How long for San Diego and SoCal area in January?

[Sunny]

Planning an escape from the cold and targeting San Diego and southern California as likely our big destination. We will likely be driving through Phoenix and Albuquerque so will check them out too.

But how many days should I allow for San Diego and the area? For anywhere else in southern California?

We've done trips where we are in a new hotel every night or two, but of course, it is nice if a spot can provide a week or more as well. Our road trip will probably be 3-3.5 weeks long total.

Any suggestions for our likes below? One must do on our list is going up to El Matador State Beach (hopefully I remember that name correctly) since that is where we got engaged (as the sun was setting of course!). I think we had dinner at Moonshadow or something like that too beforehand. Although this means going to LA, hopefully staying north of LA.

Another must do would be whales if they are about and if there are any good, lower key tours / charters that are not so touristy.

Oh, should I expect 60s for daytime highs and 40s for lows? Hard to know of course.

Likes:
-Scenery, outdoors, wildlife (not in zoos, but in nature)

-Hooked on Pickleball, and I've read some place in Encino (Bobby Riggs?) has it. May not play much, but maybe take a lesson or too

-Good eats, defined as fish tacos, Italian, great breakfast places hopefully on the healthier side, Mexican / Southwest foods, but not expensive fine dining.

-Parks or nature if the hikes are relatively short (mile or two or so, not strenuous) and have some sort of reward involved (great views, waterfalls (not likely in CA I realize), etc.

-Scenic drives

-Different terrain...so the ocean of course. Are deserts in January interesting?

Dislikes:
-Crowds, urban congestion, big cities (so LA likely won't be much on our list I'm guessing). I realize San Diego is also a big city to us (our biggest city is not even 1/4 of the size) but I'm guessing a lot of the suburbs or area around don't' feel as urbany?

We are not shoppers, don't particularly go for museums/art although I may check out the Midway, and unless a play or something is unique to us (like an outdoor performance) not much for performances.

Our recent best trip moments:
Wildlife and mountains from Colorado parks, hiking waterfalls in the Carolinas, staying in an airbnb just outside of/allowign us to explore old town in Quebec City by foot, Riverwalk in San Antonio, Everglades in Florida, Texas hill country for the unique small towns, and the Bolivar Penninsula in Texas have been some of our better highlights from previous trips.

 

[RobbieB]

But how many days should I allow for San Diego and the area? For anywhere else in southern California?

For the rest of your life maybe -

 

[Souschef]

Come up to Ventura- the best kept secret on the Central Coast. But wait until all the fires are out.

 

[Sunny]

But how many days should I allow for San Diego and the area? For anywhere else in southern California?

For the rest of your life maybe -

I wish. I’ve seen the property costs there in the past....

Yup, just checked. “Housing is 353% more expensive in San Diego.”

 

[SpinDr]

This could be a pretty wide open question but I'll provide a few ideas as there is lots to do where you're headed.

--On your way out I'd stop in Sedona Az for a night or two. Beautiful area and if you like day hikes, the West Fork Trail in that area is a tremendously beautiful day hike. Not overly difficult.

--A night in Palm springs and a trip up the Palm Springs Tram is very worthwhile.

--A couple of nights in San Diego is a no-brainer. Lots to do from the Park, zoos, La Jolla, and the ships in the harbor. Excellent food options.

--Up the coast a bit you could stay a night or two in Orange County. Beautiful beaches in Laguna Beach. My favorites, Victoria Beach and Crystal Cove beaches.

--There are all the amusement parks but you can drive up past LA and hit the Central Coast area which includes the wine country, Hearst Castle and beautiful coastlines.

You'll likely get some other great ideas but those are a few of my favorites. Enjoy!

 

[Sunny]

Come up to Ventura- the best kept secret on the Central Coast. But wait until all the fires are out.

That’s a good point. I thought it was late to have fires to begin with so assumed they would hopefully be out by 2-3 week in January?

Any suggestions on what in Ventura to not miss?

 

[Sunny]

SpinDr, thanks for the suggestions. I’d forgotten Sedona wouldn’t be too far out of our way. And Palm Springs, etc look like great ideas.

We did the central coast drive once before and saw mostly fog for 2 days. I think this was during October back then and one local told us we had hit at a bad time. I hadn’t considered the central coast or as far north as San Francisco as I assumed weather wise those areas would have more inclement weather, but maybe I need to rethink that.

 

[cathy63]

How long to stay depends how much you want to be on the go vs relaxing and how many things you find to do. You can't see all of So Cal in 3 weeks no matter what, so it's a matter of priorities. You could have a nice time in San Diego in 3 nights or you could spend a full week.

For whales, I recommend the yacht America. We go whale watching every few years when we have guests in town, and this one is by far my favorite. You can find cheaper trips with Groupon, but I prefer the smaller boat and being under sail. There's really no such thing as a whale watch that's not with other tourists unless you're going to charter the whole boat yourself.
https://nextlevelsailing.com/

Yes, mid-60s for daytime highs, upper 40s for night time is about right ... though we could have another Santa Ana that drives temps into the 80s or a cold snap that push nights down into the 30s. No way to know until a week or so prior. It's unlikely to be warm enough to lay on the beach, and the water certainly won't be comfortable for swimming.

For a nice hike to a desert oasis (with waterfall), consider driving out to Anza Borrego state park and hiking into Palm Canyon. It's 3 miles round trip. https://modernhiker.com/hike/hiking-borrego-palm-canyon/
. Coming back, drive up to Julian then come down through Santa Ysabel and Ramona to get a good view of the scenery.

 

[SpinDr]

SpinDr, thanks for the suggestions. I’d forgotten Sedona wouldn’t be too far out of our way. And Palm Springs, etc look like great ideas.

We did the central coast drive once before and saw mostly fog for 2 days. I think this was during October back then and one local told us we had hit at a bad time. I hadn’t considered the central coast or as far north as San Francisco as I assumed weather wise those areas would have more inclement weather, but maybe I need to rethink that.

SF would be a hike (8+hrs drive) from SoCal so that may be best for another trip. Fog is always a possibility on the Central Coast but some nice country is up that way. Cambria is a nice town for an overnight.

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

We were down in LA in May 2016 for wedding but drove down to San Diego for a few days prior. Our first time to San Diego. Did most of the touristy things.

To state the obvious, we loved the coastal drive from San Diego to Oceanside before jumping back on the I-5 to LA. Nice stops along the way like the watching the sea lions in La Jolla.

Really enjoyed our meal at The Crack Shack in Little Italy neighbourhood in San Diego.

Walking-wise, we did a nice circuit from Little Italy to the waterfront to the Gaslamp district back to Little Italy where we stayed. Balboa Park, Coronado Beach, and the Ocean Front walk by Belmont Park were also nice walks.

We also did Old San Diego which was pretty touristy but I liked it.

 

[Scuba]

PB Fish House in Pacific Beach is a great place for fresh fish, shrimp, fish tacos. Very inexpensive.

Palos Verdes peninsula has beautiful hikes at Del Cerro Park. Breathtaking views and varying levels of difficulty. Some trails are easy.

Nelson's at Terrenea Resort is a great outdoor restaurant to enjoy after your PV hike.

Long Beach has a great Aquarium and the Queen Mary is docked there - very interesting to visit. Belmont Shore has great local inexpensive restaurants.

Laguna is totally worth a day or more. If you want to splurge, stay at Surf & Sand. Ocean waves crashing below your balcony. Splashes is a nice restaurant/bar there, but expensive. Try The Rooftop for basic food and amazing views.

So CA in January is beautiful! There are lots of places to rent kayaks or SUP's or hike. Enjoy!!

 

[caninelover]

I would second spending a night or two in the desert, and Anza Borrego State Park would be the most convenient. If you can time it near a new moon, viewing the night sky from the desert is a special experience.

From Ventura there are many whale watching trips that depart from the harbor. It is a cute coastal town with a nice little downtown area with shops and restaurants.

 

[explanade]

That warm weather is great but they've been suffering a dry spell for years, which is one of the reasons the fires have taken their toll.

 

[Sunny]

Lots of good stuff here, thanks!

On a side note, I've been looking at the Anza Borrego State Park and noticed there are some 4x4 trails. Sort of wondering how capable our Jeep Grand Cherokee is. I know most SUVs are not true 4x4s, and the Jeep GC is no Wrangler, but it should be able to handle some stuff. Might be interesting to check some easier ones, but hard telling which of https://www.desertusa.com/anza_borrego/du_absp_4x4.html is doable. The idea would be to see some terrain we normally wouldn't be able to. One more thing to research!

 

[nash031]

That warm weather is great but they've been suffering a dry spell for years, which is one of the reasons the fires have taken their toll.

Winter 2017 was one of the wettest on record, with Gov Brown declaring the drought emergency over in April. Still some catch up with respect to water levels to go. Fires are part of life here unfortunately.

 

[explanade]

We had record rains in Northern Calif. but my understanding was that it didn't rain as much in Southern CA?

 

[cathy63]

We had record rains in Northern Calif. but my understanding was that it didn't rain as much in Southern CA?

So Cal was mostly around 125% to 150% of normal last year while many places in Nor Cal were over 200%. So it's true that we didn't have as much rain as Nor Cal, but we still had a lot more than usual.

 

[Bigdawg]

Catalina Island is a nice one night trip. A nice plus is that on all three trips I have taken out there we have seen dolphins. Whales only once. Good hike and scenery. We usual go from Dana Point.

 

[TrophyWife]

If you want beautiful beaches, Orange County wins out over San Diego. Especially Laguna Beach, main beach, Shaws Cove, El Morro-also Newport Beach, Balboa Island is a really fun little spot. For San Diego- Love the San Diego Zoo. Lots of homeless downtown and at the waterfront. For coastline and hiking I prefer Norcal especially San Luis Obispo Area but the fires have made this tricky. Catalina is nice but some businesses close of have limited hours this time of year-very touristy.

 

[TrophyWife]

I would skip the aquarium in Long Beach (not a fan) and hit up the Scrips Aquarium in La Jolla. There's a nice outlet mall, if that's your thing, in Carlsbad. Campfire Carlsbad is a fun sot with great food and drinks. And if you like 3rd wave coffee don't miss Lofty Coffee on your way from San Diego to OC. In OC our favorite 3rd wave coffee is Kit Coffee, Newport Costa Mesa Area. 17th Street had a lot of fun hipster eateries. Olea is one of the newest. Yum and excellent service too! The Crack Shack has healthy and not so healthy options-more casual spot. Although most places in the OC are casual.

 

[dtbach]

Definitely go to Anza Borrego state park! They have a couple of slot canyons there that are great fun and really interesting. USS Midway is interesting if you are interested in carrier aviation.

 

[cathy63]

Oh, since TrophyWife mentioned coffee, that reminded me that the Caffeine Crawl is the last weekend in January if you'll be around then. Details here: https://www.caffeinecrawl.com/san-diego-18-tickets.html

 

[caninelover]

Lots of good stuff here, thanks!

On a side note, I've been looking at the Anza Borrego State Park and noticed there are some 4x4 trails. Sort of wondering how capable our Jeep Grand Cherokee is. I know most SUVs are not true 4x4s, and the Jeep GC is no Wrangler, but it should be able to handle some stuff. Might be interesting to check some easier ones, but hard telling which of https://www.desertusa.com/anza_borrego/du_absp_4x4.html is doable. The idea would be to see some terrain we normally wouldn't be able to. One more thing to research!

Probably best to stop in at the visitor center and ask their advice on which roads are doable in the Jeep GC. If not I recall their were some tour operators that took small groups off roading for a half day or so.

 

[Starsky]

Merry Christmas! Local resident here. Almost too much to mention. It's a great city. Just returned yesterday from three weeks in Australia, and San Diego still holds up. Based on your post I can offer some general feedback and answer any questions you have...

Likes:
-Scenery, outdoors, wildlife (not in zoos, but in nature)

Definitely Torrey Pines State Park - if you're there stop by the Glider Port, La Jolla Cove (and the beaches), Balboa Park (can be busy on certain days, but worth it), Coronado and the Hotel Del Coronado, Point Loma and Cabrillo Monument (unbelievable views of the city), San Diego Botanic Gardens, Cardiff by the Sea. If you like the Zoo definitely see the Wild Animal Park in Escondido. Avoid Sea World (yuk!).

-Hooked on Pickleball, and I've read some place in Encino (Bobby Riggs?) has it. May not play much, but maybe take a lesson or too.

Is that what they play there? I drive by it every day; on Santa Fe Blvd in Encinitas. It's there and they usually look busy.

-Good eats, defined as fish tacos, Italian, great breakfast places hopefully on the healthier side, Mexican / Southwest foods, but not expensive fine dining.

Fidels in DelMar/Solana Beach, Fulanos in Leucadia, Cuatros Milpas way downtown, El Indio near the airport, the entire Little Italy area of San Diego, Piattis in La Jolla, Il Fornaio in Coronado, Crack Shack Downtown or Encinitas, of course In-n-Out, Jakes in Del Mar for a nice beachside evening or La Valencia or the Ocean Room in La Jolla for more beachside beauty. Anything that ends in 'bertos' that looks clean ;-) - a San Diego inside joke - Robertos is the best. Too much to list....if you like Mexican, you can hardly go wrong. Old Town and Seaport Village are touristy, but there are some good eateries there. San Diego is also quite a micro-brewery mecca if you're into that kind of thing.

-Parks or nature if the hikes are relatively short (mile or two or so, not strenuous) and have some sort of reward involved (great views, waterfalls (not likely in CA I realize), etc.

See answer 1. There's a lot to do at Mission Bay park - worth a Google. Renting electric beach bikes in North County is also a new 'thing' that is very fun according to friends.

-Scenic drives

Drive up the coast thru North County, Do the San Diego Beaches - Start at Point Loma, Ocean Beach, Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, La Jolla, Del Mar, Solana Beach, Cardiff, Encinitas, Leucadia, Carlsbad, up to Oceanside. Hwy 101/Coast Highway is always a good choice.

-Different terrain...so the ocean of course. Are deserts in January interesting?

Very. If you want to see the desert, go to Palm Springs or up Hwy 395 to Death Valley. Winter is peak season. The Palm Springs area is very cool (as in groovy) and good for a visit. Up Hwy 395 is the High Desert which is cooler and runs along the west of the Sierra Nevada - it's where they shot all of the old Clint Eastwood movies - very remote and rugged. Or you can drive to Vegas and get your fill of desert...
If you're in San Diego, Julian is a popular destination to the West that's in the local mountains. Would recommend the Mission in San Juan Capistrano (there's also a Mission in San Diego), and if you want to go to OC, Laguna Beach and the drive up Coast Highway from Dana Point to Newport is beautiful - OC and LA are much more crowded than San Diego and are not even nearly as tourist-friendly. I'd allocate at least a week in SD.

 

[Sunny]

Is that what they play there? I drive by it every day; on Santa Fe Blvd in Encinitas. It's there and they usually look busy.

Thanks for the post! Unpacking the info now, which means a lot of googling. I'd actually just added the San Juan Capistrano to a potential list based on a Roadtrippers spam email this morning, so good to hear it confirmed as a good potential choice from a local!

And yes, Pickleball there seems to be quite popular. I assume they still do tennis though. . They just had the "Battle of the Sexes" pickleball match at the Riggs place earlier this year.

was the 2 minute promo for it...and if you are really interested, the full pay per view airing is now out, weighing in at 48 minutes. I haven't seen it yet, but one of these days...