glita4bkny1

Hi everyone,

My husband and i will be travelling to California for 6 days during the first week of October 2017. We both have never been before, and are looking for some expert advice to ensure we hit all the right spots! Here are the facts that I hope will help -

- Flying in Sunday morning from NYC (can fly into either LAX or SAN) and flying home on Friday afternoon (can fly out of either LAX or SAN).
- We will be renting a car
- We are more than willing to change lodging throughout our stay as well as doing Air BnB
- We do not require much down time at all
- We 100% want to see San Diego Zoo
- We 100% want to spend 2 days at Disney Land

I hope some of these points help! Any and all ideas, game plans and itineraries are welcome!!!

thank you everyone.

MmePerdu

Am I right that your title might have read "6 Days in SOUTHERN California"? Most questions we get about CA are from those who intend to include part of the north or the drive north along the coast. Clarification on that point will help.

Also the "right spots" are in the eye of the beholder so beyond zoo and amusement park, with no mention of anything else, what in general interests you when you travel? Necessary information.

janisj

You actually have about 4.5 days free -- so San Diego (Zoo, beaches, arts) and Orange County (Disney - which would require 2 full days to do both parks- , beaches, Presidential site, etc.) could/would entirely fill your time. Easily.

Flying in to LAX and out of SAN or vice versa would work equally well.

glita4bkny1

Thanks!! I def. should have placed that in there. Yes - this will be a Southern California trip.

for the "right spots" I am sort of at a loss. We don't even know where to begin! We do love seeing animals and we love Disney, so we wanted to make sure we added those in there as MUST DO'S

We both enjoy:
- music
- the outdoors
- beautiful scenic areas

We would like to be outdoors as much as possible since we are coming from Brooklyn NY and want to experience the fresh air as much as possible, lol.

glita4bkny1

Thanks!! I def. should have placed that in there. Yes - this will be a Southern California trip.

for the "right spots" I am sort of at a loss. We don't even know where to begin! We do love seeing animals and we love Disney, so we wanted to make sure we added those in there as MUST DO'S

We both enjoy:
- music
- the outdoors
- beautiful scenic areas

We would like to be outdoors as much as possible since we are coming from Brooklyn NY and want to experience the fresh air as much as possible, lol.

sf7307

Also, please correct me if I'm wrong, but you have 4 full days (Monday-Thursday) and 2 half days (Sunday and Friday), right?

Since 2 days at Disneyland are a must, that leaves only 2 full days and 2 half days.

Assume a half day visiting the San Diego Zoo (as great a zoo as it is, more than 4 hours at a zoo is an awful lot).

Believe me, you will have no trouble filling up one full day and the remaining 3 half days between San Diego and LA.

Sunday and Monday in San Diego - spend the day of arrival on Coronado Island or in La Jolla. Next day, morning at the zoo, afternoon "downtown" (other parts of Balboa park, tour the Midway, wander around the Gaslamp, take in a baseball game at Petco Park).

Tuesday and Wednesday - Disneyland

Thursday and Friday morning - LA (Griffith Park, Santa Monica/Venice, beach towns, museums of all kinds, Hollywood, Pasadena)

MmePerdu

If it was me, I'd find an Airbnb cottage or apartment within walking distance of a beach and spend the time not at the zoo and Disneyland exploring the beach towns and coast. I like the stretch between Laguna Beach and San Clemente, or closer to San Diego north to maybe Encinitas. In that case stay south except for your drive to Disneyland and fly in & out of San Diego, which I think I'd prefer and find easier.

suze

With the things you want to do I would split the stay between two places, the two days you want in Anaheim, and the rest in San Diego.

I'd use whichever airport has the best flight routing, times, prices from your home airport.

jamie99

I would have suggested Hollywood Bowl but in early October the regular season is over and there are only a few lease events.
Suze's idea of sticking to Anaheim and San Diego is probably good. Laguna Beach outlawed short term rentals (as did Huntington Beach) so AirBnB is a nogo in those towns, still legal in Newport.

suze

Well kind of an easy answer. Since they specifically said they want to go to the Zoo and to Disneyland & only have 6 days total. So I'm not sure why people are suggesting they go exploring beach towns and the coast instead. The request was pretty clear

janisj

Yep -- my first post said essentially the same thing. W/ the less than 5 full days they have, SD and Anaheim/OC will be pretty rushed as it is.

glita4bkny1

thank you everyone. Yes, I know it is a rushed trip but unfortunately, that is all the time we will have. I appreciate the advice!

Underhill

I could easily spend an entire day at the San Diego Zoo, with perhaps a few hours at the adjacent Balboa Park.

mlgb

One day at the most for the zoo and Balboa Park

One day for La Jolla Cove for the seals. I don't find the village that interesting but you can mosey around.

I like Torrey Pines State Park/Beach for at least half aday, for your scenic areas and outdoors ( you can hike/bike roundtrip between the State Park and beach and also into Del Mar and back).

Between SD and OC my favorite stop is San Juan Capistrano especially if you are interested in history. The old town is nicer than San Diego's. Or Laguna Beach.

For your Disney days I'd want the two nights in Anaheim (or three).

zimmer4488

We spend our winters in San Diego and more specifically on Coronado. The Hotel Del Coronado is a must visit! Historically classic hotel; lots of foot traffic from tourists but worth the effort. The beach is incomparable: wide sandy beach, great views watching ships around Point Loma. The town is very quaint with some excellent restaurants. If you have time to spend, take the ferry from San Diego Harbor. Great skyline views from Coronado

cmstraf

Is the Disney Seaward in San Diego connected with the zoo? I hear it's fabulous.
There are wonderful museums in LA, but I think given your time constraints, it's better to save these for another trip.

NewbE

How does everyone reckon they have 4.5 days??

They fly in Sunday MORNING. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday--that's 5 days.

They fly out Friday AFTERNOON. If they're early risers, that might be another half day.

I don't get how janisj routinely subtracts time for no reason I understand and no one else will do the math and correct her.

sf7307

If they fly nonstop on United from JFK to SAN, for example, they will arrive at the gate at 10:45. They pick up a car and get downtown or to the zoo around lunchtime. That's half a day.

MmePerdu

"Flying in Sunday morning from NYC..."

What time in the morning? Arrive, fiddle with bags, fiddle with rental car pick-up, fiddle with hotel check-in, oh dear time left for a bit more fiddling around then dinner.

"flying home on Friday afternoon..."

Have breakfast, pack, check out of hotel and what time is the flight? Oh dear, better hurry.

Sounds like 4 days to me and not much more. My estimate is as legitimate as anyone else's who doesn't know the particulars and habits of the OP. I figure a full day to plan is one where I wake up and go to bed in the same place. If they decide to move, as some here recommend, there's more time lost checking out/checking in, fiddling around. 4 1/2 if they're lucky.

suze

OP says <for 6 days>

I say <have 6 days total>

I don't need to "correct" anyone, I used the time frame the OP stated for themselves.