# La Jolla-holiday tips



## feerd (Sep 22, 2007)

going to Southern California in mid november with young kids and my parents.
Anyone got any tips on La Jolla?

ta


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## mhendo (Sep 23, 2007)

My wife's from California, and she said that La Jolla (pronounced La Hoya, by the way, in case you didn't know) is very picturesque, with nice beaches and stuff like that. It's a wealthy area, and quite politically conservative. She also said "I'm not quite sure why anyone would go to La Jolla specifically."  It just struck her as an odd choice of vacation destination.

It's pretty much a northern suburb of San Diego, and is officially a part of the city, so you should be able to find plenty of stuff to do, and if you're looking online for attractions you should include San Diego in your search. The SD Zoo and Seaworld are both very popular. Being Southern California, public transport is generally shit, and you'll need access to a car if you want to look around the area.

San Diego is right near the border, and like most of California there's a big Hispanic presence. Make sure you try out some Mexican restaurants, because the Mexican food in California is outstanding. You could even do a day or overnight trip into Mexico, although i'm not sure exactly what sort of attractions there might be on the Mexican side of the border there.


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## Dirty Martini (Sep 23, 2007)

La Jolla is pretty small but as mhendo says it's part of San Diego and there's plenty to do there, especially with kids -- I'd add the Old Town, which can be a bit tacky with the mocked-up heritage streets but is also quite lively. Presidio Park is worth a visit. San Diego's quite a good place to wander around generally, the neighbourhoods are quite compact.

There are seals in La Jolla, though, and lovely beaches.

Going to Mexico for a day or two is an idea, but the three closest towns -- Tijuana, Rosarito and Ensenada -- are none of them anything special.


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## JoMo1953 (Sep 23, 2007)

LaJolla is conservative and expensive....Scripps Aquarium is worth a visit which is in La Jolla (Torrey Pines area).  Surfers love the beach at La Jolla!
San Diego Zoo is a must and close by is Balboa Park which is very nice.  Old Town is a nice visit but very touristy....as is Seaport Village which is downtown San Diego.   Mexican food at Old Town is some of the best, many different places to choose from.

You might consider Point Loma and/or Mission Beach which is much cheaper than La Jolla and just down the road......younger crowd and Sea World is right there.

Mass transit is shit in the states, so plan on renting a car!  And if your flying directly into San Diego....pay attention when landing you can see the people sitting at their desks in the highrise buildings downtown....wave as you go by


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## D (Sep 24, 2007)

Check out the La Jolla Playhouse - big regional theater... As well as the Old Globe in ... shit, another part of San Diego.

And drive to LA - if you go outside of rush hour (which in SoCal is, like, all day, but whatever...) it shouldn't take much more than an hour.


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## JoMo1953 (Sep 25, 2007)

D said:
			
		

> Check out the La Jolla Playhouse - big regional theater... As well as the Old Globe in ... shit, another part of San Diego.
> 
> And drive to LA - if you go outside of rush hour (which in SoCal is, like, all day, but whatever...) it shouldn't take much more than an hour.



The Old Globe Theater is in Balboa Park.....close to the San Diego Zoo and a ton of other nice small museums.  It's great to watch a production in the outside theater....when the planes fly overhead a red light flashes on stage and the actors freeze mid song, dance,  whatever and resume after the plane passes..... 

LA is approx. 120 miles from San Diego (city limits) LaJolla to say Venice Beach would take about 2 hours without traffic, Hour and 15 minutes if you have a heavy foot!


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## Detroit City (Sep 25, 2007)

Dirty Martini said:
			
		

> Going to Mexico for a day or two is an idea,


yes, but a very bad one.


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## fractionMan (Sep 25, 2007)

My mate live in La Jollia.  Lovely place.  

Make sure you check out seaworld.  It's well worth it, honest.


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## D (Sep 26, 2007)

JoMo1953 said:
			
		

> LA is approx. 120 miles from San Diego (city limits) LaJolla to say Venice Beach would take about 2 hours without traffic, Hour and 15 minutes if you have a heavy foot!



Former San Franciscan stands corrected!


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## feerd (Sep 26, 2007)

"I'm not quite sure why anyone would go to La Jolla specifically." 

It seems like the nicest bit of coast near San Diego...ok so its rich and conservative but is there somewhere better that  I'm missing.......


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## mhendo (Sep 26, 2007)

feerd said:
			
		

> "I'm not quite sure why anyone would go to La Jolla specifically."
> 
> It seems like the nicest bit of coast near San Diego...ok so its rich and conservative but is there somewhere better that  I'm missing.......


It's not that there's anything wrong with La Jolla, and the scenery and beaches are indeed very nice. It's just that it's not an especially common vacation destination, especially for people coming from outside the United States.

For example, it probably wouldn't be too surprising for someone to go on a vacation to Los Angeles and take a day trip to visit La Jolla, but La Jolla itself just seems like a rather unusual primary destination. Not making judgments, just observations.


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## JoMo1953 (Sep 26, 2007)

D said:
			
		

> Former San Franciscan stands corrected!


Well you know we just could never trust those Northerners   I'm actually going to visit your lovely city tomorrow for a long weekend with friends!  I'll say hello for you!

Feerd:  Nothing wrong with La Jolla, it is very pretty, just expensive and conservative (old money) compared to other parts of San Diego...and keep in mind San Diego is not huge....  Mission Bay is probably more kid friendly and a younger crowd.  I lived in San Diego for 5 years when I first moved back to California (Scripps Ranch/Mira Mesa Area just east of La Jolla).


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## MightyAphrodite (Sep 27, 2007)

JoMo1953 said:
			
		

> I'm actually going to visit your lovely city tomorrow for a long weekend with friends!



oooo....have fun in SF this weekend JoMo.... 


(not *jealous* at all   ) x


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## D (Sep 27, 2007)

Everyone's going to SF now...  I've got a Berlin friend who's there at the moment too.

I am in London, though, so I can't complain!


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## JoMo1953 (Oct 2, 2007)

SF was lovely......D how could you ever leave that great city???  The "LoveFest" was going on Downtown (small parade) Market street was shut down and the old girl was dancing in the streets with all the techno and punk rockers.....I had a ball!!!  

LA looks really shitty after four days in SF   So want to pack my bags and find an old victorian house to live in!!!


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## D (Oct 2, 2007)

JoMo1953 said:
			
		

> SF was lovely......D how could you ever leave that great city???  The "LoveFest" was going on Downtown (small parade) Market street was shut down and the old girl was dancing in the streets with all the techno and punk rockers.....I had a ball!!!
> 
> LA looks really shitty after four days in SF   So want to pack my bags and find an old victorian house to live in!!!



San Francisco is pretty spectacular.  And if you were there last weekend...good god, you had the Love Parade AND Folsom Street Fair.  There's a massive streetfair of some kind just about every weekend in SF.

I love the place, suspect I will always feel at home in it, and I am also happy to be elsewhere right now.  It's very small and insular and artistically and professionally I needed different input and opportunities.

But I do love the place and many people in it.


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## catrina (Oct 4, 2007)

Uh oh, apparently there's a major sink hole sinking in La Jolla at the moment, they've declared a state of emergency. 

http://us.cnn.com/2007/US/10/04/lajolla.landslide/index.html


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## MikeMcc (Oct 9, 2007)

catrina said:
			
		

> Uh oh, apparently there's a major sink hole sinking in La Jolla at the moment, they've declared a state of emergency.
> 
> http://us.cnn.com/2007/US/10/04/lajolla.landslide/index.html


 
Across here in Sorrento Valley SD at the moment for work (hence posting at what looks like a silly time!).  Weather is clear blue skys and about 80 deg.  I'm hoping to go down to have a look around the USS Midway at the weekend.


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## Johnny Canuck3 (Oct 9, 2007)

There's an area of SD called Ocean Beach that's pretty pleasant to stay in, and it at least used to be a bit on the bohemian side.


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## MikeMcc (Oct 23, 2007)

Lots of probs there at the moment.  Two of our guys are having to cut short a job and come home.  The fires in the area have led to lots of folks being put up in the hotels meaning that accomodation is very tight.


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## feerd (Oct 31, 2007)

since i decided to go there the shit really has hit the fan- landslides and fires what next?
we binned the la jolla idea in the end- too pricey.
we're staying in mission beach instead. 
cheers for all your replies


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## nickolarse (Nov 7, 2007)

feerd said:
			
		

> we're staying in mission beach instead.



make sure you get breakfast at The Mission.


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