We are thinking of traveling to california in June. Must dos are the San Diego zoo and Seaworld. Maybe Disney and LegoLand.
Do you know any family beaches with a resort that would allow us to basically just do everything on site for a few days? If this is our only trip to CA, what should we see? Hubby says redwoods.
Coronado is good for families. Mission Beach is fun with rides but it can get a lil rowdy at night. I would not take kids to Pacific or Imperial Beach. Disneyland is great, Legoland is really expensive for what it is.
Kay:
California is a HUGE state....
San Diego:
Sea World
LEGO LAND
W. Animal Park
http://www.sandiego.org/members/attractions/san-diego-zoo...
San Diego Zoo
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/tickets/zootickets.html
Balboa Park
http://sandiego.balboapark.org/1357_attraction-tickets_a3...
Coronado Island/Bridge
Point Loma
La Jolla Beach
here's a website that offers discount tickets....never used them so I don't know the validity of them.
http://www.smartdestinations.com/san-diego-attractions-an...
Los Angeles is a good TWO HOURS north of San Diego.
Disneyland
Universal Studios
Venice Beach
Malibu Beach
Redwoods are in Northern California - San Francisco area - a good eight hours north of Los Angeles.
San Francisco
Alcatraz (make sure you make reservations for the boat over)
Redwoods - you can do the "small redwoods, that are west of San Francisco by Petaluma - called Muir Woods - about 45 minutes away - which you will go OVER Golden Gate Bridge to get to (there is a $6.00 toll to go over it, I believe).
Coit Tower
Walking Pier 39 - Bubba Gump Shrimp, Hard Rock Cafe, lots of little shops, etc.
Golden Gate Park - have a picnic while overlooking the Pacific Ocean...
On your way UP to San Francisco? Take PCH - Solvang http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solvang,_California
Santa Barbara area...
Glamis Beach - sand dunes and fun....
If you are spending a month - be prepared to spend money...lots of it....but most of all HAVE FUN!!!!!
California is huge. Saying you're going to California is basically just saying you're going to the "west coast." If you're going for a month, do you have the option of staying in several places, or are you trying to stay in one spot? SeaWorld, San Diego Zoo, and Lego Land are all in the San Diego area... pretty much as far south as you can go. The redwoods are way north.
Disney Land is fun, but that's in Anaheim, a couple of hours north of San Diego, so it'd be worth it to pack up and head north for a couple of days. There's lots to do in the LA area as well.
If you want to see the Redwoods, you're heading to Northern California. About 10 hours from San Diego or 8 hours from Disney area (depending on traffic). You could stay in San Francisco, do Fisherman's Warf, ride the cable car, take a ferry to Alcatraz and another one to Angel Island. Drive across the Golden Gate Bridge and visit Muir Woods for the Redwoods.
You could also drive (from San Francisco) out to Monterey and visit the Aquarium, or play on the beach in Carmel. Santa Cruise has a beach boardwalk with carnival rides that was pretty fun when I was a kid (but again, you're talking about another hotel stay unless you want to spend most of the day driving just for a few hours to play and then head back to San Francisco).
I grew up in So Cal and just moved out of it 2 years ago. We liked the Wild Animal Park instead of the zoo. The kids had a lot more fun at the animal park. Just be aware that there are a swarm of bees at every trash can (I noticed because I'm terrified of bees), but it was really bad when we went a few years ago. BUT besides the bee's, it's a lot of fun.
You could walk around Laguna Beach. It's a fun little area with lots of shops and restaurants. The best beach out there that I used to go to ALL the time (weekly) was called Treasure Island. It's in Laguna Beach but it's not down town. Really beautiful with nice coves and has a nice walking trail. It's next to the montage resort (way too expensive to stay though, last time I checked it was $400 a night).
Knotts Berry Farm is fun and cheaper than disney.
San Clemente is also a nice little beach town. I used to live there also. You can go to the pier or walk around Del Mar street and get lunch. You can also take the train from San Clemente to either Oceanside or San Diego.
Have fun!! I wish I could go back and visit
It depends a lot on how many different places you want to stay. You could easily do 4-6 different locations - San Diego, Orange County, LA, San Francisco and Yosemite/Redwoods/Lake Tahoe.
Beaches are better in So Cal than in SF. Coronado is great for families and probably is the most resort-like place you'll find. In OC, Newport Beach and Laguna Beach are my favorites, though some smaller ones like Corona del Mar and Crystal Cove are a little quieter. There are plenty of hotels along all the beaches in OC. How old are your kids? That may affect how much activity you want to do.
In LA, Malibu is best for nice beaches where the water isn't too gross, but Venice Beach and Santa Monica have a lot more to see and do.
All that said, June is often overcast and somewhat gloomy, so it probably won't be great beach weather. I wouldn't plan for that to be the primary focus of your trip.
You will love the San Diego Zoo and Sea World can also be a lot of fun. Disneyland is great and my favorite of all the local amusement parks. If your kids are a bit older and into thrill rides, you may want to look at Knott's Berry Farm or Magic Mountain (far less crowded and somewhat less expensive. Lots more deals on tickets too). Legoland is best for young kids. The rides are small, the lines are long and overall it's not super exciting. I actually like the miniland filled with tons of lego replicas far more than any of the actual rides.
San Francisco has many great tourist hot spots like Ghiradelli Square, Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf. If you're driving up the coast, you could stop along the way in Monterey (great aquarium) or Santa Cruz (great beach boardwalk - rides, carnival games, etc).
Yosemite is beautiful. Great for hiking, camping, exploring, etc. It's easy to spend time doing hikes and seeing waterfalls plus take a day to see the giant Redwoods. If you plan to camp, you need to book very early. I'd start looking into it now. There are also condos you can rent and then drive into the valley each day to do stuff.
Since you have a month you could see a lot. I'm not sure what you're budget is like but keep in mind California is a huge state, so you will be spending a lot of money on gas. And hotels and food cost more than many other states as well.
San Diego and LA are GREAT and lots of fun with kids. The drive from San Diego is about two hours south of LA, and San Francisco is about seven hours north of LA. From San Francisco it's another four hours north to get into the heart of the giant redwoods (google "avenue of the giants" for info.)
Yosemite is another amazing place to see but very busy during the summer months.
If you are a family that likes resorts and eating out I would plan to focus on southern California. If you all enjoy outdoorsy stuff, wildlife, hiking and nature then a trip up north is TOTALLY worth it. I live about 15 minutes outside of San Francisco and if you've never been there I bet you'd all get a kick out of the hills and cable cars, plus there are plenty of beautiful hotels and fantastic restaurants and shows.
ETA: keep in mind that the beaches are tamer and warmer down south, as you head north the water gets colder and the tide more dangerous.
If you are going to San Diego, I would stay around there seeing the San Diego zoo, Disney AND Lego Land.
But to try and fit in the Redwoods, that is quite a far away trek.
Not sure how much time you have.
But at least if you go to SD, you can go to the fun places for the kids (SD
Disney, Lego Land) and still definitely hang out at the ocea for a few
days.
I live in Santa Cruz and it is pretty much heaven...beaches, boardwalk, redwoods, Big Sur, CArmel, sea otters, whales and more. San Francisco is about 1.5 hours away. Tahoe is a out 4 as is Yosemite.
