Beyond LA Off Beaten Path: 6 Day Itinerary
Six days is the point where this cluster stops being a shortlist and starts being a proper loop: coast, theme park, coast again, a full city, the desert, and finally an island that needs no car at all. Days 1 through 5 run exactly as they do in the 5 day version ; day 6 swaps the rental car for a ferry ticket. The 7 day version adds one more day, this time to the mountains.
Book these before you go:
- Rental car at LAX , for five of the six days
- Disneyland one-day ticket , dated ahead of the gate price
- Joshua Tree day tour , if you would rather not drive the desert roads
- Catalina Island day trip with Avalon tour , which bundles the ferry booking
| Day | Focus | Distance/drive time from LA |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Malibu and Getty Villa via PCH | about 1 hour one way |
| Day 2 | Disneyland, Anaheim | 45 to 90 minutes one way |
| Day 3 | Santa Barbara | about 1h40 to 2 hours one way |
| Day 4 | San Diego | 2 to 3 hours one way |
| Day 5 | Joshua Tree and Palm Springs | 1h45 to 3 hours one way |
| Day 6 | Catalina Island | 1 hour by ferry, no driving |
Day 1: Malibu and the coast
North on Pacific Coast Highway out of Santa Monica, padding the drive for the 25 mph stretch through the old burn area. Getty Villa sits on this route, free to enter with a timed ticket and $25 to park regardless, followed by Zuma and Point Dume.
Day 2: Disneyland, a full day, not an add-on
Leave early for the 5 freeway south. One-day tickets run $104 to $224 depending on the date, with parking a separate $30 plus. Split the day between Disneyland and Disney California Adventure.
Day 3: Santa Barbara, the coast at a slower speed
Leave before 9am if possible. Mission architecture, a walkable State Street, and wine country a short detour inland; the official Santa Barbara visitor site has current tasting room hours.
Day 4: San Diego, a city rather than an attraction
Budget 2 to 3 hours each way, worse on a Friday or Sunday, which is the real argument for an overnight rather than a there-and-back day. Balboa Park’s free museum days rotate on a schedule the San Diego Tourism Authority site keeps current.
Day 5: Joshua Tree and Palm Springs, the low desert in one run
About 50 minutes apart from each other, which makes combining them the efficient move. Joshua Tree runs $30 for a 7-day vehicle pass, the park’s fee page worth checking before you go, while Palm Springs supplies the midcentury architecture and resort pools; skip the pairing entirely from May through September when desert heat routinely passes 100F.
Day 6: Catalina Island, the day that needs no car
The ferry from Long Beach or San Pedro runs about an hour and lands you on an island with a herd of wild bison, descendants of animals left behind after a 1920s film shoot nobody bothered to collect. Round trip runs about $99 through Catalina Express , and a guided day trip bundling the ferry is worth it if the schedules feel fiddly to book yourself. Miss the last boat back and the night happens on the island whether that was the plan or not.
Do you need a rental car for all six days?
Five of them, yes. Malibu, Anaheim, Santa Barbara, San Diego, and the Joshua Tree/Palm Springs desert day all sit outside LA’s Metro rail corridors. Catalina Island is the exception: the only vehicle involved is the ferry, and a car sits parked (and costing nothing extra) back on the mainland that day.
Is Catalina Island worth a full day for a short crossing?
Yes, mostly because the crossing itself is short, about an hour each way, leaving most of the day free once you land in Avalon. The bigger constraint is the return schedule rather than the island itself, since missing the last boat back turns a day trip into an unplanned overnight.
Six days, six distinct textures, coastal fog, a theme park, mission architecture, a full city, desert heat, and an island reachable without ever starting the car. Few single-city trips manage that much variety.