??? for Southern California towns
 

I am looking to book a day tripper from downtown San Diego to visit a town or two up north on Surfliner train. It will be a round trip coming back home later in the evening. We will not drive a car and will do all the walking.

I am not familiar with any of these towns the train makes stops along the way up.

We want to explore a fun, charming town that is easy to walk off the train with our 3 kids (age 15, 12 & 9).

I have checked the website for the list of towns. Which one is the best town with lots of fun things to do & explore for a day?

Solana Beach
Oceanside
San Clemente
San Juan Capistrano
Laguna Niguel
Irvine
Santa Ana
Orange

We will not travel to go to Disneyland, Los Angeles area or any place further north than these towns unless you recommend a town that is worth visiting.

Thank you so much!!!

I would pick San Juan Capistrano, though I'm not familiar with just where the train stops there.

We just spent the weekend in Laguna Beach which I would suggest visiting, it is close to Laguna Niguel. San Clemente has a gorgeous beach where we enjoyed surfing this past Sat. afternoon. I hope you have a great time in sunny Southern CA! ***kim*** ((*))

I would also tend to agree with tracys2cents about San Juan Capistrano. Similarly, I don't know where the train stops either. Be sure to visit the mission <http://www.missionsjc.com/>.

you didnt mention Carlsbad - which is my favorite beach town-and which I think you would enjoy more than Oceanside.
Train stops in the downtown area -
from there you can walk to shops, restaurants and the beach

and if you get bored there is a great outlet store there - you would have to take a cab from the downtown area though

The San Juan Cap is the best with no car by a long stretch. It stops right in the town, there are shops, restaurants (I recommend the Cedar Creek Inn for the coconut cake very highly.). Also, Ramos House is excellent.

If you have kids with you there is a very old petting zoo on the other side of the tracks. Mission San Juan Capistrano is 1 block away and is considered a must see for anyone interested in history. Everything is very centrally located.

The only other place that makes even slight sense to see in terms of being near the sights and sounds of the area is Solana Beach.

I really have to agree with LynnieD. The only two that make sense are Solano Beach and San Juan Capo, with SJC being the better of the two.

While SJC is a bit spread out (what So Calif town isn't?), the train station stops in the middle of the older, historic part of town that you would be most interested in. The mission is right there. Just about a year ago the parish commissioned for a new retablo to be built in Spain and was unveiled. It's kind of interesting to compare the recent retablo in the Mission Basilica (new church) to the original retablo sent from Spain that sits in the Mission's chapel in the original mission building.

There is also the Los Rios Historic District, which has a number of houses (some are private, some are businesses) that date from 50 to 200+ years back and gives an idea of what early California life was like.

Here is a web site that can give you more information about what to do in SJC:

http://www.sanjuanchamber.com/

Enjoy whatever you decide to do!

100% on SJC as well. Irvine trainstation is in the middle of an industrial area - nothing to do without a car and even with a car - not a ton in Irvine imo (you could go down to the beach but again, need a car).

San Juan is fantastic. Love the petting zoo and have brought dd there many of times. Ramos is a local favorite - the sticky busn are to die for - no dieting when you go there. SO quaint and lovely.

Definately walk to the mission - there are cute shops etc.

I definitely don't think of Irvine or Santa Ana as a day tripping kind of place.

I am going to a Tea House in San Juan on Friday. :-)

Agree--Solana Beach and SJC are the only real choices! Since you have kids along I would stop at SJC for a nice lunch and a visit to the wonderful mission which is practically across the street from the tain station

I also recommend SJC if you are taking the train. It is a cute town and I also love Cedar Creek Inn. Have fun!!

To visit Carlsbad, take the Coaster, not the Surfliner (Amtrack) which stops only in nearby Oceanside.

San Juan Capistrano has the mission right next to the train station, We used to use it as a daytrip from Carlsbad when my train crazy son was younger.

Lori - I just wanted to let you know that I had tea today at the quaintest tea place in the historic area of San Juan.

The Tea House on Los Rios. If you have time or the inclination - check it out.

Dawn- I've always wondered about that tea house! I'd love to try it but the Ramos House calls me back every time.
Lori- I agree with everyone else; top two choices are SJC and Solana Beach. I live in Solana Beach so to me, SJC would be more fun. It really has an amazing restaurant in a really low key but highly culinary unique casual way, the Ramos House. It is one of my favorite places in SoCal. It is 5 minutes walk from where the train drops you off. It is virtually on the track!

My vote is my hometown, Orange. The depot is in the middle of "Old Town." I am trying to remember where I saw a recent write up about the neighborhood, either Sunset magazine or the AAA magazine. It is really quaint, and the depot is about two blocks from the traffic circle where there are tons of antique stores and restaurants. They use it as a film location frequently. There are some very good restaurants, Gabby's is a nice Mexican place with great margaritas, Felix's Cafe right on the circle with outdoor seating has good Cuban cuisine, PJ's Abbey is in an old church, Watson's Drugstore has an old fashioned soda fountain and outdoor seating, and Cafe Lucca has great gelato. It is a good stop for lunch or dinner but I am not sure there is enough to interest the kids for an entire day. Here is a link that might be helpful http://www.orangechamber.com/index.cfm

Have a fun day!

ncounty - the owners actually hosted the "shower" I was at - they are friends with the family. It was very very nice and the food was yummy. They did a GREAT job of serving a large party.

You and I will have to meet at Ramos house sometime. It is a favorite of mine :-)

Another vote for SJC.
If you take the Coaster, Carlsbad or Del Mar are nice towns, but I'm not sure what your kids would enjoy that is within walking distance.
Can you get on and off at not additional charge with the Surfliner ticket? If so, Oceanside does have a nice pier near the train station. Ruby's is the restaurant at the end of the pier, which your kids would like. However, there is not much else in downtown Oceanside except a small surfing museum.

Ruby's on the Oceanside pier burned recently and is closed.

Additional votes for San Juan Capistrano and Old Town Orange. If you like antique-shopping, Orange has many shops just off the town square.