hello my friends! Still working on the details of our upcoming San Diego trip and have a few more questions...

1a. We plan to spend a full day in La Jolla, early breakfast at The Brockton Villa, stroll around the cove, check out Children's Pool, Black Beach, shop, and end up on La Jolla Shores for the afternoon. Can we park near/at the Brockton Villa and walk the rest of the day...or will we need to drive to any of the other spots we want to visit?
1b. would possibly like to have tapas at Roppongi...what is the dress like here?
1c. Rammel's or Whahoo Fish Company for lunch?

2a. Thinking of 86ing the Seaport Village...and instead spend 1/2 day on Ocean Beach (have breakfast on the pier) then drive down to Point Loma. Would like to walk down sunset cliffs and check out tide pools during low tide. Anyone know what time that would be in the late morning or early part of the afternoon (if at all)??
2b. Hodad's for burgers or South Beach Grill for fish tacos?

Thanks again for all your help!

On the La Jolla questions alone -- Brockton Villa opens at 8 a.m. and you should try to avoid Sundays, because it's VERY popular with the brunch crowd on that day. Most parking in La Jolla is for 1-2 hours, but there's lots of 3 hour parking across the street from the restaurant, along the beachfront, and you shouldn't have any trouble getting a space at that time of the morning.

Three hours will give you time to have breakfast, stroll down the Coast Walk from the Cove to the Children's Pool and back through the Village for a quick look at the shops. (Can you tell that I do this all the time?) However, if you want to do some in-depth shopping, you'll have to move your car because your 3 hours will almost be up by that time.

There is NO way that you'll be able to walk down to Black's Beach or the Shores from La Jolla Village proper, because it's several hilly miles away. You'll just have to drive. That aside, it sounds like you've got a wonderful day planned.

Order the Coast Toast for breakfast -- it's the specialty of the house!

For tide information, check out this site:

http://www.harbortides.com/region_st...asp?region=126

You can click on whatever area you are interested in and find out when low tide will be for the coming week. If you register, you can get more info.

Wahoo's for fish tacos.

Before you plan on having breakfast on the OB pier, I'd make sure its open. There was some pretty major storm damage to that end of the pier a few months ago.

Are you sure you want to go to Ocean Beach? Are you an ex hippie or current stoner? It's VERY different from La Jolla. Depending on your age and likes I think you may enjoy Seaport Village more. That said, if you're looking for local flavor, do Hodad's. If you're looking for nice with a view try Quiggs - go down Newport to the water and turn right, it's on the right side past the run down hotel.

We just came from a weekend in La Jolla/ San Diego area. We spent the afternoon in La Jolla and everyone is right. The parking is very tight. If you park in the village you can find parking for 2 to 3 hours. You have to arrive early for parking for the shores parking. We went to the cave there. It's in a store named the Cave and you can walk down and see the natural cave there. It's $3 a person and very interesting. If you go to Point Loma, go to the Cabrillo State Park. They have a new visitor's center. ( At least it was new to us, since we hadn't been there for years) You can drive from there to the Tide Pools. There is parking down there. I would avoid Ocean Beach because it is sort of grungy and very hippy like but that might be your scene. I liked Seaport Village and Old Town when we went. You might venture a drive over the Coronado Bridge and visit there. The beach is the best and the Hotel Del is interesting.

if you park at the top of black's beach the hike down is a little scary if you are afraid of heights. the hike up is not scary, just gruelling. but it is a really good beach. nice wide beach, good waves for body surfing and i've often seen dolphins there. you can also enjoy watching the gliders as they cruise around. the area furthest north is mostly frequented by gay people so if that's not your scene stay central. as you pull out of the parking lot, turn right go down a bit until you see residential then turn right again. there are some beautiful homes in this area if you enjoy driving around and looking at them.

I 2nd the recommendation for Point Loma and the tide pools. The views from Point Loma are great - we could have watched the boats come an go all day long - and the old lighthouse is interesting to see. There are park rangers at the tide pools to answer any questions and explain what you are looking at. Make sure you wear sturdy shoes that day though. I had on sandals and really couldn't walk around at the tide pools too much.

J Correa - Funny you should mention that. I was just going to tell the OP to wear shoes that slip off easliy, as I usually get around the tidepool best when I am barefoot. I think your foot just hugs the surfaces better and there is less chance of slipping when the surface is wet and or covered in algae!

LOL - I guess it depends on how often you go barefoot. I live in an apartment, so I don't have much opportunity to go outside without my shoes on so I am pretty tenderfooted. When I was a kid though, I used to go barefoot all the time and could walk on anything.

We plan to try and visit the La Jolla Cove when we go next month. I have a few questions too. Is it easily reached from the Best Western hotel that is a couple of blocks from the beach? If not, which places should I try to park near? Is the Brockton Villa mentioned above nearby? We are thinking about staying at the Best Western, as the La Valencia is too expensive and I haven't come across any bed and breakfasts that are nearby. Any suggestions in the $150 to $200 range? Also are there places near the cove that rent snorkling gear? Is there room to sit on a beach or is it mostly rocks? Thanks for any info.

the cove is about a 5 minute walk from the inn by the sea (best western)

As "ltt" said, it's a quick walk from the Best Western (Inn by the Sea) to the Cove, unless you've got MOUNTAINS of gear with you. There's street parking right next to the beach, so you'll just have to cruise up and down until you spot a parking place, if you plan on driving there. Brockton Villa is right across the street from the Cove.

The Cove is a small beach, but very sandy and pleasant, with some rocks for the kids to climb on and some near-by tide pools. If you feel it's too crowded at any time, just keep walking south and there are many other similar little beaches within half a mile: Shell Beach, Wipeout, Children's, and a few more whose names I can't recall.

Thanks for the info. Decb

Hello Bogart, have you gone to CA yet? We are planning a trip to San Diego/La Jolla area and wondered how you liked the area and the hotels. Thanks,