A couple of girlfriends and I want to have a girls weekend away. Just one or two nights without kids. Does anyone have any recommendations for where we should go in Southern California and what we should do? We are hoping to keep it between San Diego and LA, but preferably not in either of those cities proper.
We are pretty much up for anything, but mostly we'd like to have a place where we can have our own food and drinks on hand but still be within walking distance of restaurants or clubs. Close proximity to some sort of body of water would be nice as well.
Thanks for any recommendations!
Thanks, everyone! Some great ideas!
Last year a few girlfriends and I went to Solvang for the weekend. The drive is beautiful (on the ocean) and the city is filled with little quaint shops and lots of wine tasting! There is also a casino if you're into gambling.
Laguna Beach is nice! www.vrbo.com is the site I use to book rentals for our vacations. Dana Point is also nice.
Temecula! Great wine tasting, good weather, between L.A. and San Diego.
Long Beach has beach, Hamburger Marys, good parking, little outdoor cafes, etc.
We LOVED the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach. Balboa Island is very cool to walk around...and plenty of bars, restaurants, etc. We stayed in room 374 right over the bay with huge yachts docked out front. Gorgeous. Clean rooms. Great service. We stayed a night a few months back and ordered up room service for dinner. Everything we ate was wonderful. We sat on the bed, ate while we watched a movie and brought our favorite wine with us.
Dana Point is fine, but nothing really fabulous. I love living here, so it's more local-minded. You really have to drive anywhere.
Laguna Beach is more tourist-friendly, as far as proximity of things, but can get REALLY busy.
San Clemente can be great near the pier and walking up Del Mar street has lots of little shops and a fabulous restaurant called Nick's. You'll need a reservation.
Rent a cabin in Lake Arrowhead. You can have your own food in the cabin or go out to eat. Also enjoy shopping at the outlets in Lake Arrowhead.
There are tons of nice hotels in Laguna Beach, plus lots of restaurants, art galleries, a few places to get drinks at night, and of course, the beach. I love it there and it's a great place for a getaway.
Two thoughts: Temecula at a place like South Coast Winery or Glen Ivy Spa.
For this year's girl's trip, we're going to take the Amtrak from San Diego to Santa Barbara, go to dinner, go wine tasting the next day, then putter around Santa Barbara on Sunday before jumping back on the train. It's a long train ride, but it will be part of the fun of the weekend. We're going to upgrade to business class to have reserved seating and just enjoy the ride there.
Glen Ivy is a great girl's weekend retreat - it can be pricey when you add in services. $59 on weekends just to get in plus any services you purchase, but they have a lot of great stuff to do without spending more money and the food and drink there are great - can't bring your own in, but can have a picnic outside on the grass then go back in. Problem with bringing your own lunch (in the summer) is it gets really hot out there and you'll have to leave your food/drink in the car, so you'll want to make sure it is really well iced. there's no hotel on the Glen Ivy site, however, there are inexpensive hotels nearby. I always stay at the Holiday Inn Express just a few exits away. It's very clean and nice and not old. We stop at Bate's Nut Farm on the way out of Glen Ivy to pick up cheese, wine, pizza, etc. then head to the hotel for a night in of eating, drinking, relaxing after our R&R day. The hotel has a decent breakfast bar in the morning (a step up from continental breakfast) included in the price and the room that we get has a small fridge and microwave. There are restaurants and fast food nearby as well.
Have fun!
Not sure how much you want to spend, but if you're in the mood to splurge a little check out the Terranea Resort in P.V. http://www.terranea.com/
It is so gorgeous and since it's off the beaten path you'll feel like you're in another world. Awesome trails to hike, bike or walk, horseback riding is available, tide-pooling (you'll see dolphins every day guaranteed), super cool spa, several pools and then the grounds on the resort are SWEET. I go there sometimes just to hike around the resort when I need a little down time. As for night life, you can just drive down the hill to Redondo and there are several bars in Riviera Village. (Redondo Beach Brewing Co., Hennessy's, etc) Friend of mine had her bachelorette weekend there and it was awesome. Great place for a girls weekend for sure. Have fun whatever you end up doing!
Del Mar? carlsbad? laguna ?
Palm Springs is always fun... My girlfriends and I did a day at Glen Ivy Spa and got the works, stayed the night at the Temecula Inn (a golf resort) and had dinner at a winery down there... sorry don't remember the name. Some great beach resorts in La Jolla/SanDiego area might be worth checking out. If you're an Auto Club member, talk to their travel dept. It's a free service, they usually offer great deals and good advice.
A girlfriend and I stayed at la jolla shores hotel. It's right on the beach in la jolla and within walking distance to restaurants.
