This is an article that I wanted to write for a long time. It is a bit long, maybe that’s why I took such a long time to write. However, this is our favorite Southern California tour. When we have friends and family visiting from outside of California we always take them on this tour because they get to see some of the best tourist sites in SoCal. Yeah, it’s true, this tour doesn’t include Hollywood for 3 hours
Getting to Hollywood
8:30pm. If you still have any energy left, continue driving on Sunset Boulevard all the way to La Brea Well it will take you about 30 minutes and you don’t have to slow down because there is not much to see on this portion. However, you won’t be able to go too fast anyway because trafic in Hollywood is pretty bad 
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Take a left on La Brea and a right on Hollywood Boulevard and then look for public parking sign on the left right around the Hollywood Mall and the Chinese Theater. It doesn’t mean that if it’s public it’s free…it’s not, and it’s not cheap either but that’s your best bet for parking. Don’t forget to get some dinner…not on Rodeo Drive though if you want to have any money left.
Hollywood, California – The Hollywood sign seen through binoculars.
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Things to do in Hollywood
- Walk on Hollywood boulevard and take pictures with the “stars”
- Admire Chinese Theater
- Take pictures with the “movie” characters you’ll find everywhere.
- Walk inside the Mall and go up to see the Hollywood Sign. They have even built a red carpet for you to walk on.
- Visit the Wax Museum. It’s worth seeing…once.
Hollywood, California – Taxi drivers waiting for customers on Hollywood Boulevard.
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If you’ve done well, you should be done before midnight! It’s very easy to get to the freeway from Hollywood Boulevard. Just follow the road to Vine St and take a left. Follow the signs that will guide you to the 101 Freeway.
Conclusion
By the end of the day you will be dead tired…guaranteed. This tour is not recommended if you have small children…they will hate you for putting them through such a grueling schedule. You can break the trip into two days if you have kids. If you children are old enough they will also love this trip. There is plenty to see for everyone.
La Purisima Mission is one of the 27 California missions that line up the California coast from south to north. Located in Lompoc, La Purisima is actually a state park and it has been extensively reconstructed to better capture the feel of the Mission times. With lots of things to offer for the entire family, La Purisima Mission Park is a great tourist stop for the California traveler. Read on to find out what is worth seeing at La Purisima.
The mountains around San Luis Obispo Bay area hide Avila Beach very well. But if you’re willing to get off the beaten path and get off the freeway you will be rewarded greatly with stunning views of the ocean and a relaxed atmosphere in one of the little known California beach towns. Avila Beach, California is the perfect beach town. It’s small, clean and simply beautiful!
Pismo Beach is one of those hidden tourist jewels that is within easy reach but bypassed many times by tourists. The California coast is just beautiful off the 101 freeway in the Pismo Beach area. The fact that many larger tourist attractions like San Luis Obisbo and Hearst Castle are so close, most tourists just pass by Pismo Beach on their way up north. What a mistake! Pismo Beach is just an amazing stop even if you have only few hours to spare. Pretty soon I’ll post my detailed Pismo Beach travel guide, but for now 
We visited San Francisco a few times and we loved it every time. This time however it was in December and it was raining hard and the San Francisco Bay was covered in thick fog. We ended up mostly driving around but we were still able to walk around Fisherman Wharf area and enjoy the sites. San Francisco is spectacular despite the rain. Read on to find out the main tourist attractions in downtown San Francisco.
Lots to see in Palm Springs and the surrounding areas. If you make sure you don’t visit Palm Springs after middle of May and before middle of September, you will have a great time in the Palm Springs area. If you come during the summer, you will be confined inside your hotel where the air conditioner will make the temperature bearable.
Lake Tahoe is one of the most popular attractions in California. It is mostly known as one of the best winter resorts in the world. However, Lake Tahoe is a great family vacation spot in the summer as well. We found Lake Tahoe to be very relaxing and family friendly. My family found great things to see and we enjoyed the beautiful views and places to visit. This article contains our favorite places to visit in Lake Tahoe.
Every year the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California puts on the best show. Entitled the Tournament of Roses, this amazing parade is all about flowers and in particular about roses. We always wanted to go to the Rose Parade, but with two small children coming out in the very early hours of the morning just to get a somewhat decent seat, is out of the question. So, we opted to come see the floats in what is called the Post Parade event where you come admire the floats that have been parked on a couple of wide streets. Is it really worth it? Well, read on to find out.
Sometimes when traveling you get to witness amazing things that you were not planning to see at all. This is what happened to me when going to the beach again at Point Mugu State Beach in California. I have brought some relatives of ours to the beach since they have not been in this part of the state. When we got there, we noticed that the waves were pretty rough and very loud (about 10 feet high). The water was breaking very close to shore, which made it pretty hard for us to enjoy the water. Eventually we decided to head back home since we couldn’t really play in the water much.
We wanted to go to the beach one weekend and we decided to go to Point Mugu since we haven’t been there in a long time. Since I have forgotten to take cash with me, I couldn’t park at the state beach and ended up parking right next to the Mugu Rock and then went down to a small rock beach nearby. We ended up having a great time and saw a sea lion and lots of pelicans. My daughter loved the trip.
We have visited UCLA in the winter on a sunny December day. Even though the day was short, we had a great time. I always like visiting the UCLA campus, regardless if it’s summer or winter, school day or weekend…I just love it. Maybe it’s because I graduated from UCLA myself…yeah it’s because of that. However, I believe anyone can enjoy visiting the campus for a day, including your children.
Thanks for the great informative article with some very interesting ideas and points regarding the best of Southern California tourist attractions in one day trip. Amazing, I sincerely did not know or think it was possible to tour the best of Southern California tourist attraction in one day trip. With that said, this is something I’ll consider the next time I bring my family to Southern California. I must admit I find it insightful to read your article. Keep up the good work.
CJ…thanx for your note. Yep, this would make for a great day trip for your family. Yes you will be tired at the end of the day but it’s worth it. If you have more time in Southern California, you can take your time and visit more of course.
Santa Barbara is one of the most extraordinary beach towns I have ever visited. SO much culture and life, and so many fun things to do, it never gets old. I recently just returned from a trip and i had the best time just relaxing at the beach and my hotel, I loved it.