Never been west --- Help us plan a magical itinerary!

[rutgers1]

Thanks for the suggestions!

With priceline, it only works if you want one bed, right? I read somewhere that you can't request a room with 2 beds. That would be a deal breaker for us, since we have 4 people in the family. I always wanted to try priceline!

 

[MagicalMawMaw]

With Priceline you can request different rooms but no guan. you'll get them. We booked 2 rooms per night at both places. Both times we got one room with a king & one with two beds. However, they do not have to let you have a room w/ 2 beds...they can give you whichever they please. We have had very good luck though. After we book we call the hotel & put in a nice request for how many beds we need. When we arrive we state the request again & are usually given the room needed.

Be sure you bid on the area you want & the star you want as once you land a room it is not refundable. I rarely bid less than a 4 star. This way you usually get a non-smoking hotel so you don't get a smoking room...this is a biggie for us. And like room types priceline doesn't guan. you a non-smoking room either...so this helps avoid this problem.

You can look on the priceline site & get a idea of the hotels in the area before you bid & it helps you decide on a starting price to bid. Start low sometimes you get lucky. I've gotten 4 stars for $45 lots of times.

 

[Rhonna]

And here, I was thinking how sad it is they're not getting to Northern CA, but it's simply not possible to "do" a state this large and varied in such a short time. I figure just about everything south of SF is "Southern California". Where to you draw your line? And... what do we call the no-man's land in between?
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Classifications from the top of the state down:

- Northern CA (Oregon border down to and including SF)
- Central Coast (Monterey to border of LA) {My dream is to live somewhere in here.}
- Southern CA (LA to Mexico border)

 

[CAFarmerGirl]

And here, I was thinking how sad it is they're not getting to Northern CA, but it's simply not possible to "do" a state this large and varied in such a short time. I figure just about everything south of SF is "Southern California". Where to you draw your line? And... what do we call the no-man's land in between?
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Haha...ditto! I am also in Northern CA (Howdy, Neighbor!) and Northern CA is beautiful!! The Sierra Nevadas are gorgeous. Southern CA is "fun", we are "pretty".

I will recommend something completely different: white water rafting. Do a Class III trip and your wife will get the beautiful scenery and your kids will get a fun adventure. You will get a break, as the guides prepare your meals.

I won't recommend a particular river, as they are all beautiful (they do have them in the Yosemite area)! But, I will recommend the ARTA river company:
http://www.arta.org/california.htm

Be prepared for Yosemite to be **crowded** in the summer. It really gets crazy. Do not expect serene unless you go down to the southern entrance or get onto the rivers.

You might also consider Kings/Sequoia National Park...less crowded and still beautiful. The Kern river is near there and it is all closer to LA.

The kids won't forget the river trip...

 

[KCmike]

Fly into LAX.
Drive up the coast via Hwy 1 (PCH) and go to Monterey. Drive to San Fran. Then drive to Yosemite National Park. The drive down to Disneyland is an easy straight drive south from YNP. If you have extra time visit San Diego (hotel del coronado and stay on the beach).

Yosemite National Park is the park to see! It's absolutely unbelievable. Go when the waterfalls are flowing.

Disneyland is also amazing!

Monterey and SF are great places to hang out and sight see for a one or two days each.

San Diego is drop dead gorgeous. Hotel Del is such a fun place but very expensive.

In Disneyland stay at Grand Californian.

So much to tell you. Where are you coming from? When are you planning to visit? Which month?