San Diego / La Jolla opinions please
 

My apologies for asking a question similar to one that has been asked a hundred different ways in the past, but I'm hoping to get the most up to date information possible.

My family and I will flying in to San Diego for (what's turning out to be) our annual So. Cal vacation on September 21. We will be going up to Disney for the first five days and back down to San Diego (or the San Diego area) for the last eight days.

Previously we have stayed at the Homewood Suites in Carlsbad, which worked well as a halfway point between Anaheim and San Diego (not necessary this year as we are actually staying in Anaheim).

Given that the Homewood chain meets our needs perfectly (1 bedroom with a kitchenette so we don't have to eat out 3 meals a day for 2 weeks), we have narrowed our search for the San Diego portion of our trip to the Homewood in La Jolla or down at Liberty Station. Obviously the latter is closer to the sights and sounds of San Diego, but it's also about $50/night more expensive. Both hotels are rated very high on tripadvisor, so (unless you have differing information) quality doesn't seem to be an issue.

I am trying to think back to the drive from La Jolla into San Diego and I don't recall it being particularly long, or traffic on the 5 being particularly bad, likely because as tourists we are travelling in off-hours. Am I looking back on this with rose colored glasses, and the traffic hassles to get from La Jolla to Balboa Park/Sea World/Petco etc. make it worth paying the extra to stay at Liberty Station?

All assistance is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I don't see any Homewood suites in La Jolla. Do you mean Del Mar? It's about 20-30 min. drive to Balboa Park. I think maps.google.com is usually pretty accurate on driving time.

I did mean the Homewood in Del Mar. My apologies, I was under the impression that it was the same area as La Jolla.

La Jolla to downtown San Diego is approximately 20-30 minutes depending on traffic and how close you are to the freeway.

Del Mar is a city north of La Jolla so maybe 35-40 minutes to downtown. If you're staying in Del Mar north of what is called the freeway 805 and freeway I-5 split you can get stuck in traffic especially during rush hours.

If you plan to do a lot of stuff in the downtown area like Balboa Park, the Zoo, Cabrillo Monument, the Embarcadero, Gaslamp, Coronado, Old Town, bay cruises, etc. I would spend the additional $50 and stay in Point Loma/Liberty Station.

We always stay one town north of Del Mar in Solana Beach and manage to work around the traffic. I like that area quite a bit and there's a lot around there to see too. For eight days, did you consider a vacation rental? Might be nicer than a hotel, even one with a kitchenette.

I think the Homewood suites is in the Mira Mesa area which is south of Del Mar so the labeling of town is misleading but I like the Del Mar/LJ area.
Traffic at certain times isn't so bad to get to Balboa Park.
So Liberty Station location is $50 more..
I would do Del Mar location since that is $350+ in savings and the beaches in DM and LJ are stunning.
I would not rent a vacation rental..too much $$ imho.
September is Indian summer with all the tourist gone and the ocean temps still very warm along with the warm ocean breezes.

It's in Carmel Valley, which is not actually Del Mar. It is right next to Del Mar, though, and only a few minutes from Torrey Pines State Beach and "downtown" Del Mar. There's a Ruth's Chris just down the road and a Pat and Oscar's for great "fast casual" food on Valley Center Drive, also pretty close. In Del Mar, there's the great beach and several very good restaurants. My fave is Jake's right in the beach. (Use the valet parking!)

This location is also close to UTC shopping mall. There's a PF Chang's there.

You're also close to the west end of the Penasquitos Canyon Preserve, which is nice for hiking.

http://www.sandiego.gov/park-and-rec...s/penasq.shtml

It's a quick run to Sea World or downtown on I-5, or to the Zoo on I-805 and CA 163.

I think this would be a good location and it's a bit less expensive.

For traffic info go here.

http://www.sigalert.com/Map.asp?region=San+Diego

Shouldn't be a problem after 9 AM.

Traffic shouldn't be a problem at all as there's a bypass from the feeway-both directions-to get to the off ramp they'd need.

On our trip to San Diego we stayed at the Homewood Suites Del Mar and just loved it. We drove into Old Town and took the trolley hop on and off tour and our drive into the city and back to the hotel was not bad at all. The hotel itself is very nice with a great pool area. I don't know if you are interested in the beach, but the Torrey Pines Beach is very near the hotel and it is a beautiful beach to walk on.

Thanks for all of the advice. I'm leaning towards Del Mar as beach time is important for my daughter.

As long as we're within a half hour or so of the "touristy" sites in SD (which is about what I recalled it being), I'm happy.

The beaches in North county are stunning.
Del Mar is great for kids..if your kids are under 10, Legoland in Carlsbad is perfect and the kids love it!
Torrey Pines State Beach has tons of parking and a great taco shop (Roberto's) on Carmel Valley for lunch.
Hiking at the Torrey Pines State Reserve next to the famed golf course is a great hike oceanfront and you can see lots of dolphins.