Solana Beach ??s

[Tattylou]

We are looking into a trip to the San Diego area next April. It would be myself, DH, our 2 sons (will be 7 and 9 at time of trip), and my parents. We want to stay in a condo in the San Diego area (looking at some in the Del Mar Beach Club or Seascape Sur) and spend time exploring the beaches, definitely want to go to Seaworld, and are open to other ideas. We will be coming up to Disneyland for an overnight and to do a day or 2 at the parks. Right now, I'm looking at some condos on Solana Beach. Can someone tell me about that area and about the beach? Is it a safe area? Family friendly? Distance to San Diego attractions? Is the beach rocky or sandy? Big scary waves or good for kids? Any other pertinent info? Any fun ideas or places to go? Thanks in advance!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

We really enjoy Solana Beach for day trips, but I don't know how interesting it would be for your boys. For us, we spend the day looking at vinyl records, funky housewares and decorations, boho clothing, and end the day with dinner and a concert at the Coach House. Not so fun for a 7 and 9 year old, I would think. Have you looked at condos in Carlsbad? That isn't too much further north, Legoland and the outlets are there, and it is still pretty accessible to SD.

 

[Tattylou]

We really enjoy Solana Beach for day trips, but I don't know how interesting it would be for your boys. For us, we spend the day looking at vinyl records, funky housewares and decorations, boho clothing, and end the day with dinner and a concert at the Coach House. Not so fun for a 7 and 9 year old, I would think. Have you looked at condos in Carlsbad? That isn't too much further north, Legoland and the outlets are there, and it is still pretty accessible to SD.

Thx. I'm thinking of Solana more as a base near a beach, but we would probably venture to San Diego most days. I'll look at Carlsbad. Is it a beach area? We just went to Legoland near Orlando a few weeks ago and it was ok. I think Seaworld, the safari park, maybe San Diego zoo, etc are more our focus this trip....that being said we like our location at the end of the day to be on or near a beach.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Can someone tell me about that area and about the beach? Is it a safe area? Family friendly? Distance to San Diego attractions? Is the beach rocky or sandy? Big scary waves or good for kids?

It has a mixture of all of that stuff. There are both rock and sand beaches. There can be larger waves, but also areas with little to no waves. I consider it a safe area, but remember that the ocean can have strong rip currents, even without big waves and those are very dangerous. Since you are going in April, the water will be very cold and I don't think your kids will spend too much time in the water at any rate.

Easy and close to all San Diego attractions. The Safari Park is going to be a long haul from anywhere. If you want to stay at a beach, you do want north county which includes Del Mar, Solana Beach, Encinitas, Carlsbad. La Jolla is also very nice, but maybe a little more dangerous in the ocean (at least it always has been for me). In addition to condo rentals, there are a lot of timeshares in the area that you can rent. Del Mar is currently considering banning short term rentals. So, renting a vacation condo next year may not be an option. There are 2 timeshares there that are really good - Villa L'auberge and Wave Crest.

 

[Tattylou]

It has a mixture of all of that stuff. There are both rock and sand beaches. There can be larger waves, but also areas with little to no waves. I consider it a safe area, but remember that the ocean can have strong rip currents, even without big waves and those are very dangerous. Since you are going in April, the water will be very cold and I don't think your kids will spend too much time in the water at any rate.

Easy and close to all San Diego attractions. The Safari Park is going to be a long haul from anywhere. If you want to stay at a beach, you do want north county which includes Del Mar, Solana Beach, Encinitas, Carlsbad. La Jolla is also very nice, but maybe a little more dangerous in the ocean (at least it always has been for me). In addition to condo rentals, there are a lot of timeshares in the area that you can rent. Del Mar is currently considering banning short term rentals. So, renting a vacation condo next year may not be an option. There are 2 timeshares there that are really good - Villa L'auberge and Wave Crest.

Awesome, thx for that info. Good to know about the ban. I was originally going to rent in Anaheim and someone told me they have a ban coming. I will look at both of those too. Any idea how to get in touch with time share owners of those?

 

[cruisehopeful]

Awesome, thx for that info. Good to know about the ban. I was originally going to rent in Anaheim and someone told me they have a ban coming. I will look at both of those too. Any idea how to get in touch with time share owners of those?

There's a timeshare forum called TUG, http://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php at the top of that page is a link to the Marketplace. It is in the Marketplace that you can post an ad for a rental or look and see what rentals are already listed. That is where many timeshare owners will be, but there are also sometimes scammers who post there, so be sure to their references and have a contract. You will normally get lower prices from timeshare owners than from rental companies. If you post a thread in the forums asking opinions on timeshares in the area, chances are that you'll get some messages from people who want to rent their timeshare to you.

Some of the exchange companies have public sites for rentals. RCI has this one: https://www.endlessvacationrentals.com/ Interval World has one, but I don't know the name of it. You can also rent from: Resortime.com It may be too far out to search on those sites for April. The inventory is usually stuff that they believe won't be used. So, you will want to check maybe once a month to see what comes open.

 

[Purrkins]

Solana Beach is very nice and very safe. Great place for kids. Some of the worst local traffic is in this area however so just time your drives to avoid commuting hours, before 6 AM or after 9 AM in mornings, 3:30 - 7 in evenings.

It could be anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour to get to Seaworld, 25 minutes to an hour to make it to the Zoo...

We love the awesome park/skate park there.

 

[Tattylou]

We actually started looking up in the Carlsbad area like @theluckyrabbit suggested and love how it is just about halfway between Anaheim and San Diego. I think we are going to stay in an area called Oceanside. They have some really beautiful townhouses with ocean views for rent.

Thanks for all the help, everyone!

 

[SMD]

Don't stay in Carlsbad unless the majority of your days will be completely in Carlsbad or Oceanside. Otherwise you're putting yourself in a position to be in horrible traffic every day. I'm sure Oceanside has good and bad areas, but whenever I've been there, and it's been to get gas or food on a trip, it hasn't felt safe. Solana Beach is also not a base unless you're going to the races or playing golf and couldn't get a better place to stay. It's tract housing and large strip malls with chains. Nothing to see there except the train station and shuttle to Del Mar. If you're going to the beach, find a place that is walking distance or very easy access to the beach you'll actually be going to. You'll be a lot happier being able to easily get back to a hotel room or rental on beach days and just deal with the traffic if you go to the zoo or another day trip. Del Mar is a nice enough place, I've stayed there many times because I have family there and we go to the races, but again, it's not a base for a multi-day trip to San Diego. There's about a 4 block stretch of Encinitas that seems nice and has easy access to the beach, but it's very residential and not vacation friendly, in my limited experience.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

We've stayed in Oceanside at a time share and felt safe (we chose a nicer area, not right off the freeway), but I agree that going farther north of Carlsbad is not really heading in the right direction for multiple days in San Diego. And Oceanside felt more like a retirement community, not a holiday destination. We stay in Carlsbad often and haven't really run into any horrible traffic problems, but we time our outings carefully to avoid the worst of it. Agree about Encinitas being more residential than holiday friendly.
Just a question for the OP: is there a reason why you aren't looking in San Diego proper, e.g. at a suite type hotel, for the days you will be doing Sea World and other activities right in that area? You could do the Safari Park on your last day as you head north. By the way, RCI has a lot of time shares in the San Diego area. That's who we used for Oceanside.

 

[Tattylou]

Oh, now I am second guessing myself. However, the place I booked in Oceanside is walking distance (.3 mile) to the harbor and right on the beach. All the reviews said family friendly area, nice beach, and I didn't see any with safety concerns listed. By reviews, I mean not only the ones for this particular unit, but I also looked up the complex and general Oceanside beach/harbor area on other sites. I think we are sort of shifting the plan a bit away from multiple days in San Diego. Now I think we are thinking one day Seaworld, two days (not consecutive) at Disneyland, a day at the safari park, maybe a day at Legoland, and then just a day for whatever else, like just pool/beach, or something else. It seemed more cost effective to have one base for the week and we prefer a condo (bc there is 6 of us) rather than multiple hotel rooms in various areas. I am from right outside of Boston so timing things to avoid rush hour is nothing new to us and we will definitely do that. I can still cancel the reservation I made if I find a better timeshare situation, but that won't be until 9 months out. I'll definitely keep looking and considering what you both are saying. Thx!

 

[cruisehopeful]

Oh, now I am second guessing myself. However, the place I booked in Oceanside is walking distance (.3 mile) to the harbor and right on the beach. All the reviews said family friendly area, nice beach, and I didn't see any with safety concerns listed.

I can confirm that this is an awesome area to stay. I've stayed at the WorldMark timeshare near the harbor twice. I've seen the vacation condo rentals near there and would stay in them in a heartbeat. There are parts of oceanside that are more run down or attract a more drinking/party crowd, but this area has lots of families and physically active people using the boats, kayaks, etc in the harbor. There will be drunk people, too as the harbor has bars and the fishing boats come back there, but compared to all the beaches in the San Diego area, this one is one I feel better/safer at.

You'll also be walking distance to the pier, which has a restaurant at the end of it. I believe there are a lot of rocks on the beach, but they are the smoother kind. Between the harbor, the pier and the beach in between the 2, it's a good choice, especially if you are going to have a sunset view.

You will spend a lot of time in the car if you will be going to Disneyland, Sea World, etc. It's a great place to just "be" in your downtime, though.

 

[Tattylou]

I can confirm that this is an awesome area to stay. I've stayed at the WorldMark timeshare near the harbor twice. I've seen the vacation condo rentals near there and would stay in them in a heartbeat. There are parts of oceanside that are more run down or attract a more drinking/party crowd, but this area has lots of families and physically active people using the boats, kayaks, etc in the harbor. There will be drunk people, too as the harbor has bars and the fishing boats come back there, but compared to all the beaches in the San Diego area, this one is one I feel better/safer at.

You'll also be walking distance to the pier, which has a restaurant at the end of it. I believe there are a lot of rocks on the beach, but they are the smoother kind. Between the harbor, the pier and the beach in between the 2, it's a good choice, especially if you are going to have a sunset view.

You will spend a lot of time in the car if you will be going to Disneyland, Sea World, etc. It's a great place to just "be" in your downtime, though.

Thank you!! I just read a ton on trip advisor about complex where we chose to rent and tons of positive reviews of the property and area.
We were talking this morning and we might just stay overnight for one night at a Disney hotel for the 2 Disneyland days. That way we can stay late for fireworks or whatever and maybe do a character breakfast in the morning. We've been to Disneyland before so we know our must dos and can get it all done in 2 full days. Even with sarafi day and Seaworld day, we still have 2 full days wirh no real plans - so that's nice too. Wish it wasn't like a year away!!