Traveling between San Diego and LA in August.
Are any of the beach/coast towns NOT advisable to stay in?

personally i like the following beach towns in the san diego area --
coronado
la jolla
del mar
carlsbad

I don't advise looking for a room in/near Del Mar in August. Might just be a waste of time.

Thanks for suggestions. What are your thoughts on Marina del Rey, Venice and Santa Monica?

I think it all depends on what you are planning to do while in the area. If you want a coastal area as a base for sightseeing in greater L.A., then Santa Monica, Venice, MDR would be fine. Santa Monica is pricey, Venice is funky, but I don't believe there are any hotels right on the beach. Marina del Rey is just that, a marina, with no true beach.

If you just want to hang out at the beach, I would recommend Hermosa or Manhattan Beach.

In Orange County: Huntington, Newport and Laguna Beaches all have great lodging options.

lvk, Thanks again for responding. Our plans are to take a tour in LA (Hollywood, whatever) but, not stay in the city (if there actually is one). Thought that staying on the coast would allow a day tour of LA and also visit beaches, not necessary to swim but more to walk/drive along. I have found that Santa Monica is pricey and I've located Courtyard by Mariott in Marina del Rey to stay for 2-3 days. Would like to drive up to Malibu and also visit Santa Monica and Venice. We're flying out of John Wayne Airport so we may stay in Newport Beach for one day/night. Otherwise, what is your opinion on staying in Marina del Rey and driving from there to the airport on the day of flight? Flight leaves at 1 pm. I really appreciate your advise as the LA area is so sprawling and, to me, rather confusing. I'm from NY.

Marina del Rey is a good base for the other L.A. attractions and Malibu/Santa Monica. That Courtyard appears to be located on a busy street, not in the Marina proper, ie: no view. Have you looked into the Foghorn Harbor Inn in MDR, or the MDR Marriott? These might have views of the water/boats.

What day do you fly out? If it is on a weekend, then it should just be about a 45 minute drive to SNA. On a weekday, it could take twice that long. Either way, if you leave MDR by 9:30am, you should be fine. For such a short stay, that would be preferable than checking in and out of hotels. Unless, of course, you wanted to see some of the Orange County beaches, too.

My in-laws were just visiting and stayed at the Marriott Courtyard in Marina del Rey. It's clean and has a helpful staff, walking distance to many restaurants (mostly fast-food) and shopping, movie theatres, etc. You can walk to the Marina, but it's not the beach. I've had people stay at the Best Western in Venice, not sure how much it costs, but it's right in the heart of the sites in Venice: beach, boardwalk, canals, etc. I've also had someone stay at the Seashore Motel on Main Street in Santa Monica. It's your typical motor lodge, but it's on Main Street which is a great home base in the area.

As far as getting down to John Wayne on the day of your flight, I think it would depend highly on what day of the week. From Marina del Rey it could take 45 mins on a good day or 2 hours on a bad day. But, seeing as how your flight leaves at 1, you'll probably miss the worst of it (notice how I say probably, because you never know). Hope that helps…

I have stayed in Marina Del Rey and it's a perfect location to use as a starting point to see places like Venice Beach, Santa Monica, Malibu, Hollywood Hills, etc.