Suggestions needed for our upcoming California trip during Christmas

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I agree with this completely, but it sounds as if they already have their tickets.

So many other great suggestions here. Makes me think I need to book another vacation in my home state.

Bearing in mind the two teens, I’d probably prioritize things that are of most interest to them. If tickets are indeed purchased, the six hour drive is unavoidable. (Frankly, time getting in and out of airports is probably just as time consuming.)

Thinking of the teens, and maybe a day and a half going down the coast, I’d rethink the schedule. Santa Cruz is great. So maybe I’d first go to the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose Tours - Winchester Mystery House
then to Santa Cruz.

Then drive to Monterey/Carmel and do as much of that route. San Simeon for Hearst Castle. The sea elephants at Pismo are worth a quick stop, 30 minutes should do. Then down the rest of 101, take a break in Santa Barbara.

I’m a huge Disney fan, but as others have pointed out, there’s so much to see in the LA area without using a whole day for that. I think the pier in Santa Monica is excellent for an evening activity.

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The Mystery House is located right next door to Santana Row, an outdoor mall with plenty of good places to eat. Could be a nice lunchtime stop.

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I’ve wanted to go to the Mystery House my entire life. Thanks for the food tips! It was built by the heiress to the Winchester Rifle company. In case anyone thinks it’s just a carnival attraction, it isn’t. It’s a huge mansion with secret passages, doors that don’t open, and stair cases to nowhere. And the history is amazing.

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My teens loved the Trapeze school on the Santa Monica pier.

I recently went to the Diego Rivera exhibit at the SFMOMA and it was nicely done. The exhibit runs through January I think. If you decide to go, lunch at their lovely terrace cafe is a must, as is the Alexander Calder room.

Some of my favorite hikes/walks in SF are in Land’s End. Baker Beach to Marshall Beach and continuing to the base of the Golden Gate Bridge is another favorite.

SPQR on Fillmore street, Burma Super Star on Clement, Kokkari on Jackson St. are some favorite dining places.

Sunset Beach is one of our favorite Beach towns in Orange County. Brunch at the Harbor House cafe after a long walk on the beach is something we do when in Southern California. Huntington Beach peer is nice for watching surfers (or even taking surf lessons) and beach volley ball games.

Need to plan our next trip! Six days are not a lot for this huge state. I hope you have a great time!

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just skimmed the thread so apologies if this is already covered. Drive down 101, not I-5. 101 goes thru some nice cities along the coast. I’d suggest stopping in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara. There is Solvang, an interesting Danish-theme town not long off the route. Honestly CA is such a big state that with only 6 days you’re going to have to decide what your priorities are (interesting towns, views, beaches, museums, dining, etc)

Be careful in SF since there are lots of breakins and the police are mad at the public so they don’t bother enforcing most laws anymore. For example Community Says Police Let Suspected Catalytic Converter Thief to Walk Free – NBC Bay Area and San Francisco residents say police are ignoring their crime reports - ABC7 San Francisco The takeaway is you should never leave any luggage or valuables in your car, even hidden in the trunk with the car locked. Tourists having their luggage stolen is a daily article in SF papers.

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One of my favorite vacations to CA when my kids were younger is we got 5 day Disneyland tickets, stayed at a hotel across the street, and spent every morning and evening at Disneyland + every afternoon in the Howard Johnson’s pool.

I grew up in the SF Bay Area, went to Winchester Mystery House a couple of times. I think it’s a bit of a tourist trap and isn’t as fascinating as the online reports/reviews make it out to be. I’d rather spend the day in Monterey/Carmel than a couple of hours at the Winchester Mystery House.

Nobody’s mentioned the Roaring Camp Railroad near Santa Cruz. It’s another fun way to see big redwood trees yet avoid reservations & traffic at Muir Woods. https://www.roaringcamp.com/

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The NY Times just posted an article on How to Spend a Perfect Weekend in Santa Cruz. It’s not necessarily geared towards “parents and kids on a road trip”, but might have some good suggestions for restaurants and stores to check out if you pass that way.

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Surprised no one has suggested considering Yosemite as an alternative to PCH. December is the best time of the year, it’s quiet and beautiful and easy to get rooms in the valley, though sadly the Bracebridge dinners aren’t happening this year. Ice skating as the sun sets on Half Dome is one of my favorite memories of trips with the kids. I would choose that over Disneyland any time. Six days isn’t a lot of time, but leaving SF early morning you could be there by lunchtime (4 hours drive) and staying overnight you could have an afternoon plus the following morning there, and still get to LA in the evening (6 hours drive).

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Yosemite is beautiful in the winter. It is another place that is busy between Christmas and NY. The weather, and potential road closures (especially the first winter after a fire), make it a more risky add on.

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I’ve never understood what I am supposed to do with my luggage when I’ve checked out of one hotel and it’s too early to check into the next one.

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If there is a big interest in NP, I highly recommend Joshua Tree National Park. It is quite a drive from LA, about 2.5-3 hours one way, but it is such a unique place that it is worth the trouble. Stay overnight in Palm Springs and also hike the Indian Canyons.

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Ask the front desk to store your luggage.

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You can’t really do that when you are driving from one destination to another with sightseeing stops along the way.

Edited to add, yes, that would work for the situation to which you responded. But for tourists who might be driving say, five hours to their next hotel, but stopping at tourist destinations along the drive, they have no choice but to leave luggage, etc in the car.

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I think that in most places, storing luggage in a closed trunk is fairly safe. San Francisco is notoriously not — and it happened to us. We were vacationing there a few years ago and the friends we were traveling with had their car vandalized while we were all at a restaurant, and what they took included several laptops. At the very least, you may want to take your computers with you while you eat or tour.

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Lots of great suggestions. I don’t know LA well. So, I’ll stick to the Bay Area. On the way down to LA, Big Sur is pretty cool as are Carmel/Monterrey. One can find Airbnbs in both places, but you might need to book somewhat in advance.

With respect to SF, @mathmom, I think the thing is to never leave anything visible in the car. If you do, there is a high chance your windows will be broken. Probably somewhat safer in the trunk. But parking in SF is expensive so it might be better just to take ubers and BART within the city.

ShawWife and I lived in Sausalito for a while and love it there. The bike ride across the GG Bridge and lunch in Sausalito is a great adventure and would be something I would do, but our interests are probably 1) outdoors; 2) art (ShawWife is an artist); and 3) food. There are spectacular restaurants in both SF and LA. In SF, I really like Marlena (a husband and wife who worked at separate Michelin star restaurants and formed their own which also has a star). Price was very reasonable given the quality when I was there (maybe a year ago). But, there is wonderful Asian/Asian fusion food. I been a few times to a Vietnamese restaurant named Lily’s – the owner is a character. One of my favorites is Sushi Ran in Sausalito (the owner is a great guy) but this one would be expensive. (For LA, isn’t the world’s best taco truck supposed to be in LA?)

SFMOMA can have great shows. The De Young Museum is beautiful. There are a couple of private galleries that impressed me. Todd Hosfelt Gallery, which was edgy and very interesting, although a little bit snooty. Berggruen Gallery is like a museum.

Yosemite is spectacular. I proposed to my wife on top of Half Dome (and ShawSon proposed to his wife on top of Yosemite Falls) so we have a sentimental attachment as well. However, it seems pretty far away if you only have six days. Hiking in Mt. Tam can be very nice – views of the ocean and the bay. I believe you can mountain bike there as well.

Driving in the Berkeley Hills or visiting the Stanford campus could be fun – my first time driving up Palm Drive to Stanford was actually a moving experience.

In LA, I liked the beach volleyball in Hermosa, Redondo and Manhattan beaches, I think. Venice beach is just fun. In both cases, my last visit was maybe a decade ago.

There are a few Frank Gehry buildings in LA including his house, which I think is in Santa Monica (could be Venice). The Disney concert hall is iconic. https://blogs.getty.edu/iris/10-frank-gehry-buildings-to-see-in-l-a/.

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In SF I would leave it at the front desk of my hotel. And in general your new hotel is happy to hold your luggage even if you are there before check-in time.

When driving between hotels about all you can do is be careful. When traveling (either here or abroad) we make it a rule to never open the trunk when parked. If we need to get out cameras, jackets, etc. we will pull over a few minutes prior to reaching the destination and get them. If someone is watching the lot why show them a car guaranteed to have luggage? It’s also why we like, when possible, to stay in one location for 2-4 days and do day trips instead of changing hotels every nite and constantly having our luggage in the car.

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We did a whirlwind trip in CA a few summers ago with my teenagers. We did not do LA but spent more time in SF because my brother lives there. The kids absolutely loved the drive up the coast. We did not have time to do it properly so most places we just had to do quick stops to check things out and keep going.

We second both the elephant seal beach and Point Lobos. PL is just south of Carmel and has the most beautiful trails that go through the woods then out by the water where we saw otters and sea lions (bring binoculars and you get an even better look!) We also loved Yosemite of course but it was out of the way. It was on my bucket list and I could only find lodging for 2 nights right in the middle of our trip so I made it work -totally worth it!

Oh - we also liked using the GyPSy Guide App when we do road trips - it is like having a tour guide as you drive and gives you history plus ideas of scenic places to stop.

Here is our itinerary just to give you an idea of how you can fit things in a short trip.

Day 1 - Fly to SF
2 - SF
3 - Rental car, drive to Yosemite
4 - Yosemite
5 - drive to San Simeon (elephant seals) then head north to Carmel. LONG day with lots of scenic stops but fun
6 - Point Lobos, Pebble Beach area for lunch (son was super into golf), Santa Cruz (didn’t spend long there, didn’t love it), more scenic stops, drive back to SF
7 - SF
8 - Fly home

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I agree that both Yosemite and Joshua Tree are spectacular, but I can’t see how this family will have time for either of those with their six day itinerary without sacrificing some other notable sights.

Regarding luggage in cars, we’ve had to do this a few times. Leaving the car in a very visible parking space is very helpful in these situations.

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We park in monitored garages, too. But also agree that this isn’t a big problem except in the big cities.

Agree that a 6 day itinerary is good for driving down the coast and making a few stops along the way. California is a feast, and you can spend a lifetime exploring all the wonderful places. Whet your appetite on PCH and then come back for the national parks, of which there are nine :grinning:

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Did you make the trip? How did it go?