Help from Experts San Diego or Boston
 

I want to get some advice from the experts. I want to visit both of these cities and am not sure which would be best for our vacation. We enjoy good beaches, hiking and site seeing. Thinking of end of May to mid June of next year. Four women mid 30’s to mid 40’s. My concerns are which would have the best weather for that time and be less crowded we will have a car and want to enjoy the surrounding areas of either destination. Will probably be there 10 to 12 days. All your help is greatly appreciated.

Wow! Interesting choice of cities!

Boston and San Diego are so very different.

Boston is all about American history - so many places to go, so many things to see. Besides the historical sites, there are also the universities, the restaurants, and the sports scene.

San Diego is more about outdoors and nature - zoo, seaworld, beaches. Still there are many, different museums, especially in Balboa Park - Mingei Museum of Folk Art, Railroad Museum, Science Museum - must be at least 15-20 different kinds of museums in San Diego.

Weatherwise, June is better for San Diego. May is good for Boston.

For San Diego, you definitely need a car.

Best of luck on your planning!

easytraveler
not an expert, just a traveler

Forgot to add: if you click on "Destinations" in the orange bar above, you can get thumbnail sketches of both cities from Fodors.

Hi, colombiana - We were just faced with the same decision of which city to visit, and we chose Boston. This is what we're planning on doing: Red Sox Game, Duck Tour, Whale Watching, Freedom Trail, Public Gardens, Museum of Fine Arts, Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum - and eating lobster and great Italian food. You can do a search on some of these and see if they interest you.

We have good friends that just visited San Diego in June, and they told us they have a phenomenon there called the June Gloom when everything gets hazy, so might be something to check into. She also said the beaches were too cold to swim, but that they were beautiful. They also enjoyed the zoo and Sea World.

If you do Boston, you could explore Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, Cape Cod, southern Maine, etc.

June Gloom in San Diego happens along the coast and its where the desert is really hot and the ocean water is still cold so it creates a fog bank along the coastline..if there is an El Nino, there is no June Gloom..
San Diego in May/June is not as crowded and less expensive..
I would suggest staying in La Jolla or Coronado area..
Best beach weather is after Labor day when the beaches are empty and the ocean water is wonderful to swim/snorkel and boogie board.
I would come to San Diego the first or second week of September.

love both cities.
june in san diego can be disappointing. the june gloom fog usually burns off by about noon but not always. if you go a few miles inland, it will likely be clear. water is definitly too cold to swim in but is usually nice enough to enjoy time around the hotel pool.
a nice combination might be a week in san diego to enjoy the city and then head out to palm springs for the remaining time. it will be beautiful and warm at that time of year.
boston - i'd stay in the back bay area. maybe do 5 days there and then head to cape cod, martha's vineyard or nantucket.

I grew up in Mass. and now live in Southern Cal. and can attest to the fact that June Gloom is real, and can appear in May, also. The marine layer that hangs over the coast can burn off by lunchtime, or hang around all day. You just never know. It is usually sunny just a few miles inland.

The beaches are too cold to swim here in May & June, but they're pretty cold all year round in the Boston area.

As others have said, Boston is rich in history, and has great public transportation. As mentioned, the scenery outside of the city is great, too.

The advantage of San Diego would be the varied terrain & climate you could encounter within a short drive. If you are here for 10-12 days, you would be able to see the San Diego beaches and attractions, as well as spending a day or two in the desert or mountains. You also have the option of taking trips to Los Angeles or to Santa Catalina Island, if that interests you at all.

You can't go wrong with either city. Have a great time!

10-12 days ? I would do the New England coast. Start in Boston and do all the Boston stuff and then go north to Maine. The coast is fabulous; eating lobsters; antiquing, lighthouses. There are some great stores in Portsmouth, NH. I vote Boston.

I have lived in both places. San Diego is much more laid back. You’d definitely have to do day trips as well. 10-12 days there IMHO is too much. You could go up the coast to Laguna Beach, Newport and Balboa Island.

Both places are tourist areas; but perhaps if you go before schools are out; they may be less crowded. :)

The beaches are not too cold to swim in. Are they Hawaii warm? No, but tens of thousands of people swim in them every May & June.

Hi Colombiana,
I live in San Diego and have visited Boston several times. Either place has so much to offer, perhaps Boston has more history and easier to get around without a car. However, San Diego is beautiful and there's lots to do. May Gray and June Gloom are real, but at least the temps. are comfortable and that's great sightseeing weather! It may not be sunning in the beach weather, but good for hikes, walks, etc. And, our weather is fickle, it could be sunny and gorgeous by the ocean! I just was at Balboa Park yesterday- it's our "Central Park" or "Golden Gate Park". Truly beautiful and many museums, terrific zoo, gardens, live theaters, restaurants (love the Prado). The Gaslamp area in downtown has lots of shops, restaurants, bars... the Contemporary Museum of Modern Art is a few blocks away. La Jolla, Coronado, Del Mar are beach area towns with lots of charm. You'll want a car for ease of getting around, and with 4 that would be affordable. I'm happy to give you more details if you like.

Thank you all for your help. I want to be able to "catch" the best weather of either location, and now have a better understanding, I will have a car in either city and I do not plan to spend the entire time in one location, if we go to San Diego will do Los Angeles and not sure how far Palm Springs is perhaps I can fly into one city and leave from another. Again thank you for all your help, this forum is without a doubt the best travel site outthere thanks to all of you.
Have a great day.
Gina

The answer depends upon where you live.

Go to the most distant of the two first, and save the other for another time.

San Diego, almost invariably has better weather than Boston, and Boston makes up for it with far more history.

They're both great in their own ways, although I'd much rather drive in San Diego than Boston.

Geography holds your answer, me thinks.

I live near Boston and San Diego is one of my most favorite cities to visit. I would pick Boston. Spend about half of your time in Boston itself and then head either north to NH/Maine for hiking or south to Rhode Island or Cape Cod for biking/beaches.

The water and possibly air will likely be a little too cold to count on swimming in ocean, but beach sunning might be possible (with all due respect to Frank who posted, I do not know of "plenty of people" who swim in ocean in New England during the time frame you are speaking of).

That time is college commencement for many schools in Boston, so book hotel early. You may experience sticker shock at prices, but I would reduce amount of time in city rather than stay in a suburb.

gail, I was referring to several people who said So. Cal beaches were to cold to swim in...I was not referring to Boston.

I live in Boston and grew up in the area and there is a TON to do. May and June have become really unpredictable weather-wise in the past decade. For instance, this May was what I would expect for April - rainy and 50. June is more like spring and September has been a continuation of summer...

That said, you could luck out with a beach day, but have another plan in your back pocket. Cape and Islands are beautiful (a must, Nantucket being my personal fave) but don't forget to consider a day trip to Newport, RI.
Very worth it to travel north as well - I'd suggest Portland, ME (2.5 hours from Boston) and then go across the lake district (pretty, scenic drive) to the Laconia, NH area for mountains, streams and of course outlet shopping.

Kittery, ME and Portsmouth, NH are closer to Boston (an hour) and offer the quintessential northern New England experience without going as far as Portland. Try Chauncey Creek Lobster Pier in Kittery. There's some fun night life and cute shops in Portsmouth.
As for San Diego, I haven't been, but am going to the LA area for the third time. We've done the Hollywood/Santa Monica thing, then made our way down to San Clemente/Laguna. Like New England, seems to be a varied area with a lot to see in close proximity... surely despite the June Gloom it must be warm there?

kopykate, how far are Newport and Nantucket from Boston, and what are the best ways to get there? Would you drive, or do you take a ferry?

Newport is in RI and is about 90 minutes from Boston. The only reasonable way to get there and to tour while there is to drive. Nantucket is an island, so obviously one can not drive. There are a variety of passenger and/or car ferry options to both Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.

We used to travel to Cape Cod every Memorial Day weekend and stopped because weather on Cape and Islands was always cool and foggy, even if there was better weather in Boston.

Thanks for the info.; I didn't know if Nantucket was connected to the mainland by a bridge. We're thinking of adding a sidetrip to either Newport or Nantucket onto our Boston trip and were curious about travel times.

Again thank you for your help.

Northwestmale: I live in Miami, Florida

I appreciate everyone's input on side trips to do which is exactly what I was looking for. Some people like to just relax and take it easy while on vacation,I like to see as much as possible. I now have a better idea for the weather which honestly is one of my concerns, I don't have to have beach everyday but I am not looking to have rain as always you guys have been very helpful. Thank you.
Gina

I have been to San Diego in June and remember it as being foggy and cool along the coast and harbor.

Take a look at wunderground.com for the Almanac in Boston for the last few years. May has been pretty horrible in terms of rain and cold (talking some days barely in the 50s, long stretches of cold and damp). I'm not saying this always happens, but the last 3 years haven't been too stellar here in terms of weather in May! I'd take San Diego's gloom over that any day!

amyb:
Thank you, honestly I am seriously considering that, besides I guess their are many directions I can take from San Diego. Have a great day.
Gina

Colombiana, don't let all this talk of "June Gloom" influence your decision one bit. I have been to San Diego about 7-8 times on vacation and have gone in June all but once. The crowds are less and prices better. It is usually cloudy 'til noon and then is bright and sunny and 71 degrees every day. In 2006, we went for 10 days and didn't see a cloud in the sky. Same thing this year. We went from June 11th to the 23rd and it was sunny and beautiful EVERY SINGLE DAY and most days the sun was out at 10:00 am! . Yes, I'm sure there are some cloudy days, but every time someone suggests a SD vacation, inevitably someone responds with the knee-jerk "June Gloom and Doom" warnings. I think locals are so used to sun all day that when it only comes out at 11:00 a.m. they label it a gloomy day.

June Gloom is, as knute says, not a bad thing but a good thing.

When the warm land air hits the cold ocean air, something happens - fog.

But without this fog the coastal areas of California would be baking in 100+ degrees like the inland areas. Blessedly the fog keeps the coastal areas at a wonderfully liveable 70-80's.

I was just in SF yesterday and it was so cold in the morning because of the wind combined with the fog that people were all wearing jackets; but things cleared up by afternoon and we were all back to summer clothes again.

Columbiana, if it's May-June, and you want to avoid rain, go to San Diego. Save Boston for late summer. Even though there are rainy days year round in New England, it's much easier to take them late summer when the ocean is warmest. Rainy days in May-June in coastal New England can be miserably chilly.

I'm guessing San Diego will be more familiar to you in many ways -- easy-going, sun-oriented, beach/coastal city, while Boston will be a very different kind of experience. Frankly, I'd get the idea of beaching it -- i.e., lying in the sun and swimming -- out of your plans if you go to the Boston area. But I still vote for Boston because it's different, because there's so much to do, and because if you DO go to the coast, the shore can look so different and beautiful in its own way compared to Fla. coast.

You guys are great thank you for all your help.
Gina