8wks in the US - suggestions please

[Sydney Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close Sydney]

Some average January temps in vacation destinations:

Key West, Fl: Hi 75 Lo 65

Ft. Myers, FL: Hi 75 Lo 54

Orlando, FL: Hi 72 Lo 50

San Diego, CA: Hi 66 Lo 50

Los Angeles, CA: Hi 68 Lo 48

Seattle, WA: Hi 47 Lo 36

Las Vegas, NV: Hi 57 Lo 37

Phoenix, AZ: Hi 67 Lo 45

Honolulu, HI: Hi 80 Lo 66

Very handy. Thanks Jim!

Christmas time in New York City is pretty cool. There's the Radio City Christmas spectacular, the tree at Rockerfeller Plaza, decorated store fronts, handsome cab rides through Central Park, all the museums, the food...Plus I'm sure that some of the NY members would love to catch up with you.

Oh, just one thing. It's c-o-l-d!

Would love to meet members in NYC but I'll try and avoid NYC with 5 kids though. Afterall, the MC does not sleep 7! Maybe we'll get there one day without the kids.

OK, so some of us "West Coasters" need to respond to you. I do agree that temperature-wise, Florida and Hawaii are the nicest that time of year. Still, Southern California and most states on the southern border of the US aren't bad, but you might need a jacket at times. Yosemite is beautiful in the summer, but unless you're wanting to ski would probably avoid most mountain areas. If you don't mind the cold, there are still a number of areas to check out. You would need to be somewhat flexible with your travel times since winter storms can occasionally close roads and hinder travel.

One National Park that's actually nice to visit in Winter is Death Valley National Park. It's generally still quite warm, but not 120+ like it can be in the summer. I actually like certain other national parks in the Winter, but you may have to ski in to enjoy them. Very Peaceful. I don't think that Arizona would be too long of a drive from SOCAL, especially if you have that many weeks. If you are interested in coming further north, you could see Yellowstone National Park at a time of year many don't. You won't want to do any long hikes, but can still snowmobile in or take a Snowcoach.

I too like Sea World and many other amusement parks/attractions in SOCAL, but costs can quickly escalate. I don't know how much of a factor that is for you. There are a lot of things to do in Texas during the Winter. Nice, but I prefer other areas a little more, unless I'm visiting family that lives there.

Las Vegas is another place you could visit if you want to consider including it in your itinerary. Generally fairly warm at that time of year, but still might need a jacket. Snow is fairly rare there.

I'd be happy to try to answer any other questions you have about specific areas.

Have a great time. I'm jealous. It seems it's almost impossible for me to take more than a week off of work without terrible repercussions when I return.

OK so Yosemite is out, as is skiiing. Yellowstone would be excellent. We love National Parks. We do plan on visiting amusement parks but only Disney and maybe one other.
After I do a bit more research, I should have heaps of specific questions.

So what I'll be doing is check out:
- motorhome hire for 1 or 2 wks so we can tour
- timeshares for Disneyland and Sedona and anywhere else in the West Coast
- cruises leaving from Californian ports - particularly to Hawaii and Mexico
- drive times to Sedona, Yellowstone, etc.
- flights to Orlando and Washington DC out of interest.
- look up a few suggested drives for exploring the South West and South.
- read up on trip advisor about suggested itineraries

Did I leave anything out?

Thanks everyone. Any other thoughts, feel free to post. We are very flexible and will try and fit everything in. That's the problem. Actually, we'd love to make it to Niagara Falls and DH was asking me where Mt Rushmore is. Maybe we're being too ambitious!

Last time with 4 kids and 7 wks, we fit in U.S. (Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, NOLA, TUG cruise, Oralndo) and Paris, Spain, as well as Gibraltar, Tangier and Bangkok. We Loved it!

[Sydney Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close Sydney]

TSFMs Cruise?

By the way, anyone interested in a TSFMs cruise? We really enjoyed the last TUG cruise we went on in 2005.

[Berkeley Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Berkeley]

Sydney,

I think if you stay along the California Coast you will have mild weather. Flying into SFO and out of LAX is a good idea, that way you can cover a lot of area. Why not take a week's cruise to Mexico from Los Angeles or San Diego. My kids and grandkids were in a family suite on Royal Caribbean. It has two bedrooms and two bathrooms plus a living area and balcony. They only have three children, though.

Yosemite will probably have snow and it is about 5 hrs from the Coast. We live 2 hrs from Yosemite and go all the time in the winter. The only road that can be closed is Tioga Pass which you don't need to go on. It connects to the back side of the Sierra. The Yosemite Valley (the one you see pictures of) is available at all times of the year. Of course if there is a major storm, the roads will had to be plowed, but they take care of that right away......people like to get to their skiing destination. Also the Tenaya Lodge on the way has an ice skating rink. My grandkids went last year and had a blast.

We take two weeks vacation every year to Southern California. The weather has been beautiful for us most of the time. Even if it rains, it usually is only one or two days. This year January 11-23 was exceptionally nice.......80 degrees the entire time. It started raining the day we left. We were at the Lawrence Welk Resort.

We also vacationed for 4 days in mid November at Avila Beach. Again it was fantastic...........in the 70's. We rented a house with a 180 view of the ocean. Just perfect. There is a RV park there, right on the ocean, so if you are renting an RV you could stay there for a night or two. There is lots to do in the Pismo/Avila/San Luis Obispo area. The beach at Avila is so nice. There is a place called Avila Barn that sells local fruit and vegetables, pies, plus wonderful ice cream. I think we gained 5 lbs on the ice cream alone! Hearst Castle is in that vicinity too........very interesting.

Up the coast near Monterey there is also an RV park right near the Worldmark resort in Marina. While there you can go to the Aquarium, Cannery Row, The Warf, 17 mile drive, etc. The views on Hiway 1 can't be beat on a nice clear day. About an hour north of Monterey is Santa Cruz with a great beach and boardwalk.

In Carlsbad (So Cal) you have Legoland right there and nice outlets. Seaworld and San Diego are just down the coast about 45 minutes. There is a Coaster Train that is fun to ride down to Old Town in San Diego. Then there is Coronado Island and the famous Del Cornado Hotel.

I haven't been to Disneyland in a long time but I'm sure someone else can fill you in on that area. Are you planning to do timeshares most of the time? I may have gotten carried away with RV locations since you mentioned renting one. But at least you have the information.

If you fly into SFO you can see the City and then drive down the Coast. First you can see Santa Cruz, then Monterey, then Hearst Castle/Cambria (cute town), then Avila Beach/San Luis/ Pismo area. From there head down to So Cal. There is Universal Studio, Disneyland. In Carlsbad/San Diego area you have Legoland, Sea World, Coronado Island and perhaps a cruise.

California has such varied weather during the winter. The mountains have snow and the Coast is mild. You will have a wonderful time. Just take your time.......you do have 8 weeks! Lucky you.

Tamara

[Sydney Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close Sydney]

Tamara, thanks for the info on RV parks. It's just the kind of info we need!

So if Yosemite is OK to visit, we'd like to keep it on our list and add in Yellowstone as well. I need to get a map and tag all these places that people have mentioned.

We were planning on using timeshare when convenient i.e. no fixed idea of the number of weeks yet as it depends where we go. We would rent the motorhome/RV for longer if we find there's more touring to be done. We also own Worldmark so will look at using them as well.

I'll check out the Royal Caribbean cruises and see how many a family suite will sleep. Thanks!

[Pstreet1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pstreet1]

There is a Worldmark at Yellowstone.

Here is a list of discount cruise sites. You might already know them, but just in case:

Discount Cruises, Last Minute Cruises, Cruise, Cruise Line, Cruise Vacation
CruCon Cruise Secret Sale 800-493-6609
Travel Deals: Airfare, Vacations, Cruises, and More | Travelzoo
Discount Cruises. Best cruise prices as agents compete at CruiseCompete.
Cruise Critic - Cruises, Cruise Reviews and Cruise Deals
Cruise411.com - Caribbean Cruise, Cruise Vacation, discount cruises, luxury cruise, Mediterranean cruises
Cheap Cruise Deals | Small Ship Cruises Vacations Packages | eWaterways
Online Vacation Center
Cruisemates Cruise Ship Guide; Cruise Ship Reviews, Message Boards and Bargains.
Travel HUB - ONE site, HUNDREDS of travel agencies, THOUSANDS of travel deals
Cruise Deals, Cruise Deal from CruiseDeals.com
Cruise Discounts and Discount Cruise Vacations at iCruise.com This one is a little different. I've heard they are
the absolute lowest available, but they will only look up a limited number
for you. If you don't buy one, they won't keep looking them up. I've
never used them because of that, but if you had thorough research on
other sites and were sure where you wanted to
go, it might well be worth checking with them.
Cruise Discounts and Discount Cruise Vacations at iCruise.com
-:: CRUISE TENDER INC. ::-
CruiseQuick Wall Street Journal recommends this one
Cruise Deals, Cruise Deal from CruiseDeals.com
Discount Cruises. Best cruise prices as agents compete at CruiseCompete.

I'm sure there are more, but these should get you started.

[Berkeley Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Berkeley]

Sydney,

There's a WorldMark at Bass Lake.....about and hour from Yosemite. Also one at Monterey.

I think Yellowstone might be a little ambitious. Sedona might be a better option. It is still a long way from Yosemite. We have driven to Sedona from our home in Central Calif. in 9 or 10 hours. But that was with very little stopping and we had no children along.

You should really look at a map to see the distances you are talking about.

[Sydney Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close Sydney]

There is a Worldmark at Yellowstone.

Here is a list of discount cruise sites. You might already know them, but just in case:

Discount Cruises, Last Minute Cruises, Cruise, Cruise Line, Cruise Vacation
CruCon Cruise Secret Sale 800-493-6609
Travel Deals: Airfare, Vacations, Cruises, and More | Travelzoo
Discount Cruises. Best cruise prices as agents compete at CruiseCompete.
Cruise Critic - Cruises, Cruise Reviews and Cruise Deals
Cruise411.com - Caribbean Cruise, Cruise Vacation, discount cruises, luxury cruise, Mediterranean cruises
Cheap Cruise Deals | Small Ship Cruises Vacations Packages | eWaterways
Online Vacation Center
Cruisemates Cruise Ship Guide; Cruise Ship Reviews, Message Boards and Bargains.
Travel HUB - ONE site, HUNDREDS of travel agencies, THOUSANDS of travel deals
Cruise Deals, Cruise Deal from CruiseDeals.com
Cruise Discounts and Discount Cruise Vacations at iCruise.com This one is a little different. I've heard they are
the absolute lowest available, but they will only look up a limited number
for you. If you don't buy one, they won't keep looking them up. I've
never used them because of that, but if you had thorough research on
other sites and were sure where you wanted to
go, it might well be worth checking with them.
Cruise Discounts and Discount Cruise Vacations at iCruise.com
-:: CRUISE TENDER INC. ::-
CruiseQuick Wall Street Journal recommends this one
Cruise Deals, Cruise Deal from CruiseDeals.com
Discount Cruises. Best cruise prices as agents compete at CruiseCompete.

I'm sure there are more, but these should get you started.

Thanks Pat for the list. I don't know most of them so will check them all out. I'll check out the Worldmark near Yellowstone.

Sydney,

There's a WorldMark at Bass Lake.....about and hour from Yosemite. Also one at Monterey.

I think Yellowstone might be a little ambitious. Sedona might be a better option. It is still a long way from Yosemite. We have driven to Sedona from our home in Central Calif. in 9 or 10 hours. But that was with very little stopping and we had no children along.

You should really look at a map to see the distances you are talking about.

Yep. A map will be very handy. Will do that tonight. We have driven from Sydney to the Gold Coast and Sydney to Melbourne before with the 5 kids which are 10hr trips at least. So such distances don't bother us. We may not need an RV after all if there are timeshares in all the places we want to go. We can also fill in gaps with hotels. Will get a better idea once get a proper map up. Thanks.

[Fern Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Fern]

If you are looking for a Mexican Riviera Cruise of seven days (Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, and Mazatlan), you should know that cruises leave from several ports on California. Carnival leaves from Long Beach, Royal Caribbean, NCL and Princess leave from LA and Holland America leaves from San Diego. I'm sure your children would like Carnival or Royal Caribbean the best. They have wonderful ships with many amenities for children.

If you do take a cruise which stops in Mazatlan, your children will probably like going to the Acuario. It has a tropical aquarium, three or four animal shows, and it has a very small zoo and a butterfly enclosure you can walk into. You don't need English for the shows, and you can check out an English Book at the entrance to read about what is in each tank. They have vibrantly colored fish from all over the world.

Fern

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

Sydney,

You really ought to come to Hawaii for a couple of weeks. Dec and January are great times to be in the Islands. Most of the rest of the US will be COLD.

[Marti Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Marti]

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[falmouth3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close falmouth3]

I'm sure you can make a wonderful 8 week vacation for yourselves.

If you think you'll make it as far as Florida, I would suggest skipping Disney Land and go to Disney World instead. It's much larger, with several parks within Disney and many other attractions in the area.

[RESORT2ME Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RESORT2ME]

Some thoughts

Syd,

Town + Country [hwy 24 Mpg] or similar 7 passenger Mini Van

Sunday, December 27 7:30 PM

LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (LAX)

Drop-Off Monday, January 25 7:30 PM

Vendor = Fox

Automatic

Air Conditioning

Unlimited Mileage

Rate Information

1 Month @ $899.50/month

Estimated Taxes and Fees = $214.78

Total Price= $1,114.28

Insurance = add $350

----------------------------------------COMPARE-----------------------------------------------

Moturis = A motorhome for 31 days in Off Season

V 31S - Sleeps 6-8 (Only 7 seatbelts) - (Including 60 miles per day)
USD 2,544.48 (basic)



It may help to know some ages of your family.

Will you be living in the Motorhome? Where to park such?

Washington, DC has a metro, but you need to know where the vehicle can be housed close to a metro line.

Most timeshares disallow motorhome parking. Similar situations present themselves at many places you will frequent.

A consideration; Water and dump stations need to be available.

You then may wish to rent get-around vehicle at each city visited.

SAM’S CLUB and WalMart allow free parking of motor homes at most locations. There’s roughly 500 Sam’s and 3000 Walmarts. Visit www.samsclub.com to find locations near where you wish to enjoy.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

I can't help with cruises or motorhomes, or much on the West coast - but I am very excited for you!!

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

Sydney, don't forget you'll need car seats for your littler ones. I don't know what the laws are in California or wherever you'll go, but you should look into it. (Your car rental place can advise you, I think.)

Also, the place I would most like to see in California is the La Brea Tar Pits. How cool are they?

Page Museum - La Brea Tar Pits

Have fun!

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

Sydney, don't forget you'll need car seats for your littler ones. I don't know what the laws are in California or wherever you'll go, but you should look into it. (Your car rental place can advise you, I think.)

Also, the place I would most like to see in California is the La Brea Tar Pits. How cool are they?

Page Museum - La Brea Tar Pits

Have fun!

Besides checking where you've staying for carseat laws, I think you can find them at the DMV websites for each state. And I'm sure you can also google and find some kind of complete list.

The La Brea Tar Pits????? When I was growing up that was someplace we'd kind of walk by when we went to the art museum next door. Dh, dds and I went a few years ago when we did our "tour de California coast" during the summer. We were staying in Beverly Hills for a couple of nights. While it's interesting it's not something I'd make a special trip to see. If you're going to be in the area, worth a stop, but not a full day adventure. I think the website makes it look way cooler than I remember it being. When I was a kid there was nothing there (no building, no museum) just the open pits.