Frugal Family Fun in Los Angeles
This trip was not on my calendar. My mom wanted to visit her sister who is ill, but didn’t want to travel alone. I needed to keep my 6 year old entertained and make it a little fun for my mom, who is 73 years old. So this is a really a great itinerary for the whole family – big kids, tots, and the grands! Since I booked flights from the east coast only two weeks before our trip, right after the holidays, I wanted to keep costs low. That meant none of the theme parks! Luckily, Los Angeles was full of options!
Our Adventures
We visited the free Roundhouse Museum at Manhattan Beach; spent a day at the Redondo Beach Pier with a lovely boat tour; and had a blast museum hopping at Exposition Park. We also got a little cultural immersion in and practiced our Spanish skills at a night market for dinner!
Manhattan Beach
Manhattan Beach did not disappoint. Its a cute beach town full of surfers. For us, it was cool to watch folx surf in real life. The free aquarium was also a hit! We spent the entire day in the area. Since my goal was to spend as few dollars as possible, we skipped ALL the restaurants and shops. Alternatively, we spent our time exploring the beach, enjoying our packed lunch with ocean views, and learning about southern California marine life.
Redondo Beach Pier
There was so much to do at the Redondo Beach Pier! First, we enjoyed all the artwork. There were murals all over the place! After a short walk, we took a tour on the Redondo Glass Bottom Boat . IT WAS AMAZING, and the highlight of this visit! Captain Jake was an fun guide with dad jokes for days! We saved a good chunk of change by finding a Groupon deal for the boat ride!
I loved that there was so much to do at the pier. There's an e-bike company where you can rent bikes to ride all the way to Santa Monica, but it was a cold rainy day so we decided to skip that activity. We ate our packed lunches at one of the many picnic tables along the pier. There were restaurants open for business, too. But as usual, we packed lunch & snacks for the day using that good hotel breakfast spread!
We spent a solid 5 hours here, and there was plenty of things to take up the whole day. However, when traveling with my 6 year old AND 70+ year old mama, I have to factor in time for a rest. So we went back to our hotel for the naps both of them said they didn’t need. I knocked out a couple hours of work. Then we ventured back out for dinner that evening.
Check out this recap of our Redondo Beach Pier visit!
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Will travel for museums!
Yall know my baby loves some nature and science, so we weren't leaving LA without stopping by the Natural History Museum.
WE HAD A TIME!
Admission can be a lil steep with the whole family, BUT, this museum participates in the ASTC Passport Program, which means our Maryland Science Center membership got us in for free! The museum has a cafe, but if you're like me, you'll pack a lunch and snacks and spend all your coins in the gift shop!
The exhibits are so thoughtful and engaging. Our favorites were the Discovery Center, African and North American Mammal Halls, Dinosaur Hall, Age of Mammals, the Nature Lab, the Hall of Birds, and the Nature Gardens. . . . so pretty much the entire building! We spent the morning there!
We took the bus, but the train was also right across the street. The museum itself is centrally located in the beautiful Exposition Park, and walking distance to our next stop!
Check out this recap of our Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County visit.
After a morning next door at the Museum of Natural History, we closed out the day at the California Science Center.
Full disclosure, I had LOW expectations because this center is free, all the time. However, I was blown away by the creativity and quality of the exhibits!
First of all, we walked through a uterus and made babies. My 6 year old had the time of her life helping sperm swim to an egg. Yep, you read that right! They have an entire exhibit about reproduction. Yall, we flew home that night, and she was bouncing around LAX yelling, “MY SPERM WAS THE STRONGEST SWIMMER! BABY TIME!”
The fear exhibit was really cool. Somehow, I ended up on the falling simulator! The fire safety exhibit was so incredibly well done.
If you need a long sit down, and perhaps a moment to rest your eyes, stop by the concession stand and catch a show at the IMAX (show tickets purchases separately).
Accommodations and Transportation
Yall know Marley and I love a good camping trip, but every now and then, I book a hotel room. And when I do, its almost always gonna be through Marriott so I can stack those points! For budget travel with the kid, I try to book at a location that has bathtubs (not just in the accessible rooms) and complimentary breakfast.
The hotel breakfast is such a treat for kids! Despite the fact that I spend time making a sit down breakfast DAILY, that huge pot of hotel oatmeal with the toppings my kid doesn’t even eat, and the waffle maker that beeps loudly brings my girl so much joy. For me, that breakfast means less that I have to do and buy! After we eat, I usually grab a few extra items to pack for lunch and snacks for the day’s outing. Check out what I do to pack up HERE.
For this trip, we stayed at the Residence Inn in Redondo Beach, CA. I picked this location because it was relatively close to the airport, a short walk to public transit and a grocery store, and far enough outside of LA to have lower nightly rates, but close enough to easily access the city.
I planned to use public transit for our trip, but my mama and the rain weren’t having it, so we relied primarily on Uber. To avoid carrying a car seat or booster on the plane, I used our RideSafer vest. It came in handy for tossing in a bag or having Marley carry it between rides while out and about!
