Suggestions on where to stay/day trips in southern CA? (San Diego: rental car, spring break)

[GoCUBS1]

I just decided to take a last minute 5 day spring break trip with my teen daughter to look at a few colleges in southern CA. We are flying in/out of Santa Ana. We scheduled a 2 hour tour at Caltech and would like to walk through UCLA and USC campuses if possible.

My daughter has never been to CA and wants to visit Hollywood, and go to a great beach. She'd like the "full tourist experience." I've also been wanting to visit Joshua Tree. Many years ago, I traveled to/from La Jolla, San Diego, and Santa Barbara frequently for work and liked those areas. Are those areas too far of a drive from the campuses/airport? Where else could we stay?

I have a limited concept of actual distances/road travel times so need some help from you locals.
Any suggestions on how to put together a 5 day itinerary that includes the college tours and some fun sightseeing for my teen? Where would be a central location to stay?

We'll have a rental car and don't mind scenic driving up/down the coast to get to things. Lots of walking/hiking/biking is good too.

I'm not sure what the avg. hotel pricing is, but we'd prefer something on/walkable to a beach if we can still get that. Maybe around $300 night? We also like shopping and good food. I don't want to be in a "family fun" place either - no water parks please..

Thanks for any suggestions.

[humboldtrat]

Explore Santa Catalina Island Off the California Coast

For a 1 day trip.

[spoonman1]

I’d consider staying in 2 of these places...Hollywood, Laguna Beach, La Jolla, and Downtown San Diego (Little Italy or Gaslamp). You will easily find lots to do in any of these areas. Plus they are all somewhat close to your destination schools.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by GoCUBS1

I just decided to take a last minute 5 day spring break trip with my teen daughter to look at a few colleges in southern CA. We are flying in/out of Santa Ana. We scheduled a 2 hour tour at Caltech and would like to walk through UCLA and USC campuses if possible.

My daughter has never been to CA and wants to visit Hollywood, and go to a great beach. She'd like the "full tourist experience." I've also been wanting to visit Joshua Tree. Many years ago, I traveled to/from La Jolla, San Diego, and Santa Barbara frequently for work and liked those areas. Are those areas too far of a drive from the campuses/airport? Where else could we stay?

I have a limited concept of actual distances/road travel times so need some help from you locals.
Any suggestions on how to put together a 5 day itinerary that includes the college tours and some fun sightseeing for my teen? Where would be a central location to stay?

We'll have a rental car and don't mind scenic driving up/down the coast to get to things. Lots of walking/hiking/biking is good too.

I'm not sure what the avg. hotel pricing is, but we'd prefer something on/walkable to a beach if we can still get that. Maybe around $300 night? We also like shopping and good food. I don't want to be in a "family fun" place either - no water parks please..

Thanks for any suggestions.

I think it would be better to not stay in just one hotel. Stay overnight close to the day's activities. Here is a sample itinerary to maximize college visits.

Maybe stay at the Radisson USC to start just to get the feel of the USC campus area.

Day 1:morning visit Caltech, afternoon visit UCLA. Late afternoon/evening beach tour of Venice Beach,Santa Monica Beach and the coast highway

Or make the UCLA visit a separate day and combine the Cal Tech visit with a trip to Huntington Gardens, Pasadena and shopping at Santa Anita Mall.

Day 2:visit USC in the morning and later pick one
a)visit Universal Studio
b)LA City Tour-Beverly Hills, Farmers Market,downtown,Little Tokyo,Griffith Park,Farmers Market,museums near USC,Huntington Library and Gardens,Norton Simon Museum etc.
c)visit the Claremont Colleges(Havery Mudd) and Cal Poly Pomona,on way back to hotel try some Asian food in San Gabriel Valley along Valley Blvd.

Day 3:Visit UC-Irvine,take the 710 south to Long Beach,drive along highway 1 to Newport Beach(Fashion Island,Balboa Peninsula and Island,Corona Del Mar Beach). At night drive to San Diego. For a classic beach experience stay at the Hotel del Coronado. For a less expensive and more convenient location beach experience try the La Jolla Cove Hotel.

Day 4:Visit UC San Diego,La Jolla,Pacific Beach,Mission Beach,Balboa Park(zoo and museums), maybe after dinner drive back to Orange County,stay in a Huntington Beach or Balboa Peninsula hotel.

[RosieSD]

Originally Posted by GoCUBS1

I just decided to take a last minute 5 day spring break trip with my teen daughter to look at a few colleges in southern CA. We are flying in/out of Santa Ana. We scheduled a 2 hour tour at Caltech and would like to walk through UCLA and USC campuses if possible.

My daughter has never been to CA and wants to visit Hollywood, and go to a great beach. She'd like the "full tourist experience." I've also been wanting to visit Joshua Tree. Many years ago, I traveled to/from La Jolla, San Diego, and Santa Barbara frequently for work and liked those areas. Are those areas too far of a drive from the campuses/airport? Where else could we stay?

I have a limited concept of actual distances/road travel times so need some help from you locals.
Any suggestions on how to put together a 5 day itinerary that includes the college tours and some fun sightseeing for my teen? Where would be a central location to stay?

We'll have a rental car and don't mind scenic driving up/down the coast to get to things. Lots of walking/hiking/biking is good too.

I'm not sure what the avg. hotel pricing is, but we'd prefer something on/walkable to a beach if we can still get that. Maybe around $300 night? We also like shopping and good food. I don't want to be in a "family fun" place either - no water parks please..

Thanks for any suggestions.

Both San Diego and Santa Barbara would both be be too far of a schlep to tour colleges in LA from, so as suggested above, I'd try to stay in LA for your tours there. On a free day, maybe do a drive down to Laguna Beach for the day just to see a bit more of Southern California. If you decide you'd like to do a night or two somewhere after your college tours, you can easily drive to San Diego or Santa Barbara in about two hours (a little less for SB. It might be fun to divide your trip up that way.

In terms of colleges in the LA area, may I suggest that you also take a look at the Claremont Colleges (The Claremont Colleges) while you're out here? In particular, Harvey Mudd is a great option for students interested in schools like Cal Tech. It has exceptionally strong programs in science and engineering. Pomona College, another of the Claremont Colleges, is one of the top ranked liberal arts colleges in the country which also has extremely strong science programs. There are five colleges in the Claremont Consortium, and they are all side by side, so you get the benefits of a small school combined with a mid-sized school. The Claremont Colleges really are unique options in Southern California and deserve at least a drive through. The Claremont Colleges

Enjoy your trip!