Thoughts on my 9 day Southern Cali itinerary please?

[scooby99]

We have 9 nights flying into San Diego 3rd April & flying home from San Diego on 12th April.

We visited SD last year & felt we did most of what we wanted to see there & no particular interest in LA or theme parks etc.

We will have a car but only 1 driver & don’t want to feel that we’re constantly driving large distances.

We also feel we wouldn’t want to go any further north than somewhere like Santa Barbara; hope to do another trip next year into San Francisco & explore the likes of Monterey, Big Sur etc then.

2 adults; if possible we’d like a mix of desert, ocean & forest landscapes.

Thoughts so far are:
1 night in SD, May pick up car when we fly in or pick it up the next morning.
1 night in Borrego Springs; desert viewing & relaxing etc.
2 nights in Palm Springs; tramway, museums etc; any other musts.
1 night somewhere in the San Bernardino area; recommendations?
2 nights in Ventura; visits to Santa Barbara, a Mission & Solvang.
2 nights on the coast between Huntingdon Beach-San Clemente.
Drive back to SD airport.

What are your thoughts? Longer anywhere? Too far to drive on any days? Must sees in any areas? Any no no’s?

Thanks for all feedback.

[AlexE]

While staying in Palm Springs be sure to visit the Joshua Tree NP there are fantastic views over the Coachella Valley.

[megaflyer]

I would have another day (atleast) in Palm Springs as Joshua Tree is well worth a day (and night it you can for the amazing shooting star viewing ) visit and shouldn’t be rushed to take it all in

Maybe also visit Bear Lake and stay in a cabin ?

Venura is a good place for Whale spotting trips

[scooby99]

Thank you both for replies so far

[scooby99]

Any other previous visitors with thoughts would be appreciated; many thanks

[cornishfrogboy]

Originally Posted by scooby99

Any other previous visitors with thoughts would be appreciated; many thanks

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Have you been to the border where it meets the sea by Tijuana? It is easy to work out where to park your car, then walk down. It is a strange, rather interesting place and from there you can walk North along the deserted beach towards San Diego. We saw a lot of wildlife.
there are images on my trip report and it was a highlight of our vacation.

[scooby99]

Originally Posted by megaflyer

I would have another day (atleast) in Palm Springs as Joshua Tree is well worth a day (and night it you can for the amazing shooting star viewing ) visit and shouldn’t be rushed to take it all in

Maybe also visit Bear Lake and stay in a cabin ?

Venura is a good place for Whale spotting trips

See more...

Thank you; we've dropped Borrego Springs & upped our stay in Palm Springs to 3 nights to include a full day trip to Joshua Tree in a Hummer!
We've booked a stay in a mountain chalet style hotel in Crestline for some lakeside/forest time & views.
Lastly, we're likely to up our stay in Ventura to 3 nights as there seems lots to do in the area.

Thanks for your comments.