La Jolla or Del Mar?
 

Traveling with my wife to San Diego for a 3 day trip. Want to have a seaside setting but still access to San Diego attractions. I'm between L'Auberge Del Mar or Parisi Hotel in La Jolla. Any advice on which area to choose? Advantages? Drawbacks? Is there really a big travel difference between the two? Thanks

Also, intrigued by the Four Seasons Aviara. Not by the sea but sounds tempting.

Have you considered the Valencia in La Jolla? It's lovely; overlooks the ocean and is right in the downtown area for restaurants and shops. A good beach is nearby. Travel from La Jolla to the San Diego area takes about 1/2 hours.

cotes, it takes about 15-20 minutes to travel from L'Auberge Del Mar to La Jolla, a lot more in rush hour traffic. The Four Seasons is supposed to be fabulous, but it's a long way from any of the attractions you probably want to visit. When you're in La Jolla, you are in San Diego. Freeway access is quite close, and it's easy to get to any of the major attractions. I can't comapre the two hotels as I live here and haven't stayed in either. I think, as you seem to be interested in sightseeing, that for three days La Jolla might be the better choice. They're both good, though, and you couldn't go wrong with either.

Barbara:

Thanks for insight. Clearly, the La Jolla location is much better for San Diego. One reason for considering Del Mar L'Auberge is facility- spa & pools. How long is the trip from Del Mar to Balboa Park w/o traffic? Does LJ or DM have better beaches or same? Thanks

If you want to have a beach nearby to sit on/walk on or whatever, then go to L'Auberge. The beach - a great one- is across the road. You can eat at Jake's and look out over the beach. Great place to watch the sunset.

The closest beach to the Parisi is a longer walk and would be La Jolla Cove. It's very pretty, fine for sitting on and used as access to the adjacent underwater park by many snorkellers and scuba divers and that's all. Nowhere to walk on the beach, although there is a path along the coast which is nice to stroll along. There is a better beach in La Jolla, La Jolla Shores, but you'd have to drive to it.

Del Mar to Balboa Park without traffic would be about 30-35 minutes .

I can't comment on the hotels, but I am a huge fan of La Jolla. It's really lovely. I think that La Jolla has several attractions of its own, and is also quite close to all the classic San Diego attractions. It's an upscale village sort of area, and I really liked it.

L'Auberge Del Mar - i have never read a bad review of this hotel. when driving between del mar and la jolla, you can go along the coast road with has a nice view of torry pines state park/beach. about a 15 minute drive and it is beautiful so enjoy it. taking the freeway from del mar to balboa park NOT during rush hour will take you about 20-25 minutes. staying in la jolla will only save you maybe 10 minutes. don't know the hotel you mentioned in la jolla but location wise, either is great.

That is not a bad choice. Either would not be a mistake. Del Mar would be a little more driving to sights, but that little village is quaint too. La Jolla has more going on, restaurants, shops, activity. Never stayed at the Parisi so don't know about it to compare. Stayed one night at the Inn and it was a very nice facility. You can't lose either way.

My only thought is at traffic time the 5 and 805 merge from La Jolla going north to Del Mar can bottle neck and cause traffic delays that could be irritating, unless they have fixed that area.