One morning/early afternoon in the LA area-- What to do?

[ekatiel]

We have a pretty ambitious road trip planned this summer. We fly into San Jose, head to Sequoia, then Yosemite, then the Grand Canyon (via death Valley and Las Vegas), then to Disneyland and Legoland. We'll do Legoland on July 18th and 19th, and we fly back home out of LAX on the 20th. Our flight isn't until 7pm, though. We have not made a hotel reservation for the evening of the 19th yet. So, we could either stay near Legoland or drive back towards LA that evening. What would you do if you only had one day in the LA area? We have two kiddos, boys ages 10 and 12 .

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

I didn't have kids when I lived in Southern Calfornia, so I'm not sure if I have any great recommendations for you. However, one piece of advice is to make sure you leave plenty of time to get to the airport. The traffic will be really bad if you're heading to the airport anytime after 3 PM. Maybe try to do something as close to LAX as possible. Maybe spend some time at one of the nearby beaches (Santa Monica, Venice, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach)? Santa Monica Pier might be good, but it's still a good 8 miles or so from the airport, so I wouldn't leave too late. California Science Center is another option (14 miles from LAX), though I've never been there.

 

[Luckymommatoo]

My kids are 10 and 12 and I live in the L.A. area. I think in your situation, I would drive toward a beach (maybe Huntington -- there are some great hotels right on the beach) on the night of the 19th and spend the day at the beach (you could even take surfing lessons at Huntington if you're so inclined). Then your kids get all their energy out before you go to the airport.

If you're not a beach family, or the idea of doing the beach on the day you leave is too much (which I totally get) -- Santa Monica Pier and area is entertaining, as is Venice. You could rent bikes there and ride along the bike path. The Science Center (where the Space Shuttle Endeavour is located) would be really great, we go there all the time. (Get advance timed tickets to see the shuttle if you're doing that.) There's also the La Brea tarpits with LACMA (art museum).

I recommend using the Waze app to navigate here -- it will account for traffic and let you know how long it will take to get somewhere. Also, not to be a killjoy, but unless your boys are total Lego fanatics or you are doing the waterpark, two days at their ages is really too much time at Legoland.

 

[usnuzuloose]

I didn't have kids when I lived in Southern Calfornia, so I'm not sure if I have any great recommendations for you. However, one piece of advice is to make sure you leave plenty of time to get to the airport. The traffic will be really bad if you're heading to the airport anytime after 3 PM. Maybe try to do something as close to LAX as possible. Maybe spend some time at one of the nearby beaches (Santa Monica, Venice, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach)? Santa Monica Pier might be good, but it's still a good 8 miles or so from the airport, so I wouldn't leave too late. California Science Center is another option (14 miles from LAX), though I've never been there.

Please heed this warning. Just a month ago there was a car chase that ended up having terrible issues. If you had been going to the Ontario airport the freeway on both sides were closed by swat and police. Anyone who would of have flight within a few hours missed it as traffic was stopped and backed for miles. And no way to get out of the mess. And the issue started in compton and ended up in a canyon near Corona. There can be a lot of car chases right in LA and on the freeway. Not trying to scare anyone but that is why people let everyone know about the traffic issues.

 

[ekatiel]

Thanks for the replies, guys. We will look into the beach, the Santa Monica Pier, or the Science Center. Thanks for the traffic warnings, too. We live in the Houston area, so we are used to congestion, but I'm sure we haven't seen anything like the congestion in LA!! We will keep that in mind when we estimate travel times. My kiddos are huge Lego fans, and we will be doing the water park also, so I feel like 2 days there will be good.