Drive from San Diego to LA, also LA and SD tips.
Replies: 15 - Last Post: Aug 1, 2010 2:01 PM Last Post By: Willysnout
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Drive from San Diego to LA, also LA and SD tips.
Will be driving up the coast from SD to LA, around 8 am on a Friday. We will be in SD for a few days and prob go up the coast to say Del Mar. Then on Friday, we are headed to LA for an overnight. I want to drive the coast road between SD and LA but maybe not the whole thing. Definitely want to stop in Laguna Beach or do the coast from SD and then after Laguna, take I 5 Should I take 1-5 north to say Laguna and then drive up along the coast road towards LA? Whats the most scenic part of this road. I just dont want to spend 4 hours on this road.Also, what do u suggest to show someone who has never been to LA. We are staying in Westwood just overnight. I was thinking Griffith Park, Santa Monica BLVD from the beach to say Hollywood, not sure what else. What part of LA for dinner, somewhere with atmosphere, say a good Italian restaurant?
thanks in advance.
Oh and has anyone done the 59 mile scenic drive around San Diego?
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And how pray, are you linking S.D. L. A. & Sedona ? Seems to this respondent... You could pull a day out here to make the road trip through "Indian Country" to Santa Fe, less rushed...carracar3
Take PCH (Pacific Coast Hwy., a/k/a California Hwy. 1) from Del Mar to Long Beach. From there, take the I-710 freeway to L.A.4
Westwood is a very expensive area to stay in. How did you pick it? Visiting UCLA and/or the nearby Getty Art Center? The only time on the SD-LA drive you'll be along the coast is on I-5 to about San Clemente. Then you'll be inland, even if you cut over to I-405 (best way to get to Westwood). Cutting all the way over to Hwy. 1 would slow you down quite a bit. I'd probably stay on the 405 until 1-10 and then go west to Santa Monica. There are tons of guide books and Web sites about tourist sights and restaurants in L.A. Suggest you look and find something suited to your tastes and budget. There are some good restaurants in the Westwood area. Just walk around Westwood Village.I thought I read recently that the police had kicked the "star clones" off of the main Hollywood Walk of Fame area after reports of some of them harassing tourists for tips.
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most scenic part of PCHYou'll probably get a headache if you drive the entire way from Orange County to L.A. with the stop and go traffic. Most of it is not scenic past Sunset Beach except for Palos Verdes but that's a deter from PCH.
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Also the traffic on Friday might be a nightmare...be prepared for that! The South Bay beach cities (PV, Redondo, Manhattan, Hermosa) have charming walk streets and nice shops, cafes and restaurants. You might spend the afternoon there and then go up the 405 to Westwood in the evening, after say 9 pm.7
then there is the portion of highway 1 in Long Beach that looks like this10
There's nothing to stop for in Laguna. It's a drive-through. The place to stop would be San Juan Capistrano, to see the mission there. It's worth maybe an hour and a half, including lunch somewhere. They ought to be in Santa Monica by 2:30 or so.11
I wonder why so many people on this branch recommend Laguna and Newport Beach.13
I wonder why so many people on this branch recommend Laguna and Newport Beach.Laguna is a lunch or dinner spot. Not so sure about Newport Beach -- haven't spent enough time there to have an opinion.
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If Laguna is lunch spot then why did you say that there is nothing to stop for in Laguna?I do agree that San Juan Capistrano is more interesting especially if you are coming from Del Mar. I prefer San Diego County beaches to Orange County beaches.
