los angeles and san diego

Old May 31st, 2012, 04:03 PM
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los angeles and san diego

My husband and I (young 50 somethings) are planning a trip to California this summer. Trying to figure out:
1.how many days to stay in each city
2. Where (hotel and location) we should stay
3. what to see.

Hotel wise we prefer smaller more personal hotels, not national chains, although some local chains have been very nice (stayed at the Cartwright hotel- a larkspur hotel in SanFran)Would rather not spend more than $150-200, also like hotels which include breakfast. ( we are not disney people, but i heard warner bros studio tour is great). Hope someone out there has some advice.
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Old May 31st, 2012, 04:49 PM
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Need a little more info.
1. will you have access to a car?
2. how long is your visit to CA?
3. are you only interested in LA & San Diego?
4. are you interested in doing outdoor activities?
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Old May 31st, 2012, 07:29 PM
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You could go so many different ways with your trip.
Are you a movie buff?
Do you love art museums (modern, European, what)?
Beaches( if so sunbathing, long walks on the beach, more wild beaches vs. cute beach towns)
History?
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Old Jun 1st, 2012, 04:28 AM
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We have decided to do 7 nights in San Diego. we will rent a car. we are tennis players, we like the water..catamarans, ferries, sailboats (which we dont have to sail), reading on quiet beaches, do not like "souvenir shops, like to look for local treasures....down to earth stuff....not interested in gucci, like picasso monet etc, but we also enjoy southwest art like native american, mexican cultural stuff too. loved our walking tours in san fransisco, santa fe and seattle. love outdoor dining and people watching. This is alot of info... hope it helps. Really stuck on where to stay. thanks dd
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Old Jun 1st, 2012, 05:16 AM
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What is more important...staying at the beach, or staying where there is more nightlife/dining/etc?

If you want to walk to dining and nightlife, I'd look in the Gaslamp district.

For the beach, this place gets great reviews and is moderately priced: http://www.oceanparkinn.com/
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Old Jun 1st, 2012, 05:20 AM
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Something like this could be fun too:

http://www.wheretours.com/

The San diego scavenger hunt has great reviews online.

Or a food tour like this:

http://www.bitesandiego.com/
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Old Jun 1st, 2012, 08:17 AM
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That's a good synopsis of your interests. I'm no good for helping with the boating activities, except that visiting the Channel Islands has been on my wish list for a while: http://www.nps.gov/chis/index.htm

If you like Southwest style, you might visit one of the Missions in addition of course to the historic section of San Diego. If you like art and want to do a day trip, the best choices in the region are the Getty in Los Angeles or Malibu, or the Norton Simon Museum and Huntington Museum/Library in Pasadena. If you like Asian art, I especially liked the Japanese Pavilion at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).
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Old Jun 1st, 2012, 12:05 PM
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rizzo, that hotel is close to 300 dollars a night. not so reasonable
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Old Jun 1st, 2012, 01:19 PM
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Depending on which room you choose, the Ocean Park Inn can be reasonable. I got a room with a king bed they termed "no view" for 4 nights, $670 (includes tax and parking fee), which I found reasonable for a resort ON the beach during spring break. The room had a small balcony with a table and chairs, it overlooked the pool, and you could see and hear the ocean from the balcony.
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Old Jun 1st, 2012, 01:19 PM
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Did you study Trip Advisor for your destinations? It appears that you have some independent hotels as options.

The other list you might look at is the Stash Rewards list--sort of a loose affiliation of independent/boutique hotels. We are staying at one of their member hotels in New York soon, which is how I heard of it: http://www.stashrewards.com/
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Old Jun 1st, 2012, 01:26 PM
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hit submit too soon......Ocean Park Inn does have a continental breakfast.
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Old Jun 1st, 2012, 05:04 PM
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7 days in SD seems a bit long, too bad you can't get North to Santa Barbara.
I would look at the usual recomendations on Yelp & Trip Advisor. I would also consider a visit to Julian: http://www.julianca.com/attractions/index.htm

Also while in San Diego: Balboa Park & a drink (if not a stay) at the Hotel Del Coronado http://www.hoteldel.com/

The Embarcadero & Gas Lamp District as well. Yelp will be a good friend to you.
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Old Jun 2nd, 2012, 05:50 AM
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thanks everyone. another idea we had is to go to indian wells, or desert springs, palm springs for three nights. any thoughts?
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Old Jun 2nd, 2012, 09:37 AM
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Very hot in the desert in the summer. Temperatures will be over 100 and could be up to 115. The best thing about the Palm Springs area in the summer is that you can get a nice room at a nice resort for a great price. About the only thing you'd want to do is hang out by the pool. You could also take the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway up the San Jacinto Mountains. At 8500 ft, it's much cooler and there is hiking, dining and of course a great view. Anything other sights you'd like to see what need to be done very early in the morning. Years ago many of the shops closed down for the summer but now most of them stay open. Not all, though.
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Old Jun 6th, 2012, 06:16 PM
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paula, thanks..this helped convince my husband to stay on the coast. we are planning to stay in encinitas for a few nights and visit some coastal towns/beaches. any recommendations?
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Old Jun 6th, 2012, 07:16 PM
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Only read your last reply and the one before that.

Having been to the in-laws in Palm Desert many times - bag it in the middle of summer. Waaaaasay too hot.

From Encinitas - a short jaunt up the coast is Carlsbad which is cute - as is Solano Beach.

To the south -the Village of Del Mar is also very nice as is La Jolla a bit further south.

Can't go wrong in any of them, and you can head inland to the Safari Park/Wild Animal Park for a fun visit too - as well as up to Julian to visit a winery/have some apple pie - or actually - Ophilia Winery is on the way to Wild Animal Park.

Plenty to do in SD for a week or more. Also - get downtown to the Gaslamp - see the WWII Midway/Museum on the Embarcadero and take a ride across the beautiful Cornoado Bridge to that jewel - the Hotel Del.

Will read the other posts and check in manyana.
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Old Jun 8th, 2012, 06:03 PM
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TomSD good suggestions., do you know of any walking tours which would be worthwhile? what else is there to do on coronado island?

what do you know about point loma seafood restaurant? Decided to stay in little italy, at a b and b a bit away from the hustle and bustle but looked calm and friendly.
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Old Jun 8th, 2012, 07:24 PM
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The Pt. Loma Seafood restaurant has very good, fresh fish - in a nice - albeit somewhat basic - setting. Very nautical for SD - overlooking the sport fishing ships and docks.

A shorter distance from Little Italy (a very good place to stay) - is the Fish Market - on the Embarcadero - next to the USS Midway Museum (not to be missed) - which also has very good seafood with a nice view.

You could also dine at a different place every night in the Little Italy area and be quite content.
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Old Jun 9th, 2012, 01:43 AM
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As for walking tours - I am guessing if you google - you could find some.

Walking around Coronado would be fun - as is exploring the Hotel Del, etc. And on the main drag - Orange - plenty of places to check out. http://www.sandiegocoastlife.com/att...-district.html

It's a cute island and also - you could take the ferry from there over to downtown SD.

And another place to stay if the Victorian style B & B by Old
Town in Heritage Park. Very cute and close to the trolley as well. http://www.heritageparkinn.com/
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Old Jun 9th, 2012, 06:57 PM
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thanks again tomsd. your suggestions have been very helpful. i found a website goldstar.com thru the site you mentions where one can get discounted tickets for various activities. Know anything about the hornblower cruises?
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