need suggestions on things to do between LA and San Francisco on a buget

[DLfan4]

hi we might be taking a roadtrip to california. We plan to go to Disneyland for a few days, which is where most of our budget will be used up... so we are looking for fun/interesting things for our family of 4 (2 adults and 2 kids) to do between LA and San Francisco that are relatively inexpensive or free? one thing we plan to do is visit the pier and see the sea lions, walk on Golden Gate bridge, tour San Francisco.
what other things do you suggest?

Also what is a good beach to go to?
tia

 

[sheetz]

In LA there are a number of free attractions you do: Getty Museum/Villa, Griffith Observatory, California Science Center, Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, Original Farmers Market, Hollywood Walk of Fame. Plus if you join an ASTC museum you can get free admission to the LA Natural History Museum and the La Brea Tar Pits as well as other science museums around the country

 

[DLfan4]

thank you

 

[usnuzuloose]

You can look on Groupon.com
LivingSocial.com
Travelzoo.com for a lot of deals around town. Just put in SF

 

[jeast]

If you are road tripping up to SF, may I recommend a stop in Monterey? It's a great town with some awe-inspiring coastal scenery, great tide pools, nice restaurants, and a top notch aquarium.

 

[GrandBob]

If you are road tripping up to SF, may I recommend a stop in Monterey? It's a great town with some awe-inspiring coastal scenery, great tide pools, nice restaurants, and a top notch aquarium.

Definitely Monterey (I'm biased, as I live here). The aquarium is great, though a little pricey. But for free -- Point Lobos State Park has amazing scenery and hiking. Sunset Drive in Pacific Grove, past Asilomar Beach, is basically a free version of 17 Mile Drive. Walk/shop down Cannery Row. If you have little ones, take them to Dennis the Menace Park. Go to Carmel and Carmel Beach, an amazing mile-long strand of white sand.

Bob

 

[adudeinblue]

If you're driving between SF and LA, there's really 2 major highways to travel. Highway 1 and Interstate Freeway 5. Interstate Freeway 5 is the fastest route through inland, but Highway 1 goes next to the pacific coast. Depending on the time of year, it would be great to travel on Highway 1 and stop in one of those coastal towns for a beach pit stop.

San Luis Obispo is a popular one. It's also a college town for Cal Poly so it's pretty homey. My brother once pranked me when he was in the area and sent me a picture of the sunset. Told me he was in Hawaii. I was definitely fooled because it was so pretty.

 

[Purrkins]

Definitely Monterey (I'm biased, as I live here). The aquarium is great, though a little pricey. But for free -- Point Lobos State Park has amazing scenery and hiking. Sunset Drive in Pacific Grove, past Asilomar Beach, is basically a free version of 17 Mile Drive. Walk/shop down Cannery Row. If you have little ones, take them to Dennis the Menace Park. Go to Carmel and Carmel Beach, an amazing mile-long strand of white sand.

Bob

Point Lobos is one of the most wonderful places on earth - heartily recommend it. Not sure if it's free tho - seem to recall paying a tiny fee to enter.

 

[GrandBob]

Point Lobos is one of the most wonderful places on earth - heartily recommend it. Not sure if it's free tho - seem to recall paying a tiny fee to enter.

Oops, yeah. Sorry about that. Because I mostly visit on the weekends, I do what most of us locals do -- park along Highway 1 (because all in-park parking is full), and just walk in. Actually, DW & I usually bicycle in. Walk-ins and bicycles are free. But if you want to drive in and park, yep there's a fee.