• Hotels
• Beach Vacation
• Downtown LA
• Driving to LA
• Disneyland
• Pasadena
• Santa Monica
• Various Other Areas
• related page: Moving to Los Angeles

Hotels

Beach Vacation

We are looking for a place for a family holiday in So. Cal for one week (July 28-August 4). Anyone with a recommendation for a rental (hotel suite) near the beach (e.g., Venice, Santa Monica)? Or, a friend wanting to do a house exchange (to Berkeley)? Our children are 2 and 4 y. Jed

In downtown you should make sure you get to Angel's Flight. It's an old "trolley-like" ride (short and cheap). At the bottom is what I call the Mercado Central - not sure what it's real name is but it's a Latino market place, just like you would find in Mexico or Central America. Horchata is highly recommended on any visit to the Mercado Central. At the top of Angel's Flight is the "Water Court" (again my name for it - not sure what its official name is). It's on the top of the structure across from the top of Angel's Flight. There used to be excellent concerts on Fridays at Noon.

There is a wonderful (or highly wasteful considering this is the desert) fountain by the Music Center. It's got perhaps 60-120 spouts set in the pavement. The height of the water varies from off to 20 feet. It's really fun for the kids. If you take a suit you can try to get through the fountain without getting wet (good luck :).

Driving to LA

Driving to LA with 18-mo old twins

Non-CA natives, infrequent traveler by car, not super excited about this trip, but it is better than hosting (for me right now). Any tips? I-5 or 101? Places to jump off (e.g. if we went 101, we could stop at the Dennis the Menace park in Monterey....). Personally, I wish we could skip the holidays this year! Wendy

My advice is

(1) Leave as early as you possibly can--we usually pack the night before and try to be out of the house by 4:30 am so the kids sleep in their jammies until we stop for breakfast. I pack a change of regular clothes and dress them in the car before we go into the restaurant.
(2) Take I-5, it's the fastest
(3) Stop for breakfast at the Harris Ranch (VERY kid friendly) which is the midpoint of your journey. After breakfast, we let them run around out back by the fountain. We have an entire collection of plastic ''rocket'' cups which come with the kids' meal. They love these.
(4) For the 2nd half of the journey, they get to open one, possibly 2 brand new toys (a new coloring book, a cassette with a follow-along picture book, a new toy car--whatever suits)
(5) We stop at a rest stop just before the grapevine, stretch our legs, use the bathtroom, perhaps get a little treat from the vending machines (they have push pops).
(6) Arrive in L.A. by lunchtime. We let Grandma know via cell phone to get lunch ready cause we're almost there.

We repeat the same routine for the trip back but without the brand new toys since Grandma usually has presents for them during the visit.

Best of luck with your holiday travel. Go Bears!

If you plan to drive during the day and have the time to take a nicer route than definately drive the 101. (I wouldn't take a sidetrip to Monterey unless you have tons of extra time however because it will add 45 minutes to your drive each way from the 101!) There are lots of places to stop on the way down:

Make it to Gilroy and stop at the outlet center. There is a carters store where the kids can cruise around and play with toys for a bit. There are nice bathrooms with changing stations. There is a Fresh Choice restaurant (good for kids) and coffee places too.

There is a central California chain of restaurants called Margie's Diner that serves huge portions and works well for toddlers. They are near the highway, one is Salinas, one in Gilroy, one just south of San LUis Obispo, and one in Goleta just north of Santa Barbara.

There is a nice rest stop between King City (which is a notorious speed trap by the way!) and Paso Robles where the kids can run around on the grass. I usually bring a ball in the car.

In Paso Robles the old downtown square is lovely and it has a nice playground for kids. It's not far from the highway. There is a F Mclintocks Saloon right near the square which is a fun place to take kids and has good food.

About 30 minutes south of Paso Robles is San Luis Obispo and they have a great downtown main street area built near the creek. That is a nice place to stretch your legs.

About twnty miles south of Santa Maria are two state beaches/camp areas called Gaviota Beach and Refugio. Refugio has an exceptionally beautiful beach with shady palm trees that you can see from the highway. It's lovely there and the kids can run around. You can pick up a picnic in Pismo Beach and eat it there or dirve some more and eat it at Refugio.

In Goleta (suburb just north of Santa Barbara) is Goleta Beach Park. You take Hwy 218 towards the SB airport and UCSB (it's a super short highway) Take Sandspit Exit just before you reach UCSB campus and turn left. a few yards later turn right into the beach park. There is a great playground there literally on the sand, good restrooms and a fantastic restaurant called the Beachside Bar Cafe which has great food and outdoor seating too. There is a super long pier you can walk out with the kids. It's very fun.

In Santa Barbara there is a new children's park right on El Cabrillo blvd which runs parallel to the beautiful palm tree lined beach. If you like Denis the Menance Park in Monterey....this one is 10 times better.

Let's see, Ventura has some great public parks too and beaches the kids can toddle around. and then Ventura is 90 minutes north of LA (without traffic).

the 101 is scenic and there are so many places to stop and hang out for a while if the kids get cranky in the car. If the kids are sleeping where you had planned to stop than you can drive on and stop an hour further down the road.

Have a nice trip! Christa

There are several rest stops that are spacious and grassy. I'd suggest, since the kids are so young, don't waste your money at theme parks. Just hit a rest stop for 20 mins and let the kids run around on the grass. Have a picnic, pet some dogs... don't fuss with strollers and long lines and tickets and other people. It's an 8 hour drive. It'll only add to the stress. I'm a native Californian and have traveled up and down milliona of time. This is the fastes and easiest way to complete the drive almost stress free.

Oh, and a secret traveling tip: Dramamine! It's a motion sickness tablet you can buy over the counter. My kid gets sick in the car and it really helped AND the side efect is sleepiness. So, she'll sleep for hours and the trip just floats on by!

Good luck and uh... Happy Holidays! Alena

For some trips, it's more convenient to arrive not late at night, so we've driven most of the way as described above, then stop at a hotel in Grapevine (just before heading over the hills into the LA basin). The next day we get a nice breakfast out and have only about two hours to get all the way to our relatives' house to arrive at about lunch time.

We've also tried flying, but by the time you get to the airport early enough, rent a car in LA and drive to your destination it's taken almost as long as to drive plus it costs a lot more. Mike

That's why fast food places with play structures are good, and so are rest areas when the weather's good, but Harris Ranch and the TA ''truckers' mall'' (next-to-last exit before the Grapevine) are more pleasant indoor places for the adults to hang out while the kids run for a bit.

My son loves the fountains at Harris Ranch (there's a small one indoors and a larger one out, at the opposite end of the hall from the restaurants), the restrooms are really nice and include both plenty of diaper-changing space and mini-sized toilets for the newly potty-trained, and there is a little shop that sells travel toys along with gift items, a few books, candy, etc.

The TA place is not so upscale but is a good place to stop in bad weather or in the middle of the night or very early morning. In one building there are a couple of fast food options, a coffee shop, a convenience/gift store and a few vending machines, a video games room, and large restrooms with changing tables. There's enough hallway space for a bit of leg- stretching. There's a gas station across the way.

Mom of kids with grandparents in Orange County

Venice Boardwalk
Santa Monica Pier (amusement park)
Santa Monica Beach playgrounds
Travel Town in Griffith Park
Venice Canals (slow and leisurely - great for a walk)
LA County Museum of Art has kids stuff - check with them
Museum of Science and Tech
Museum of Nat History
La Brea Tar Pits (my 4 year old loved this - your mileage will vary)
and
Some place with a big mouse running around everywhere(?). Sounds weird.

Santa Monica

Santa Monica is a wonderful place for a child.  We moved to East Bay
after several years in West LA.  Just off the top of my head:
1.  The beach.  This can be a big outing with sunshades and equipment or
just a nice walk with a stroller.  If the weather is nice your child
will not tire of this outing even after several days of the same thing.
2.  The tot lot in the middle of the canals (Venice).  This is a
fabulous place to meet other toddlers.  It is a small, neighborhood park
and most kids know each other.
3.  The 3rd Street Promenade.  My son was always wild for this outing.
Lots of activity to look at.  3rd Street is just a shopping street like
Solano Ave or College Ave--but a million times better.
4.  UCLA.  There are lots of big green lawns and easy uphill walks with
rather safe stairs.  Excellent for getting a kid so tired he'll sleep
when you pop him into his stroller so that you can sit under a tree and
read your handy book
5.  Will Rogers Park in Pacific Palisades.  I don't remember the busline
but the park is free if you walk in.  A huge park with polo horses on
some weekend days.  If your child is a good walker there is a 1 mile
walk with wonderful views that has a short patch of moderately-steep
walking at the very beginning.  After that, the walk is fairly easy--but
it is a circle without a short-cut off of the mile.
6.  A zillion more things--others will mention some I'm sure.  Have fun.

Sojeila