California Family Roadtrip

uncovered

thanks for all your posts, superb advice.

couple of points. I am now thinking of not stopping at death valley and just going straight from yosemite to vegas. Its a long drive, 8 hours or so, but death valley is about 6 and I think I would rather gain a day in my itinery for the sake of 2 hours driving and also stay in the MGM grand and have a nice chill out day around the pool.

Also the Grand Canyon, I have 2 nights planned for there but am thinking maybe just to spend the one night there, drive from vegas to grand canyon, via hoover dam. Arrive there tea time. Wake up on the morning, have a look at the canyon. With two kids 11 and 7 I am uncertain whether they will be interested in it for a full day. So after that we could head to Lake Havasu City for an overnight stop. Then off to LA. If I make these changes I gain two nights and at the end of the holiday I can keep the wife happy with some 4 or 5 days of beaches! But am also aware that I do not want too many 1 night stopovers.

andychelt

We did a fly drive few years back, same sort of route but backwards. Travelling between Vegas and Yosemite, Tioga Pass is a must but check it's open. Depends what months you go but when we went in June it had only just been opened the day before due to snow!

We did Vegas to Yosemite in about 12-14 hours straight with a stop for lunch, getting lost and a few stops for photos!

Between Los Angeles and Grand Canyon/Vegas we stopped at both Lake Havasu and Palm Springs. Havasu is ok but unless you're there with the speedboat along with everyone else not much to do! Palm Springs is worth a stop but is the hottest place I've ever been to! To escape the heat there's an aerial tramway which takes you up a mountain for some fantastic views and gorgeous fresh air!

Los Angeles is a dive but a day at universal studios is well worth it. Didn't bother with the tour round the stars houses because apparently all you see is big gates and high Walls!

Vikki_74

This might be really obvious, but just wanted to add that if you're thinking of a few days at the beach towards the end of your trip, don't plan on this being too far North up the coast e.g. at Monterey as if you're thinking sunbathing & swimming in the sea I doubt it'll be warm enough in May/June.

The beach areas around San Diego should be warmer and have more in the way of sandy beaches rather than dramatic scenery but not sure how that would fit in to your plans - maybe one of the beach towns on the stretch of coast around LA would be better.

Vikki_74

Actually, maybe reconsider the San Diego idea - I read somewhere that June is not a great time to visit due to "June Gloom" (coastal fog). I think I read it specifically on the San Diego Trip Advisor forum but not sure whether it affects further up the coast as well.

northwest1965

What month is the best to go to California, for warm weather?

uncovered

oooo, the missus doesnt want to here this weather business. was thinking santa barbara. but just checking the weather today and it is only 18 in san fran. a but warmer in la.

northwest1965

uncovered wrote: »

oooo, the missus doesnt want to here this weather business. was thinking santa barbara. but just checking the weather today and it is only 18 in san fran. a but warmer in la.

It surprised me, I thought it would be really hot there now.

Vikki_74

It surprises a lot of people, but the coastal areas of California even in the south never get THAT hot. The average high in LA is only in the mid-80s even in July & August - don't get me wrong, that's still nice & warm, but it's not the kind of heat you get somewhere like Florida or the hotter places in Europe. Inland does get hotter, and obviously the deserts hotter still! Up to San Francisco the average high is only in the low-70s in July/August - nowhere near as hot as it's been here in recent weeks.

This website shows monthly highs and lows for pretty much everywhere you could want in California:

http://countrystudies.us/united-states/weather/California/