OT: vacation planning, HELP!

What state/country are you coming to California from?

Funny, the gal that sits in the cube next to me is from Laguna Beach. So, she said to fly into John Wayne Airport in Orange County. My recommendation is to fly Southwest or JetBlue; I've flown Southwest a lot and had pretty good luck with them and the prices are reasonable. I checked and Southwest does fly from Indiana to Orange County. You will not be able to book them through anything but the Southwest website and JetBlue same thing. If you book through the websites and you have a problem with the carrier/hotel, then you have to contact the website; the carrier/hotel won't help you so that's why I tend to book directly with a carrier. Also, with hotels, you can sometimes get cheaper rooms by booking directly. Southwest does have a option to book vacations through them too. I've booked a rental car through them and it turned out fine. My friend said she's not sure what your price range is for hotels, but she wanted you to check out the Sands hotel; said it's really nice and on the ocean. Hope this helps!

Sure, anytime! I should have said the hotel is right on the beach....not on the ocean. If you have any other questions, let me know. She's pretty knowledgable about the area. Or if you'd rather, you can email me directly.

I live about 10 minutes from Laguna, and there are awesome hotels....especially if you have a larger budget.  What time of year were you coming?  In the Summertime, Laguna does a great Sawdust festival with lots of artists selling their work. 

Laguna's Beach area has lots of wonderful galleries as well.  If you're looking for "shopping", South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa or Fashion Island in Newport Beach are really nice, with loads of great restaurants.  Both are a short drive away.

You'll love it here

Michele

Summertime is the best for good beach weather.  We dont have bad weather here in So. Calif though Once Spring is past, its pretty much sunny and more sunny.

I would look at tripadvisor for you and check out the various Laguna hotels.  Its a very expensive area to stay in general.  But tripadvisor can give you the breakdown on rates and you can read reviews.  we use this for most of our trips.  We're going to Maui in July. 

 

Oh yes, TripAdvisor is a great tool. I've used that quite a bit too.

I would also visit Crystal Cove park. It is an amazingly beautiful beachfront area with some hiking trails and usually not very populated.

They also have cottages for rent at Crystal Cove but I think they are booked well in advance.

La Jolla is really pretty too.  Its not as ritzy, so you are likely to get better hotel rates.  Laguna is crazy expensive to stay on the beach.  I dont live too close to La Jolla, but we have stayed there a few times.  The city is very quaint, and San Diego is around the corner.