Less known beaches close to LA with inexpensive hotels?

[ElDiabloJoe]

Originally Posted by njbiodude

Personally my favorite beach for swimming in the state is Heisler Park in Laguna Beach. Stay inland for cheaper hotels.

If you're into surfing let me know and I can give you suggestions for that as well.

Seriously? Heisler Park? That's largely a surge-filled, rocky beach. It is only suitable for the very experienced. Less experienced can go south 100 yards to Main Beach.

[Harpaint]

Originally Posted by Jose Clua

wac_432, thank you for such valuable and detailed info!

Ventura is on top of my list now

Ventura is definitely more relaxed and more family oriented than the choices closer to LA. LA is huge, very spread out, and BUSY like any big city. North of Ventura is Santa Barbara. There is a very nice little zoo there that kids enjoy, but hotels will be high as it is a popular tourist town.

The Pacific Ocean in the US is quite cool, even in summer, and the surf is rather rough. It is great for kids to splash around in along the edge but not good for kids to swim in like it is Mexico and further south. I recommend booking a hotel or motel that has a pool.

Taking a shuttle bus from LAX to Ventura can be rather expensive. But there is a Greyhound Bus Station in Ventura so you could use that to travel on up to Santa Barbara which has a train station. The train ride up to SF is only about $45 I think, and it takes you through some nice scenery. I definitely wouldn't take the bus all the way up to SF, especially with a young family. The stations are grimy and so are some of the passengers. How ever you do it, plan on taking some food and beverages with you as the station offerings and even on train offerings are a rip off and not that good. GOOD LUCK

[wac_432]

Originally Posted by Harpaint

Ventura is definitely more relaxed and more family oriented than the choices closer to LA. LA is huge, very spread out, and BUSY like any big city. North of Ventura is Santa Barbara. There is a very nice little zoo there that kids enjoy, but hotels will be high as it is a popular tourist town.

The Pacific Ocean in the US is quite cool, even in summer, and the surf is rather rough. It is great for kids to splash around in along the edge but not good for kids to swim in like it is Mexico and further south. I recommend booking a hotel or motel that has a pool.

Taking a shuttle bus from LAX to Ventura can be rather expensive. But there is a Greyhound Bus Station in Ventura so you could use that to travel on up to Santa Barbara which has a train station. The train ride up to SF is only about $45 I think, and it takes you through some nice scenery. I definitely wouldn't take the bus all the way up to SF, especially with a young family. The stations are grimy and so are some of the passengers. How ever you do it, plan on taking some food and beverages with you as the station offerings and even on train offerings are a rip off and not that good. GOOD LUCK

Ventura has a train station. It's very close to downtown. There is also a local VCTC bus from Ventura to Santa Barbara (don't take Grayhound) that is only $2-3.

Santa Barbara is an awesome tourist town, but it's very expensive. I wouldn't plan on staying the night there. Spend the day on your way north, then stay somewhere cheaper. If you do go, take the kids to the Wolf Muesuem of Innovation and Exploration (MOXI). It's about $15 per ticket, but it's a crazy-good children's museum. Plan on spending at least 3-4 hours there. Go to the roof and enjoy the view while the kids play in the water section. There's also a zoo (pricy) and a ton of AMAZING free playgrounds. Also, Stern's Wharf with an Aquarium, a boating museum in the marina, the Museum of Natural History is all about kid's stuff--these are all great kid's activities, but they all cost $$$. Santa Barbara is a world-class tourist destination in the USA, and it is priced accordingly. It is also warmer and sunnier than Ventura.

Trains are super expensive, but pretty comfortable. The best and cheapest way to travel around SoCal is to rent a car and drive. The only way public transportation is cheaper is if you travel alone. You can rent a car for $75/day or less, and cover more distance and see more stuff than with $200 worth of train tickets.

The water is cold, and the weather can be too. Ventura tends to stay in the low 70's with a sea breeze. The marine layer usually rolls in mid-afternoon and things get chilly in a hurry. I would skip swimming except for maybe some splashing in the surf midday. In July, the ocean could be as warm as 70F, or as cold as 55F depending on the winds on the outer waters.

If you drive the 101 north to SF, there's at least a week's worth of amazing and fun things to do, see, and eat along the way. You'll be spoiled for choice.

[kdb05f]

Originally Posted by ElDiabloJoe

Jose, I was going to make a recommendation similar to Axxlrod's. Since you will be heading north (to S.F.) anyhow, just start your drive now. Do not take the I-5 as it will be a lot of farm field after farm field. Take the more scenic route up the coast. You can stop for a few days in Ventura, or Santa Barbara, or Pismo Beach or anywhere along the way you find scenic and interesting.

Hope this helps

This

The drive up the coast is totally gorgeous.

[Jose Clua]

Originally Posted by kdb05f

This

The drive up the coast is totally gorgeous.

I've heard going down from SF to LA is even better because it is easier to park the car and admire the scenery. So that is why we were planning to take a train in our way to SF and take longer road trip with more stops on our way back to LA. Besides it will take a while until I can get an American driver license to rent a car.

Thank you kdb05f