It totally depends on exactly where you will be in Pacific Beach. It's a very large area and spreads out. Around the beach areas (including the area south of PB called Mission Beach) appeals to the young college age, late night, party, drinking crowd.

My daughter lived in a house that she rented with a bunch of other kids when she was right out of college and the entire neighborhood was noisy all the time and off street parking was non-existant.

The further away from the beach in the PB area the more residential it is and the quieter it will be. That time of year won't have the hoards of tourists from Arizona that we get in the summer.

I don't like PB because it is not really all that great a place to vacation in my opinion. I live in Bird Rock which is part of southern La Jolla and abuts PB. Even La Jolla is difficult because it is crowded.

I would suggest renting a house in Coronado. It is much quieter, a smaller community. You can bicycle everywhere, it has a walkable downtown area, the number one rated beach in the country, and beautiful parks, a lovely public golf course, a beautiful sheltered bay for sailing and boating, a magnificent public community rec center (including pool), etc.

The other nice thing about Coronado is it has better freeway access into downtown San Diego and better access to Balboa Park and the SD Zoo.

Pacific Beach unfortunately (I know this very well!) is removed from quick freeway access (a good 10 minute drive to the nearest freeway) and limits quick access to other areas of San Diego IMHO.

A lot depends on where the house/condo is located in PB. There are night clubs in various PB locations which are alive/noisy - and other areas that are quieter. Generally - while PB is where young people live and party - along the Boardwalk/bayfront - the more expensive places to rent are quieter - and also - check out renting on the bayside - which is usually quiet. We ride bikes both places and by far - the bayside is quieter - and only about 4 or 5 blocks or so from the ocean.

It also depends on what kind of vibe you want. If you want young people - PB for sure, or even Ocean Beach - which is a big funkier/hipper. Otherwise, the village of La Jolla also has some happening stuff - and Coronado is beautiful and has a few night spots. If you want to go to the Navy Seals bar - that can be interesting.

When I visited I stayed at the Dana Inn hotel in the Mission Bay area. You would need a car and I assume you will have one. It was quiet right on the bay with a great view. I am real familiar with PB and if you are somewhere in the middle of Mission Bay Blvd it might now be so bad. Not sure what type of vibe you are seeking or what you want to see.? Coronado is a great island but if you are interested in doing balboa park, zoo, sea world, or old town you are not as centrally located. It is unclear what the interests are. You will not be beaching it that is for sure for it will be a bit cold for the beach.

I've had friends who've stayed at the Dana Inn hotel in MB and they liked it a lot too. But it is off the beaten path and does require driving.

Pacific Beach and Mission Beach are two very different communities even though they share a boundary. Mission Beach is not my idea of a great place to be (fun to visit for a day or two) but it's got a lot of crime and is generally extremely crowded year round. It is a mix of high end beach homes and drug-homeless people who hang out at the boardwalk.

Pacific Beach is just north of Mission Beach and a lot of the party, restaurant, life carries over. But like I said earlier, there is a residential area further away from the beach.

Again I would check out Coronado. Actually time wise (if you have a car) Coronado seems off the beaten track but because of the bridge you are immediately on the freeway and 5 minutes from downtown SD and 10 minutes from Balboa Park/SD Zoo.

PB is a good 20-25 minutes to downtown SD and 20-25 to Balboa Park/SD Zoo (I know from experience!!).

You might check out MommDDtravels trip reports on Coronado and San Diego. She travels to San Diego often.

My favorite area is Carlsbad - its north of La Jolla- cute beach town - easy to walk around, nice restaurants but not as high end as La Jolla.

I have stayed in Pacific Beach/Mission Beach and I enjoyed it there. Did not go out a lot at night but not subjected to wild parties or noise- I liked the board walk, dining at the Green Flash -

I could easily stay in either place

I liked the area toward the middle (where Mission Beach and Pacific Beach meet) but it can be a little noisy at night on the weekends, especially when the weather is warm. I would choose something on Mission Bay where it is only a short walk to the ocean beach. The beach along Mission Bay is lovely and I really like the walking trail there, as well as walking the beach boardwalk. We enjoyed eating at World Famous.

A lot of people like Carlsbad sunbum. It is really nice and close to other beach cities. It's a quick drive to Encinitas and Solana Beach (all three are about 30-40 minutes north of La Jolla). That is also something to check out.

opps, want to add, the downside is you are very far from the main tourist areas like downtown, the zoo, Balboa Park, Cabrillo Monument, and Old Town. It's probably about 40 minutes (without traffic) from Carlsbad to the main attractions in the downtown areas.

But I certainly wouldn't consider Carlsbad, just a thought to add to the decision making.

yikes, meant to say I certainly would consider Carlsbad!

Thank you for the responses. I have been to San Diego before and done all the usual big tourist attractions. This will be just to putter around. I love Coronado, but I don't think my friend is inclined to stay there. She's looking at renting a house, some are on Tourmaline (or something like that) off of Mission Blvd (east side of the blvd).

Tourmline is defiitely a quieter area - almost "Baja" La Jolla.

Del Mar also has a very cute "village" area.

And when I used to stay in Carlsbad I used the train to get around to other beach towns and even took it to get to the airport ( had to change to a bus downtown) but process was pretty easy and inexpensive.

Tourmaline is around the corner from the Bird Rock area (or southern "baja" La Jolla) it is off of La Jolla Blvd. It is a rather crowded, high density area with a lot of traffic. They are probably cheaper than the more expensive areas and if you have a car you can at least drive to some other places for little day trips. (BTW, I live around the corner from Tourmaline).

I can recommend some great restaurants if you are interested.

I am surprised you will be able to rent a house for that limited amount of time. 2 nights and 3 days is more like a hotel night stay then a house?

Slack time for the tourist season?

Diann24, it's three nights, which is the minimum for the property. I never would have thought about a house for a short stay but my friend really loves renting houses.

Nanabee, sure I'd love some restaurant recommendatios, especially if you have any where one could eat for $15 max per person (not counting drinks). I'm not a fancy eater.

I'm going to have to look up Carlsbad for an outing.

Thanks!

Here are some of the local favorites:

These are within 1/2 mile of Tourmaline Street area:
Lupi's Italian
http://www.yelp.com/biz/lupi-la-jolla

The Fishery
http://thefishery.com/

Beaumount's
http://www.beaumontseatery.com/

Some favorites in downtown La Jolla are:

El Pescador (local fish market and small restaurant on Pearl St)
http://www.elpescadorfishmarket.com/

a newcomer to the area (1/2 block from El Pescador on Pearl)
Tandoori Chef
http://www.tandoorigroup.com/

Pannikin Coffee & Cafe on Girard S.
http://pannikincoffeeandtea.com/
their breakfasts are great.

Also Sammy's Woodfired Pizza on Pearl St.
http://www.sammyspizza.com/location/la-jolla/

And The Cottage for breakfast and brunch
http://www.cottagelajolla.com/
(very, VERY busy so go really early!)

We always go out to eat during happy hour which might have a select menu but the prices are much better.
All of these are moderately priced for the beach area and are excellent imho!

Thanks for the dining recommendations Nanabee. I ate at Sammy's in 2008 and want to go there again. My friend wants to go to El Pescador as she has been there before. Sadly, I don't eat seafood at all and to my surprise they don't offer a token nonseafood entre (not counting a salad). That's hardcore! I foresee myself picking up a burger at Burger Lounge or In and Out after I accompany my friend to Pescador!

If you want fine dining - go to La Tapanede in La Jolla - and the Cocktail hour menu (served in the bar) is reasonable - and tres bien.

http://www.tapenaderestaurant.com/