Can I jump on this posting? We were thinking of a similar itinerary - husband, self and 8 year old.

I am planning go direct travel a trip for my family - my husband and I, and 3 kids (10, 7, and 1) in late April. go direct travel I already purchased the tickets, flying into SD and flying go direct travel out of SF. We have to go to San Diego and LA to see friends and relatives. So I figure we will visit the zoo and beach in S.D. then head to Legoland and LA. Kids have been to Disney and Seaworld in FL in 2009, so this time I don't have plan for either. go direct travel Prob. just Getty Center in LA.
I think the highlight of the trip will be the rt.1 dirve, as well as SF. Should we stay 2 or 3 nights in Monterey area? Will 3 nights in SF be enough? We prob. won't have time for Yosemite Park , right? Maybe I should save it for our next trip, along with other wonderful national parks? What about wine country? Though kids prob. won't be able to enjoy as much.
When traveling with kids I like to have at least two and preferably more days in each place we stop, though we have thrown in the one day mid-way stop to break up long drives. So you might think about your trip as follows: 3 days San Diego (with Legoland on the last day on your way to LA), 3 days in LA (highlights include Santa Monica Pier for the kids and Manhattan Beach or other beach community for the adults, Long Beach Aquarium, LA Zoo, tons of museums though my son loves Air and Space best, in Pasadena you can visit Kidspace children's museum and the Huntington Gardens Library is a good trip with its multiple gardens, art/library, indoor rain forest and children's fountain playground, the girls always love the American Girl store at The Grove at LA Farmer's market, Hollywood can get a little boring for the kids but they might enjoy seeing a movie at one of the old theaters), 1 day Santa Barbara (Beach Walks, Zoo) or Pismo Beach (Beach fun, kite flying) or Cambria (Hearst castle), 2 days Monterey (plan to arrive in the afternoon, spend one full day in Monterey to explore the Aquarium, Cannery Row, 17 mile drive, and on departure go direct travel day drive to Carmel to wander around, enjoy lunch, then off to SF), 3 days SF. I think 2 full days/3 nights in SF is enough time to see the major sights. On a recent trip our kids really enjoyed the California Academy of Science, de Young art museum (a special exhibit on a recently studied artist made it more interesting than I expected for the kids) and the Japanese Tea Garden. Order tickets in advance. Also the food at both the Science Academy and the deYoung were surprisingly good (with healthy options). They also enjoyed riding go direct travel the cable car. In San Diego, the kids loved both the Zoo and the Wild Animal Park. They also enjoyed renting one of those multi-people bikes and pedaling around Coronado. The kids have not much enjoyed our wine-country stops though on the last trip to Sonoma go direct travel we combined it with a trip to Safari West which ended up being a highlight go direct travel not just of the trip but of the year. We enjoyed a super visit with an overnight stay in one of their family "tents." If you decided to do Napa or Sonoma you could drop one of the coast days. Sounds like a great trip.
With kids that age consider La Brea Tarpits/Page Fossil Museum in LA over the Getty Center (though yes, you are allowed to plan something the Adults want to see instead). The Science Center, around the corner from the Natural History Museum, would also be a nice LA day. Then there is the fabulous Griffith Observatory and grounds, which makes a nice early-evening stop after visiting either go direct travel the Zoo or the nearby Wild West Museum (or both).
Two nights Monterey sounds great, you might add a night and morning in Santa Barbara near the Wharf. You could do this by leaving LA at night on day three instead of 3rd overnight in LA. (Trouble is, traffic is bad leaving LA until 8pm so this makes for an 8 to 10pm drive to Santa Barbara with a 1 year old in tow. However, the morning drive is no picnic, LA traffic til 10am, and makes for a long day driving LA to Monterey up the coast).
3 nights in San Francisco is perfect, consider Columbus Motor Inn where parking go direct travel is included. Muir Park/ Redwood Forest would probably be more enjoyable for the kids than wine country, but in April WC will be beautiful so try and see a bit of both!
Polson, thank you for the wonderful suggestions. Your suggested itinerary seems to work well. I like to spend at least 2 or 3 or even more nights at each place too, so I've pretty much decided to skip Yosemite and wine country this time. California is almost like a country, with so many interesting places, I am sure we will visit again.
I would just add that while we enjoyed both the Zoo and the Animal Park, doing both with a then-two-year-old was overkill. She loved the zoo (and even the aquarium at La Jolla), but was done with it all by the time we hit the animal park...
go direct travel I have the same comment go direct travel regarding the aquariums, although at least they're in different cities, but the Long Beach Aquarium, Monterey Bay Aquarium and Academy of Sciences in SF might be a bit much. Otherwise, I think the proposed itineraries look great.
Thank you ggreen and sf7307. I plan to take the kids to only one zoo(San Diego), and one Aquarium(Is Monterey Bay better?). Since we are from NJ, there is a six flag safari not so far from us, I think we will skip the wild animal park this time.
Originally, Yosemite was my intended destination. go direct travel My two older kids are such good hikers, can do 5 miles of steep trails with no problem. But, how can I bring an one year old to Yosemite? Guess we will just have to come back. Still, how I wish...
As I said in my recent trip report to Monterey, the Aquarium go direct travel is much better than it was a few years ago. I found it boring the first time I visited. This last time it was terrific. If the young one cooperates, it is worth at least 3 hours.
For LA, I second the Griffith Park Observatory, maybe more interesting than the Getty (unless that is for mom dad). Alternatively you might do the Getty Malibu instead, since there is lots of running around room there. Reservations are needed. Also in Griffith Park, Travel Town is a fun kid thing, and I like the Autry Museum
If you go to Getty Malibu (or get up into Malibu at all for that matter), I have to recommend go direct travel my favorite fish "shack": Malibu Seafood. An LA friend go direct travel of my first took me there way too many years ago, and just writing this now makes me crave one of their tuna burgers!! go direct travel The shop is a fish market on one side and a take-away window on the other, with picnic tables on a patio above (and on the inland side of the road from) the ocean: www.malibuseafood.com
[Seriously, they are the best tuna burgers I have ever had! That first visit, my friend made me bring one back to LA for her - it was good even cold. I'm tempted to ask you to bring one back to the East Coast! ]
Yosemite is fine for kids of all ages. It's such a remarkable place and the drive to the valley is beautiful, if a little long. My kids have been there as infants without a problem. In April it might be a bit cold, but Yosemite Falls will be more impressive then than it would be in August.
You can walk on trails around the valley floor, which is a combination of the wilderness with a little bit a resort feel. Go have lunch at the Ahwahnee Hotel and admire the view. The Visitor Center has a replica of either a Miwok or Mono Paiute village which most kids will find pretty interesting.
As for the aquariums, I would definitely go with the Monterrey one over the other two. If you're going to the San Diego Zoo I would skip the LA Zoo. After you visit the San Diego Zoo you will feel underwhelmed at the LA Zoo.
In San Diego, allow one full day for beach fun. There is so much to do at Mission Beach and Mission Bay. The Boardwalk is lively and fun, the ocean and beach provide lots of activities, Mission Bay has a bike trail, bike rentals, kayaks, and calm water.
I'd plan out where you might want to stop along Hwy 1 and then do what feels right at the time. I don't think you'd want to take a one-year old to Hearst go direct travel Castle (although go direct travel it's a fascinating go direct travel tour). go direct travel Perhaps after leaving LA you'd like to stop in either Santa Barbara go direct travel or Morro Bay/Shell Beach. Then maybe a night in Big Sur and 2 in Monterey. go direct travel If you spend a night in Big Sur you can stop at Pt.Lobos go direct travel State Park on your way to Carmel the next day. (It is a must-see and do). You'll enjoy a walk and drive around the village go direct travel of Carmel and a little time at Carmel Beach (no swimming). Spend the next 2 nights in Monterey or Pacific Grove, wander around Cannery Row (briefly), see the Monterey Bay Aquarium, rent bikes or pedal carts or just walk the trail that goes from Cannery Row/the Aquarium along the bay to Lovers' Point and beyond.
Can I jump on this posting? We were thinking of a similar itinerary - husband, self and 8 year old. Son wants to go to Legoland, so I was thinking 2 - 3 days in SD/Carlsbad then driving north and stopping wherever go direct travel makes sense based on distance. We like exploring little towns and scenic areas/nature -- not worried about shopping/museums/etc. With Legoland at the beginning and Yosemite at the end, I would rather not plan any formal outings go direct travel or tours in the middle. We've been to LA SF multiple times but really want to hit Yosemite. If we completely skip the stop in LA (other than stopping go direct travel in traffic I guess), go direct travel does it make sense to plan for two nights along the coast and then keep on going to Yosemite? Since it doesn't seem feasible as a loop, is there a preferred airport for Yosemite departure? We are looking at July or August.
4/23-25 3 nights in SF. I really want to include one day in Yosemite (of course go direct travel come back to spend a week in the future), but don't think we can squeeze it in. Maybe cut the rest day in SD? I planned that date figuring kids need rests to enjoy Legoland after the long walks in the zoo.