sally

I am going to a wedding in Newport Beach, California over Memorial Day weekend (Saturday). I'm flying from the East Coast so I'd like to take advantage of going to California. Any ideas for how to spend Sunday and Monday? I don't want to go anywhere that requires too much travel to get there since we only have a couple of days. I'd be open to spending time in LA, driving down the coast, etc.

sally

since no one responded I thought maybe I'd change my message a little. I need help planning an itinerary. I am coming from the EAst Coast to a wedding and will be tied up with wedding stuff on Friday and Saturday. Since I am flying all the way across country I was hoping to make a vacation out of the trip. Since most flights back east leave in the morning (I don't want to take a red eye or I'll die at work the next day) I figured I'd fly back tuesday and have sunday and monday to do something. does anyone have any suggestions for me. I'll be in Newport Beach for the wedding and am planning to fly into LAX or orange county. I am flexible on which airport to fly out of. One idea is santa barbara - How long will it take to drive there from newport beach (e.g. sunday morning). How long would it take to drive back to LAX from there?

alice

What are you interested in? In the L.A. area I would recommend the Getty Center, the beaches especially if you are going to Newport, Venice pier, and some great food. Also check out to see if any sports are going on. Also remember that I have lived in Southern California my whole life and Memorial Day most people get off, so things will be busy. If you want a side trip go to the areas around Palm Springs, although the actual city is in a re-birth. Good luck, and enjoy.

sally

For this trip I am not superinterested in going to museums, theater, etc. I do that at home and just got back from a 2 week trip to Europe doing that. I would like to enjoy being outdoors, maybe see some small towns or galleries. I like big cities so I'd have fun in LA if I knew some intesting sections to explore. I do not want to be stuck in huge crowds or traffic though since it is a holiday weekend. I guess my question is whether to stay in the orange county area to drive somewhere else (along the coast?) for a night or two.

lagirl

If you're going to be starting out in Newport, driving a little farther south to Laguna Beach might be fun. There is a nice beach and a cute town with stores and galleries. Make sure to visit the Ritz-Carleton at Laguna Nigel. Beautiful grounds.

Getting to Santa Barbara will probably take you about 4 hours - with no traffic. It's a great place to visit, but it depends on whether you're looking for day trips or will stay for the night.

There is lots of hiking in LA - The Santa Monica Mountains have great parks and trails along the coast. If you want to take in the outdoors, that's probably a good option. Or, take a day trip to Catalina Island.

Susan

I was also going to suggest Laguna Beach. I'm looking into lodging options there for our family vacation and it looks like a fun place to spend a few nights. As LAgirl suggested, you can also take the ferry over to Catalina Island for one day, or spend the night.

Robin

Sally, Santa Barbara is well worth visiting, but it's a pretty long haul (about four hours, as estimated-- although it MIGHT be as little as 2 1/2 on a very lucky day!)

One way you could do it is to fly in and out of LAX, and possibly fly from Santa Barbara down to LAX on the return if it wasn't cost prohibitve. The ideal situation would be to head up to SB after the wedding on Saturday, if that is possible. Yes, it would be a long, tiring day, but Santa Barbara will be very relaxing once you get there.

BTW, when are you coming to CA? Thursday or Friday? And what time? Be very careful with arrival times at John Wayne, if you go that route, because they have an arrival curfew, and they do NOT let it slide. Because of this being a holiday weekend there will likely be delays. If there's any chance of your arriving after 8pm, I would not suggest flying into OC.

Here's one other idea: Fly in and out of San Diego, and spend your post-wedding time in Del Mar or La Jolla. Neither is quite is charming as Santa Barbara, but they are enjoyable. The drive from San Diego airport will take about an hour and a half, as long as you're not starting at 4:00 on a weekday (the commuter traffic in North County San Diego is pretty ugly)

sally

What is an arrival curfew, Robin? They don't let in planes after a certain time? I assume they schedule flights around that curfew.

thanks to all for the good advise. If we decide to stay in Southern California any ideas for good Sunday and Monday itineraries? Where is Santa Catalina island? I've been looking on the Fodors sight and can't seem to find it.

Any hotel recommendations for La Jolla or Santa Barbara if we go there?

stacey

John Wayne airport does have a curfew-it is 11:00 pm. If you are on a later flight and it is delayed, the plane will re-route and land in either Ontario (about 45 minutes from Newport Beach) or LAX. I would avoid flying into LAX as the lines will be hours longer than at John Wayne-where it is still possible to arrive an hour before your flight and make it on the plane. Waits at LAX are estimated at 4 hours during peak times. Also, Long Beach airport is great from the east coast-jet blue flies their from NY and DC. They have no lines as the airport is very small (one outdoor luggage carousel). As for trips-I would avoid driving anywhere that requires the 405 or 5 freeways as traffic will be a nightmare. Newport has a lot of fun things to do. Balboa Island is great (that is where I live). The beach in Newport is fantastic. You also have Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach-both are filled with great shops, restaraunts, and beaches.

kam

Catalina is a good choice, but it will be crowded over Memorial Day. I would only plan to do a day trip. You can leave from Newport Beach (Balboa Pavillion) or from Dana Point which is a small town south of Laguna Beach. Go to www.catalina.com. There's not much to do, but it's a nice boat ride--remember the song "26 miles across the sea"? Maybe you're too young (lucky you). I would spend the entire two days in Laguna Beach. Beautiful beach, pretty little town, very "southern CA" people and shops, lots of galleries and good little restaurants. Make reservations right now though--it's sure to be crowded. Try to book a hotel that has an "odd" address on Coast Hwy and ask for a room on the ocean side, otherwise it's very noisy from traffic. Do a search here for Laguna and you'll find lots of suggestions. While there you can drive down to San Juan Capistrano Mission if CA history is of any interest.Yes, an airport curfew is a time after which planes may not land and must be diverted to other local airports. I don't know what John Wayne's curfew is, but I would check on it. Flying to LAX will probably be most practical from the East Coast. Much as I love Santa Barbara, I think to try to drive up there on Memorial weekend would be a bear. You'd have to cross all of metro LA. Laguna is a good alternative. La Jolla more of a pretty suburb than a beach town IMO. It too will be crowded. Top hotel is La Valencia. You want to be in the downtown village otherwise parking is most difficult. Del Mar is a quiet little town except during racing season which starts late July then it's crazy. I still would vote for Laguna Beach and flying into LAX.

Lagirl

If you want to stay in the LA area, sights to see (besides the hiking I mentioned above) include the beaches in the South Bay, Santa Monica with its beaches, the 3rd Street Promenade, shopping on Montana avenue and the galleries at Bergamont Station, Venice beach, Malibu and the Getty Center(although you said that you aren't interested in museums, the grounds are worth seeing). There is also Huntington Gardens in Pasadena as well as Old Town Pasadena and the Norton Simon Museum.

If you want exercise, there is a paved path along the beach from Malibu all the way to the South Bay (with a slight break at the Marina) that is good for walking, biking or roller blading.

Renee

I'm going to weigh-in with staying close to Newport - such as in Laguna. The Ritz is beautiful - consider it. I love Catalina but I think that weekend will be very busy there. That weekend is no time to drive to Santa Barbara from that far south.

sally

Thanks for all the advice. I am dissuaded from heading all the way up to Santa Barbara.

I think Laguna Beach sounds like the best bet. A few questions -
(1) I'll be heading there over Memorial Day weekend, is the ocean warm enough to swim in? I'm a wimp and generally only swim if the water is quite warm.

(2) the Ritz sounds great there - is it worth spending $300+ a night to stay there v. another hotel?
(
3) if not, any recommendations for other hotels? I am going with my boyfriend and we would like to relax, sit by the beach (if warm enough), visit a few galleries, eat well, etc. A hotel with a zillion kids probably isn't for us.

lagirl

The Ritz is beautiful and worth a visit, maybe drinks at night, but tremendously overpriced. Parking is $25-30 extra (a night!), food is ridiculously priced. I've heard that the Sand and Sea is a great place.

kam

Surf and Sand is wonderful and has its own swimming pool, poolside bar and fitness club. The water will most likely be too cold for you in the ocean, but you'll be able to sit on the beach and start a tan or you can just hang out at the pool and watch the ocean. It's probably the best of the south of LA beach hotels. I wouldn't bother with RC Laguna Niguel. It's not in Laguna Beach so you need to drive in to see galleries,restaurants etc. and unless you particularly love Ritz Carltons, I think Surf and Sand has a much better southern CA feel. Another one to consider is Inn at Laguna but it's not quite as much the Laguna experience. Have a great weekend, but make reservations immediately!!

sally

Thanks Kam. I just checked out the Inn at Laguna. it looks more in my price range and also quite nice. I am going for a "romantic weekend". Is it more of a family place? I would also like to have fun so it appeals to me that it is in walking distance of restaurants, etc., unlike the RC.