Palm Springs vs drive up Cal Coast
 

Wife an I will be in Southern California over Christmas.(22nd to 28th)(30 something professionals, no kids). We want a very nice place to stay for two or three days. We will be spending 2 nights in La Jolla and then going either up the coast or to palm springs. We need rec's for great food, any type. We will be leaving from San Diego on 28th.

definitely drive up the calif coast. it is so beautiful and there are a ton of little towns to stop in if you just take PCH (hwy. 1) the whole way. there are some of the most beautiful sites in the world. (and a little traffic too, but with a view!)

palm springs has nice resorts and spas and shopping, but essentially is just in the middle of the desert. nothing to do, nothing to see except for the insides of shops, spas and resaurants. at least that's my opinion. coastal is way better!

have fun.

Thanks for the reply,
Any specific rec's on hotel or particularly quaint towns?

Cambria is beautiful. Moonstone Beach has one cute hotel after another. Have a great time.

tough call. the nicest part of the coast drive is between santa barbara & monterey. however in order to get up there, you'd be spending two very long days driving. it is gorgeous but a lot of driving in a short period of time.
if you want to stick to the coast, i'd only go as far north as santa barbara. it's a nice city.
however, if you don't feel like spending so much time in your car, palm springs is great if you enjoy relaxing by a pool and exploring the desert. joshua tree national park is close by and a great place to waunder around for several hours. there is also a tram that you can take up a mountain for some very nice views. the weather will definitly be nicer in palm springs. the coast can have cool, rainy days in december and january.

yes, if you are coming from la jolla, santa barbara is about as far as you need to go.

along the way, you have to stop by laguna beach (artsy, big mansions, nice restaurants--try out las brisas. the food is good and drinks out on the back porch with views to die for).

also venice (the boardwalk to check out all the street culture) and santa monica (farmers market and 3rd street promenade for tons of restaurants and strolling).

wish i were going. every time i go to so cal, i end up just visiting family all over. never a chance to enjoy it like a tourist.

enjoy!

I had started a message to say "don't go much farther north than Santa Barbara"-- but ltt and nevertiredoftravel beat me to it! :)

Good recommendation. I also second the recommendation spending a little time in Laguna Beach. Definitely an upscale/Bohemian enclave in an increasingly "Irvine-ized" Orange County. There's a little historic hotel called La Casa del Camino with a sweet upstairs patio (spectacular views), and its restaurant (Savoury) gets high ratings in the latest Zagat guide.

Venice Beach can be fun, if the weather's good. It breaks my heart to say this, but Santa Monica is becoming less and less "charming" with every year (I've worked a block from the Third Street Promenade for over 15 years now). The Promenade is being taken over by the chain retailers and dueling street performers. If you can live without seeing a three-floor Banana Republic and a shopping center whose façade was designed by Frank Gehry, skip Third Street and head to Montana Avenue (a mile north) or Main Street (a mile south)-- much funkier, much more of a "local" feel, much nicer.

Where will you be staying in La Jolla? And what are your plans in the San Diego area? If you've never been there, it's a surprisingly nice town (long in the shadows of the LA area) with a lot to offer.

As far as heading to the desert, it should be marginally warmer than the coast. Something to bear in mind: It surprises people to find out that in the winter the temperature extremes on the coast are much smaller than inland. I live in Long Beach, maybe half a mile from the shore, and in the coldest winter snap, your temperature range will be the 40s and 50s (lows to highs). In the inland valleys (even up in Van Nuys), the lows can get a lot lower-- the 30s are not uncommon. I've been to the desert in the winter, and I've had to bundle up fiercely at night, even when daytime temps are in the 60s or even 70s. I don't knock it-- sometimes you just want to get out of town and vegetate in the desert-- but you have to accept that it gets cold in the winter. You tend to forget it in the summer when it's 114 in the shade....

Definately do the drive up the coast. My husband and I are around your age and did the drive from Napa down the coast to Palm Springs to his parents timeshare. The drive was way better than P.S. In my opinion, unless you are a golfer, there's not much to interest people under 50.

While in La Jolla we are staying at the Hotel Parisi... Any comments.