Carlsbad

[minniebeth]

Hi! We are planning on staying in Carlsbad the night before our trip to Legoland. We will be arriving late afternoon and wondering if anyone can offer any suggestions of something simple yet fun to do that afternoon/evening in Carlsbad. We are staying at the new Homewood Suites if anyone is familiar with that and have a 6yoDD that will be with us. (She gets to be "only child" this week since her siblings will be away! We want to focus attention on her!) Is there a beach area that is close by? Any place fun to eat? Any help to make our trip fun (in June) would be appreciated!

 

[minniebeth]

Does anyone know Carlsbad at all? or been to Legoland, what else did you do, or where did you eat? Go to beaches? Anyone? Bueller?

 

[c&m]

I don't live in Carlsbad, but we're annual visitors with our DDs. We like to eat at Rubio's at the Carlsbad Factory Stores (next door to Legoland) and go shopping there. My DDs really enjoy shopping. We also like to eat at El Torito in Carlsbad.

We also enjoy going to the beaches. We like Encinitas Beach (about a 10-15 min drive from Carlsbad) and Carlsbad Beach. Encinitas Beach is very family friendly. Buy your daughter a bucket and spade, and a boogie board, and she'll be occupied for hours.

HTH!

 

[luckey-lasvegas]

We like to take the Coaster Train down the coast to Old Town San Diego and have a Mexican dinner under the umbrellas at Casa De Bandini and listen to the Mariachi Band. Your DD should be free on the train and adults are around $15 if my memory serves me.

 

[Zoemakes5]

Oceanside pier is fun to go see. There's a playground on the beach and a Ruby's Diner at the end of the pier (other than that, it's pretty much a fishing pier). The kids enjoy that. It's about 10 minutes north on I 5 off of Mission (I think). There's movie theatres close by, too, if you're interested in a movie.
There's places like Boomers not very far away (off Hwy 78).
The Mall on 78 & El Camino has a merry go 'round in it.
There's bowling in San Marcos right up Palomar Airport Road.
One of our favorite family places to eat in Carlsbad is Pizza Port. It's loud and raucous, but family friendly. Gets pretty busy, so the earlier the better. GREAT pizza, I think! It's on Carlsbad Villiage Drive, I don't know the cross street, but it's right on a corner. If you're on the 5, you take CVD going west, and the PP is on your left hand side.