tdwrtr

My husband and I are planning to spend a week in the San Diego area over Christmas with four twentysomething family members (23-27).We are all coming from the cold North (Oregon, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.) We need help with where to stay and our itinerary.

We prefer to rent a house so we can relax and cook most meals and enjoy an occasional restaurant. We would like to stay close enough to a beach that we can walk to it and enjoy it when we arrive home from activities. We're considering Mission Bay or Mission Beach, or even a smaller quieter place like Carlsbad or Cardiff By the Sea. Suggestions given our interests below?

We will have a car for exploring. We want to hike the Torrey Pines Trail, see Hotel Del Coronado, Gaslight District, Balboa Park for museums and botanical gardens. We'd like to rent and ride bikes somewhere, enjoy the beach. We aren't big shoppers, but are foodies. Love seafood. We like hiking, biking, natural beauty, cultural events, small interesting off the beaten path neighborhoods rather than touristy areas. What else should we see and do given our interests?
Thank you!

k_marie

Look at La Jolla Shores for a rental. We, our two daughters, their husbands and our two grandchildren, eight of us in all, have been renting there for several years. It’s an easy drive from SAN and San Diego (closer than Carlsbad!) though we rarely use the car for excursions once we have bought our groceries and have moved in. Beach, a few restaurants, and trails are within a few blocks’ walk. We usually go in October.

wtm003

Cabrillo National Monument is my favorite spot in San Diego.

https://www.nps.gov/cabr/index.htm

mlgb

Mission Bay is my least favorite part of San Diego.
Del Mar is another option which is not far from Torrey Pines.

Barbara

The extension of the Blue Line Trolley to UCSD in La Jolla opens in November, so that might be an option for you rather than driving all the time. There is no published list of new stations yet though.

mlgb

If you want to use transit, another option in North County is Solana Beach, which has a train station and for the COASTER to downtown San Diego. NCTD also runs the Breeze as far as UCSD.

aliced

We live in NE New Jersey but our son and family have been in North County San Diego for 25 years, we visit all times during the year, usually not summer, then they come east. La Jolla Shore is quiet and lovely and has a few excellent restaurants, (Piatti & Marine Room) but aside from Aquarium, La Jolla does not offer the shopping it did some years ago, and not the most convenient town to access, (though The Cottage is always a must for brfst) DelMar has easier access to the Fwy 5, Solana has wonderful shops on Cedros, and it flanks Cardiff which runs right along the water. But in December, truly think you'd be alot more mobile in Encinitas/Carlsbad. Lots of restaurants, walking path along bluff at downtown), restaurants, and should you choose to go to Orange Co, (Laguna Beach is gorgeous), it's an easy drive. Also the Coaster stops there should you want to take that downtown. Instant access to Fwy 5 to get downtown and of course to Coronado, which at Christmas is gorgeous. Also there is Annie's Canyon Trail in Solana which is fabulous, and was unknown to us till last year, Solana/Cardiff and five minutes from southern end of Carlsbad.

mlgb

In Encinitas, try El Pueblo for 99 Cent Fish Tacos at Birmingham and the 405 (east side of freeway at the Valero gas station). Legendary. I always stop there on the return trip back north from San Diego.

aliced

MLGB, thx for the tip on the fish tacos, frequently we get on the 5 S from Birmingham. We'll be out there in 7 weeks for a month.

tdwrtr

Thank you for all the suggestions especially for food, hiking and the Coaster. Due to limited availability in some communities, we have decided to stay in an Air B&B in Pacific Beach area. We have an option a few blocks away from the pier and another in Crown Point. I hear the area around the pier is a college party scene, but maybe not during December? Can we walk from Crown Point to pier area? Suggestions?

Barbara

You could walk from Crown Point to Crystal Pier. It's roughly 2 1/4 miles and would take approx 45 minutes.