Where to vacation in California?

[lakersfan45]

I have more fun in SF than SD.

 

[Ken Fresno]

I would suggest places in Orange County, but if ur asking here, u cant afford it.

Santa Barbara or San Diego

After Vegas of course

 

[HunterSdVa29]

clearly it's San Diego
more dimes than a piggy bank, has one of the world's best zoos, great beach spots in OB/PB and Coronado, etc...


just don't come to the Mojave Desert, no bueno

 

[Pliny Pete]

Manteca fits your description.

Bass Pro Shop is worth the trip alone

 

[jefferz]

San Diego. Go to the maritime museum and the zoo. Watch out for bums

If I wanted to watch bums, wouldn't I want to go to San Francisco?

Las Vegas.

I'll be flying into Vegas to spend a couple days there and then to cali. It's a lot cheaper for me to fly to vegas on Allegiant ($200 round trip) and then hop on another airline to cali ($150 round trip) vs Delta from my area to cali ($1400)

haha. how could you not, there? lol.

for this thread, i'd recommend s.f., though i should point out that it's getting a bit colder as it normally does this time of the year. if you don't mind that, then this area is a good choice. otherwise, l.a. or san diego is another option.

I live in ND so the weather will be 10 times better wherever I go in cali.

 

[mb23100]

If I wanted to watch bums, wouldn't I want to go to San Fransisco.

Been to both cities recently. San Diegos bum population is out of control

 

[blaseblah]

Bay area. You can explore the city of SF, check out the Monterey bay aquarium, or go to the multitude of beaches and museums all over. All within driving distance.

 

[jefferz]

Been to both cities recently. San Diegos bum population is out of control

 

[blaseblah]

San Francisco. Lots of great places to eat and nightlife is good. Can take Bart to get around, as well a taxis or uber.l, so no car needed. Not as spread out as la. Horrible beaches though.

The city of SF itself has horrible beaches. But there are awesome beaches an hour or two away.

 

[Pwent]

I'm looking at going on a week long vacation this winter to California. I'm undecided on where though.
I'm not interested in hiking or anything like that. I want to see a big city and wander around to see things like city parks, sky scrapers, people watch, etc. a zoo or an aquarium is at the top of the list of things I want to see. I'd also like to be a couple hour car ride or shorter to the ocean.
What city would you guys recommend?

california is as big as some countries. so there are a lot of options

LA has all the things you said. if you rent a car, you can people watch in hollywood and/or venice, go to long beach aquarium and go to a museum in the same day. you can drive to disneyland in about an hour depending where youre staying, you can go to universal studios, people watch, go to hearst castle etc.

there are also nice beaches like venice and santa monica, that have people watching and interesting things while you take a break from the water

 

[Hollywood Jack]

I'm looking at going on a week long vacation this winter to California. I'm undecided on where though.
I'm not interested in hiking or anything like that. I want to see a big city and wander around to see things like city parks, sky scrapers, people watch, etc. a zoo or an aquarium is at the top of the list of things I want to see. I'd also like to be a couple hour car ride or shorter to the ocean.
What city would you guys recommend?

So Cal is better, especially in the winter. Relatively warm weather and San Diego has one of the best zoos in the country. You should probably fly to L.A., drive down to Orange County and then to San Diego. And if you want to visit an aquarium on the way, you've got the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach.

 

[CoffeeAndBeer]

I'm looking at going on a week long vacation this winter to California. I'm undecided on where though.

I'm not interested in hiking or anything like that. I want to see a big city and wander around to see things like city parks, sky scrapers, people watch, etc. a zoo or an aquarium is at the top of the list of things I want to see. I'd also like to be a couple hour car ride or shorter to the ocean.

What city would you guys recommend?

Well there are 4 "big cities" in California, and they all have that stuff...
L.A., a world city
The Bay Area, a world city
San Diego, a major regional city
Sacramento is a major regional city, but far from the ocean.

If you have a week, try L.A.:
Sunset strip... nightlife, music, comedy
Santa Monica/Venice Beach... people watching, shopping
The South Bay... beaches, car culture
Downtown... architecture, food, art, foreign culture(s)
The West Side/Beverly Hills... museums, hobnob w/the rich & famous


The places I'd go:

• Griffith Observatory (for me, it's the spiritual center of L.A.)
• Gracie Jiu Jitsu Academy World Headquarters (the spiritual birthplace of MMA)
• The city of Pasadena (non-Hollywood, non-beachy, just a nice place)
• Attend a Dodgers game (in the midst of the Postseason), or USC Trojans Football game
• Watch a Jimmy Kimmel Live show (I think the show is in NYC this week, though)
• The Comedy Store (legendary comedy club), and/or the UCB Theather(s) (alternative comedy)
• Walk Melrose Ave (a funky stretchy of L.A. streets, shopping, people watching)
• Drive Whittier Blvd (East L.A.'s main drag, food, car culture)
• Huntington Beach (bodyboard in the afternoon, bond fire in the evening)

 

[jefferz]

Bay area. You can explore the city of SF, check out the Monterey bay aquarium, or go to the multitude of beaches and museums all over. All within driving distance.

I want to try to avoid driving as much as possible. Biggest city I've ever drove in is Midland, tx. I'd probably crash or cause someone else to crash in heavy traffic.

 

[Michaelangelo]

i'd go to Redondo Beach

 

[Rav1nHunter]

Watch out for AIDS

 

[Scott Parker 27]

Dont bother with L.A. dirty as fuck and overcrowded. Bakersfield is calling your name pal! Buck Owens Crystal Palace is a sight to behold.



But seriously Ive been all over the state do SF and Yosemite if you have a chance.

 

[jefferz]

Well there are 4 "big cities" in California, and they all have that stuff...
L.A., a world city
The Bay Area, a world city
San Diego, a major regional city
Sacramento is a major regional city, but far from the ocean.

If you have a week, try L.A.:
Sunset strip... nightlife, music, comedy
Santa Monica/Venice Beach... people watching, shopping
The South Bay... beaches, car culture
Downtown... architecture, food, art, foreign culture(s)
The West Side/Beverly Hills... museums, hobnob w/the rich & famous


The places I'd go:

• Griffith Observatory (for me, it's the spiritual center of L.A.)
• Gracie Jiu Jitsu Academy World Headquarters (the spiritual birthplace of MMA)
• The city of Pasadena (non-Hollywood, non-beachy, just a nice place)
• Attend a Dodgers game (in the midst of the Postseason), or USC Trojans Football game
• Watch a Jimmy Kimmel Live show (I think the show is in NYC this week, though)
• The Comedy Store (legendary comedy club), and/or the UCB Theather(s) (alternative comedy)
• Walk Melrose Ave (a funky stretchy of L.A. streets, shopping, people watching)
• Drive Whittier Blvd (East L.A.'s main drag, food, car culture)
• Huntington Beach (bodyboard in the afternoon, bond fire in the evening)

When you say car culture, are you talking old stuff or F&F douche bags? I wouldn't mind going and seeing a couple of 1/8 drag races or dirt tracks. I'd really love to see the Race of Gentlemen but there isn't one coming up.

San Francisco. Lots of great places to eat and nightlife is good. Can take Bart to get around, as well a taxis or uber.l, so no car needed. Not as spread out as la. Horrible beaches though.

San Francisco or Los Angeles if you want to see a city. Though the east coast is better for cities. If you go to southern California you can get a car and go to LA, Orange County, and San Diego where there is a zoo. You can also drive to Las Vegas.

The only place I have interest in going to on the east coast is D.C. and I'm not going there in the winter.

Dont bother with L.A. dirty as fuck and overcrowded. Bakersfield is calling your name pal! Buck Owens Crystal Palace is a sight to behold.
But seriously Ive been all over the state do SF and Yosemite if you have a chance.

Thanks for the Yosemite recommendation. I know I said in the OP I didn't want to do nature stuff but Yosemite looks like it would be pretty neat to visit.

 

[jeffk]

San Diego sounds best for you.

San Diego Zoo is cool but the safari park is much better. You can stick your hand in a rhino's mouth and get licked by a giraffe.

http://sdzsafaripark.org/

 

[Hollywood Jack]

Well there are 4 "big cities" in California, and they all have that stuff...
L.A., a world city
The Bay Area, a world city
San Diego, a major regional city
Sacramento is a major regional city, but far from the ocean.

If you have a week, try L.A.:
Sunset strip... nightlife, music, comedy
Santa Monica/Venice Beach... people watching, shopping
The South Bay... beaches, car culture
Downtown... architecture, food, art, foreign culture(s)
The West Side/Beverly Hills... museums, hobnob w/the rich & famous


The places I'd go:

• Griffith Observatory (for me, it's the spiritual center of L.A.)
• Gracie Jiu Jitsu Academy World Headquarters (the spiritual birthplace of MMA)
• The city of Pasadena (non-Hollywood, non-beachy, just a nice place)
• Attend a Dodgers game (in the midst of the Postseason), or USC Trojans Football game
• Watch a Jimmy Kimmel Live show (I think the show is in NYC this week, though)
• The Comedy Store (legendary comedy club), and/or the UCB Theather(s) (alternative comedy)
• Walk Melrose Ave (a funky stretchy of L.A. streets, shopping, people watching)
• Drive Whittier Blvd (East L.A.'s main drag, food, car culture)
• Huntington Beach (bodyboard in the afternoon, bond fire in the evening)

Good post and I agree, but Sacramento has a port which is connected to the Bay and is still within 2 hours of the beach.

 

[Morning Star]

Based on what you said (Zoo, big city, aquarium, beach) definitely San Diego. Best zoo in Cali by far, has a Sea World and they got a really nice downtown without as much trash as other big Cali cities. Also there's a bunch of nice beaches there. Probably my favorite cities in this state are SD and Santa Barbara.