Expert: Ernest Tufft - 6/19/2007

Question
Planning on a 8 day trip to CA.   Love San Diego but she wants to see Hollywood. We love all the attractions in SAN DIEGO. Do you have an iternary that you can suggest?  Might like to try to ride bicycles one day on an easy course.   Thanks in advance.

Answer
If you are spending all 8 days in San Diego and LA, you'll have plenty of time to see Hollywood and most attractions in San Diego.  I need to know from where and how you are traveling to create an itinerary, but basically, you'll want to spend the block of time divided between the LA basin and San Diego, cities that are about 2 hrs apart.  LA can be challenging, but I'd look to book a hotel in one of the beach cities, e.g., Manhattan Beach or Venice, and then visit Hollywood from there.  Besides Hollywood/Rodeo Drive area, I recommend visiting the Getty Museum.  This is supposed to be the wealthiest museum in the world, and though the collection of art and antiquites is quiet good, the location and live entertainment is what really makes this a special museum.

In San Diego, the usual attractions include Sea World, San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park, the beaches, and the Wild Animal Park (in north county, about 30 miles out).  Dining and dancing in the restored Gas Lamp district is one of my favorite activities when in town.  La Jolla is a good place to go for lunch.  Breakfast in Old Town at the Bazare Del Mundo is very nice.  I lived and cycled in San Diego for 8 years, and always found it a bit challenging because of traffic at the beach and step hill climbs to reach the mesa tops.  San Diego is a major city that has a lot of traffic, particularly at the beaches.  But if you put the bicycles on the trolley line, you can alternately  visit a variety of places.  For example,  you could cycle from downtown up to Balboa Park, and then return to catch the trolley for another one of San Diego's many mesa top communities.  Riding out to Point Loma is another possibility.  Have fun.