Holiday Travel: Visit Southern California for Winter Break

Animal Park), is much more than an ordinary zoo. The expansive site allows many of the animals the freedom to move around, and provides opportunities for the fantastic safari "experiences" offered by the park, from a bird's eye view via zip-line to "Roar & Snore" overnight camping experiences (all available for an extra cost). The basic admission ticket ($52 adults/$42 children) includes a ride on the Africa Tram, which takes you through the African Savanna in an open-air vehicle. Also included with the price of admission are a variety of animal exhibits, shows, and play areas for the kids. My children loved interacting with the Lorakeets (plan to spend a few dollars on food), giggling at the gorillas' antics, petting the goats in Nairobi Village, and watching Shiloh the Cheetah achieve amazing speed during the Cheetah Run show.

Much of the San Diego Safari Park can be explored like a typical zoo. Because it is spread out, there is a lot of walking, but beautiful vegetation, expansive vistas, and the wonderful animal exhibits made the treks around the park relatively painless for my 6-& 9-year-olds. Strollers were abundant and people seemed to navigate the paths easily with them. During our visit, the crowds never felt over-powering, with the exception of the Cheetah Run show, which only happens once a day. This show is free, but we had the opportunity to view it in the VIP area, tickets for which can be purchased for an additional cost to help you avoid the crowd and ensure the shorter members of your family have a prime view of this thrilling event.

Travel Tips: Arrive right when the park opens (9 AM) and head straight to the Africa Tram. We were able to get on the tram pretty quickly, but the line had increased dramatically by the time our ride was finished. If you'd like to see the Cheetah Run but not pay for the VIP seating, it would be wise to arrive at least 30 minutes before the show, if not longer. Grab some food and use the wait time to eat and map out the rest of your afternoon.

Birch Aquarium

We visit the small but lovely Birch Aquarium in La Jolla nearly every time we go to the San Diego area. It is just the right size for a couple of hours of educational entertainment, and it just so happened to be the perfect place to spend a rainy morning during our winter break trip. Colorful aquatic habitats feature more than 5000 fish, and a tide-touch pool outside overlooks stunning views of the Pacific. There are also interactive science exhibits, a small cafe, and a fun gift shop (I am still regretting not getting the sea-life themed Christmas tree I saw there...).

For under $20 per person, it is also one of the more affordable activities in the area, and well worth a visit.

Knott's Berry Farm

During the holiday season, Knott's Berry Farm becomes Knott's Merry Farm, with special holiday themed shows like the Merry Christmas, Snoopy Ice Show and "Snow" in Ghost Town. At any time of year, this amusement park combines extreme thrill rides with old-fashioned, old-west attractions like a stage coach and steam train. Plus, Camp Snoopy features fun rides that are perfect for toddlers and preschoolers. Ride highlights for our family were the Calico Mine Ride and the AMAZING 4-D Voyage to the Iron Reef (possibly one of my favorite rides ever). My older daughter and I braved one roller-coaster, the Boomerang, and she still teases me about how I screamed the entire time (truth).

It wasn't fear that kept us from the other roller coasters, though. Unfortunately, it was the lines. Although we were there  mid-week, Knott's Berry Farm was the one attraction where we did not manage to avoid winter break chaos.  There is a FastLane Pass available for 13 of the most popular rides, but the cost of the FastLane Pass is more than the cost of admission. This would probably be worth it for teens or adults who can ride those 13 rides independently, but seemed a bit cost prohibitive for our family.

We weren't able to get on as many rides as we might have liked, but those we did ride were fantastic. We also loved just walking around Knott's Berry Farm, enjoying some of the Holiday shows and watching OTHER people scream on the roller coasters.

Travel Tips: We felt that Knott's Berry Farm could be an awesome experience for families with older kids (9- or 10+) or those with toddlers and pre-schoolers. Our 6-year-old, however, had a hard time finding rides that suited her. Both of my girls thought many of the Camp Snoopy rides were a bit too tame, but my 6-year-old wasn't ready (or tall enough) for most of the thrill rides. She loved the mine train, the stagecoach ride, and Voyage to the Iron Reef, but she probably would have had a better time if she was a little older...OR a little younger!

Also, definitely arrive early, no matter what day of the week you choose to go. In fact, we arrived early enough to have breakfast at Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner restaurant, the restaurant that emerged from the roadside berry stand that started the whole endeavor. It was a fun meal and a great experience that fueled the rest of our day.

Southern California Winter Break Trip:

When to Go: We we the week between Christmas and New Year's, and planned our drive-time on the weekend so that we could hit the attractions during the weekdays. You're going to see crowds any time during the holiday season, but weekdays may be slightly less busy.

Travel Tips: Birch Aquarium and Knott's Berry Farm are closed on Christmas Day (and Birch Aquarium is also closed on New Year's Day), but the Safari Park is open daily. Christmas Day may actually be less hectic than other times, if you're willing to go on the holiday.

Where to Stay: We rented a condo in Oceanside, which turned out to be the perfect location to visit the two north San Diego County attractions (30-40 minute drives with regular traffic) and Knott's Berry Farm in Orange County (about an hour drive). It was also nice to be close to the beach for morning walks along the water. This location would also have been perfect for a visit to Legoland, about 15 minutes away in Carlsbad, but we weren't able to fit that park in on this particular trip.

Travel Tip: We ALWAYS try to rent condos or houses for family trips, even now that our children are older. It is fabulous not to have to go to restaurants for every meal and to feel like we have a real "home base." We had all of our breakfasts at the condo, lunches at the parks, and did a variety of things for dinners.

Overall? Our family vacation to Southern California was a huge hit. Exciting, educational experiences, quality family time, and not TOO many crowds-A BIG holiday win for our family!

Disclosure: My family received media tickets for San Diego Safari Park and Knott's Berry Farm. All thoughts and opinions are my own.