California - where do LA residents go to escape LA

I arrive in LA on my way from London to Sydney and have 3 nights 4 days to relax - I do not want to do any tourist things as I have been many times.

What would a resident do with 3 nights accepting that I do not want to travel too far:rolleyes:

I used to go to Santa Barbara or Palm Springs. Both within 90 minutes of LA. Cheers.

Hi,

Grab a SW flight to Las Vegas!:D^

Palm springs is good too.

I think there is a train to San Diego too.

Regards

TBS

I think there is a train to San Diego too.

I love doing day trips to SAN. It's really easy from Los Angeles Union Station--it's less than 3 hours and there are 11 departures daily in each direction. Except for peak dates (Thanksgiving weekend, etc.), it's a pretty reasonable $29 each way ($14 extra for business class, which is only really worth it if you're traveling on a peak-hour train where seating in the regular coaches can get tight).

Union Station can be easily reached from the airport via the FlyAway bus.

Once in SAN, it's easy to get around without a car (due to the excellent trolley system), and there's lots to see, from Old Town to Balboa Park (and the famous SD Zoo) to just walking around downtown and the Gaslamp District. Farther afield, you've got the original and oldest of the California Spanish missions (a moderate walk from a trolley stop). There's also SeaWorld, of course. I'd recommend checking out the Wikitravel page on San Diego. (http://wikitravel.org/en/San_Diego)

Also, I'll second the recommendation for Santa Barbara. It's a gorgeous town in a spectacular setting and is also worth a few days. It's not as convenient as SAN without a car (fewer train departures and no light rail system, though there's a website (http://www.santabarbaracarfree.org/) that has some good info on doing it without a car. Once there, check out the Wikitravel page (http://wikitravel.org/en/Santa_Barbara) for info on what to see and do.

Two other places that come to mind are the Santa Ynez Valley (wineries and scenery but you can go to Solvang if you want a touristy thing to do) and Ojai.

I agree that Santa Barbara, California, is pretty nice. You just need to be sure that you avoid big weekends for the University.

I might also suggest staying closer: perhaps getting a hotel room in Santa Monica, California, or a room in a bed and breakfast in Malibu, California. If you really just want to relax near a beach, that might be an acceptable idea.

Any thoughts on what you do want to do? How far are you willing to travel? When will you be here? I haven't read any ideas in this thread that I thought were bad ones.

Maybe one of the resort hotels in Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, or Dana Point? They range from 3 to 5-stars.

I'd say that it depends on the time of year...

From June to November, I'd look along the coast to the North...
Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez, Pismo Beach, San Luis Obisbo, Morro Bay

December through May, I'd look inland to places like Palm Springs, Laughlin, or Vegas; or South to coastal communities from Newport Beach to San Diego.

Newport Beach, or Laguna Beach. You if you can afford just try the Montage in Laguna. It's a fabulous hotel.

The train ride to San Diego it's a great idea. Santa Barbara it's also great, and also the wine county there. There are so many choices.

A good day trip might be to take the ferry out to Catalina. I've never been to Avalon, so I can't comment on that, but two harbors is pretty fun and lively.

Casinos run by various American Indian tribes are increasingly popular. Pechanga Hotel-Casino in Temecula is one popular example.

Also in Temecula: wine tasting at Callaway and other vineyards:

http://www.temeculawines.org/wineries-vineyards/

All good ideas here, ukblue. Just choose your desired environment. If you pick coastal, you've got Santa Barbara, Laguna Beach, San Diego and Catalina Island. Pick desert and you have Las Vegas or Palm Springs or even Death Valley National Park. Pick the mountains and you can head to Big Bear Lake or Lake Arrowhead. The closest of these to L.A. is Laguna Beach.