Orange County
 

Hi everyone.....as a college student in his early 20's who aspires to one day own a house in Laguna Beach or another city in Orange County, CA on the beach (yes yes, a lot of money...who knows if it will ever happen but I hope so!), I was hoping to travel there at least once in the next year in person to check out the area and stay there over a weekend just to relax. Which airlines/hotels would be the best to achieve this? I ask so I can get the appropriate miles/hotel cards and use the bonuses to fund my trip lol. Any tips? I'll likely be flying in from Detroit. MI or Norfolk, VA.

Good luck with that goal. It is an expensive one!

At your age, I would say Huntington Beach. There is more to do than in other cities, the beach is nice, lots of restaurants and bars, events on the beach, etc. There is a Hilton and Hyatt, both of which are just across the street from the water.

You will need a rental car to get around anywhere in So Cal. You can fly into either LAX or SNA

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

If you Google "SNA airport wiki", you will get a link to the Wikipedia article which lists all airlines that serve John Wayne Airport in Orange County. Of course, both LAX and LGB are also within reasonable driving distance of Orange County.

For hotels, just go to Expedia or Travelocity and enter any Orange County destination to find a list of nearby hotels.

Hi redhead, thank you for the reply! From your profile, it appears you live in SoCal...may I ask which part? how do you like it? is my dream of living there just a fantasy that is waiting to be popped (as in, does it actually suck to live there, or is it as cool as it seems living in such a gorgeous area lol, forgetting about how expensive it is)

You can also fly into Long Beach (LGB) - a short drive on the 405 and closer to the OC than LAX.

Were you hoping to just stay somewhere in the OC on the weekend or did you actually want a beachfront hotel? The OC is a big place - a bit of your preferences would be helpful in narrowing it down for you.

You might also consider moving this to the Southern California forum - you would likely get more locals responding.

Just my personal opinion, but with the possible exception of Laguna Beach, I am not a big fan of Orange County. On my visits to S Calif, I have enjoyed San Diego County much more. Before you make a final decision, you might want to head south and check out that area as well.

Hi Jerry, thank you for your comment. Could you elaborate? How come you say that?

What about Hermosa, Redondo, or Manhattan beach areas?

I think staying in a beach house that fronts the sand looks like fun for a week, but not to live there. The constant parade of strangers traipsing thru what is essently my "back yard" would drive me nuts. I love Newport Beach (14th street!!), but I'm happy to drive home at the end of the day.