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I'm asking everyone else at the moment so thought I might as well consult the oracle.
We'll be at the end of our year on exchange in Canada come January.
We're going to have nearly 3 weeks on the west coast before heading home. Just wondering if anyone here has pearls of wisdom to share for seeing that part of the world at that time of year, and with two munchkins (4 and 6) in tow.
Rough plan is to hop off at Lax and hop on to San Fran. Then drive our way back down with Disneyland the carrot at the end. Everything else is very much up for grabs.

A couple of thoughts:
What's the weather like down that way late Jan?
Assuming the weather is grim is Yosemite going to be an option? Have heard you need chains on tyres which apparently is not the norm with rentals.
Same thing with Grand Canyon...is it worth seeing regardless of weather?
Vegas...with little tackers?
Have heard Disney has a lot of attractions closed for upgrades at that time of year...how many days would be enough?

Cheers, hope you can help

Shame redandblack ain't around anymore, I recall he'd done quite a bit of road trippin' in the US.

I'll be doing Anaheim/Newport ---> Vegas ---> Lake Tahoe (skiing) ---> San Francisco ---> Santa Barbara ---> Carpinteria ---> LA in mid-Jan mate, will try to get on and give you some ideas as I go, or if not, when I'm finished. I won't have any kids in tow however, just a bunch of 20-somethings.

Pag wrote:I'll be doing Anaheim/Newport ---> Vegas ---> Lake Tahoe (skiing) ---> San Francisco ---> Santa Barbara ---> Carpinteria ---> LA in mid-Jan mate, will try to get on and give you some ideas as I go, or if not, when I'm finished. I won't have any kids in tow however, just a bunch of 20-somethings.

Awesome, look forward to it

zipzap wrote:I'm asking everyone else at the moment so thought I might as well consult the oracle.
We'll be at the end of our year on exchange in Canada come January.
We're going to have nearly 3 weeks on the west coast before heading home. Just wondering if anyone here has pearls of wisdom to share for seeing that part of the world at that time of year, and with two munchkins (4 and 6) in tow.
Rough plan is to hop off at Lax and hop on to San Fran. Then drive our way back down with Disneyland the carrot at the end. Everything else is very much up for grabs.

A couple of thoughts:
What's the weather like down that way late Jan?
Assuming the weather is grim is Yosemite going to be an option? Have heard you need chains on tyres which apparently is not the norm with rentals.
Same thing with Grand Canyon...is it worth seeing regardless of weather?
Vegas...with little tackers?
Have heard Disney has a lot of attractions closed for upgrades at that time of year...how many days would be enough?

Cheers, hope you can help

i haven't been to vegas with kids but been there twice and its kid friendly. Alot more then it used to be. Alot of things you can do with kids. Just do some research and you'll be fine.
You should grab a 3 day hopper pass for disney... Worth it... California Adventures is great and obviously so is disney. Line ups for rides shouldnt be too bad. Your kids will have a blast but i can almost positivelyt say the kids will want to go back to the hotel before you want too, i heard so many parents say to there kids "just a little longer" ... you'll have a blast... your trip sounds awesome,,.

ive done the drive from San Fran to LA and it was great, very scenic along the coast.

Dutchy wrote:ive done the drive from San Fran to LA and it was great, very scenic along the coast.

I've been reading it's great as a passenger but a little hair-raising as a driver, especially with munchkins on board and crazy drivers up yer clacker. Thoughts?

woodublieve12 wrote:i haven't been to vegas with kids but been there twice and its kid friendly. Alot more then it used to be. Alot of things you can do with kids. Just do some research and you'll be fine.
You should grab a 3 day hopper pass for disney... Worth it... California Adventures is great and obviously so is disney. Line ups for rides shouldnt be too bad. Your kids will have a blast but i can almost positivelyt say the kids will want to go back to the hotel before you want too, i heard so many parents say to there kids "just a little longer" ... you'll have a blast... your trip sounds awesome,,.

Cool. Both my kiddies love the Beatles so we're keen to take the to the Beatles Cirque de Soleil show in Vegas, plus use it as a base for a Grand Canyon day trip. Definitely will get the 3 day hopper pass - the SoCal City pass comes with that plus Universal Studio and San Diego Zoo so that sounds like a winner

zipzap wrote:

woodublieve12 wrote:i haven't been to vegas with kids but been there twice and its kid friendly. Alot more then it used to be. Alot of things you can do with kids. Just do some research and you'll be fine.
You should grab a 3 day hopper pass for disney... Worth it... California Adventures is great and obviously so is disney. Line ups for rides shouldnt be too bad. Your kids will have a blast but i can almost positivelyt say the kids will want to go back to the hotel before you want too, i heard so many parents say to there kids "just a little longer" ... you'll have a blast... your trip sounds awesome,,.

Cool. Both my kiddies love the Beatles so we're keen to take the to the Beatles Cirque de Soleil show in Vegas, plus use it as a base for a Grand Canyon day trip. Definitely will get the 3 day hopper pass - the SoCal City pass comes with that plus Universal Studio and San Diego Zoo so that sounds like a winner

seen it... Kids will love it, not cirques best work but it's very enjoyable still.. If i was you i'd look into a helicopter flight into the canyon, obviously it depends on how much you want to spend but it's unbelievable. Haven't done the bus trip but my wife has done it and she said it was pretty good too... We flew with Maverick Helicopters for the tour, and they were excellent... But with the kids the tour may be more suitable, there another option there if you want it.

Universal Studios in LA is good, not as big as the one in orlando but still very enjoyable...
San Diego zoo is hands down the best zoo i have ever gone too... Brilliant!!! According to the zoo though some Australian animals are from Australia and Tasmania .... If you get time go to Sea World... Excellent too... If you are staying anywhere near Old Town in San Diego go to Freds Mexican Restuarant.

zipzap wrote:

Dutchy wrote:ive done the drive from San Fran to LA and it was great, very scenic along the coast.

I've been reading it's great as a passenger but a little hair-raising as a driver, especially with munchkins on board and crazy drivers up yer clacker. Thoughts?

We picked up the car in San Fran and it was my first drive in the US down to LA, we did it in a (long) day. No kids back then so might get a bit tedious for them. Cant remember it being sketchy at all, in fact I was surprised at the lack of traffic. Only one blooper when we hit LA in the dark and the wife told me to turn off the freeway at the wrong spot and we had 10 mins of driving around a dodgy suburb trying to get back on the freeway, that got the bum twitching!

Thanks again for the advice folks

Sorry this is a bit late zipzap, but if you get it...

Vegas is definitely doable with kids, maybe stay at Circus Circus if you want to be out of the hustle and bustle of the busiest part of the strip. Excalibur was also kid-friendly, as was New York-New York which had a massive arcade, plus the rollercoaster.

We did Grand Canyon but helicopter in 4.5 hours and was amazing. Expensive ($335/person), but well worth it.

San Francisco wasn't kid-friendly at all, kids I saw walking along were scared shitless by the homeless pissing themselves on sidewalks.The drive between San Francisco and LA was ok, but I'd still drive the Great Ocean Road before it again. Hollywood was a hole I thought, was there for an hour then happy to get out. Santa Monica is nice and very kid-friendly, if you're staying in the LA area I would head there, although it's not the cheapest.

Newport Beach was awesome for the kids, we stayed here, really nice family-owned place with a help-yourself continental breakfast each morning and free beach towels, toys etc to use, one block away from the sand. Couldn't recommend it more highly!

Pag wrote:Sorry this is a bit late zipzap, but if you get it...

Vegas is definitely doable with kids, maybe stay at Circus Circus if you want to be out of the hustle and bustle of the busiest part of the strip. Excalibur was also kid-friendly, as was New York-New York which had a massive arcade, plus the rollercoaster.

We did Grand Canyon but helicopter in 4.5 hours and was amazing. Expensive ($335/person), but well worth it.

San Francisco wasn't kid-friendly at all, kids I saw walking along were scared shitless by the homeless pissing themselves on sidewalks.The drive between San Francisco and LA was ok, but I'd still drive the Great Ocean Road before it again. Hollywood was a hole I thought, was there for an hour then happy to get out. Santa Monica is nice and very kid-friendly, if you're staying in the LA area I would head there, although it's not the cheapest.

Newport Beach was awesome for the kids, we stayed here, really nice family-owned place with a help-yourself continental breakfast each morning and free beach towels, toys etc to use, one block away from the sand. Couldn't recommend it more highly!

Thanks for that Pag. We spent about 3 weeks driving down from San Fran to San Diego and had a brilliant time. Didn't think I'd have much energy for it but it was fantastic to hit that Californian sun and surf after spending a year in chilly Canada.

We spent 5 days in San Fran and stayed in the Haight which was as you mention, full of street stragglers (as was the whole west coast, starting in Vancouver which is the worst I've seen all year) and hippie throwbacks. Still it had lots of character - took us a couple of days to get into the groove of SF but ended up loving it. Kids loved Alcatraz, the cable cars, wharf area and cycling through the park and to the bridge.

Broke up the HWY 1 trip by staying at Monterey and Santa Barbara - really nice drive with the Beach Boys cranking on the stereo, I preferred it to the Great Ocean Road actually, and the elephant seals were awesome.

Made Santa Monica our LA base - we were intending to spend at least a couple of nights in Hollywood but I am so with you. Hideous, couldn't wait to leave, worst experience of the trip. Downtown LA is nothing to write home about either, except for the Grand Central Market - amazing seafood stand there. Whole grilled fish and chilli fish tacos for about $9 all up. Best thing I ate all year hands down. Lakers game at Staples Center a highlight too.

Santa Monica was a great base, close to the beaches & daytrips, shopping for Mrs ZZ and good distance from the crazies. Cool record store too

Spent the rest of the time in San Diego and Anaheim. Chose not to do Vegas this time. I'm not a theme park person but surprisingly enjoyed Universal, Sea World and of course Disney, conquering my fear of scary rides an unexpected bonus! If anyone is planning to ever do this trip, make sure you get the Citypass - most of the big attractions for a heavily discounted price. SD Zoo was excellent, huge Aussie exhibit opening in March.

So glad we travelled at this time of year too. Weather was mostly good (a little hail on our last day at Disney!), traffic in and around LA was a breeze and queues at the theme parks were short. Can't even imagine going there in peak season to be honest!

Loved California - nearly had a tear in my eye seeing the bottle brushes and gum trees! Glad to be home though

Nice one ZZ, much like me loved SF but didnt enjoy LA at all. Are you back in Oz now?

Yep, back home with one more week of freedom before starting back at w...wo... no, can't bring myself to say it...