Mitch

We are coming to LA from 27th Dec thru 4th Jan. Where would be good to chill out for a week - warm weather required! Is there anywhere in CA that would be ideal or should we make for Mexico?

kam

Hard to know what you mean by "warm" weather. If you mean beach weather then California is probably out although San Diego has nice weather all year, and I think you'll have to go pretty far south in Mexico as well. The place that comes to my mind is Hawaii but many places have week minimums at Christmas and flights are more expensive then.

Noach

Perhaps the California desert would be good?

Mitch

By 'warm', I mean 'no jacket required unless in the evening. Is Santa Barbara nice? Or Palm Springs?

Hawaii is a bit too far since we're already coming in from London...

SDSam

I am a resident of San Diego. The weather in Southern California is very iffy at that time of the year. That is during our official rainy season. However the chances are still less than 50% that it will rain. I have seen daytime temperatures run as high as 95 and as well as low 50's. The weather in San Diego, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara is pretty much the same. San Diego may be a degree or two warmer but for all practical purposes, the weather is the same. Traveling into Mexico may not improve matters very much. Palm Springs will probably get less rain but may not be any warmer.

I would say that the chances are that you will have nice warm weather for at least part of the time. Just come prepared but you can leave your snowshoes at home unless you are going to go up in the mountains.

GG

Palm Springs is warm enough much of the time that no jacket is required during the day, but still has some cool days that time of year. Many very nice resorts there. If you want guaranteed warm weather you have to go farther south (south Florida, south Texas are more predictable).
Mexico is not one of my favorite places, but I will say that Cabo San Lucas has some of the nicest beaches I've ever been to, some great resorts and is desert terrain with very nice temperatures all year. Cancun, Cozumel, Puerto Vallarta are all warmer than SoCalifornia. Hawaii is tops.

Mitch

What are the average temps in AZ or Vegas at that New Years time? Being from London, we'll take anything in the 70's as pretty good!! We originally planned to go to Sedona earlier in the year but had to cancel. How would Sedona be at that time?

kam

Mitch, If you've ever heard of the Rose Parade you might want to try to book a hotel near Pasadena and see the parade. Held on January 1st unless the 1st falls on a Sunday, then it's on the next Monday. It really is beautiful! We used to go every year when we lived there. As I remember we wore jackets in the early morning but by about 9am we were in shirtsleeves. And statistically it's only rained on the Rose Parade once since 1955, however, it poured this last year the day before and up to about 3 hours before the parade! An essential part of California dress is the sleeveless fleece vest which can easily be taken off as the sun warms you up. I would think Sedona would be about the same, Phoenix perhaps a bit warmer, but they get rain as well. And, one of the most miserable weekends I ever spent was in the rain in Palm Springs in December. It doesn't rain often, but when it does, things get really bleak. I am also not a fan of Mexico but Cabo would be your best choice. Another place to check about would be San Antonio, Texas.