just wondering if you have any suggestions on a 7-day trip to newport, ca?

we are planning to take some day trips to:
san diego zoo--where can we go for dinner? old town?
LA---best reasonable (<$50) tour of hollywood? looking to entertain teenager...
balboa island--is this an all day event?
disney---what's downtown disney?

fyi...we are traveling with a teenager and a two yr old. i appreciate all your input.

Balboa Island is not really an all day event unless you make it one... (and depending on where you are coming from). We usually drive onto the island (Jamboree Road), park and walk around - there is a great main street with shopping and restaurants (and good ice cream). There is also a path all around the outside perimeter of the island.

We usually walk to the ferry and take it over to the mainland on the other side of the island (look at a map, it's hard to explain). That is where the Fun Zone is (alas, no more bumper cars though). http://www.thebalboafunzone.com/ Also, harbor tours, boats to Catalina, etc.

You can continue walking to the beach and Balboa pier which has a Ruby's restaurant at the end.

Other ideas:
We also discovered a great little restaurant at the Crystal Cove Cottages called the Beachcomber Cafe - http://www.crystalcovebeachcottages....eachcomber.htm (I think the cottages look adorable but are impossible to get reservations at!).

And here is our trip report from our last trip there (my folks live in Orange County so we are there at least once a year):
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=35098599

Redline Tours do great Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles tours .... check them out!!

Denice

I always recommend The Crab Cooker, at Newport. It's fabulous grilled fresh fish. The lobster tails are especially good, and affordable. It's a fun and funky place.

Gets crowded with a long line outside, so go early. If you wait in line, you can get clam chowder to snack on in the meantime. It's a must-do for us whenever we're in that neighborhood.

thanks so much for the feedback. based on my research, here is what i've got planned for the week.

Day 1--arrive in newport and hang out at our resort, NCV. dine at the crab cooker.

Day 2---Crystal Cove Beach, bfast at Beachcomber; Laguna beach at night for dinner and some walking.

Day 3--Disneyland

Day 4--Newport Beach; Fashion island at night for dinner.

Day 5--San Diego Zoo....im not sure where to go after the zoon. any suggestions for dinner in that area?

Day 6---Corona Del Mar Beach; hit balboa island at night.

Day 7---Hollywood/LA tour

Is this it

is the above plan reasonable? any suggestions on where to dine?

If you enjoy a modest hike, the beach trail from Corona del Mar to Laguna Beach is a beautiful walk.

A couple other restaurants for your list are Oysters, Five Crowns and Bandera.

In San Diego I like the gas light district over Old Town. Consider Croce's for dinner.

My favorite restaurant in Laguna Beach is Brussels Bistro - a little slice of Belgian food in southern California!
http://www.brusselsbistro.com/

Muldoon's (Irish pub type place) is a good place to eat at Fashion Island:
http://muldoonspub.com/

One caveat/suggestion about the Beachcomber Cafe - go early if it is a weekend morning. You park on the other side of PCH and then have a walk under a tunnel to the other side (stroller probably advisable for your 2 yr old). Parking is $10 (payable upon departure I think) but if you show your receipt from breakfast there is no charge for parking.

San Diego- you could drive to SD and back in a day but it would make for a long day. Why not just get a room here for a night?

After the zoo, you could enjoy Balboa Park and stay downtown, lots of restaurants to choose from or eat in the park at the Prado or in the Sculpture Garden near the art museum at Waters.

Or if you choose to stay downtown you can hop on the ferry and go over to Coronado.

Brussels Bistro looks good, Las Brisas another great place for a meal in Laguna Beach, pretty views here! ***kim***

I predict you will return to the Crab Cooker for another dinner during your stay! Glad to see it's on your plan. It's a very relaxed place, so it will be good for both your teen and your toddler.

Your teen might enjoy Huntington Beach, also, which is just a few blocks up from Newport Beach. There are usually lots of kids there, and surfers.

What about getting free tickets to a taping? Some shows have age limits, so you'd need to consider that for your teen and your toddler. You can Google for tickets, find out what guests are on, and if tickets are available. If you have time, you can request them on-line. We went to Jay Leno last visit, and our son has seen Jimmy Kimmel. It's fun, and it's free. But getting tickets can be a hassle.

What time of year are you there?

If you're going to be in the HOllywood area, you might consider Universal as well. Your teen would love it. Others would have to weigh in on the toddler. I can't remember everything that was available.

Downtown Disney is just outside the entrance to Disneyland. It is comprised of restaurants and retail stores with some entertainement mixed in. You don't really need to go there, but it is fun to walk around. Two days at Disneyland/California Adventure would be better than one. You can get park hopper passes (entrance to both parks) at Safeway and AAA. Some of the AAA deals include parking. Universal Studios is really fun for teenagers and the studio tour shows a lot of movie/TV sets and special effects. The rides and shows are great - much better than I expected. I didn't pay much attention to what would work for a 2-year-old there, but the website would probably be informative. Universal Studios is much louder and not as well managed as Disneyland, so I think if you need to choose one, Disneyland is best.

The beach on Balboa Island looked awesome - what you would expect a California beach to look like. We were there during a huge rainstorm, though, and didn't experience a day on the beach. It looked to me like you could spend a day on the island - beach, fun zone, lunch, surrey ride (I'm assuming they rent them), checking out the shops. Ruby's was fun for breakfast.

There is a City Pass available that I think would be a good deal for you. You can google it.

Just came back from trip to Huntington Beach with our teen. We usually go to Laguna, which is beautiful, but wanted to try something different. Take a daytrip, fun town with Tuesday night street festival, great beach and pier.Eat at Duke's. Skip Fashion Island, it's boring. You are spending time in the OC,L.A. and San Diego - we usually do each section in separate trips there is so much to see and do. You are trying to pack a lot in. There is so much in San Diego it is endless.Forget the zoo and go to Seaworld. Your teen will love Mission Bay - they have a nice amusement park there. Don't miss LaJolla. If you're going to L.A. go to Santa Monica - rent bikes along the boardwalk and go to funky Venice Beach - you will not see anything like this at home.Then have dinner at the Promenade and enjoy the street performers. Newport Beach is nice but Laguna is spectacular. As I said, you are trying to do too much. Why don't you leave SD for another trip? Check out the Chart House restaurants - they're all over calif. You prob would like Universal.

Balboa is nice but can do in an hour.A few miles away is Corona del Mar - go to the cliff - spectacular

thank you all for your advice. after all your replies i am going to skip fashion island and head to huntington beach one night.

We def want to hit the zoo in SD so any suggestions as to what we can do after the zoo. how far is lajolla/gas light village from the zoo? are they worth visiting with teen and toddler?

i looked into the seeing a show taping in LA.....my teen is 14. most shows require a 16 age limit. we are going to take one of the tours of hollywood....any recommendations as to which tour is best for the teen? i would prefer not to do a walking tour since i have a toddler with me...

i am getting very excited for this trip as we are leaving this friday.

one more thing.....does disneland offer discounted admission tickets to the park?

La Jolla and Gaslamp district is 2 different directions.

I can't imagine going to the gaslamp with a toddler, it refers to an area in downtown San Diego. Typical with shopping, eating and clubs. The zoo and Balboa park are just north of downtown.

La Jolla would be more interesting.
It's around 15 - 16 miles north.

After the zoo, your children are going to be tired so I would not do the gaslamp. its more of an adult area.

Old town is right off the 5 freeway (Old town avenue exit). My kids like Old Town Mexican Cafe (great carnitas) or Zocola (great fish tacos). Both are on San Diego Ave and across the street from each other. Each place has a parking lot located behind the restaurant. You could also get ice cream at Coldstone Cremery which is across from each place. If you children are up to it, then you could walk around Old Town and see the historical sites.

La Jolla is also a good choice and on your way back to Newport Beach. Take the 5 freeway North and get off at La Jolla Parkway. Prospect street is the main ave. With kids, you might like Alfonso's (great carne asada), Jose's Courtroom (also good carne asada) or George's (the upstairs location) or the Crab Cooker (sea food). All are located on Prospect St. You could also try Carl strauss Brewery-good american faire. There is also a new Burger Lounge in La Jolla-great burgers, root beer floats. If it is still light afterwards, you could take the kids down to Coast Blvd. (its the street that runs along the beach), and you could see the seals on the rocks. If you want a different section of La Jolla and want to be right at the beach, you could go to the La Jolla Shores part of La Jolla (turn right at gas station to la jolla shores blvd.) If you want to eat, then try Primi Patti-great Italian food, or Jeff's burgers or the Cheese shop for sandwiches. It might be nice to grab stuff from the cheese shop and then go to the beach, there is a grassy area and a children's playground that your toddler might like. Let me know if you need more specific directions to playground.

For discount tickets to zoo or disneyland, try Costco. The costco in san diego has great discount tickets to both places. I am sure the orange county costcos have the dland tickets. Also triple A may have them. I know there are some combo tickets you can get.

For orange county, we like Bandera on Pacific Highway in Corona near Mac Arthur Blvd. Wonderful roasted chicken. There is good places along Pacific Highway (I can't think of the cross street), but there is a bristol farms (good take out) Sprinkles (cupcake place) in the shopping center as well as other places.

I have a 12 yr and 16 yr. old and we just did a Seagway tour, I don't know if there is one for Orange County, but your 14 yr. old might enjoy something like that and its different. Also surf lessons can be arranged and are pretty fun for teens.

Hope this helps.

The link for the segway tour is www.segwayoctours.com Also the surf school my sister has used is corky carrols surf school.

I think you could see Hollywood on your own, without paying for a tour. Download a map of the places you want to see, and do it yourself. I honestly think Hollywood might be a bit disappointing, and bad for your toddler to sit in a bus or van. Not really that much to see, and not 'glamorous'.

More interesting for your teen might be Rodeo Drive, Bel Air, Beverly Hills, Sunset Boulevard, Westwood, Malibu, West Hollywood and Santa Monica.