Things to do in California

[carib]

Hi, i'm looking for some help. I'm from Brazil and would like to know some information about California prior to leaving here. what is best things to do in California....I haven't been there and don't know anything about the area, but already booked flight tickets to San Diego. only staying 2 days in San Diego and planning to spend about 20 days in the other cities of California. So please suggest some must things to do in California, best hotels in California to stay and good restaurants to try. thanks for any help.

[mandarin.mint]

If you're in San Diego, then Balboa Park is a MUST SEE. It's a beautiful park with fountains and various museums that change every few months-year. Admission to the park is free however each museum charges you a fee in order to see the exhibit. Admissions to the exhibits is range from a few dollars to ten dollars.

I don't know what your hobbies are, but if you give me a few details as to what you like to do or what you want to see then I can give you some more ideas as to what to do or where to go. (For instance if you like botanical gardens I would suggest you go to Huntington Botanical Gardens and Library in San Marino) Or if you prefer to go clubbing or lounging, then Downtown LA is great for lounges and Hollywood is great for clubbing, etc.

If you love wine, in Southern California there are wonderful wineries in Temecula or if you want to travel a bit north to Santa Barbara/Santa Ynez (if you ever saw the movie SIDEWAYS, there are a bunch of wineries there open for tours every day of the week).

For food, there is just too many great restaurants for me to list! If you love garlic, The Stinking Rose in Beverly Hills is great, if you love Vietnamese food, Crustacean in Beverly Hills and there's also one in San Francisco. If you like Chinese food then the San Gabriel Valley (where the Huntington Library is) is all where it's at!

Give me some more clues and I'll try to help you out more!

[carib]

Thanks very much for your reply. I like kayak tours and water related activities, so please suggest some interesting beach activities and some popular beaches in California.

[mandarin.mint]

There's great kayaking in San Diego. .. try Mission Beach or La Jolla. Going up a little north between SD and LA are Dana Point, Capistrano beach and the famous Laguna Beach. There is also kayaking in Long Beach (in Orange County), and the place where you rent the kayaks will give you a map and guide, and you get to kayak through Naples and you also get to touch moon jellies (small white jellyfish). There is also an Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach if you want to check it out. Other great beaches are Newport and Huntington Beach . . . both are very beautiful, but Newport will probably be cleaner and nicer than Huntington Beach.

In LA. . .one of the most famous piers is Santa Monica (close to a big shopping district in 3rd street Promenade). Venice beach is also very famous. . .you can probably go surfing or hang out at the beach and then at night you can hit the bars and clubs on Abbott Kinney.

If you want to travel up even further north, Santa Barbara is wonderful. . .great wineries in the area and wonderful beaches. Up even further north on highway 1, Seal beach and Pebble Beach is great to stop by. . .wonderful golf courses, but a very rich and expensive area to spend the day/night in. If you go even further north (by this time you're pretty close to San Jose), Carmel-by-the-Sea (17 mile drive is a stretch of beach scenery along the cost) and Monterey Bay are great places to visit. . .you can check out the famous aquarium in Monterey (sea otters), and also see Santa Cruz if you wish to. Santa Cruz has a pier a lot like Santa Monica, but it might be closed during the winter (I'm not sure what time you're going to your trip in California).

Of course if you travel all the way up to Monterey Bay/Santa Cruz area, then you might as well visit San Francisco for shopping and the famous Golden Gate Bridge/Park.

And if you plan to hit a lot of those places, I recommend that you drive. . .the scenic spots along California's highway is beautiful. Also, you're driving on a cliff most of the time with a mountain on your right and your ocean on the left. . .so the entire time you're close to the ocean. There are also lots of scenic stopping points where you can pull into a shoulder and take pictures of the wonderful scenery.

Have fun!

[trav_food]

Hi crab,

California is nice, but find a beach in an upscale area or you have to deal with the garbage.

- Florida (Miami and Pensicola) are good if you like luke-warm water and white beaches. Kinda crowded in the upscale areas, though.
- Oregon coast if you love the feeling of camping at the same time. It is cooler at night, warm in the daytime, the water is freezing!
- Hawaii if you feel like spending the extra money, there is nothing like it!
- Redondo beach & Huntington beach are also good.

For best hotels in California to stay and good restaurants to try you can refer restaurant guides like boorah.com or yelp.com.

[pcardenas]

come down to VENICE BEACH. You'll loooooooooooove it.

[Shinok87]

must visit the beach and go to los angeles... it might be a little stressful but the trip to hollywood will be very worth it

[CheapGuyLA]

For 22-plus days in California, you're definitely going to need a car. Depending on what you want to see, I assume you'll want to get a taste of everything. Plan on visiting Palm Springs for a day (take the tram up to Mt. San Gorgornio), across to Santa Barbara and the wine country of the Santa Ynez nearby. Yosemite is a must-see for those with the time, I'd also recommend Hearst Castle along the Central Coast, and the wine country of the Sonoma and Napa. This is all in addition of course to Los Angeles and San Francisco...

Best,