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Old 29 Jan 24, 07:45 PM  
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kateb78
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Aims, you’re as helpful and as in demand as ever!

We’re coming in March and have found a great rate on Beach Terrace Inn at Carlsbad. I really like the look of it as it’s right on the beach. I know you recommended La Jolla Shores to me before but it was just a bit out of my price range. I thought this might be a decent alternative. Do you have any thoughts on Carlsbad?
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Old 29 Jan 24, 09:15 PM  
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Aims
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Originally Posted by kateb78 View Post
Aims, you’re as helpful and as in demand as ever!

We’re coming in March and have found a great rate on Beach Terrace Inn at Carlsbad. I really like the look of it as it’s right on the beach. I know you recommended La Jolla Shores to me before but it was just a bit out of my price range. I thought this might be a decent alternative. Do you have any thoughts on Carlsbad?
Hi Kate! Yes, this is my busy travel guide time of year 😄 I love it, though. 😊

I love Carlsbad! I have no problem recommending it- my brother lives there, so I am there often. I’ve never stayed at the Beach Terrace but I know the hotel and where it’s at- looks very nice from the outside and right by the beach. Carlsbad beaches are all very nice.

The only “downside” to staying in Carlsbad, if you consider it one, is the distance from the main attractions to see in San Diego. Will you be using a car? To visit downtown San Diego, the Zoo, Sea World etc will take about 35-40 mins and could likely take longer if you are driving during rush hours on the weekdays- give yourself a little extra time if you driving during weekday mornings or late afternoons into evening. A nice thing about the Beach Terrace location is that you are a 5 min walk from a train station where you can get the Coaster commuter train that goes back and forth between Oceanside (just to the north of Carlsbad) and downtown San Diego- so you could skip driving if you want to just spend a day walking around downtown, Seaport Village, the USS Midway or take the ferry to Coronado. There are two train stops in Carlsbad- one at Carlsbad Village station and one at Carlsbad Poinsettia platform. The Carlsbad Village stop is the station close to the hotel.

If you decide to go with Carlsbad for your stay, let me know and I will give you a couple of my personal restaurant recommendations. 😊
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Old 29 Jan 24, 09:20 PM  
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kateb78
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That’s fab to hear Amy, thanks. Yes, I’ve booked it. We have 2 nights there and hadn’t really planned anything but I LOVE the idea of taking the train. We do have a car but sounds like a nice option. I’d be really glad to hear your recommendations - thank you 💙
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Old 29 Jan 24, 10:09 PM  
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Aims
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Originally Posted by kateb78 View Post
That’s fab to hear Amy, thanks. Yes, I’ve booked it. We have 2 nights there and hadn’t really planned anything but I LOVE the idea of taking the train. We do have a car but sounds like a nice option. I’d be really glad to hear your recommendations - thank you 💙
Excellent! 😊👍 You’ll enjoy Carlsbad- very beachy town, popular with surfers. Legoland is there too (don’t know if that would apply to your situation). Carlsbad State Beach is just a short ways south from your hotel and has a boardwalk along the beach there for a nice place to stroll.

Food places I like in Carlsbad are Knockout Pizza kopizza/ which is a casual counterservice pizza place that serves New York style pizza. It’s a five min walk from your hotel- and in the same block over there is a Coldstone Creamery ice cream shop. If you like seafood, there is the Harbor Fish Cafe right above Carlsbad State Beach harborfishcafe/ A little further away from your hotel is the Carlsbad outlet shopping center and there is a good Mexican restaurant there called Casa de Bandini- they have huge margaritas 😋 casadebandini/ Shorehouse Kitchen is five mins from your hotel and does a good breakfast shorehousekitchen/ Vigilucci’s Seafood and Steakhouse is good if you want some upscale dining out vigiluccis/restauran...ood-steakhouse And lastly, if you’re a freak like me and don’t mind driving 20 minutes for a good donut, then I recommend VG’s Donuts in Cardiff vgbakery/ You can cross the road from the donut shop and pay a visit to the Cardiff Kook statue that’s infamous among the locals 😄 californiabeaches/at...f-kook-statue/

P.S. Coaster train info: gonctd/services/coaster-commuter-rail/
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Edited at 10:13 PM.
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Old 29 Jan 24, 10:24 PM  
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kateb78
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Originally Posted by Aims View Post
Excellent! 😊👍 You’ll enjoy Carlsbad- very beachy town, popular with surfers. Legoland is there too (don’t know if that would apply to your situation). Carlsbad State Beach is just a short ways south from your hotel and has a boardwalk along the beach there for a nice place to stroll.

Food places I like in Carlsbad are Knockout Pizza kopizza/ which is a casual counterservice pizza place that serves New York style pizza. It’s a five min walk from your hotel- and in the same block over there is a Coldstone Creamery ice cream shop. If you like seafood, there is the Harbor Fish Cafe right above Carlsbad State Beach harborfishcafe/ A little further away from your hotel is the Carlsbad outlet shopping center and there is a good Mexican restaurant there called Casa de Bandini- they have huge margaritas 😋 casadebandini/ Shorehouse Kitchen is five mins from your hotel and does a good breakfast shorehousekitchen/ Vigilucci’s Seafood and Steakhouse is good if you want some upscale dining out vigiluccis/restauran...ood-steakhouse And lastly, if you’re a freak like me and don’t mind driving 20 minutes for a good donut, then I recommend VG’s Donuts in Cardiff vgbakery/ You can cross the road from the donut shop and pay a visit to the Cardiff Kook statue that’s infamous among the locals 😄 californiabeaches/at...f-kook-statue/

P.S. Coaster train info: gonctd/services/coaster-commuter-rail/
Fabulous as always Amy, thank you so much! Really looking forward to our trip.
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Old 1 Feb 24, 03:31 PM  
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Originally Posted by Aims View Post
Hi dipsydoodle 😊 First off, congratulations on your coming grandchild! My daughter-in-law is expecting our second grandchild this summer, in August. Exciting times! 😃

How many days are you planning to be in San Diego? I’m guessing from your countdown, you are coming out in September or around then?

You could stay downtown, that area has the most places you can walk to from your hotel (restaurants etc), but I would suggest staying in the Seaport Village area if you do. It’s pretty safe around there and you could walk into Seaport Village for meals- lots of choices there including the Cheesecake Factory. The two hotels I like that are next to Seaport Village are the Marriott Marquis and the Hyatt Manchester Grand. Seaport Village is on the outside fringe of downtown and it’s a close walk if you want to go into downtown proper- the Gaslamp Quarter is across the road from the hotels I mentioned. My caution though for a solo female traveller is that I would recommend either not walking around downtown in the evening alone, or take an Uber to whatever restaurant or other location you want to visit downtown after dark. There are a lot of homeless people around downtown and some streets are worse than others (tent cities along whole blocks). I wouldn’t want you to get lost or turn down the wrong block at night. Visiting the Gaslamp Quarter during the day is fine- though you will see some homeless around there too, there are usually lots of people and tourists around during the day.

I would more highly recommend staying in the Point Loma neighborhood which is down by the airport, and only about 5 miles outside downtown. There are more residential areas in Point Loma, so it’s less hectic and a bit quieter. It’s the place I usually choose to stay in if I’m going to an event downtown. Point Loma is also a close Uber drive to many of the sights you are interested in like the Zoo (15 mins), Sea World (10 mins), Old Town is also 10 mins away and you can catch the trolley tour there. Downtown, Seaport Village and the USS Midway museum are about 15 mins away. Coronado will be a little further out than these other places- about 20-25 mins by car, but could be longer during rush hour traffic or on weekends when it gets busy with visitors. The Coronado bridge that connects Coronado with downtown is the main way most people go into and out of Coronado. The Old Town Trolley Tour does take you into Coronado and stops near the famous Hotel Del- you could save the Uber costs if you got off at that stop and explored the hotel and beach for a couple hours, then catch the next trolley to continue the tour. Another way to visit Coronado if you want a longer time there is to get an Uber from your hotel to the Broadway Pier and catch the Coronado Ferry. It lands on the opposite side of the island from where the Hotel Del is but you could get an Uber from there to the hotel if you like, or if you are a good walker and don’t mind walking a good distance, the Hotel Del is about 1 1/2 miles from the Coronado ferry landing. You would walk up Orange Ave. for most of it, which is the main street through Coronado and it’s filled with shops and restaurants. Either way you choose to visit there, I highly recommend a stop at the Hotel Del for a look around. It’s stunning, has lots of history and the beach it sits on is one of the prettiest in San Diego.

Anyways! Back to Point Loma 😄 If you wanted to look into staying in this area, my favorite hotels there are Humphrey’s Half Moon Inn and the Best Western Island Palms next to it- though personally I favor Humphreys the most of the two. These hotels are on a strip of peninsula on the bay called Shelter Island, so it’s very scenic and surrounded by water and boat marinas. About five minutes away in a neighborhood called Liberty Station is another hotel I stay at often called the Courtyard Liberty Station by Marriott. This hotel is in a more residential location, so it doesn’t have the water views of the bay.

In all that chatter I just did, I hope I managed to answer all your questions. 😊 If there is anything I missed- or you have other questions- please ask.

Thank you for replying and for so much information I really am grateful that you share your local knowledge 😊 - its my first grandchild and my daughter and her partners first child so everyone is really excited My daughter is a little disappointed about missing the trip and a little guilty too so I kinda feel that I have to be really positive about the solo trip even tho I am more than a little nervous

I should arrive in San Diego around the 21st of September at the moment I have 7 full days there but I am thinking about changing my flight to reduce it to 4 maybe 5 full days tops. At the time we planned the trip we were intending to do and see a lot more but I think 4/5 days will be enough for me.

I think I will probably look at Seaport Village, us Brits do like a walk and it sounds like everything is a little bit more accessible rather than relying on uber each time I go out.
Have had a look at Point Loma and it does look nice but I'm not sure that it isn't a little too far out for me.

I must admit I had picked up on the numbers of homeless people but assume that as long as I am sensible and make sure I keep to reasonably busy areas and don't wander around in the evenings I should hopefully be fine.

I was hoping to catch the ferry to Coronado and Orange street was already at the top of my list - it sounds amazing (food and shops - what more could a person want ) - I didn't realise that the trolley also went there so maybe I could do the ferry one way and the trolley the other to see the views as we cross the bridge. The Hotel is also now on my list of things to see while I'm there.

My main concern was choosing the right area to stay, so hopefully now you have pointed me in the right direction everything else should be straightforward but I'm sure that you will hear from me again before september
Thank you sooooooooooo much
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Old 2 Feb 24, 03:32 AM  
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Originally Posted by dipsydoodle View Post
Thank you for replying and for so much information I really am grateful that you share your local knowledge 😊 - its my first grandchild and my daughter and her partners first child so everyone is really excited My daughter is a little disappointed about missing the trip and a little guilty too so I kinda feel that I have to be really positive about the solo trip even tho I am more than a little nervous

I should arrive in San Diego around the 21st of September at the moment I have 7 full days there but I am thinking about changing my flight to reduce it to 4 maybe 5 full days tops. At the time we planned the trip we were intending to do and see a lot more but I think 4/5 days will be enough for me.

I think I will probably look at Seaport Village, us Brits do like a walk and it sounds like everything is a little bit more accessible rather than relying on uber each time I go out.
Have had a look at Point Loma and it does look nice but I'm not sure that it isn't a little too far out for me.

I must admit I had picked up on the numbers of homeless people but assume that as long as I am sensible and make sure I keep to reasonably busy areas and don't wander around in the evenings I should hopefully be fine.

I was hoping to catch the ferry to Coronado and Orange street was already at the top of my list - it sounds amazing (food and shops - what more could a person want ) - I didn't realise that the trolley also went there so maybe I could do the ferry one way and the trolley the other to see the views as we cross the bridge. The Hotel is also now on my list of things to see while I'm there.

My main concern was choosing the right area to stay, so hopefully now you have pointed me in the right direction everything else should be straightforward but I'm sure that you will hear from me again before september
Thank you sooooooooooo much
You are very welcome! 😊 I’ll be happy to help answer any other future questions you have too. I understand why you are thinking of cutting back the amount of days in San Diego- it makes sense with you being a solo traveller. You can still see a lot in 4-5 days.

I’ve never travelled solo to another country and I have to say that I really admire you for going ahead with your plans, and also for being very smart about your locations and looking out for your safety.

Seaport Village is a great spot for walking to a lot of things like food and the ferry boats, harbor cruises and USS Midway. Also, if you do stay by Seaport Village you can easily pick up the Old Town Trolley Tour there instead of in Old Town. The trolley stops inside Seaport Village and there is a kiosk to buy tickets- you can save a couple dollars though if you buy tickets online through their website: trolleytours/san-diego
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