California vacation over winter break - need advice & recommendations

Parent Cafe
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<p>We are planning a family vacation between Christmas & New Years. We have the following requirements: stay away from typical tourist locations (Florida) and not real cold (we don’t ski). After some debate, we think California might be a good destination, possibly flying into LAX on 12/25 and out of SFO on 12/31, although we could skip one. We have close cousins in both areas, as well as my college roommate (who I haven’t seen in 25+ years, but recently reconnected with on Facebook) in the LA area. </p>

<p>Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated. Kids are 17 & 13 and we like hiking & outdoor activities.</p>

2

<p>Consider swinging down to San Diego (2 hour drive from LAX) - zoo, Wild Animal Park (now called Safari Park), Sea World, Mission Bay, SD Bay, sailboat rental, Old Town, Mexican food, hiking, biking, beach, aircraft carrier museum, lots more. You could maybe fly into San Diego and then drive up to SF from here.</p>

<p>East of San Diego is Borrego Springs desert state park with lots of hiking (and 4 wheeling if you had one - but don’t try it with an Avis rental).</p>

<p>In LA is Disneyland, Universal Studios, beaches, Long Beach aquarium, Queen Mary, Getty museum, Hollywood, etc.</p>

<p>Between LA and SF is the Hearst castle in San Simeon, Morro Bay, Santa Barbara, Carmel/Monterey, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Pinnacles state park (weird formations, hiking, etc.).</p>

<p>Inland is Joshua Tree National Monument, Death Valley (worth seeing), etc.</p>

<p>Lots more places, of course.</p>

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<p>Death Valley and Joshua Tree are great places to visit in the winter.</p>

4

<p>Repeating my earlier post about my recommendations for San Diego:</p>

<p>San Diego is Calfornia’s second-largest city. Many people assume San Francisco is second since it is so famous. But San Franciso is actually only 4th-largest. San Diego is also California’s oldest city. Juan Cabrillo was the first European here. He sailed into San Diego bay in 1542, only 50 years after the first voyage of Columbus. </p>

<p>Places to Stay</p>

<ol>
<li>The Hotel Del Coronado (called “The Hotel Del” by the locals) which is on Coronado Island (actually a peninsula). It’s a fabulous old hotel and supposedly the largest wooden structure in the US. Several movies have been filmed there.</li>
<li>The Grand Colonial Hotel. 910 Prospect Street in La Jolla. An old hotel in downtown La Jolla that has been completely refurbished up to modern standards. Great location next to the beach and great ocean views. Terrific gourmet restaurant on the premises. Good location for touring and shopping in trendy downtown La Jolla. </li>
<li>Beyond that there is the usual selection of Hyatts, Marriotts, etc and of course the vacation motels too.</li>
</ol>

<p>Places to Eat</p>

<p>Italian
Lorna’s – My favorite place. 3945 Governor. Moderately priced. It’s a caf</p>

5

<p>Consider flying into Orange County’s John Wayne Airport instead of LAX.</p>

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<p>coureur - Is the Casa de Bandini in Leucadia the same one that used to be in Old Town before it became the Cosmopolitan (I liked it when it was Casa de Bandini - didn’t like the Cosmo)?</p>

7

<p>Yes - avoid LAX if you can. ONT or SNA are so much more traveler-friendly. In Santa Ana, eat at the Orange Hill restaurant. It is like soaring above California while eating great food.</p>

<p>Consider going to Palm Springs. It is not just for the golf-obsessed rich old ferts. The Living Desert Zoo is amazing; the tram ride that takes you to 8,500 feet above sea level in less than 15 min is incredible, and Joshua Tree park is like no other place on Earth (do pack warm clothes because it can be freezing in the mountains). If you are into shopping, there is an amazing outlet mall near Palm Springs.</p>

<p>Skip Los Angeles and San Francisco and spend more time in San Diego.</p>

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<p>Before you write off LA entirely, let me point out we have oozing tar pits, strange and wonderful folk art, film and TV shoots around every corner, and great day hikes in and around Malibu. We have architectural oddities (giant donuts and flying saucer houses) and architectural masterpieces (the Gamble House in Pasadena). You can follow gourmet food trucks on Twitter or spend Christmas day at the beach. (are the kids up for surfing lessons, or maybe hang-gliding?)
Unfortunately you can’t sit on Hunky Santa’s lap this year. The Beverly Center mall has discontinued that particular only-in-LA holiday attraction.</p>

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<p>Thanks for all the recommendations! Keep them coming! </p>

<p>We had already crossed off San Diego, as we were there several years ago when my husband had a conference (at the Hotel del) and he has been back several times. Neither of us have spent much time in the LA or SF areas (one family wedding weekend in LA, but we only had one free day and spent that hiking 2 hours up to Observatory, then driving to Santa Monica and renting bikes for 2 hours). We are letting airfare dictate which LA area airport we use - roommate lives near Orange County, but cousin is north of the city. </p>

<p>What about Monterey & San Luis Obispo? If we do decide to cram both SF & LA in, I’m wondering what route we should drive between the two. I-5 is the most direct, but I hate to miss driving along the coastline.</p>

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<p>Sort of. It purports to be the Old Town place reborn, and it’s pretty good but no quite the same as the old place.</p>

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<p>We did the vacation in post #2…visited almost all of the things noted in that post and it was the BEST vacation we ever took as a family. There was something in that trip that everyone enjoyed. BUT we flew into and out of San Diego. You want to check your prices of airfares…depending on where you are flying from. However, if you are going this year, the prices will likely not be a “bargain” as it’s a holiday time.</p>

<p>If you really don’t want to go to San Diego again, fly into San Jose or Oakland. It’s a pretty neat area and less than two hours from Napa and Sonoma. Even if your kids can’t sample the wine, it’s very pretty country. Go to Brixx for brunch…the best we’ve ever had ANYWHERE. Then you could spend some time in San Fran and Monterery as they are close too.</p>

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<p>California is a BIG state. You can’t really see the whole thing. Since it is over 350 miles from LA to SF, you could make a fabulous vacation based in Northern or Southern California and flying in and out of the same airport. You can easily fill up a week in the Bay Area- Golden Gate Park, Muir Woods (redwoods about 1 hour north of SF), wine country, Monterey, Bodega Bay, etc. OR Southern California - Getty museum, Tar pits, Disney, Santa Monica, up to Santa Barbara. It will be a great trip.</p>

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<p>Another airport option is Long Beach. It’s a small airport - much easier to get in and out of than LAX or SFO. But Long Beach is also a major hub for Jet Blue Airlines. So if you are coming from an area served by Jet Blue, look into the option of flying in and out of Long Beach.</p>

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<p>Second that on the Long Beach Airport. So much easier than LAX (and I am way closer to LAX, but I dread going there.) Don’t forget the Long Beach Aquarium. Lots of fun.</p>

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<p>Go online and check out tickets at LA Opera or the LA Phil. Spending an afternoon at the Music Center after a morning eating Dim Sum in Chinatown is a real treat.
(at least that’s my schedule today—La Nozze di Figaro and Chinese dumplings. HEAVEN)
SKIP LA and SF??? never</p>

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<p>I agree that trying to fit in both LA and SF in 5 days is just not going to work, especially if 1 day involves a drive up the coast. However, if you’re of the opinion that what matters is not the destination but the journey, then a drive from LA to San Jose or San Francisco would be a pleasant (if somewhat cold) experience. Driving straight through would take 8 hours, but a leisurely trip spread over 2 days will give you a good flavor of the wild Pacific coast.</p>

<p>You could stop in Venice, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Solvang (Danish town) and Pismo Beach, which is about half way and might make a good stop for the night. San Luis Obispo is worth a drive through but you don’t need to spend a lot of time there. From SLO it’s 3 hours to San Jose on 101, but if you want to continue the coast route you can see the Hearst Castle at San Simeon, Big Sur, Carmel and Monterery (read Cannery Row, a quick and charming read, before you go), and then on up to Santa Cruz. Route 1 to San Francisco is beautiful along the coast there, and you can stop to see the elephant seals which are breeding that time of year at A</p>

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<p>Great itinerary, vballmom!</p>

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<p>Sometimes (if we are lucky,) rains a lot in N.Cal in the “winter”, so outdoors is only nice if you won’t mind that. Golden Gate bridge views are FREEZING (at least to me, and I’m originally from New York). And the drive between north and south (in the central part at least,) can be a foggy nightmare.</p>

<p>But I love it! And Tahoe can be great, even if you don’t ski</p>

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<p>If you go to SF, Alcatraz is a fun, touristy thing to do. Been there a number of times, but only went there last year for the first time. It will be cold in winter, though.</p>

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<p>

vballmom already stated most of what I was going to mention so I’ll second her suggestions.</p>

<p>You can get from LA to the bay area in about 5 hours along I-5 but it’s not exactly that interesting. Hwy 1 along the coast is the most interesting but is slower of course. Hwy 101 is sort of between these two. If you have the time I suggest hwy 1 from Morro Bay north.</p>

<p>If you end up staying in San Luis Obispo you might want to stay at The Madonna Inn. It’s a quirky hotel with unique rooms. We stayed in the cave room once and it was pretty cool. If you stay (or eat) there be sure to check out the men’s urinal in the restaurant bathroom (really!). [Madonna</a> Inn - Landmark resort hotel on California’s Central Coast](<a href=“http://www.madonnainn.com/]Madonna”>http://www.madonnainn.com/)</p>

<p>But you might want to skip staying in SLO and instead stay in Morro Bay just a short distance away. It’s a nice little town. Look for sand dollars on the beach by Morro rock. You can also stay at some of the other little towns along the coast. </p>

<p>In Monterey/Carmel is the 17 mile drive that’s nice. If you’re into scuba there are lots of spots along here - I used to scuba a lot all along there including Point Lobos state reserve. We also rented kayaks in Monterey once and kayaked around amongst the sea otters. It was fun. Note that it’ll likely be cold (relative to California - not NJ) along the coast - especially from SLO north.</p>

<p>Between San Jose and the coast (near hw1 on the way to SF from SLO) is Big Basin redwoods state park which is scenic and has some hikes. Nearby is Butano state park. Don’t forget to look for some bananna slugs. Right near here is Ano Nuevo state park that vballmom mentioned. You park the car and then hike a bit along the beach to where the elephant seals are - they’re huge!</p>

<p>I think it’s well worth it to see some of the spectacular California coast and not just the city parts of LA/SF especially since it sounds as if your family likes the outdoors and doesn’t mind some hikes.</p>