California's Great America
Kid essentials
About this place
The Bay Area's big theme park: 50+ rides, the Planet Snoopy kids' area, and the South Bay Shores waterpark included with admission. Planet Snoopy alone can fill a day for the under-8 set.
How kid-friendly is it?
Nearby places
Claims the largest hotel pool in Silicon Valley, ringed by cabanas, and Great America is an easy walk. If pool time is the hotel requirement, this is the Santa Clara pick.
Playful tech-themed hotel with a big pool deck, cabanas, and a fire pit about a mile from Great America. Feels less like a business hotel than its neighbors, which kids appreciate.
The 49ers' museum ($35 adults, $17 kids 12 and under) plus behind-the-scenes stadium tours of Levi's. For football kids it's a pilgrimage; for everyone else, check dates - the museum only opens around home games and by reservation.
Heated outdoor pool and a five-minute walk to Levi's Stadium and California's Great America. The easiest home base if the theme park is the point of the trip.
Free weekday museum at Intel HQ where kids can see how chips are made - clean-room bunny suits, silicon wafers, binary games. Open Monday-Friday only, which makes it a good P-Day plan.
Big full-service hotel with an outdoor pool right by the convention center and Great America. Interconnected rooms are available, so it scales for larger families.