Extending Jan. trip to San Diego

[Artsyj]

My husband and I have an event to attend in San Diego on Jan. 2-3-4. I would like any suggestions of what to do in San Diego for a mature couple, no children. Are there any places to go nearby? Cruises, organized tours, etc.? Or would we have to rent a car? Two places that sound interesting, as of now are, the Grand Canyon and Sedona. I still have to get my map out. But do you know of any commercially sponsored trips? Thank you very much.

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

How much time are you looking at to extend your trip? Sedona and the Grand Canyon are both a full day drive away from San Diego, so you'd need at least 3-4 extra days to travel there.

Of course, if you're willing to go that far, you could also look at places like Las Vegas, Death Valley, Sequoia, Yosemite, or the California Coast - even as far as San Francisco. There is also the entire Los Angeles area to consider.

But if you want to stick near San Diego, there's no shortage of options in that great city. Here are some excellent suggestions from Donna, a resident of San Diego. And if that's not enough, here are a few more ideas for San Diego and the surrounding area.

As far as cruises, organized tours, or the like, you'd be best off contacting a professional travel agency that handles such things.

[DonnaR57]

Believe it or not, San Diego is a cruise port. Most of the cruises out of San Diego go down the Baja Peninsula. Otherwise, there is a harbor cruise -- either the regular one or a dinner cruise. You could also go up north to LA area and catch a cruise over to Catalina Island.

Renting a car is definitely possible. As Michael mentioned, both Grand Canyon and Sedona are about a day's drive one way. One way to go, avoiding the traffic of LA, would be to head east on I-8 to Gila Bend, catch AZ-85 north to I-10, then take the Loop 101 north to catch I-17. AZ-179 and 89A will take you through Sedona and back to I-17. Then you can go to Grand Canyon from there. You'd have to allow a day for travel, 1/2-1 day for Sedona, another day for Grand Canyon (so you can do a sunrise OR a sunset there), and then a drive back.

San Diego, though, has a lot to see. You could spend 2 weeks here and not see everything. Check out the thread that Michael linked to.


Donna