Roadtrip with a toddler: Vancouver to L.A.
In 2017, we did our first roadtrip with Finn. He was 1,5 at the time and I was four months pregnant. We rented a car in Seattle, to cross the Canadian border. From Vancouver, we drove all the way to Los Angeles through national parks, the Big Sur, Portland and so much beauty. Would I recommend a roadtrip with a toddler? Yes! In this blog post I’ll tell you why. But first some pictures to set the mood right.
Oops, we missed our flight!
We flew from Schiphol International Airport (Holland) to Seattle… Well that was the plan, until we missed our flight due to baggage problems at the airport. Luckily they booked us another flight a couple of hours later, but now we had to fly to Detroit and from Detroit to Seattle. In total it took us 27 hours, instead of 11. Little bummer, but hey, we’re going on a roadtrip!
My biggest concern was Finn: will he manage such long flights? How will I make sure he’ll get fresh food? What about the jetlag? What should we bring? The usual worries, until another parent in the plane told me: the best remedy against a jetlag is the sun. Luckily the sun was there and yep he was right.
Sleepless in Seattle
Finally we arrived in Seattle, ready for bed. The next morning we took some breakfast at the hotel (University District), ready to start our roadtrip. We reserved a car in Seattle, because it’s easy to cross the border to Canada and back from here. We got our ESTA en ETA ready in advance. We spent one day in Seattle, did some sightseeing and went for a beautiful view up the Space Needle. There was a lovely park with a little fair around the Space Needle, perfect for Finn and we had a lovely lunch in the area.
Vancouver
Around 4pm we headed over to our next destination: Vancouver. We were very excited for Canada: breathtaking nature and national parks, great culture, metropols such as Vancouver, lovely people and so much more. This country is so big we just had to make a choice. We decided to go to Vancouver for a couple of days and explore the surroundings.
Our first impressions? It feels like Manhattan, with a Canadian twist. We booked a lovely Air B&B in West End and I can highly recommend this area. We had a beautiful view on the skyscrapers on the left and another beautiful waterview on the right. We took the stroller to go explore and we loved the feeling of a vibrant city by night. We had dinner in a rooftop bar Earls Kitchen + Bar (great food and atmosphere). The next two days we went to visit Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver were we saw some grizzlies, we went to Third Beach, Stanley Park and enjoyed this short, but great first stay in Canada. For our last diner, we went to Granville Island near the water. Lovely warehouses transformed to restaurants and a great atmosphere. For boatlovers: the perfect spot to rent a boat and explore this city on the water. We did a last stop in Capilano Provincial Park, North Vancouver, before driving back to the US. We did an amazing walk through the park. I really recommend to take a walk over the Capilano Suspension Bridge. It’s 140 meters long and 70 meters above the river. Yes Finn did the walk with us and it was a walk to remember. One thing’s for sure: Canada we will be back!
Our next stops: Portland, Eugene, Eureka and the wine valleys: Napa and Sonoma
Our next bigger stop would be San Francisco. The first time, we drove through the Big Sur. One of the most beautiful drives we had ever done. This time we would drive more inland so we decided to drive through, Portland and Eugene (Oregon), with the gorgeous rocky beaches, some national parks, Eureka and a stop in Napa Valley and Sonoma (California). We visited the V. Sattui Winery, were we had a picnic between the vineyards with some great wines. Well my husband drank the wine, since I was pregnant at the time.
San Francisco
We just love this place. There’s so much to see and so much to do. We spent four days in in San Francisco, our second time here and it never get’s old. One tip with little kids: the city is uphill and downhill so bring a good stroller along.
What should definitely be on your list for a short stay?
Painted Ladies in Victorian and Edwardian style (famous from Full House)
You will find lots of houses in this style in San-Fransisco in this area. Lovely to walk around and have a coffee in this neighborhood.
You will find some parks to enjoy and relax with the kidsAlamo Square
Twin Peaks for a view over the entire city
Union Square for shopping and restaurants
The Cheese Cake Factory Restaurant on a rooftop for a lovely lunch or diner with kids followed by a sugar rush
Golden Gate Bridge by sunset
Alcatraz Island (book in advance!)
Pier 39: watch the seals and visit the fair
Take the cable car up, it gives a beautiful view over the city
City of Angels: Welcome to L.A.
From San Francisco we headed over to our last stop: Los Angeles. We took a pitstop in Santa-Barbara, the so called American Riviera, which has a lovely pier, beach, restaurants and shopping. From here we drove to our final destination Los Angeles, where we got some rest for a week. Our first night we stayed in a hotel in Hollywood, walking distance from Runyan Canyon Park and the Hollywood Boulevard. For the rest of the week we booked an Air B&B.
Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Sign and Hills
Malibu: Paradise Cove, there’s a lovely beach café
Santa Monica
Santa Monica Beach
Pier
Shopping in 3rd Street Promenade
Go for a hike in the Runyon Canyon Park
Redondo Beach and go for a sailing boat tour
Venice Beach for a more surfy vibe, rent a bike and follow the beautiful coastline
Marina Del Rey for dinner and drinks
Kids who love amusement parks, in Los Angeles you can find different parks such as Six Flags, Warner Bros but also little fairs like the Santa Monica Pier which is open 24/7
Tips for the road trip with a toddler:
Healthy mommies, for this one time, you will have to settle for fries and burgers on the road. During our road trip we had little choice for fresh vegetables. Finn was happy he was aloud to eat lots of fries, but also Mexican food, some burgers and chicken nuggets. I tried to buy lots of fresh fruits in the supermarkets, yoghurt, crackers and other easy (more healthy snacks) to bring along. Once we settled in Los Angeles, we had lots of choices to eat more healthy so, it was a good balance.
Toddlers or babies who need to nap: try to go for a walk when it’s nap time, or drive to another point during nap time. For Finn this was just perfect. Everywhere we slept, we asked for a baby cot, and it was possible almost everywhere. In San Fransisco, we even rented a baby cot online and it was delivered at the hotel. If you rather take a bed along to be sure, try Aeromoov Instant Travel Cot.
We brought an iPad for Finn to watch some downloaded cartoons, because sometimes it’s just a long ride or flight. Take his favorite pacifier or teddybear.
From my experience: kids are happy when they are close to you. We have been traveling with Finn since he was one month old and I feel like this has made him adaptable to any kind of situation, country and different kinds of cultures. I can highly recommend traveling with kids from a young age. Parents who would like more tips, I’d be glad to share some more with you.
Complete Route: SEATTLE - VANCOUVER - SEATTLE - PORTLAND - EUGENE - EUREKA - NAPA VALLEY / SONOMA - SAN FRANCISCO - MONTEREY - SANTA BARBARA - LOS ANGELES
I highly recommend the BIG SUR route as well!