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Amtrak trip from San Diego to Santa Barbara or San Luis Obispo

Amtrak trip from San Diego to Santa Barbara or San Luis Obispo

Old Oct 10th, 2017, 06:14 AM
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Amtrak trip from San Diego to Santa Barbara or San Luis Obispo

My husband and I are planning to travel to southern California and the Central Coast in late December and early January. Excluding the days we fly in and out, we'll have 11 days. We're planning to start in San Diego (where we've been several times before) and then take the train northward. From San Diego, we would travel by Amtrak to the following destinations: Long Beach (we'd take the train to Anaheim or Fullerton, and then a car to LB), then Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. We're skipping LA because we've been there twice before, including last year, and it's not a favorite. From San Luis Obispo we'd fly home. We would spend 3-4 days in San Diego, and 1.5-2.5 days in each of the other destinations.

I'm looking for suggestions as to how much time to stay in each place aside from San Diego, or if perhaps we should eliminate one destination. We haven't been to Long Beach, Ventura, Santa Barbara, or San Luis Obispo before. Our interests include scenic beaches, architecture, art and history museums (but not all day / every day), walkable downtowns, vegetarian food, and craft beer and breweries.

We could fly into Santa Barbara or San Luis Obispo and then travel southward rather than flying into San Diego first, if there were a compelling reason to do it that way.

Thanks for any information you can provide!
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Old Oct 10th, 2017, 12:10 PM
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Despite the name, Long Beach is not a beach destination, it is a port city and all the beaches except for Belmont Shore are behind the breakwater. Maybe look at quiet, laid back Seal Beach or maybe Huntington Beach.
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Old Oct 10th, 2017, 03:41 PM
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In late December/early January, I wouldn't substitute Seal Beach or Huntington Beach for Long Beach. I'd skip all three unless there is something specific you wanted to do/see in Long Beach. If you had a car starting in San Diego, there are more interesting towns to see along the way. La Jolla, Del Mar, San Juan Capistrano, Laguna...

At that time of year, you'll have to cross your fingers for good coastal weather. December to March are typically the wettest months in Southern California. Sunset would be before 5:00p.
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Old Oct 11th, 2017, 02:55 AM
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If you plan for the train /Uber to be your method of travel then I'd concentrate my time in San Diego and Santa Barbara. There are many threads here in areas of San Diego to stay, you'll have to do your research and let us know what you plan to do.

Do you want beaches for walking? Just looking at? Surfing?

If you let us know a bit more about what you plan to do, it will be helpful.
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Old Oct 11th, 2017, 07:04 AM
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Take a Pacific Surfliner train from San Diego to Santa Barbara. The Amtrak station is within walking distance of the pier which has some good restaurants. The best of the hotels (IMO) is the Fess Parker. https://www.fessparkersantabarbarahotel.com/stay/#
My 2 favorites in Santa Barbara are the zoo and the mission up on the hill.
I believe you can rent a car either at the Fess Parker or somewhere downtown. You can make day trips from Santa Barbara to SLO and to Ventura.
Don't expect the ocean water to be warm enough to swim in even in the summertime. The surfers I saw in Santa Barbara were wearing wetsuits.
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Old Oct 11th, 2017, 08:26 AM
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Thank you all for your input.

I should clarify that Long Beach came to my attention for its walkability and its downtown, and one of the reasons I want to visit is that it could be a possible place for us to move one day. Thanks for letting me know it’s not a beach destination.

We went to Huntington Beach a few years ago, but unfortunately I don’t have a clear memory of it, except for a restaurant where we had a nice brunch. We’ve been to La Jolla and Del Mar before and may spend a day in one or both while we’re staying in San Diego. Thanks for recommending San Juan Capistrano and Laguna Beach, Jean. Is there anything you recommend doing in either place?

We’ve been to Southern California in December and January a few times and have been happy with the weather; even if it rains a bit and is cool, it’s still better than where we’re coming from (NYC). Thanks for mentioning it, though.

Regarding beaches, we like walking and admiring the scenery. I guess we just like the beach vibe, even if we can’t swim at that time of year.

Thanks for the hotel recommendation in Santa Barbara, tomfuller. I appreciate the suggestion to base ourselves in Santa Barbara and then travel to SLO and Ventura, rather than staying overnight in each place; I think we’ll probably do that.
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Old Oct 11th, 2017, 11:36 AM
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In San Juan Capistrano, the mission is the main attraction, but the area immediately around the mission is very nice for shopping/dining/strolling. I often meet a friend from San Diego there for lunch.

IMO, Laguna is a nice upscale town with interesting shops/galleries/dining and a beautiful beach.

You wouldn't find a beach vibe in downtown Long Beach. It's a city of nearly half a million people with the second largest container port in the U.S. Either/both SJC and Laguna would be much more pleasant stops.
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Old Oct 12th, 2017, 07:40 AM
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Thanks Jean!

We may just stop for an afternoon in Long Beach to scope it out as a possible future place to live (in ~2030 when I finally convince my husband to leave NYC for better weather), but won't stay overnight.
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Old Oct 12th, 2017, 09:46 AM
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The problem with stopping "for an afternoon" in LB, unless you're driving on a Sunday, you'd then want to wait until early evening before continuing to Ventura or Santa Barbara. Otherwise, in afternoon traffic, you'd be looking at 3-4 hours. I would either stop in LB and spend the night or skip it. (Just driving San Diego to Long Beach, without stops in either Laguna or SJC, would take 2+ hours.)

I don't know how many buckets of money you'll have when you move, and whether you'd be looking for a SFR or condo, but check out the Naples/Belmont Shore/Seal Beach area.
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Old Oct 12th, 2017, 12:32 PM
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Naples, Belmont Shore, and Seal Beach all look great. Thank you, Jean!
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