I'm beginning to plan a 1-week April vacation in San Diego, and will be renting a vacation home somewhere, the question is where? I hear La Jolla is nice, though are there any other locations I should definitely consider or avoid? I'm looking for relatively quiet but not in the middle of nowhere, on or as close to a beach as possible, and convenient to shopping, entertainment, etc. Any suggestions would be most welcome.

If you want to stay on the beach, you should check out the Pacific Terrace, it right on the ocean, it comes with a kitchen, went there last summer and loved it. They have a web site, and you might be going in off season which would be nice, lots to do around there as well, quiet hotel, with breakfast daily free

We enjoyed our recent stay at The Ocean Park Inn - www.oceanparkinn.com
Rates are moderate and possibly lower in April. Hotel is across from the beach, includes free underground parking, breakfast (cereal, breads, bagels, sweet rolls), coffee and juice all day. Go for ocean front and request a second or third floor room. It's worth it.

Starbuck Coffee and grocery store close by. Easy walk to many eating places. Best part is proximity to ocean and going to sleep to the sound of the surf.

Definitely will return to this hotel.

Sandy

Another vote for Pacific Terrace. We enjoyed our stay there. After having visited the Coranado hotel, I would be tempted to spend the additional money to stay there next time because the setting is so beautiful there, the beach and pool area are really nice.

If you are not renting a car, you will need to stay in downtown San Diego to have the easiest access to mass transit to see the sights. Also, the entertainment is downtown and in Pacific Beach, near downtown.

If you will have a car, then La Jolla is great. We stayed at the Sea Lodge several years ago and loved it. It is right on a nice beach, and you can walk to some good restaurants and limited shopping. It is a short drive to La Jolla's larger shopping and restaurant area.

Del Mar, just north of La Jolla, may work for you as well. It's quiet, beautiful, and sophisticated. Anything there will be on the expensive side though.

If you want quiet, avoid any mission beach or pacific beach rentals.
those are perfect party spots for young 20's with lots of boardwalk action.
my friend and her family recently rented a gorgeous place in oceanside, in St. Malo complex, on the beach. Oceanside is near Carlsbad, about 30 minutes from downtown san diego. i also love la jolla and del mar; as other poster stated, we are weak in the transit dept. so car rental is mandatory. I beleive there are some carlsbad timeshares available as well; a perfect location for peace but also close to walk or sightsee.

Mission Beach rentals are not for 20 year olds. It is mostly families who rent the houses or condos with their kids. It is a geat place as you are steps from the beach and the bay. The broadwalk is great for bike riding, skating and walking. We have had the same families coming to our rental for 20 years. Now their children are coming with their kids.

I would also consult tripadvisor for some of the suggested places. The one place is consistant with complaints of ants. (Ocean Park inn.)

Just topped my report as we just returned! We liked San Diego a lot. La Jolla was quite spiffy, and it is clear why it is so popular even with the expense. Coronado Island was much larger than I expected, but I think it would also be a lovely place to stay. We noticed some charming bungalow/cottages for rent. The resort we stayed in (Humphrey's Half Moon Inn and Suites) was great for a few days, but not completely sound-proof so I wouldn't recommend it for an entire week. It was not on a beach, as Shelter Island seems to be a huge marina/ Boater's paradise type place.

We just got back from San Diego and stayed in La Jolla. It was wonderful. After driving around and seeing all the other areas we could have stayed in I was very excited that we made the right choice. It is beautiful and we found it very accessable to all the places we wanted to go ie. zoo. seaworld, gaslamp, seaport etc (we had a car) nothing took longer than 15 - 20 minutes. We stayed at the Lodge at Torrey Pines and I can not wait to go back!

To: diann

I read the reviews on trip advisor about ants at The Ocean Park Inn. We were there 5 days beginning Thanksgiving and all I can tell you is that we did not see a ant the entire time.

I would return to this hotel without hesitation.

Sandy