Help! Road trip packed too full!

[Cruzmom]

My problem is coming from

June 23 Santa Cruz (1 night) Boardwalk

June 24 early afternoon Whale Watching in Monterey

June 25 MB Aquarium then

Plan A:head down the PCH and stop ? Stay? stop the next day?
Plan B:Head straight to Hollywood and do tourist stops? Stay?

June 26 arrive at Paradise Pier around 6pm to hang out at pool and watch World of color from our theme park view concierge room...... (which I booked at an amazing rate so I cannot change the arrival date to stop at Universal on the way down which I realize would be logical, but we are talking $400-500 difference for a regular room not a cool view concierge!!!!)

June 27,28,29 Park Days

After leaving the park we need to head back up towards Universal..... Where to stay?

June 30 Universal Studios till 2pm? Travel to San Diego

July 1 Sea World

July 2 San Diego Zoo

July 3 Home... phew


Any Help with the question marks would be lovely!!!!

 

[MunFam]

Hi there!

I think you could easily combine these two days in to one day.

June 24 early afternoon Whale Watching in Monterey

June 25 MB Aquarium then

We got to the Aquarium when they opened (with prepurchased tickets) and had the place to ourselves the first hour or so. We were done by around 1pm. We saw EVERYTHING, attended every talk, presentation, etc.

I would use the saved day to cruise down the coast doing the 17 mile drive through Pebble Beach and then ending in the Paso Robles/Solvang area. The next day continue on through Santa Barbara (stop there for lunch) and then on to Disney Resorts. In the Solvong/Paso area, we stayed at a great hotel called Holiday Inn Atascadero. It was wonderful and a great price.

 

[Cruzmom]

Sounds like a plan! I'm just trying to figure out how early we will have to leave Santa Cruz to get to the Aquarium at opening.

Hi there!

I think you could easily combine these two days in to one day.

June 24 early afternoon Whale Watching in Monterey

June 25 MB Aquarium then

We got to the Aquarium when they opened (with prepurchased tickets) and had the place to ourselves the first hour or so. We were done by around 1pm. We saw EVERYTHING, attended every talk, presentation, etc.

I would use the saved day to cruise down the coast doing the 17 mile drive through Pebble Beach and then ending in the Paso Robles/Solvang area. The next day continue on through Santa Barbara (stop there for lunch) and then on to Disney Resorts. In the Solvong/Paso area, we stayed at a great hotel called Holiday Inn Atascadero. It was wonderful and a great price.

 

[VandVsmama]

Sounds like a plan! I'm just trying to figure out how early we will have to leave Santa Cruz to get to the Aquarium at opening.

According to Google Maps, it's about an hour's drive from Santa Cruz to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. And based on personal experience, I've found that to be pretty accurate...45 min to an hour.

And according to the MB Aquarium's website, in June they open to the general public at 9:30 am. So if you wanted to be there right at opening, leave Santa Cruz at 8:30 am.

 

[VandVsmama]

I think that you should skip visiting Hollywood touristy things altogether. It's not nearly as glamorous as TV and the movies makes it appear. Spend a night in Goleta (right next door to Santa Barbara), Santa Barbara, or Carpinteria. Carpinteria has a small downtown within VERY easy walking distance to the beach and their little downtown has all sorts of cool shops.

Downtown Goleta has the original Hamburger Habit location. Their food is very tasty. They've franchised now, so there are Hamburger Habits in Phoenix, Arizona now. But the original is in Goleta! My husband grew up in Santa Barbara.

I think the 1st portion of your itinerary should be:
6/23 - Santa Cruz (1 night) Boardwalk
6/24 - MB Aquarium in a.m., early afternoon whale watching. Overnight in MB or Seaside
6/25 - don't drive PCH...drive to Santa Barbara using Hwy 101 instead. Drive will go faster & you'll have more time for fun when you get there. Overnight in Goleta, Santa Barbara, or Carpinteria.
6/26 - sleep in, if they're still open have breakfast at Farmer Boy on State St (a SB institution since the late 1950s). Esau's Cafe also has good breakfasts. They have 2 locations - 1 on lower State St (downtown SB) and 1 in Carpinteria). Do some shopping, then by 2pm, hit the road and head to Anaheim. Allow 2 hours' drive time during non-rush hour.

 

[VandVsmama]

Scratch that...3 hours' drive time from SB to Anaheim. It would be 2 hours from SB to UCLA.

 

[MunFam]

Sounds like a plan! I'm just trying to figure out how early we will have to leave Santa Cruz to get to the Aquarium at opening.

Another little tip...South of the Aquarium is metered parking, if you keep driving just a bit...like 20 parking spaces, the metered parking ends and you can park for free all day on the street. You just follow the beach trail along the shore to the aquarium. When we got there, the sea lions were all starting to wake up and move back to the water. It was fun to watch.

 

[Chiomaca]

I love driving the PCH, so I wouldn't miss that. Fog can make the drive through Big Sur less fun though, but that's a small stretch. I love Morro Bay, the elephant seals, and the Zebras near Hearst Castle.

Agree on skipping Hollywood - it's not nearly as interesting as people think and the traffic stinks. Santa Barbara/Goleta are better bets.

 

[MunFam]

Another vote for skipping Hollywood. Ive lived here my whole life, finally went when I was 30, and was like...seriously? why do people even come here? Its gross.

 

[sheetz]

Hollywood does not have much to see if you're just getting off a tour bus to look around but there are things to do in the area that I feel are worthwhile for a visitor. Things like the El Capitan Theatre, Griffith Observatory, Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood Forever Cemetery, and the nearby Original Farmers Market.

 

[Cruzmom]

So much good advice! We have decided to do the PCH. Attempted stops tenitively are:

Big Sur
McWay Falls
Hearst Castle
Moonstone Beach
Stopping for night in Santa Barbara? Planning on a 12 hour day?

 

[Cruzmom]

After leaving the park we need to head back up towards Universal..... Where to stay?

June 30 Universal Studios till 2pm? Travel to San Diego

July 1 Sea World

July 2 San Diego Zoo

July 3 Home... phew

Any Help with the question marks would be lovely!!!![/QUOTE

 

[CAFarmerGirl]

After leaving the park we need to head back up towards Universal..... Where to stay?

June 30 Universal Studios till 2pm? Travel to San Diego

July 1 Sea World

July 2 San Diego Zoo

July 3 Home... phew

Any Help with the question marks would be lovely!!!![/QUOTE

I would skip Universal and spend a day at the beach.

 

[fsupharm77]

I would skip Universal and spend a day at the beach.

We are also travelling with our two kids DD13 and DS9. OP is my wife. Skipping Universal would leave DS devastated.

I just read over her original post and she forgot to mention the children.

 

[RSWA2]

After leaving the park we need to head back up towards Universal..... Where to stay?

June 30 Universal Studios till 2pm? Travel to San Diego

July 1 Sea World

July 2 San Diego Zoo

July 3 Home... phew

Any Help with the question marks would be lovely!!!!

You'll be driving through LA to San Diego on a Tuesday afternoon, it's going to take a while. I would stay at one of Universal's hotels, they aren't that expensive and it'll save you some time. But if you are only wanting to spend part of the day at Universal, I would just skip it and just head to SD after the morning rush hour.