Universal Studios/San Diego
 

My 12 year old son and I will be visiting the San Diego area the first week in April and will also be at Universal Studios for a day. We have never been to California and would appreciate any travel tips, good places to stay by Universal Studios and suggestions for neat places to visit in the San Diego(besides the zoo) and LA areas. Any tips would be great!

My husband and son enjoyed the air and space museum in San Diego. We all liked the trolley ride because you get a sampling of the area. The guys also went on a whale watch and said it was great. Have fun! <BR>

I was helping another fella find the best beaches in Southern Calif and found a website wherein the only beach in the top 20 to make it was Children's Beach at La Jolla. Another nice one however is the Mission Bay area across from Sea World. From there you can easily go to Seaport Village, Old Town, and the Zoo. Then be sure to see Cabrillo Point. My son's class went there for a field trip when studyin Cabrillo's journey to California and it was interesting for me as well. I have lived here all my life and never seen it. Be sure to take a ferry over to Coronado Island and see Hotel Del Coronado. Its a Victorian gem! <BR> <BR>For Universal Studios there is Univeral Citywalk, a 3 block entertainment and shopping promenade. At the Universal Studios be sure to take a tram tour and visit the Lucille Ball shop. Ph is 818 622-3801. Perhaps they can recommend a motel close by. One I see in my AAA guide is Days Inn ($42-$69) and they are very close to Universal Studios Hollywood and not far from Magic Mountain. 2/800 347-9410. There is also a Hilton and A Sheration nearby. Oh, here is another. Holiday Inn for $79 and they are next to Universal Studios. Have heated pool and sauna and restaurant. 1/800 BEVERLY

I just got back from San Diego. Right next to the Zoo is Balboa Park. It is fabulous. There are 12 museums Automotive, Railroad, Aerospace, History, etc. When we went you could see all 12 for $21. Obviously the Zoo and Disneyland. Right near Downtown is Old Town, where there are little shops that all built like the original settlements and Bazaar Del Mundo (some good Mexican food). You have to visit La Jolla, where you can see the seals crawl up on the beach. Visit the Hotel del Coranado. It is a huge hotel. I am only 23 so I could not afford to stay there, but if you can... <BR>

I took a father son trip with my 11 yo to SD this past year. You should consider visiting the San Diego Wild Animal Park in Escondido maybe even instead of the zoo. The zoo is terrific, but getting around it is misery and it seems like the views of the animals could be much better. We loved bicycling around Coronado on a four seater pedal vehicle. Mission Bay Cafe (several locations) has excellent (huge) breakfasts. Horton's Plaza is quite interesting for it's design. ONe of the best things we did was jet ski on Mission Bay. Definitely do so only on a weekday, weekends are life threatening and for experts (and fools) only. Sea World is always a good visit, I recommend the evening shows for some variety. Another thing, visit the seals on the beach at La Jolla (but don't fall for the La Jolla Caves pitch).

We visited Universal last April and stayed at the Sheraton. It's right across from the park -- very convenient especially since it rained and we could go back to the room, change etc. My husband has also stayed at the Hilton which is next door, but he says the Sheraton is much nicer.