Help with my 2022 Trip to California Please!

[bennifer]

Hi all! We had a trip to California booked for 2020 that we obviously had to postpone. We're planning June 2022. I've added some days, and changed things around, and of course I'm now wondering if I should change it up. It will be me, DH and DS13. Here's what I roughly have planned:

Day 1 Arrive in San Diego early (hopefully) go to Coronado Beach maybe? Balboa Park probably
Day 2 Midway Museum, La Jolla or Balboa Park
Day 3 Maybe the zoo? Drive to DL
Day 4 DL
Day 5 DCA
Day 6 start driving up the coast. Stop in Santa Barbara, Solvang, and wherever else we see. Spend the night at the Madonna Inn
Day 7 Finish the drive to Monterey
Day 8 Aquarium, Cannery Row
Day 9 Drive to San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf area (we only want to do a few touristy things here. DH doesn't love SF)
Day 10 Alcatraz, Golden Gate Bridge, anything else
Day 11 Drive to Yosemite
Day 12 Spend day in Yosemite
Day 13 Drive to LA (maybe by way of seeing the General Sherman Tree just because we're there)
Day 14 Universal Studios and Griffith Observatory (I don't think we're going to want to stay all day at US)
Day 15 Fly home (Flights are generally a little cheaper to/from socal from Pittsburgh)

So my big question is should I add another full day to DL/DCA? It's our first trip there (ok, second for me, but I was 5, so...). We could drive up to Anaheim the evening of day 2 instead of spending another night SD. Or, we could fly in a day early to have the extra time in SD.

I'm also thinking that we could drive to California. That will give us a little more flexibility of when to arrive/when to leave. We could do US/LA things before we get to SD and stop at Joshua Tree on the way, too. I'd like to go to Death Valley, but not in June. We're coming from Pittsburgh so it will be a 4-5 day drive both ways. Is that a crazy idea? Has anyone here ever done that drive? I'm all about it, but I know that I would probably keep adding things to see/do on the way and it will end up being a full 5 week trip. DH and DS both might mutiny if I suggest that.

 

[GBRforWDW]

I went to Disneyland for the first time last month. We did 2 days at DL and 1 at DCA. I really appreciated having the second DL day, mainly because my wife and kid wanted to sleep in and I could do all the rides I wanted that they didn't want to do like Indy, pirates, haunted mansion, splash, and also got more Star Wars time than normal.

DL is small enough that if the crowd levels remain low, you can do most everything in a single day, but big enough that if you slow down and take your time to enjoy, you can easily take 2 days to do everything.

DCA we didn't do everything, but if you are able to go all day, you can do most everything if not everything in one day.

Also, if you want something to do on the drive up from San Diego, there's a Dolphin and Whale Safari in Dana Point that we did that was fun - Captain Dave's, but most of the kids ended up developing some level of seasickness. But getting out in the ocean to see the wildlife is exciting. We had an 8am boat ride, only one of the day that day, but sometimes they do an 11am as well, which might be better for you since you'd have to pack up all your stuff before going.

 

[BadPinkTink]

I would do San Diego to San Francisco end to end, instead of coming all the way back down to LA again. If you have a spare day, I would add in a rest day somewhere, a day where you just chill at a hotel with no actives, no driving.
I think you are under estimate the driving and the distances between each place and how exhausting a trip like this is.
I also think you are under estimating Universal Studios and it will turn into a full day.

Day 1 Arrive in San Diego early (hopefully) go to Coronado Beach maybe? Balboa Park probably
Day 2 Midway Museum, La Jolla or Balboa Park
Day 3 Maybe the zoo? Drive to DL
Day 4 DL
Day 5 DCA
Day 6 Universal Studios and Griffith Observatory (I don't think we're going to want to stay all day at US)
Day 7 start driving up the coast. Stop in Santa Barbara, Solvang, and wherever else we see. Spend the night at the Madonna Inn
Day 8 Drive to Yosemite
Day 9 Spend day in Yosemite)
Day 10 Finish the drive to Monterey
Day 11 Aquarium, Cannery Row
Day 12 Drive to San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf area (we only want to do a few touristy things here. DH doesn't love SF)
Day 13 Alcatraz, Golden Gate Bridge, anything else
Day14 / 15 Fly home from San Francisco

 

[cruisehopeful]

It's extremely ambitious. If you are able to keep going without a lot of rest breaks, it's all doable. However, I recommend really paring down your must see list and then have all the other stuff as backups/maybes. Everyone has their own interests and what appeals to them, but I do have to say that Fisherman's Wharf isn't a whole day activity and I don't think the Monterey Aquarium is worth the hype. I prefer the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach and prefer to spend Monterey area time seeing otters and other wildlife in the wild. If you have specific questions about any of the places on your initial list, I can try to offer more info.

 

[bennifer]

I went to Disneyland for the first time last month. We did 2 days at DL and 1 at DCA. I really appreciated having the second DL day, mainly because my wife and kid wanted to sleep in and I could do all the rides I wanted that they didn't want to do like Indy, pirates, haunted mansion, splash, and also got more Star Wars time than normal.

DL is small enough that if the crowd levels remain low, you can do most everything in a single day, but big enough that if you slow down and take your time to enjoy, you can easily take 2 days to do everything.

DCA we didn't do everything, but if you are able to go all day, you can do most everything if not everything in one day.

Also, if you want something to do on the drive up from San Diego, there's a Dolphin and Whale Safari in Dana Point that we did that was fun - Captain Dave's, but most of the kids ended up developing some level of seasickness. But getting out in the ocean to see the wildlife is exciting. We had an 8am boat ride, only one of the day that day, but sometimes they do an 11am as well, which might be better for you since you'd have to pack up all your stuff before going.

Ok thank you! I think we’ll add that 3rd day!

 

[bennifer]

I would do San Diego to San Francisco end to end, instead of coming all the way back down to LA again. If you have a spare day, I would add in a rest day somewhere, a day where you just chill at a hotel with no actives, no driving.
I think you are under estimate the driving and the distances between each place and how exhausting a trip like this is.
I also think you are under estimating Universal Studios and it will turn into a full day.

Day 1 Arrive in San Diego early (hopefully) go to Coronado Beach maybe? Balboa Park probably
Day 2 Midway Museum, La Jolla or Balboa Park
Day 3 Maybe the zoo? Drive to DL
Day 4 DL
Day 5 DCA
Day 6 Universal Studios and Griffith Observatory (I don't think we're going to want to stay all day at US)
Day 7 start driving up the coast. Stop in Santa Barbara, Solvang, and wherever else we see. Spend the night at the Madonna Inn
Day 8 Drive to Yosemite
Day 9 Spend day in Yosemite)
Day 10 Finish the drive to Monterey
Day 11 Aquarium, Cannery Row
Day 12 Drive to San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf area (we only want to do a few touristy things here. DH doesn't love SF)
Day 13 Alcatraz, Golden Gate Bridge, anything else
Day14 / 15 Fly home from San Francisco

Thank you! I had initially planned it this way but I wondered if driving back to LA for US would be a better idea because it would give us a break between theme parks.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Thank you! I had initially planned it this way but I wondered if driving back to LA for US would be a better idea because it would give us a break between theme parks.

driving back to LA is just adding more exhaustion. One of my friends lives about an hour from San Francisco. It takes her about 8 hours to drive to LA , depending on traffic , time of day and day of the week.

 

[bennifer]

It's extremely ambitious. If you are able to keep going without a lot of rest breaks, it's all doable. However, I recommend really paring down your must see list and then have all the other stuff as backups/maybes. Everyone has their own interests and what appeals to them, but I do have to say that Fisherman's Wharf isn't a whole day activity and I don't think the Monterey Aquarium is worth the hype. I prefer the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach and prefer to spend Monterey area time seeing otters and other wildlife in the wild. If you have specific questions about any of the places on your initial list, I can try to offer more info.

Really? You should have seen my original plan! It was the same amount of sights/activities but only 9 days!

Interesting about the aquarium! I was torn between the 2, so we may be changing that aspect.

 

[bennifer]

driving back to LA is just adding more exhaustion. One of my friends lives about an hour from San Francisco. It takes her about 8 hours to drive to LA , depending on traffic , time of day and day of the week.

Yikes! We’re great at road trips, but you’re right...after all that driving maybe we should just fly home from there!

 

[GBRforWDW]

Oh, we also did Griffiths observatory, but the building was closed when we went. Looking at the website, the inside is open weekends only.

The views of the city and hills are pretty amazing. I took this fun 360 picture:

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.118...ipM5-XrakQ3XTXMfI9_oN2MHl4uNVnUSomnQyLiu!2e10 Check out Griffith Observatory Shared via the #StreetView app

Good to hear about the third day at DL, it'll give you a chance to take an afternoon break and still get everything done. If you haven't looked at hotels, we enjoyed our stay at the best western park place inn & mini suites. It's right across the street from the entrance, so was really easy and convenient. I'd recommend staying as close as possible so as not to add too much walking.

Enjoy your trip! It sounds exciting!

 

[bennifer]

Oh, we also did Griffiths observatory, but the building was closed when we went. Looking at the website, the inside is open weekends only.

The views of the city and hills are pretty amazing. I took this fun 360 picture:

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.118...ipM5-XrakQ3XTXMfI9_oN2MHl4uNVnUSomnQyLiu!2e10 Check out Griffith Observatory Shared via the #StreetView app

Good to hear about the third day at DL, it'll give you a chance to take an afternoon break and still get everything done. If you haven't looked at hotels, we enjoyed our stay at the best western park place inn & mini suites. It's right across the street from the entrance, so was really easy and convenient. I'd recommend staying as close as possible so as not to add too much walking.

Enjoy your trip! It sounds exciting!

That picture is amazing! Good to know about the weekend hours, too, thanks.

I have the BW Park Place Inn booked right now, actually. I may cancel it if I can get the Grand Californian at 7 months with my DVC - doubtful, I know, but I can hope!

 

[GBRforWDW]

That picture is amazing! Good to know about the weekend hours, too, thanks.

I have the BW Park Place Inn booked right now, actually. I may cancel it if I can get the Grand Californian at 7 months with my DVC - doubtful, I know, but I can hope!

Ooh yeah, the grand is beautiful and way closer to the park entrance! . We went over there for breakfast at Storytellers. It was delicious food, plus fun to see the characters close up, though for short amounts of time.

 

[twincruisers]

I also agree that a SD to SF trip makes more sense than going back to LA to fly out. Here's my take on a few points:

1) This is a very ambitious schedule with a lot of things to wear you out but little recharge time. You may want to stick in a relaxation day or two in there and give up on an activity or two.
2) Your hardest part will be Yosemite for 2 reasons: a) getting reservations are tough in a normal non-pandemic year; during and post-pandemic it's even tougher to visit popular parks b) to really enjoy Yosemite you need to really be in good shape to climb. I recommend Yosemite Falls hike as a nice medium hike, but even that takes a hit on your body and energy. Trying to do Yosemite and then jump back into a car for a long drive sounds like torture to me.
3) Another way to do this is start in SF (tell your DH that he gets to end on a high note for the vacation) and then go down to SD and fly out from there.

Personally I would drop the NorCal side of the itinerary and space out your 14-days between SB, LA, and SD. Yosemite can be an option depending on whether you can get reservations or not.

 

[AuntieMe3]

Have you gone on maps to do driving directions from each location you'll be going? It will give you an idea how much minimum(could it could always end up being more) time and really see the distance and direction to expect driving to each place.

Sounds like driving might be off the table now but just so you know if you do, your idea to stop at Joshua Tree on the way from LA to San Diego....its not really on way. You would be really going out of your way to make that stop.

 

[sndral]

Hi all! We had a trip to California booked for 2020 that we obviously had to postpone. We're planning June 2022. I've added some days, and changed things around, and of course I'm now wondering if I should change it up. It will be me, DH and DS13. Here's what I roughly have planned:

Day 1 Arrive in San Diego early (hopefully) go to Coronado Beach maybe? Balboa Park probably
Day 2 Midway Museum, La Jolla or Balboa Park
Day 3 Maybe the zoo? Drive to DL
Day 4 DL
Day 5 DCA
Day 6 start driving up the coast. Stop in Santa Barbara, Solvang, and wherever else we see. Spend the night at the Madonna Inn
Day 7 Finish the drive to Monterey
Day 8 Aquarium, Cannery Row
Day 9 Drive to San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf area (we only want to do a few touristy things here. DH doesn't love SF)
Day 10 Alcatraz, Golden Gate Bridge, anything else
Day 11 Drive to Yosemite
Day 12 Spend day in Yosemite
Day 13 Drive to LA (maybe by way of seeing the General Sherman Tree just because we're there)
Day 14 Universal Studios and Griffith Observatory (I don't think we're going to want to stay all day at US)
Day 15 Fly home (Flights are generally a little cheaper to/from socal from Pittsburgh)
…

Really? You should have seen my original plan! It was the same amount of sights/activities but only 9 days!

Interesting about the aquarium! I was torn between the 2, so we may be changing that aspect.

Southern and Northern California are very different, both are worth seeing but for different reasons. I would not drive North & then turn around and drive back South - the slight increase in airfare wouldn’t be worth the extra hours on the road IMO.
If you fly into Southern California and out of the Bay Area (San Francisco, Oakland, or San Jose airports) why not head to Yosemite from Monterey (a little over 4 hr.s drive) and then head from Yosemite to San Francisco (a little over 4 hrs. - depending on traffic.)
I’ll start with your day 7 itinerary which I’m calling day 8 assuming you’ve added your Universal day to your Southern CA section & add my thoughts because I’m a native Northern Californian & know far more about that area.
Day 8 - finish drive to Monterey - the Big Sur coast is IMO the most spectacular portion of Hwy 1 & warrants a few stops to look around. You’ve left behind the dry south and are amongst the cool coastal redwoods. Cafe Kevah at Nepenthe is a personal favorite of mine for a meal on an outdoor deck w/ panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean. https://www.nepenthe.com/info-hours.
Day 9 + (perhaps) 10 - Aquarium, Cannery Row - I would not jettison seeing a world renowned aquarium based on one poster’s opinion. https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/zoos-aquariums/best-aquariums-in-the-us I admit I am biased. A few tips - try to visit during the week & earlier in the day is less crowded than later, because MBA is very popular summer weekends can become crowded. Consider a behind the scenes tour, they’re not very expensive & the small group behind the scenes in depth experience is worth the cost, IMO. Take your time & chat with the staff & volunteers, they’re a wealth of knowledge about what you are seeing in the exhibits & about Monterey Bay & the central California Coast. Spend some time on the deck where you can use the free binoculars to spot the wild otters that are always out there in the kelp. Watch a free feeding/training session (Kelp Forest, Otters, Open Sea, or Penguins) and a free auditorium program. If you are there on a weekend, consider arriving early, leaving mid day & returning for the early evening - assuming things are back to ‘normal’ next June.
Cannery row won’t take long, there’s better shopping in nearby Carmel, IMO.
Consider a whale watching trip from nearby fisherman’s wharf, in June you’ll likely see Humpbacks & dolphins - if you’re lucky you might see Blues & Orcas. The beauty of Monterey is the ocean & especially the parts where the ocean & coastal forests meet such as Pt. Lobos State reserve just south of Carmel. Carmel itself is worth a visit if you like shopping & their beach is nice. Likewise Pacific Grove which borders Monterey (the Aquarium is half in Monterey and half in Pacific Grove) has a couple of nice beaches including Asilomar marine sanctuary which in addition to a large sandy beach is a great spot for tide pooling at low tide.
Day 11 - Drive to Yosemite. Don’t make the mistake my son’s in laws made by staying ‘near’ Yosemite, stay in the valley, especially since you’ve only allocated one day there. I’d stretch it to two nights if you can, (so Day 12 in Yosemite) but again I’m biased, I’m the type who likes to spend a week there to soak it all in & hike around.
Day 13 - drive to San Francisco -
Day 14 - do the touristy SF things (I worked for 4 years in SF & the city has a lot to see & do, but w/ only a day give or take you’ll need to focus on your must sees.)
Day 15 - fly home from SF, SJC, or OAK.

 

[bennifer]

Thank you all for your replies! I do already have my Yosemite Valley Lodge reservations for 2 nights. I did know that I wanted 2 nights there (weekdays because I know weekends are for locals!) and that I needed to book it as soon as they became available! I'm actually building my trip around those days.

I do think that I'll shorten my time in SF to one day. I may add another night to our Monterey Bay stay. I was starting to think that I should before I even posted this. I would cut it out completely, but DS has been looking forward to Alcatraz since we started planning this in 2019.

I think driving out will not happen. I had too much on my list of places to stop and we can add on some days, but I was going way out of our way for things to do along the way. (What's another 3 hours south/north when we have our own car? lol)

 

[cruisehopeful]

I do think that I'll shorten my time in SF to one day. I may add another night to our Monterey Bay stay. I was starting to think that I should before I even posted this. I would cut it out completely, but DS has been looking forward to Alcatraz since we started planning this in 2019.

Some stuff you might want to look into for Monterey area are whale watching tours out of Monterey Bay. I saw so many different species and it was great. However, if anyone has a tendency towards seasickness, don't go. Half of the tour I was on were barfing, including my daughter who took the same motion sickness meds that I took in the morning.

17 mile drive in Carmel was gorgeous with several spots to get out of the car and walk around.

Tor House was one of our favorite things (we spent a week in the area in 2019). You have to reserve the tour ahead of time. My adult daughter thought it would be boring, but she still talks about how cool it was and wants to go back. https://www.torhouse.org/

Alcatraz is cool if you've never been there. I toured there several times as a child when we were allowed to walk around just about the whole island. Nowadays, it's very limited where you physically go because of safety issues, but for people who have never been, it's probably still very cool. You can easily see Fisherman's Wharf, Lombard Street and Pier 39 on the same day as your Alcatraz tour. I stayed in Fisherman's Wharf last month, but we opted to keep going out of the area to more nature type places and didn't do any of the tourist stuff in Fisherman's Wharf except for going to Gharidelli square a couple times since our hotel was a couple blocks away. If you are looking for something to do in the evening that is in the same area, there's a new escape room https://escapology.com/en/san-francisco-ca that's good for an hour of activity.

 

[bennifer]

Some stuff you might want to look into for Monterey area are whale watching tours out of Monterey Bay. I saw so many different species and it was great. However, if anyone has a tendency towards seasickness, don't go. Half of the tour I was on were barfing, including my daughter who took the same motion sickness meds that I took in the morning.

17 mile drive in Carmel was gorgeous with several spots to get out of the car and walk around.

Tor House was one of our favorite things (we spent a week in the area in 2019). You have to reserve the tour ahead of time. My adult daughter thought it would be boring, but she still talks about how cool it was and wants to go back. https://www.torhouse.org/

Alcatraz is cool if you've never been there. I toured there several times as a child when we were allowed to walk around just about the whole island. Nowadays, it's very limited where you physically go because of safety issues, but for people who have never been, it's probably still very cool. You can easily see Fisherman's Wharf, Lombard Street and Pier 39 on the same day as your Alcatraz tour. I stayed in Fisherman's Wharf last month, but we opted to keep going out of the area to more nature type places and didn't do any of the tourist stuff in Fisherman's Wharf except for going to Gharidelli square a couple times since our hotel was a couple blocks away. If you are looking for something to do in the evening that is in the same area, there's a new escape room https://escapology.com/en/san-francisco-ca that's good for an hour of activity.

A whale watching tour was the reason I was thinking we should extend our stay in Monterey! I can't do it because I am very prone to motion sickness even with medicine, but I know DH and DS would love it. Thank you for the tip about Tor House, too! I had seen it a few times while researching.

As far as SF - I'm definitely paring that down to 1 night! Alcatraz, Lombard St, look at the Golden Gate Bridge, Pier 39 and maybe ride a cable car. That's all I really need to do! If I love it, I can always go back.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

As far as SF - I'm definitely paring that down to 1 night! Alcatraz, Lombard St, look at the Golden Gate Bridge, Pier 39 and maybe ride a cable car. That's all I really need to do! If I love it, I can always go back.

There is the Disney Museum in the Presidio. That’s definitely worth a few hours for a Disney fan.

 

[bennifer]

Oh For Pete's sake. I just realized that this trip has us getting home for DH to work 1 week and then a mandatory week off for the 4th of July. Now we'll be flying into Fresno to start our trip at Yosemite because that's the hardest lodging to book and idk if I can switch it this late.

Ridiculous question, but how scary is driving the Pacific Coast Highway north to south? I have heard people say that there are no guiderails, etc, and I don't like driving like that along cliffs. Is that a real thing? Or am I being misinformed?