I think I’m going to need a vacation after my vacation!
I think a quick peek at my California itinerary will help explain why:
Arrive in LA, drive straight to Anaheim (driving time 1-1.5hrs)
1.5 days at Disneyland, drive to San Francisco (driving time 7-9 hrs)
1.5 days in San Francisco, drive to Los Angeles (driving time 6-8 hrs)
1 day in LA (Hollywood, to be precise), drive to San Diego (driving time 2 hrs)
2 days in San Diego, drive back to LA
1 last day in LA, fly back to Calgary
Whew! Do you see why I’m feeling a little overwhelmed before we’ve even left yet?
But to be completely honest, I’m totally up for it, and I’m beyond excited about it. I’ve never been to California, so when the opportunity came up to explore all these amazing places, I just couldn’t say no. A night in San Francisco? Sure, why not? Two days in San Diego? But of course!
The thing is, I love to travel, and so do my girls. And for us, much of the appeal is about getting to experience new cities. The best way to do that (and on a budget, of course) is with a CityPASS. For our trip, my girls and I have CityPASSes for Hollywood and San Francisco, and that’s how we’re going to manage to see the best of each city in just a couple of days. Our Hollywood CityPASSes provide us with admission to these must-see venues:
- Starline Tours of Hollywood
- Madame Tussauds Hollywood
- Red Line Tours Hollywood
- Behind-the-Scenes Kodak THEATRE Guided Tour OR The Hollywood Museum
For the record, we’re big movie buffs and we had a fun night watching the Oscars together this year, so we’re definitely opting for the Kodak Theatre tour.
In San Francisco, our CityPASSes will give us access to:
- Muni & Cable Car 7-Day Passport
How awesome is that?
PLUS ADMISSION TO:
- Aquarium of the Bay
- California Academy of Sciences
- Blue & Gold Fleet Bay Cruise
- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)
- Exploratorium OR de Young Museum
It’s such a relief to me to know that despite all the rushing around we will inevitably have to do, we have guaranteed access to all of the best hot spots in two of the cities we’re planning to visit. Plus, CityPASSes provide a significant discount over buying tickets to each of the attractions individually. On top of all that, you can skip most entry lines at the attractions with your CityPASS in hand! Which really begs the question: why would you travel without a CityPASS?
The really fantastic thing is that CityPASSes are available for ten North American cities: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Hollywood, Houston, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Toronto. Each of them offers express admission to the must-see attractions in each city, all at a discounted price. CityPASS is really the perfect option for family travel. You can even pre-purchase your CityPASS on their website so you have it ready to go when you arrive.
And here’s more wonderful news! One lucky UrbanMoms member will win a set of four CityPASSes to any of the ten cities mentioned above! Just let me know below in the comments section which city you’d most like to visit and why, and your name will be entered in the draw. Remember: you have to be an UrbanMoms member to win, but membership is free so why not join? Please check the contest details for important information.
Okay…now it’s up to you. Tell me which CityPASS city you’d most like to visit and why:
I would like the Toronto one even though I live here because as a resident of the city you don’t tend to visit the tourist attractions unless you have visitors.
I’d love to win the Toronto citypass – no more excuses for putting off taking our son around!
Living in Toronto, but on a limited budget, I would love to be able to take my kids to some of the attractions that our city has to offer, but that I have not been able to go to. But then, I think any of the cities would be amazing!
I live in Toronto but with 4 kids, we haven’t got the chance to visit a lot of the wonderful attractions of Toronto. My kids and I would love the Toronto city pass. I hope it comes for real.
My children,foster children and grandchildren would love to spend time in San Francisco.I was there years ago and was so fasinated with everything in that city. I have showed them pictures and they think it would be a fun holiday—sooo do I.
There is something about New York that cannot be put into words – you just have to experience it to believe it. An adventure in NYC with my kids this summer – it dosen’t get much better than that!
I would like the TOronto CITYPASS. It is close to my home city in Hamilton. I don’t get to Toronto a lot and don’t know a lot of the sites. I would love to visit the Toronto Zoo, Casa Loma and the ROM.
Hollywood, California for some fun in the sun!
* Ah silly mistake, I made a typo. I meant to put New York instead of Hollywood, not sure how you could mix those two up heh.
I would like a CITYPASS for Toronto. It would be great fun to see all the tourist sites with my family.
No question – New York City. I’ve never been to a city that never sleeps before and I’m sure the CITYPASS would make things so much easier. There’s so much to do and see. Thanks.
Boston, Chicago, New York, Toronto: my four favourite North American cities! How to choose? I think I would pick Toronto this year, and NOT for a family vacation! My daughter will be at camp this summer, and it would be terrific for my husband and I and another couple to have fun exploring our city. Date Nights (and Days) in Toronto!
I would love to win the CITYPASS to see Toronto.
I’m sure my son would enjoy exploring the city especially the Ontario Science Centre, the Toronto Zoo and the CN Tower..
I would love to go to Atlanta to see Stony Mountain and the Aquarium as me and my hubby have been together for 19 years and with 3 kids we have never gotten away
San Fran – I was there for part of a day years ago and have wanted to go back for more ever since. It’s a beautiful city needing to be explored!
We have wanted to take the kids to New York for awhile. This would be great to win.
I would like to win a City Pass for Toronto. It is a very family friendly city and it would be fun to explore it.
I would like to explore New York, it seems like a fasinating place.
I would love to visit either San Francisco or New York city as both cities seem very interesting to me. I have only passed through them fleetingly and never had the chance to explore them in any depth.
I would love to get a city pass for either San Francisco or New York… Both cities are full of interesting things to do and aside from fleetingly passing through them, I have never explored either city at any length.
I would love to visit Chicago; however, a staycation is exactly what’s in my future. I’m fortunate to live in a fabulous city!
I; therefore, would love passes to Toronto because during my staycation we’d probably spend time discovering our city and doing things we never get to do during our regular busy day-to-day mundane routines.
I would love to explore Chicago,Illinois 🙂
I would love to explore Atlanta, GA. These city passes would be great for first time visitors!
I would love to win the Toronto pass. Even though I live here, I don’t take advantage of all the city has to offer. If I have these, I would.
Honestly, I would be happy going to any of the cities listed above, Toronto would be the exception however since I used to live there.
I have not taken a vacation where I have actually travelled to a destination of some sort in over 12 years! Unfortunate yes, I know. Winning these passes for my family and myself would be incredible and I’d be forever grateful!
As I mentioned, I’d be grateful to visit any one of these cities but to fulfill the requirements of this contest I would choose Hollywood. It seems so vibrant and glamorous! I think my daughter would really enjoy it.
By the way, it’s nice seeing all the love for Toronto on this comment section =]
I would choose Toronto. I would love to visit Toronto and see all the wonderful sights. There is so much there for both children and adults.
i might choose atlanta – there is so much to see there, like cnn, the amazing aquarium and (of course) the super cool coca-cola showplace!
New York sounds great! San Francisco sounds fantastic! I guess would love to have a city pass to where the family decides to go on holiday? And that I have no idea!
san francisco – i’ve never been and really want to go
I would love the San Francisco citypass because I have never been and I am planning on going this year. They are always the best value for their money.
I would love to win the city passes for San Diego.
I would like to win the CityPass for Toronto because even though we don’t live that far … I feel like we have hardly explored the city at all … the CityPass will help us discover new places in Toronto that we have never visited before and I am sure the kids will love it.
The New York city passes would be fantastic. What an awesome city with so much energy and a multitude of things to see and do!
Would love the Hollywood passes. I’m planning a trip with my children to California in mid April – so these would be awesome. I used CityPass when we went to New York last year, and it was the best investment we made! I’d highly recommend them to everyone!
Planning a trip to California with my children in mid April. Would Love Love Love the Hollywood CityPass. Used the CityPass when I took my kids to New York last year – and they were the best value for money – I highly recommend them to everyone!
The city pass for Toronto would be great since it is such a fun city to visit with so much to see and do.
Would love to win the CityPASSes for Toronto as it is close to home (I agree with a previous comment, I could not handle all that time on the road!) and my girls have only had the oppportunity to visit the Toronto Zoo and this summer may be the last chance we have to visit what was once a annual childhood outing for my family!
I would love to receive the City Pass for Toronto – thanks
I’d love a pass for Toronto. It’s close to home and it would be so much fun to really get a chance to explore the city.
Would love to receive the citypass for Toronto. My kids enjoy going there and there is so much to see and do but it can be pricey! Would love to win this
Would love to receive the citypass for Toronto. My kids enjoy going there and there is so much to see and do but it can be pricey! Would love to win this
Unlike you, Kath, I don’t think I could handle all that time on the road. So I would probably stay closer to home and get a CityPASS for New York. I’ve always wanted to go there!
I have always wanted to see Chicago ever since I was 5 years old, I am not quite sure why, it just seemed like an amazing city to visit.
New York! Here I come!
I’d love to take my daughters to New York ! We went to Toronto last year and it was fun. winning a city pass would be a big help for summer holidays!
City passes are great. We had them in Houston Texas and saw lots of great attractions. I choose Philadelphia, PA because we are planning a trip there.
I want to see San Francisco and explore with my City Pass.
san fran because we were there before and we’d like to go back and visit the aquarium and planetarium
We used Citypass for Toronto years ago and loved it. I would take Chicago anyday too.
I was wondering about all that driving you were going to be doing! And that is not even considering the traffic around LA. Good luck with that!!! Be safe and have a great time.
My favorite City is Toronto so I would love these passes
I would like to explore New York as surprisingly, that’s the one city I’ve never been to and explored. I’ve always wanted to go there but never had the chance.
I would like to explore Toronto becasue I have never been to many of the places
I would love to have a CityPass for Toronto! My kids are the perfect ages to enjoy all the venues.
I would do Toronto, even thou I live just north of the city I have never had a chance to visit these places.
So my kids can finally meet their tia in California and see & enjoy Disneyland and other attractions
my hubby has always wanted to take us to chicago. i’ve always wanted to go to chicago! win win! 🙂 i guess the kids can come…..tee hee hee
Hi Katherine!
Love your blog, I can’t wait to hear how everything goes! What a fantastic experience for all of you – I am so jealous!
San Francisco is definitely the place I would choose. Besides, being in California, my favourite State, it would also be for some of these reasons: Travelling to Alcatraz, having coffee, riding the cable cars, smelling the ocean, visiting the zoo, Fisherman’s Wharf, Legion of Honor Museum, Museum of Modern Art, wine tours….. I could go on and on.
With 5 children, it would ease up on the budget to receive the Citypass’s as well as let us check off San Francisco on our great Bucket List. This city is full of culture, full of history, beauty and serenity. I get excited just thinking about it!!
Enjoy and have fun!!