7 Los Angeles Family Vacation Ideas

Los Angeles can seem like a star-studded destination for jet-setters, but it also features fabulous family-friendly opportunities both in and outside of the city itself.

When planning an LA-based family cruise vacation, you open the door to side trips to memorable sites, such as Catalina Island, Palm Springs and Orange County. Nature lovers, theme park fans, Old Hollywood culture seekers and those just wanting to beach it pre- or post-cruise will find their happy place in Southern California.

Read on for just a few ideas the family will love.

1. LA’s Iconic Sights And Historic Landmarks

It's likely you know so many of these iconic sights from TV and the movies. Thankfully, Los Angeles is one city where a hop-on-hop-off bus tour can cover a lot of ground. Even those adding a day before or after a cruise, or spending the day in the LA port, can cross a lot of destinations off your LaLa Land "Bingo card."

Sites on the Big Bus Tours Red Line Hollywood Loop include:

● Hollywood Sign — Hiking up isn’t advised (or legal), but admire it at Hollywood & Vine.

● El Capitan Theatre — Many famous movies had their first showing in this ornate cinema.

● Hollywood Walk of Fame — Find your favorite stars along this path of performers.

● Rodeo Drive — Shop ‘til you drop, or just let your jaw drop while people-watching.

● La Brea Tar Pits and Museum — No bones about it, the collection is impressive.

● TCL Chinese Theatre — See how you measure up to famous actors (hands and feet-wise) in the forecourt.

● Cruise Port: Port of Los Angeles.

● Distance from Port: 35 miles to connect to the Red Line stop.

● Ages: All ages.

2. Los Angeles Outdoor Activities And Beaches

Once you’ve mastered the Red Loop and tasted the unique joys of LA traffic, you might be tempted to use the same system’s “beach loop” to explore LA’s outdoor activities and signature shorelines. 

Santa Monica Pier is an instantly recognizable landmark with an amusement park, fishing pier (no license required, with gear available at on-site bait shop), aquarium, historical carousel, carnival games and street performers.

If you're ready for a dose of serious people watching, Venice Beach will impress with an interesting mix of historic charm, skate art, bustling bohemia with buskers and street performers and, of course, the outdoor gym that is Muscle Beach.

Terranea Beach Resort is a luxury ocean retreat less than 10 miles from the port. Families will love the outdoor movie nights at the pool and beach cove, guided hikes to the Point Vicente Lighthouse, pickleball and tennis access, Build-A-Bear Workshop, toddler beach buggy rentals and coastal landscape-themed kids clubs so parents can sneak in some spa time or a round at their world-class golf course. 

● Cruise Port: Port of Los Angeles.

● Distance from Port: 10 miles to Terranea, 30 miles to Venice Beach and Santa Monica.

● Ages: All ages.

3. SoCal Museums And Science Centers

Aquarium of the Pacific

This excellent aquarium features live presentations from inside the main aquarium, with a shark lagoon, penguin habitat, sea otter habitat, an Underseas Explorer VR adventure and Southern California-specific gallery to learn more about local species. 

This was our family’s happy place when living in nearby Orange County — as a divemaster, I even had the opportunity to dive in the main aquarium to lend a hand!

● Cruise Port: Port of Los Angeles.

● Distance from Port: 6 miles.

● Ages: All ages.

The Getty

In addition to the wealth of beautiful artwork to enjoy with free admission, this museum engages young visitors with an Art Detective scavenger hunt, tram ride and creative art-making studio. We loved the live storytelling shows during our visits. 

● Cruise Port: Port of Los Angeles.

● Distance from Port: 35-40 miles.

● Ages: All ages.

Universal Studios Hollywood and Islands of Adventure

Universal Studios Hollywood delights theme park fans with many of their thrilling and immersive rides, but this particular spot has a stronger focus on the movie-making history behind the attractions. Muggles looking for their Harry Potter fix will find it, along with an opportunity to sample a mug of butterbeer. The included studio tours feature a drive through scenes any cinema fan will recognize (and spot in movies and television shows you see after) and backlot scenes narrated by Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon. 

A variety of VIP and extended studio tours are available, some even venturing into the sacred costume and prop building packed with goodies used on sets across decades of entertainment. 

● Cruise Port: Port of Los Angeles.

● Distance from Port: 35-40 miles.

● Ages: Universal Studios suggests 5+ for scary content issues, but allows all ages.

Warner Bros Studio Tours and Museum

Bring the world of Hollywood alive on an in-depth tour at a working film studio with behind-the-scenes action. Here, you can see favorite show sets and productions in progress. Every tour is different, so you never know who you might run into. 

New interactive experiences include lunch at the commissary, an exclusive screening room, a visit to the prop house and a stop for refreshments at Friends' iconic Central Perk, where you can channel your inner Joey or Phoebe.

● Cruise Port: Port of Los Angeles.

● Distance to Port: 35-40 miles.

● Ages: Age 5+.

The Queen Mary

A visit or stay on the historic Queen Mary could be the perfect prelude to a family cruise vacation for first-time kid-cruisers curious about ship living. Stay on board the stationary ship, enjoy a massive Royal Sunday Brunch or dare to join ghost tours that range from vaguely spooky with a history focus to thrilling ghost-hunting with special effects. 

● Cruise Port: Port of Los Angeles.

● Distance from Port: 6 miles.

● Ages: All ages.

4. Griffith Park

Griffith Park is an expansive 4,310-acre park, which includes:

● Griffith Observatory, featuring live planetarium presentations and stargazing programs like the monthly Public Star Party, complete with several dozen telescopes to use.

● The Los Angeles Zoo, with a safari shuttle, bird show, Winnick Family Children’s Zoo with Muriel’s Ranch animal encounter area and endangered animal carousel.

● A historic 1926 Merry-Go-Round, which inspired Walt Disney while he was watching his daughters ride, and showcases 68 hand-carved wooden horses and a vintage Wurlitzer organ.

● Griffith Park & Southern Railroad, which rolls through a forest and Old Western Town.

Families can hike, bike with on-site rentals, horseback ride, swim, picnic and play sports. Although the trails are amazing, the real draw is the proximity to the Hollywood Sign.  

● Cruise Port: Port of Los Angeles.

● Distance to Port: 35 miles.

● Ages: All ages.

5. Catalina Island Is a Cultural Trip

Catalina is a magical throwback to another era. This quaint island and former Old Hollywood haunt can explode into a bustling oasis of LA-escapists looking for a break from the sizzling summer. However, during shoulder seasons and winter, it's a true — and unique — delight. Renting golf carts is the preferred mode of transport for this car-free landscape, with a relaxed pedestrian-friendly vibe thanks to visitors arriving by ferry or helicopter. 

Take a tour around the island’s massive, rugged wilderness for incredible views and chances to spot bald eagles, the shy island fox and 150-200 American bison that call Santa Catalina home, thanks to a 1924 film crew leaving them behind.

Adventurous types can fly over the canyon on a zip line eco tour or explore the crystal-clear water by snorkeling or on a submarine tour. Those looking to relax can catch a movie at the historic Catalina Casino, where the only gamble you’ll make is whether you arrive in time to enjoy the pre-film dueling live organ performance. 

● Cruise Port: Port of Los Angeles.

● Distance to Port: 20-25 nautical miles. (1 hour by fast ferry or 15 minutes by helicopter.)

● Ages: All ages.

6. Palm Springs Eternal Family Fun

Palm Springs is a golf haven and celeb-renowned hang, but its gorgeous mountain desert landscape offers loads of family fun and the perfect short add-on to an LA-based cruise. Local tip — a midway stop for a palm date shake breaks up the trip nicely.

● Cruise Port: Port of Los Angeles.

● Distance to Port: 118 miles.

● Ages: All ages.

Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

Joshua Tree National Park

Where To Stay To Play

Insta-fabulous mid-century modern boutique hotels fill the area, but a stay at JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa, with its five pools, on-site golf course, included bike rentals and entertainment center is a great family option. 

Omni Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa’s lazy river at the Splashtopia waterpark and kid craft activities also got high marks with the kids. We played pickleball and tennis at both.

7. Orange County, Where the Juice Is Worth the Squeeze

Orange County is an expansive region that runs along the Pacific, starting just south of the cruise port. Thanks to TV, The OC has a reputation for real housewife spats and unnatural perfection, but this sprawling county offers theme park excitement and stunning natural scenic opportunities sprinkled amidst the glitz. 

As a former editor of an Orange County parenting magazine, this pretty playground packed my 90-100 pages with good times for families every month.

● Cruise Port: Port of Los Angeles.

● Distance to Port: 25-40 miles.

● Ages: All ages.

Interactive Fun in OC

A standout building that speaks to the fun waiting inside is OC’s Discovery Cube in Santa Ana. Part children’s museum, part science museum, this hotspot for families looking to cool off from the heat includes an eco-adventure carousel, physics lab and immersive helicopter tour experience. 

Irvine Spectrum Center is an open-air shopping plaza with nearly as many kid-friendly activities as shops. Pick up last-minute needs for your cruise vacations while kids enjoy the Giant Wheel Ferris wheel, ice rink, IMAX theatre, 18-foot-tall Spectrum Climber sculpture with 75 platforms to clamber up, The Escape Game Playground room, carousel, Holey Moley tech-enhanced retro mini golf and funky Hijinx Hotel hospitality-themed entertainment center with 15 challenge rooms.

OC’s True Nature

See the sea with a surf lesson in chill Huntington Beach or poke around tidepools in Crystal Cove’s shoreline near Newport. Anaheim Hill’s donation-only Oak Canyon Nature Center features a small museum with live animals and nature trails that meander through an oak forest with a stream courtesy of a nearby reservoir up a ridge. 

This all reminds kids that this land was primarily desert with sandy paths and cacti. While on the path, see if you can spot any lizards or road runners.

Where To Stay for a Taste of Orange County

Great Wolf Lodge Southern California will have many kids howling for indoor/outdoor family waterparks, magic wand-led scavenger hunts, animatronic bedtime stories with cabin or wolf den digs. 

A more refined experience at St. Regis Monarch Beach or the Montage Laguna Beach includes kids’ camp and family activities with beach access. 

Sand fans should consider Kimpton Shorebreak Huntington Beach Resort with family amenities included, such as boogie boards, beach chairs, umbrellas, kid beach toys, bikes and scooters for 2-12 year olds and nightly s’mores kits. They even offer breastmilk-specific mini fridges.

Plan the Perfect LaLa Land Escape

● When to visit: LA sizzles in the summer, but the beach helps you ride out heat waves.

● What to pack: Bring an extra layer for AC chill or visits to Palm Springs’ mountains.

● Where to stay: Traffic is a consideration, so sleep where you plan to play.

● Best LA-based vacation: Combining a Royal Caribbean family cruise vacation with a pre- or post-land adventure makes the most of a region packed with fun for the kids.

The best family cruise vacation is with Royal Caribbean. Parents can relax and enjoy their vacation with included kids clubs for cruisers from 3-17 (with baby and toddler care available). Complimentary live music, shows, sport courts, waterparks, parades and endless eateries serving up to 23 cuisines all add up to stress-free vacation planning. 

Royal Caribbean cruises to Ensenada, Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta (and occasionally Catalina Island) from the Port of Los Angeles.

Star in Your Own Award-Winning LA Family Cruise Vacation