California Hotels and Vacation Tips?

[whitemerlot]

I’m looking for some hotel recommendations for mid August in the following cities. We will have a rental car and 2 adults and 2 teens. Priority is clean and safe. Don’t care about a pool.

3 nights San Diego

2 nights Los Angeles

A night between LA and SFO

3 nights San Francisco area

My husband and I have been to California a couple times but it will be a first for our kids (and since kids) ages 14 and 12. Any ideas or favorites along the Pacific Coast highway would be welcomed. We are more interested in seeing nature, low key hiking, casual dining, and relaxation. Not interested in theme parks etc. This is a dream trip for my 14 year old.

Thank you so much. We are thinking of flying into San Diego and out of San Francisco.

[nancybotwin]

For a spot between LA and SF we love Avila. It’s just south of San Luis Obispo (which we also love) - right on the beach, some moderate trails for hiking, hot springs, good dining…we love being there!

For LA, my recommendation changes depending on what area you want to be in. Near the beach? Mountains? City? What are you hoping to see? Traffic patterns can really impact what you do, so I’d recommend a place to stay based on your desired itinerary.

[sakoro]

For San Diego, I recommend avoiding the week of Comic Con (7/24-28 this year). Summer is high season for vacationers escaping Arizona heat (half of Phoenix migrates here for the month of August, no joke) and it will be expensive. I would stay in Mission Bay (if in your budget) or Hotel Circle (if you need something central and more affordable).

[Roc A Bee]

Not quite halfway but Santa Barbara would be nice to stop in between SD and SF. They have a cute zoo, the beach, shopping.

We are staying at Hotel Zephyr in SF.

[fiddles]

Are you looking specifically for San Diego or are you open to other areas? Carlsbad & Oceanside are beautiful on the beach a little north of the city. Rooms might be a bit cheaper

[whitemerlot]

May 14, 2024 11:20:48 GMT -5 fiddles said:

Are you looking specifically for San Diego or are you open to other areas? Carlsbad & Oceanside are beautiful on the beach a little north of the city. Rooms might be a bit cheaper

I’m looking for the general area.

As far as things to do in Los Angeles we don’t have anything on the must do list.

[ny96]

What are you looking to spend on hotels?

[pinkdutchtulips]

If you want to stay along the central coast - Santa Barbara, Solvang, San Luis Obispo, Pismo Beach, and Cambria are all solid choices. Cambria is a cute little beachy town not far from Hearst Castle (San Simeon).

[hbomdiggity]

For San Diego:

The hotels downtown tend to have super expensive parking. That said, if you want to be in that area I like the Hilton garden inn/homewood suites bayside. Right in Little Italy, so walkable to all the great restaurants. But I’m pretty sure parking is $50 or $60/night.

Hotel del Coronado is iconic/an experience.

For more budget friendly beach, Hilton garden inn Carlsbad Beach is right across the 101 from the beach.

[ny96]

We always stay at the Hyatt in La Jolla. It’s relatively inexpensive, has a nice pool, and La Jolla is beautiful. The hotel is about 10 minutes from the beach and adjacent to UCSD.

[eb777888]

We're staying at Newport Beach in a few weeks. I could not believe how expensive hotels are right now! I've been saying this for a year now, but they are soooo expensive. We were going to stay in Catalina for a few days but just camp grounds were $300/night, lol. So....

[k3am]

I'm going to also recommend the SLO/Pismo area. If you chose either Pismo or Avila, lookup the lighthouse suites - you can get a two bedroom suite (lots of options for layouts, but I know they have a King / Full+full combo that sounds right for your party), right on the water, typically for a really reasonable rate. We stay there often.

[emilyinchile]

Honestly for your night between LA and SF I'd stay at like a Motel 6. H and I drove down PCH over the course of 3 days/2 nights a few years ago and stayed at the Motel 6 in San Simeon (which is next to the previously recommended Cambria) and the Super 8 in Goleta (next to Santa Barbara). I love a fancy hotel, but for the time we were spending there after driving and exploring all day - and with only 1 night, obviously you're driving more each day - somewhere clean, cheap and well-located was perfect.

[ellipses84]

Following and I’ll come back to post later. I owe some relatives SF > SD recs so I’ll copy and paste what I send them.

[scribellesam]

La Jolla has gorgeous views, beaches, and hiking but can be pricey for hotels. Mission Beach is a good central area for tourists. Torrey Pines hiking views are hard to beat along the coastline in La Jolla. Also definitely recommend Point Cabrillo National Park and the tide pools there. Little Italy is a good area for food choices, and you can pretty much throw a rock and hit delicious Mexican food in any area around SD.

[Doggy Mommy]

Between LA and SF we like the Kon Tiki Inn at Pismo Beach. It isn't fancy but it's very clean, prices are great, easy location for that drive, and the views are perfect from every room. But it might also be worth it to go a bit farther out of the way to Monterey or Carmel.

We don't usually stay in San Diego, but we stayed at the Mission Pacific hotel in Oceanside last October and enjoyed it. Usually we stay in Laguna Beach. "LA" can mean so many different things (beach? downtown? Hollywood? etc) that it would be helpful to nail down more of what you're wanting to do. You'll want to stay near the places you want to go.

[Roc A Bee]

May 14, 2024 11:45:39 GMT -5 pinkdutchtulips said:

If you want to stay along the central coast - Santa Barbara, Solvang, San Luis Obispo, Pismo Beach, and Cambria are all solid choices. Cambria is a cute little beachy town not far from Hearst Castle (San Simeon).

Cambria is one of my fav places. It holds special meaning to me but it’s a quiet town. I recommend the Ocean Point Ranch for theif fire pits and yard games.

[sicilygirl]

What’s your budget/night? Prices vary wildly so it’s hard to give recommendations without knowing that.

It seems like every time someone asks about San Diego on these boards, North County is the recommendation. I would personally stay away from North County if you want to explore San Diego. If you’re not actually interested in San Diego itself and just want to do outdoor activities though, NC is fine. You mentioned you don’t care about a pool, but what about the beach?

[ksun]

LA is a huge area - do you want near the beaches? The Valley? Closer to Malibu? Downtown?

[konapoppy]

With those priorities, I completely agree with all of the SLO/Pismo/Avila recommendations, Monterey/Carmel and Marin would be a great end point.

FYI you probably know this, but you can’t drive PCH straight - part of Big Sur remains closed.

[formerlyak]

There is a Courtyard by Marriott in Paso Robles that is a good place to stop between LA and SF. This article installation in Paso is cool. sensoriopaso.com Also most of the wineries there are family friendly and you can bring a picnic.

Agree that it would be helpful to know where in LA you want to be. It's big here. But my kids (17 and 10) recently liked a day we spent in downtown where we at at Philippe's for the original French dips. From there, we walked the two blocks to Olivera Street, which is the original center of Los Angeles. It is a quick drive from there to the Broad which has great modern art and is free - just need to reserve a timed ticket.

There are, of course, hikes of all levels by the Griffith Observatory. It's a popular hiking spot on nice days, so go early for your best chance at parking. Palos Verdes also has good hikes that are less crowded, but are at the other end of LA.

You could kayak or stand up paddle in the Redondo Beach Harbor. It's a bit less hectic than Malibu or Marina Del Rey. There is also the fish market on the Redondo Beach Pier if you are fish people.

[gummy]

May 14, 2024 16:14:18 GMT -5 sicilygirl said:

What’s your budget/night? Prices vary wildly so it’s hard to give recommendations without knowing that.

It seems like every time someone asks about San Diego on these boards, North County is the recommendation. I would personally stay away from North County if you want to explore San Diego. If you’re not actually interested in San Diego itself and just want to do outdoor activities though, NC is fine. You mentioned you don’t care about a pool, but what about the beach?

Right? North County is lovely in and of itself but if you're looking to do San Diego tourist activities, 90% of them are south of the 8! Oceanside can be a full hour from the airport depending on the time of day and traffic. For families, I think the Mission Bay area can be nice but I'm partial to the hotels along the Embarcadero between Little Italy area and Seaport Village.

[whitemerlot]

May 14, 2024 16:28:24 GMT -5 konapoppy said:

With those priorities, I completely agree with all of the SLO/Pismo/Avila recommendations, Monterey/Carmel and Marin would be a great end point.

FYI you probably know this, but you can’t drive PCH straight - part of Big Sur remains closed.

Thank for telling me that.

[whitemerlot]

Thanks for all of these great responses.

I guess I was thinking of $300-400 per night give or take for hotels but I know it might be more and that parking will be extra.

In Los Angeles I’d like to do some of the Hollywood sightseeing but we love hiking and walking along the beach.

This is a dream trip for my 14 year old and I’m a teacher who is almost on summer break so I’ll have more time to plan soon.

[whitemerlot]

May 14, 2024 16:53:13 GMT -5 formerlyak said:

There is a Courtyard by Marriott in Paso Robles that is a good place to stop between LA and SF. This article installation in Paso is cool. sensoriopaso.com Also most of the wineries there are family friendly and you can bring a picnic.

Agree that it would be helpful to know where in LA you want to be. It's big here. But my kids (17 and 10) recently liked a day we spent in downtown where we at at Philippe's for the original French dips. From there, we walked the two blocks to Olivera Street, which is the original center of Los Angeles. It is a quick drive from there to the Broad which has great modern art and is free - just need to reserve a timed ticket.

There are, of course, hikes of all levels by the Griffith Observatory. It's a popular hiking spot on nice days, so go early for your best chance at parking. Palos Verdes also has good hikes that are less crowded, but are at the other end of LA.

You could kayak or stand up paddle in the Redondo Beach Harbor. It's a bit less hectic than Malibu or Marina Del Rey. There is also the fish market on the Redondo Beach Pier if you are fish people.

Thank you for writing all of this out. A lot of these ideas seem perfect.

[Roc A Bee]

I agree I’d stay in SD not north county to get to the more touristy areas easier.

I amend my answer and think you should stay in Avila or Pismo. Paso Robles is on the way but much hotter since it is inland. My choice would be Avila. Cambria would be out of the way since PCH is closed near Big Sur.

I’d also suggest Santa Cruz over San Francisco. I just like the vibe there more.

[dcrunnergirl52]

May 14, 2024 16:28:24 GMT -5 konapoppy said:

With those priorities, I completely agree with all of the SLO/Pismo/Avila recommendations, Monterey/Carmel and Marin would be a great end point.

FYI you probably know this, but you can’t drive PCH straight - part of Big Sur remains closed.

I read that it's reopening this Friday. 

www.gov.ca.gov/2024/05/14/governor-newsom-announces-the-reopening-of-highway-1-ahead-of-schedule/#:~:text=BIG%20SUR%20%E2%80%93%20Governor%20Gavin%20Newsom,days%20sooner%20than%20previously%20expected.

But, with that said, I've planned a similar trip three times in the past 10 years b/c I wanted to drive Big Sur, and each time, something happened to close the road, so you never know (maybe I'm the problem, LOL).

[namasteak]

We are going to SF in October and staying at The Lodge in The Presidio. Our family of 5 can fit in the suite and the location is perfect for the wedding we are attending.

[hermione]

We stayed at the Seabird in Oceanside. It's about 45 mins outside of San Diego but we loved it!

[konapoppy]

May 15, 2024 6:54:26 GMT -5 dcrunnergirl52 said:

May 14, 2024 16:28:24 GMT -5 konapoppy said:

With those priorities, I completely agree with all of the SLO/Pismo/Avila recommendations, Monterey/Carmel and Marin would be a great end point.

FYI you probably know this, but you can’t drive PCH straight - part of Big Sur remains closed.

I read that it's reopening this Friday. 

www.gov.ca.gov/2024/05/14/governor-newsom-announces-the-reopening-of-highway-1-ahead-of-schedule/#:~:text=BIG%20SUR%20%E2%80%93%20Governor%20Gavin%20Newsom,days%20sooner%20than%20previously%20expected.

But, with that said, I've planned a similar trip three times in the past 10 years b/c I wanted to drive Big Sur, and each time, something happened to close the road, so you never know (maybe I'm the problem, LOL).

Oh interesting. I thought a section south of the most recent slide had been closed already, but I may be wrong!