California - West Coast Road Trip
Before I go into details of the different stops we made. I just want to quickly give some tips that made this trip appealing to our son.
• Stay in the friendliest family area for the longest • Take regular breaks throughout the drive – even if its just a short half hour stops • Interact with your child- ask them what they see, what their excited about next, play car games e.g. first to spot a red car. • Make sure you have drinks and snacks in the car and regular toilet stops. Children are always hungry and thirsty and always “need a wee”
Those are just a few of the most important tips I can think of. Now on to the locations we visited.
San Diego
We have been here previously before and love the place! Its so family friendly with perfect weather all year round. There’s so much to see and do here. Beautiful beaches where seals lie in the sand, Belmont Park with rides, arcades and right on the beach, San Diego Zoo the biggest Zoo in the world, SeaWorld, Legoland, Waterparks and so much more. We stayed here for 8 days to do a lot of the fun things mentioned above.
Anaheim
The city of the original Disneyland theme park. Anaheim has 2 Disney theme parks, which are amazing and so magical. It’s also home to the first ever theme park in California Knotts Berry Farm. As we had done the Disney parks previously, this year we checked out Knotts Berry and wasn’t disappointed. The theming is amazing, the rides are great (something for everyone) the shows are fun. They have a little shopping market near the front too, which was great to browse around – found some unique gifts.
Los Angeles
We only stayed here for a couple of hours, as we have previously visited. This was a short stop to break up being sat in the car and to get some pictures of us all close to the Hollywood Sign (something we didn’t get time for last year)
Santa Monica and Malibu
These two places once again were just quick stop offs. Both have amazing piers, Santa Monica being a lot bigger and even includes rides. The beaches here are also beautiful – In Malibu you can spot some famous peoples houses dotted along the beach.
Oxnard
This was our first stop over since Anaheim. We stayed for 1 night as it was in between Anaheim and our next stop over in Monterey. It’s a very quaint and quiet place but the people are so friendly, and they serve great BBQ food!
Solvang
This place is a hidden gem! Also known as the Dutch Capital of America. Quaint old-fashioned buildings housing shops, restaurants and cars. Windmills, horse and carriages and a vintage car show. I would 100% recommend anyone doing this road trip to stop off here. Its not to be missed.
There were quite a few stops between Solvang and Monterey, mostly at little beaches or lakes and too many to fit into the blog (I can give more details if you want to ask me though).
Monterey
Another beautiful place with so much to see we wish we had longer here. The aquarium is amazing and actually goes into the sea. Also, for any golf fans they have a famous golf green in Monterey. From Monterey we travelled a little up the coast to Santa Cruz a sea fishing village. Here we boarded a boat and went out into the sea to whale watch. One of the best experiences I have ever had. We saw Grey, Humpback and Killer whales in their own natural environment. Some of the younger whales showed off and breached a lot for us which was just WOW!
San Francisco
Our last stop of the trip. Let me first tell you though that to get from Santa Cruz to San Francisco I highly recommend taking the coastal road. The Big Sur – as its famously known is one of the most scenic drives in the world. Literally around every corner there’s a new beautiful scene, from Mountains to the sea. It really is breath-taking. Now for San Fran itself. Amazing city! Once again so much to do. Fisherman’s Wharf, Lambard Street (the most crooked street in the world), cable cars, Pier 39 and one of my bucket lists places – Alcatraz! I had always wanted to visit Alcatraz and it didn’t disappoint, even my 8-year-old son (who I thought would be bored) loved it and asked lots of questions. The last place we visited in San Fran was the Redwood Forest. This place has trees that over 2 thousand years old and reach right up into the sky. They was also featured in the movie Planet of the apes. Its such a tranquil and beautiful place to visit. We felt so relaxed and it was really peaceful. Such a great way to end the trip.
California - They call you the sunshine state, but you are much more than that and have now become my families most favourite place!
This was just a brief overview as there’s so much I could include and talk about. If a West Coast Road Trip is on your travel bucket list – get in touch. If you want more information, I am happy to chat with you about it!