Best family hotel/sea world deals in San Diego? San Francisco?

[Soph the vet]

We are flying into San Diego and out of San Fran in August (got cheap flights) and I'm looking for good package deals or must see type of ideas.

Anyone out there with ideas or websites?

[mamamoon]

hello, i grew up in san diego. this is a place we went every summer for the 4th of july. now i have no idea how expensive it is, probably depends on your room choice.

http://www.paradisepoint.com/

 

it is so great!

 

the reson it is so worth it is it is on its own little island/penninsula on the bay. so safe for kids. you can rent boats, or just swim all day. there are several pools, restuarants, etc. walking the grounds is just amazing. you feel like you are in a jungle. all the rooms are little cabanas. and it is across the road from sea world.

 

let me know your price range and i can give you some sf suggesstions.

lisa

[Heather in the Kootenays]

Don't miss Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Exploritorium in SF. The Technology Museum in San Jose is on my list of things to do but I haven't been yet.

[Alicia64]

I've heard only AWESOME things about Paradise Point.

 

Do you know about Legoland in Carlsbad? If you want to do a quick trip, I think it's about 20 mins. or so from SD, there is a cheapy/cheapy, but very clean motel very close by with free breakfast (so-so), but a Denny's right next door.

 

I would say stay away from the hotel that practically connects to Legoland. It looks good on the website and was really yucky for a bunch of reasons.

 

PM me if you need more info. I gathered a load of info. for a friend who was writing an article on SD, I'd be happy to share some ideas.

 

Also, if you have any interest in splurging big time there's an amazing resort called La Costa that I'd recommend a million times. The water play area for the kids make it worth it. I mean, if you want to splurge. Two real water slides -- the giant kind -- and one really nice "toddler" waterslide. Pools everywhere. Awesome family pool etc.

 

Deepok Chopra has is meditation/healing thing there. I didn't look into it though.

 

It's so nice that you wouldn't be surprised at all to see Paris Hilton on one of the chaise lounges, but it's oddly -- oddly -- friendly and casual. I can't explain why it could be fancy and friendly at the same time.

 

Alicia

[OnTheBrink]

When are you going to be in San Diego? I'm going to be there in a few weeks, myself.

 

And, I've found NO deals for Sea World. :glare:

[Carol in Cal.]

Chances are they will have cross priviledges with lots of great places here in California and you'll be able to get it free or maybe for 50% off.

 

I grew up in San Francisco and now live south of there in San Jose. I have spent a lot of time touring up and down from Big Sur to Marin County. If you tell us what you and your kids are most interested in, and how old your children are, we can give you some very targetted suggestions. There is a lot to see here, and you might want to be a bit selective.

[Soph the vet]

When are you going to be in San Diego? I'm going to be there in a few weeks, myself.

 

And, I've found NO deals for Sea World. :glare:

 

We're heading there the third week of August.

Paradise Point looks great but it is 3x what I can spend.

[Soph the vet]

Chances are they will have cross priviledges with lots of great places here in California and you'll be able to get it free or maybe for 50% off.

 

I grew up in San Francisco and now live south of there in San Jose. I have spent a lot of time touring up and down from Big Sur to Marin County. If you tell us what you and your kids are most interested in, and how old your children are, we can give you some very targetted suggestions. There is a lot to see here, and you might want to be a bit selective.

My dc are 10,8, and 6. What is THE best beach for swimming, fun waves, good sand? Preferably between San Diego and LA, because then we are heading inland to hit Sequoia before we get to San Francisco later.

[newbie]

Embassy Suites downtown, plus you get breakfast and they have deals w/parks in area.

[Carol in Cal.]

My dc are 10,8, and 6. What is THE best beach for swimming, fun waves, good sand? Preferably between San Diego and LA, because then we are heading inland to hit Sequoia before we get to San Francisco later.

 

 

I am still in Northern California, where surfers wear wet suits year round because the water is kinda cold up here.

 

The famed California dreamin beaches with sand, sun, and surf, are all down by LA, and I don't know which ones to recommend.

 

I would say that the most breathtaking coastal scenery is Big Sur, and you and your DH won't want to miss that. Out here coastal access is not limited to a few big homes, so Route 1 clings to the cliffs right above the ocean and you see great beach views around every turn. The 17 mile drive has some great spots for tidepooling, and it's kind of the entrance to Northern CA. Along Big Sur is Hearst Castle--that might be a little old for your kids, but you might want to check the website and see what you think.

 

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is not to be missed. It was in one of the Star Trek movies, transposed north into the San Francisco Bay. It's pricey, though, so definately check for cross priviledges with other science museum memberships. I think it's the best, most interactive aquarium in the world.

 

There is a great old-fashioned roller coaster site in Santa Cruz--the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. It has one of those old wooden roller coasters, and a classic log ride, and a lot of other things like that. If that is your thing, it's a great side trip as you go north around Monterey Bay. It is right on the beach, and you can drive out to the edge of the wharf at the end of the day for a bowl of chowder, and see all the sea lions.

 

You have ancient redwoods covered already, or I would suggest some sites around here for that.

 

In San Jose there is the Peralta Adobe, which reflects the early Spanish and Mexican settlers' lives in California. It's a quick tour, maybe 45 minutes, not a whole day. If you like living history sites, it's pretty good. The Tech Museum I don't think I would recommend for your kids' ages unless they are very into tech things. It's big and tends to be pretty crowded and hard to get your arms around during the summer. They do have an excellent IMAX theater there, so maybe it would be worth a stop if you're wanting an experience like that. Last year they hosted one of the best Leonardo DaVinci displays in the world, and I spent a lot of time there, but I don't think that they have anything too steller in mind for this summer. If you're into ancients, San Jose has the third biggest collection of Egyptian artifacts in the states, in the Rosicrucean Museum. The museum looks like an Egyptian temple and is surrounded by Egyptian garden-like grounds. It's not really all that big, though.

 

In Palo Alto, Stanford has a great sculpture garden with a lot of Rodin castings.

 

In San Francisco, King Tut!!!! For the first time since 1979, a major King Tut exhibit is coming to the City. You would definately need to pre-order tickets for that. It's at the DeYoung Museum in Golden Gate Park. The museum was rebuilt during the last few years because of seismic concerns, and the design of the new building is very innovative. If you go there, make sure you take the elevator up to the observation tower if it's not a foggy day. Great views from up there! There is a very old public Japanese tea garden just across the way, with a really steep moon bridge for the kiddos to climb on. The Academy of Sciences is just across the park from the DeYoung museum. It just opened last fall after seismic rebuilds, and features a 4 story rain forest and a 'green' roof. It is very heavy on the global warming issue, so if that bugs you, you won't like it. But I think it's great. Again, you might need to get tickets in advance.

 

Also in SF, the kiddos will love riding the cable cars! Take one from downtown San Francisco over the biiiiiiiiiiiig hills to Fishermen's Wharf, and eat at one of the great restaurants there. The locals eat at Scoma's, which is BEHIND Fisherman's Wharf. Then walk over to Ghirardelli Square for a chocolate sundae for dessert. The Square is the old original factory building for Ghirardelli chocolate, the best chocolate in the world! Now it's full of little shops and usually has several entertainers outside.

 

You will want to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge.

 

If your kids are sciencey, they will love the Exploratorium. Installed in what was once the Palace of Fine Arts for an early 20th century world's fair, the Exploratorium focusses a lot on physics and biology. The models and displays are very interactive, and accessible; and the store is the best science museum store in the Bay Area, IMO. (Second best is the one at Lawrence Hall of Sciences in Berkeley.) It would be a good jumping off point for that trip across the bridge and back.

 

For all of these excursions, wear or bring light layers. It might be pretty hot when you're here, or it could be very cold and foggy. Generally I would expect the warmest daytime weather in San Jose, among the place I have mentioned so far. San Francisco has water on three sides, and summers are often pretty cold and windy. Mark Twain said, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."

 

When I show people around the City, I add a slooooooooow ride down the steepest street in the world, a drive down the crookedest street in the world, and a trip up Twin Peaks for the views, watching carefully for a time when it's not foggy up there so that you can see way out to sea as well as across the bay to Berkeley and everywhere in between.

[newbie]

Sorry, I forgot, best beach is Coronado. I would stay out of Pacific or Mission, tooo crowded.

 

There are beaches in North County, but not familiar w/them.