Vacation advice need for California

Hi Guys,

I am planning on going on vacation to CA this year for approx 5 weeks. My initital plans is to do LA, Disneyland, Universal, Hollywood etc the first week, then rent a house for three weeks and use that as a base to maybe drive around the state, and lastly stay in a hotel in SF and explore there for the last week.

I am looking at a couple of houses/villas in La Quinta, and I'm wondering if anyone here has any experience of that city. Is there much to do there? I haven't been able to find out much from the La Quinta city website. Ideally I want a place where we can chillax by the pool but also go out to do stuff if the kids (two teenagers and a 7year old) get bored.

Any thoughts/advice/suggestions on this aspect or the vacation in general?

I think everyone will enjoy LA and the whole Disneyland thing. You're only several hours from Vegas when you're in LA by car. Why not head there also?

La Quinta, out in the desert? I take it you're thinking of there for either business or family reasons? Any chance you could move to Palm Springs? There will be much more to do there (as far as desert cities are concerned). Even Palm Springs gets old after a weekend. The heat you're going to experience, especially after April is going to keep you guys indoors until sundown every day. It's an oven out there, seriously. The desert resorts were designed for golfing and lounging around the pool.

Originally Posted by dragon8

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I think everyone will enjoy LA and the whole Disneyland thing. You're only several hours from Vegas when you're in LA by car. Why not head there also?
Oh that is definitely on the cards.

Originally Posted by willpower

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La Quinta, out in the desert? I take it you're thinking of there for either business or family reasons? Any chance you could move to Palm Springs? There will be much more to do there (as far as desert cities are concerned). Even Palm Springs gets old after a weekend. The heat you're going to experience, especially after April is going to keep you guys indoors until sundown every day. It's an oven out there, seriously. The desert resorts were designed for golfing and lounging around the pool.
Well the only reason I was thinking of there was that I wanted a place with either a private or communal pool for the three weeks, and the vacation rental sites seem to have mostly places in LA Quinta or Palm Springs. Is there a huge difference between the two places, or would you not recommend either for a long stay? We are entirely flexible so if you can suggest any where else I would welcome that. Thanks

Palm Springs, Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, Big Sur/Cambria, San Fransisco, Napa/Sonoma. These are all 2 hours away from each other and are uniquely spectacular. You might want to consider short stays in each area with Santa Barbara being the most centrally located and the most temperate.
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TIP: to embed Youtube clips, put only the encoded part of the Youtube URL, e.g. eBGIQ7ZuuiU between the tags. In LA, definitely check out Mullholland Drive at dusk. Not enough folks see this amazing panorama when they visit. Here's what a lot of Southern Cali terrain from Malibu to Santa Barbara is like. Canyon roads between LA and the San Fernando Valley. Santa Barbara to Big Sur is basically uninhabited but quite beautiful. Hearst Castle is along this stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway. This is where the temperature begins to drop, you're no longer in southern California. Cambria is just a dot on the map but a good place to stop/stay on the way to San Fransisco

Originally Posted by willpower

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Santa Barbara to Big Sur is basically uninhabited but quite beautiful. Hearst Castle is along this stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway. This is where the temperature begins to drop, you're no longer in southern California.


As someone who lives between Santa Barbara and Big Sur, along the coast, I take offense at this =)

If your family is more outdoorsy, Big Sur is a great place to camp for a few days. Lots of great hikes, and beautiful scenery. Highway 1 is also fun for making people carsick =). Hearst Castle is great to visit.

Sonoma/Napa might be fun for a day trip, but not a whole lot there for kids to do, other than look at nice scenery, unless you want to sneak your kids some wine.

While you're in Southern California, you might want to consider going down to San Diego. The San Diego zoo is great. Haven't been to Sea World, but it might be fun for the kids, assuming they don't get eaten by an orca.

If you're planning on going to the beach, make sure you do that in Souther California. The water in Northern California is COLD.

The Mammoth area is fun in the summer. Also, you can rent mountain bikes and bike down the ski slopes. There are some cool lakes and hikes to do, but it is really far away from anywhere else.

Yosemite is awesome, but very packed in the summer. Need to make reservations for campgrounds in advance or you could chance it. If you haven't been there before, I highly recommend it.

Excellent Guys,

Thanks for all your suggestions. I do appreciate it.

La Quinta????

I never heard of it and had to look it up ...I would advise AGAINST that place, honestly.

Its gonna take you 2 hours to drive to LA. Major hassel. Im sure you can find a rental in LA county or san fernando valley with a pool. Closer to everything and not as oppressive as the desert is gonna be.

I'd seriously reconsider La Quinta. I had to go out to Palm Desert today for work (a couple miles from La Quinta) and unless for work, golf (great courses in the Palm Springs area), or a softball tourney, I would never go out there. It was a 2 hour hour drive from Orange County to La Quinta.

Originally Posted by pblasco

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As someone who lives between Santa Barbara and Big Sur, along the coast, I take offense at this =)


I completely dismissed San Luis Obispo as a populated area.

La Quinta is beautiful but is about the last place from which to explore California.

Originally Posted by willpower

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I completely dismissed San Luis Obispo as a populated area.

It's okay. Many people do. It's one of the reasons I still live here. =)

i'd split the last 4 weeks into 2 weeks SoCal and 2 weeks NorCal.

for SoCal, i'd go with someplace coastal as your base and definitely not the Palm Springs/Desert area unless you're into really hot weather. someone mentioned Santa Monica and that would be a top choice for me.

for NorCal, SF.

-Jeff

You gotta go to Hollywood and check out the freak show... Venice Beach is also a must. I'd stay away from Downtown LA unless you're going to Staples, or some other event there.