Depends if you're renting cars on a budget. It's usually cheaper to rent by the month than by incremental weeks. With some agencies it's also $hundreds more to return the car to a distant city, like say from San Francisco then return LAX.
You could just rent cars at SFO and LAX upon arrival. But the hassle of going to the airport and the DHS security lines and THEN the car rental lines (unless you're got membership), with kids and baggage and all that won't add to your trip. While a long-term car rental with all waiver and insurance cover means freedom to flex plans and stop-and-go however you want, if you're up to the driving.
But if you insist you can fly SFO or OAK (Oakland) to LAX. BART commuter trains from San Francisco run directly to airport station. If returning a car, from the rental agency building the airport shuttle train will bring you to the SFO terminals around its loop.
From LAX or BUR (Burbank) it might make sense to fly to LAS if you find a really cheap flight/strip hotel promo package. There's a monorail with stops at the rear entrances of the huge MGM and Paris casinos complexes, but it's still a walk through the huge game floors of these mega complexes. So you're likely better off renting a cheap car at LAS to bring your family around, as casino-hotel parking is free for guests anyway and the day heat can be gruelling.
To get to the Las Vegas Fremont Street Experience or whatever it is now, IIRC you can park nearby then walk to the old town. Fry's Electronics and the Fashion and the two major outlet malls as well as many of the cheaper but decent buffets are all a short drive away.
But don't miss the central coast drive up the PCH/101 via SLO to the Monterey and SF Bay areas. For the kids, make food stops at L.A. places like Tommy's burgers and In-N-Out and also Pink's hotdog stand. On the coast drive, try Brophy Bros. seafood at Ventura or Santa Barbara, Firestone Grill and the Thursday night street market at SLO, Elvis at McDonalds Paso Robles, even Pilot and TA highway truck stops, etc.
In San Francisco Bay Area, try Golden Gate Meat Co. at the Ferry Bldg, Super Duper burgers, Pancho Villa and La Corneta mexican taquerias, BJ's Tanforan for ribs, Ike's Place and Pluto's sandwiches, Cordon Bleu vietnamese, Crissy Field Beach Hut cafe, Peet's and Philz for coffee, Bi-Rite and Humphrey Slocombe for ice cream.
Last edited by FlitBen; Sep 19, 2015 at 12:46 pm