square, Pier 39, etc. We purchased Alcatraz tickets far in advance and took the first boat of our first morning there. We spent some time at Golden Gate Park (outstanding playground!) and they ran around at the beach. We walked quite a bit - from North Beach to Union Square and rode the cable cars down to Fisherman's Wharf.

We drove to Monterey, spent the afternoon at the aquarium (GREAT for kids of varied ages) and stayed overnight there for just one night.

Then we drove down 17-mile drive, stopped in Carmel, and followed PCH down to Santa Barbara. We stopped at a few beaches for the kids to run around, at Julia Pfieffer Park (amazing and beautiful), at the Whale Watcher's cafe for lunch, and at Hearst Castle just to see it from the observation deck. We ended that day in Santa Barbara and stayed overnight there.

The next day, we drove down PCH to Santa Monica and then hopped over to the freeway and arrived in Newport Beach by noon. We spent a few days in Newport (and one of those in DL.) I just started a Newport Beach thread with lots of information and photos that might be helpful: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2895078

We also love Catalina Island with kids, and during our last visit, we also spent a wonderful afternoon with the boys at Crystal Cove, just south of Newport.

Our plan was loosely based on my experiences as a child - we spent lots of time in the Bay area and did the PCH drive a number of times. So it was great to introduce our kids to so many places I had visited long ago. We had a great time and our entire family really enjoyed the trip. I'm happy to provide more details and restaurant and hotel recommendations if that would be helpful. Happy Planning!

 

[holcomb-mania]

Great thread! I'm planning a trip next summer for my DD's h.s. graduation. Planning on SF, PCH, LA (DL), then Yosemite. Planning on stopping in Cambria. Can't decide whether to stay two nights on the PCH or just one.

Still not even sure if we should start in SF or LA.

 

[Daniellee725]

Absolutely the aquarium in Monterey. It was one of my favorite parts of my vacation when I did a roadtrip to San Fran.

 

[msheriffm]

I will tell you one thing the trip down Highway 1 is a long and curvy road. Our family drove to LA once on it from SF area and that was enough for me during my lifetime. There are some neat places but personally I would rather take Highway 5 boring as can be but a 7 hour drive from LA to SF. Personally I would spend the time going to Yosemite and amazing place if I wanted to spend that much time in a car. If you are from the East you will love it. If you want to share the age range of your kids I will try to think of some good things to do for them in SF area.

 

[jstbcuz]

We too are looking at going to SF on one end of our trip to DL. I just dont know about that far of a drive..........I dont want it to seem like we are in the car all the time..........Hurry up and look at this so we can get to the next destination..........I want it to be relaxing.......we have varied ages so it might be hard 6, 16, 19

 

[hamellr]

We started in San Francisco, and spent two nights there. We took the kids across the Golden Gate bridge, walked around the Embarcadero, Fisherman's Wharf, Ghiradelli Square, Pier 39, etc. We purchased Alcatraz tickets far in advance and took the first boat of our first morning there. We spent some time at Golden Gate Park (outstanding playground!) and they ran around at the beach. We walked quite a bit - from North Beach to Union Square and rode the cable cars down to Fisherman's Wharf.

We did this last September, but the opposite direction.

Make sure you have plenty of tapes/CDs, snacks and drinks to keep you occupied. The roads are windy, frequently slow with RVs or people too busy looking at the scenery. There is little or no radio signal for large portions of the drive, nor many places to stop for food or drinks.

Hearst Castle is a must if you've never been, although your kids may find that a bit boring. There is a really nice beach across from it though.

 

[randbmom]

We're also flying into SFO and driving down the PCH to DL. We have a hotel in San Simeon overnight. We're more hiking, National Park type folks. We have two full days to get from SFO to Anaheim. Looking forward to ideas. Traveling with DH, and DS 17 and DS 12.