greenrph

I have a question about the "June Gloom" if I may. Does that effect the entire coastal region ( I am speaking of San Diego area) or is it more Central to Northern?

I remember last year in June we were in Santa Rosa and it was cold and gloomy.

Thanks in advance

JackOneill

My wife and I really like Santa Barbara. Loved the architecture, and it seemed to have enought nice restaurants and shopping to occupy 2 to 3 days, easy.

But now that Laguna has been thrown into the mix, I have to say that if you want a truly great beach experience, than it's all Laguna all the time. And it's a pretty little area; actually it might be better suited for a long weekend. (My concern about Santa Barbara is that you might get a taste of Big Sur there and decide to drive up, which would take a good chunk of a day.)

rjw_lgb_ca

June Gloom is a well-known phenomenon, but I think it's also a bit overblown. Yeah, it can be foggy in the mornings in June as the marine layer blows in. But it normally burns off by 10 AM (I watch it burn off as I sit in my office-- overlooking the sands of Santa Monica Beach) and you have a nice day after that. It does affect San Diego-- the weather down in SD tends to track Santa Monica's pretty closely.

June Gloom also affects west-facing beaches more than south-facing beaches. This means that where I live, Long Beach, the fog burns off more quickly and it gets a bit hotter than Santa Monica (I would guess that LB averages 5F hotter than SM). YMMV.

greenrph

Thanks for the explanation. I get enough gloom where I live in Ohio. I guess I will reschedule my June trip until later.

I was planning on going for a week to lay in the sun and relax. I guess maybe I am better to avoid the Summer.

Thanks

rjw_lgb_ca

By July it's quite wonderful here, and it usually stays that way into October. Actually, May is normally a pretty nice month too.

Today we're going to have a healthy Santa Ana blow through, so we should be way up into the upper 70s here in Santa Monica. It's a one-day thing, but hey-- we'll take it after all the below-normal temps we've had.

mrsJuice

Well after much research I pretty much narrowed it down to the Surf and Sand resort at Laguna Beach. I haven't checked yet, but am hoping I can fly into SNA.

Then of course someone mentioned Coronoda Island to me, specifically the Hotel Del, which really does look nice on the website. And if we get bored, san diego is right there..

Argh. should I reconsider or just stick with the original plan? What are the drawbacks of staying at either, if any? Will I definitely need a car for either?

Also we are very flexible on when/where we go. Perhaps we should wait til the first or second week in July to be on the safe side with the gloom...

whaddya think?

IamBooth

Don't worry about the gloom. To confuse matters more...plan a San Diego vacation. You will be able to get around with taxi and public transportation...trolley, bus etc.

JackOneill

and then there's La Jolla. One of my favorite places in Southern California.

IamBooth

....and you could visit Shamu! San Diego is a great place for me to go during summer. It could be 115 degrees here in Las Vegas and in San Diego at night on the bay we need to put a sweater or jacket on.

annikany

I was glad to see you decided to stay at Laguna Beach. I didn't want to sway you that way but when you started to think about it more I decided to chime in. You will love Laguna Beach! I have not stayed at the Surf and Sand but they have a really nice restaurant. The only thing about this place is location. It's not right in main beach and you really want to relax and skip the driving right? The Inn at Laguna is right in main beach. Great location and the place looks wonderful. I would think the prices are comparable to Surf and Sand. I'm not sure if they have a pool though so you may want to check that out. I usually stay at the Hotel Laguna when in town. It's right in main beach and I love the property. It's a moderate priced hotel but very charming. They have a web site:
www.hotellaguna.com
Also Laguna Beach has it's own website:
www.lagunabeach.com

You can check rates and location from here and I find it very helpful. They also have a special web rate. When you call the hotel of your choice you mention that you saw the rate on this website and you save some money. If you visit the site you will see what I mean.
About airports.
SNA is the closest to Laguna Beach.
LGB is a great recommendation if you can fly Jetblue. It's also not too far from Laguna.
San Diego is a 2-2 1/2 hour drive from Laguna but it's managable and I've done it when it's saved me money on flights. Personally I would just pay a little more to fly into SNA.
I would also just plan on picking up a car at the SNA airport and drive to Laguna. It's an easy drive. I've rented cars very cheap from this location. I would park the car at the hotel and tell the valet you will pick it up when you check out. This way the car is there if you decide to drive down to Dana Point which is a nice coastal drive if you get bored in Laguna. I know a car was not your first choice but for a long weekend it would be very inexpensive even if you never plan to use it.
Well this is all just MHO.
Hope it helps.
Annika

stammer

I have never been to Santa Barbara, but I have been to Santa Monica twice. It's just....OK. San Diego and Laguna (and the cities in between) are so much nicer. I love Coronodo but any resort from San Diego up the coast, will be nice. Coronado, La Jolla, Carlsbad and Laguna are really all great choices.

dina4

Mrs. Juice,
I'm happy you chose Laguna. You'll be really happy there.
Santa Monica is really not that bad, it's actually a wonderful place to live and work.

We've stayed at the St. Regis and the Ritz Carlton, and they're both very romantic. bUt if you really want to splurge, try the Montage.

About June gloom, it's mostly in the morning. And really it happens on and off throughout the summer, so don't plan your trip around it.

Have fun!
Dina

kimyart

I've been living in and around Laguna my whole life (Im 44) and I can tell you its the perfect vacation,especially for people who walk. Parking in Laguna is impossible, so you wind up parking far from your destination and walking into town. The Hotel Laguna is charming and does have a pool.It has an outdoor, beach front bar and an indoor restaurant thats pretty pricey. It's a spanish style and right on the main beach, which is a real zoo in summer. There is a boardwalk there and volleyball players and basketballs courts and grass and a playground and a million people to enjoy watching. The Surf and Sand Hotel is about a mile or two down the road, within walking distance if you are up for a good hike. It is a larger place and the restaurant is right on the sand. The beach there is less crazy, just the locals. Laguna has its own little trolley that runs thru town every hour or so. It ends at 9pm and a cab will cost you about $5.00 from the center of town to your hotel.
Regarding the June gloom. Laguna has some foggy days , yesieree, but what you do is travel up to the top of Arch Beach Heights (the neighborhood above The Surf and Sand -the trolley goes up there too)where there is a lovely big park. You will be ontop of the clouds and enjoy the sun and a beautiful view of the hills facing inland.There are tennis courts up there too. Also fun to visit at night as the deer come out to play. There are loads of things to do in summer in Laguna. Hundreds of great restaurants to choose from, loads of cute shops to browse in. The Sawdust Festival runs all summer and is a huge permanent craft fair with music and wine and locals artists to enjoy. In the evening you can attend the Pageant of the Masters , which is a must see, once in a lifetime experience and really hard to explain without it sounding wierd and kind of dull, which it isn't. Get your tickets now cause they book up fast and get tickets close to the stage if you can afford it. The little natural amphiltheater is beautiful and bring wine and cheese or eat at the restaurant inside. There is also a fine art show on the grounds so go early.Hydes park is directly adjacent to the Laguna Art gallery and is a lovely walk along and above the ocean. They have the old folks lawn bowling and usually a wedding at the gazebo. There are hundreds of art galleries to explore and if you can arrive on the first Thursday of the month you can enjoy the Art Walk, where the whole town opens up at night, more wine aflowing , and you can walk to each gallery and get what I like to call a painless education. There are so many galleries and events going on, you wont even make it to a third of the places. Musicians, dancers and grand openings abound.There is a cute old theatre in town and a playhouse. The Laguna Canyon has guided hikes into the bush. If you are dying for a mall, there is Fashion Island, an outdoor mall nearby heading north. I HIGHLY do not recommend going to San Diego unless you take the train as the freeway is bumper to bumper every Saturday with everyone heading to Mexico. It's a nightmare. The San Diego Zoo is great, but take the train. You can catch it in San Juan Capistrano, another quaint little mission town nearby. There is also the Dana Point harbor to visit nearby heading south. There are some great clubs to visit in Laguna in the evening for music and the busiest place in town is the ice cream shop around dessert time. Let me know if you want more info. You can email me if you want. Have a wonderful trip. And get some sleep while you can ! Oh, just more food for thought Santa Monica is a garbage dump compared to Laguna.I even love walking thru the neighborhoods because every house has an incredible garden and enty way. You wont want to go home...

nissa20

Just a tip . I think Santa Barbara is more romantic than either San Diego, Santa Monica
(definitely more romantic than Santa Monica ) and generally less crowded than Laguna Beach

If you wait until past the middle of August and especially until the Fall , you can
often negotiate with the nicer hotels for a much lower rate . The weather is still
typically warm and nice - sometimes even nicer .

There are numerous hotels on the beach in Santa Barbara and restaurants you
can walk to . There is a shuttle , in the summer , that will take you to State Street
( the main thoroughfare for shopping ) if you want to , but the nicest thing, to me ,
is just spending time together around the pool, swimming, reading and relaxing
and walking on the beach .
Several hotels/ motels have their own restaurants .

Laguna is pretty, more artsy and nice , but I recommend going during the week . The traffic going
back and forth from Los Angeles to Mexico on the weekends, can be horrible .

It's gotten worse since 2006 , believe me .