Universal or Laguna beach

[trish4bruce]

We will be arriving in California for 9 days in July to celebrate our Honeymoon. We will be landing in San Diego on July 13th and spending a few days there. On Tuesday the 17th we will drive to Anaheim and stay at the Candy Cane Inn for two nights. Now the next part is where I need some opinions. Orginally I had us leaving Anaheim and spending 1 night in Laguna Beach before we drive back to San Diego. I have started to question if instead we should go to Universal Studios for 1 night instead since we will be buying the Southern Cal. pass. What do you think? We are not really artsy types who lilke to eat at fancy resturants and the more I read about Laguna beach the more I am not sure if it is right for us. The idea of a day at the beach is nice though.
If we were to go to Universal should we book a hotel around there or drive back to the Candy Cane Inn? Any hotel suggestions near Universal? I want to spend around $150.
Thanks for any feedback it is really appreciated.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Laguna Beach is far more interesting than Universal Studios/citywalk. You may or may not be artsy types, but if you EVER have the opportunity to get tickets to see the Pageant of the Masters http://www.foapom.com/ you MUST see it. Amazing experience. Laguna is not all fancy restaurants... there are some local legends like Tortilla Flats and The White House and the Royal Hawaiian, to name a few. Travelling north to Universal through LA will only cause a seed of deep hatred for southern california traffic to well up inside you...

We will be arriving in California for 9 days in July to celebrate our Honeymoon. We will be landing in San Diego on July 13th and spending a few days there. On Tuesday the 17th we will drive to Anaheim and stay at the Candy Cane Inn for two nights. Now the next part is where I need some opinions. Orginally I had us leaving Anaheim and spending 1 night in Laguna Beach before we drive back to San Diego. I have started to question if instead we should go to Universal Studios for 1 night instead since we will be buying the Southern Cal. pass. What do you think? We are not really artsy types who lilke to eat at fancy resturants and the more I read about Laguna beach the more I am not sure if it is right for us. The idea of a day at the beach is nice though.
If we were to go to Universal should we book a hotel around there or drive back to the Candy Cane Inn? Any hotel suggestions near Universal? I want to spend around $150.
Thanks for any feedback it is really appreciated.

 

[tracys2cents]

The drive up to Universal is a pain, and the heat at the park will be scorching. Laguna gets my vote! LagunaRiviera is a nice place to stay, but I don't know what you'll find there in the $150 range for July. You could stay in Anaheim and easily make a day trip to Laguna. If you can find something affordable, however, Laguna would be a great final night of your honeymoon.

 

[Junebuggy5]

I also say go for Laguna Beach. We are not artsy type but we love Laguna. It is more than art galleries and fancy restaurants. There are great scenic walking paths, Johnny's Rockets (hot dogs, hamburgers, milkshakes) and BJ's pizza and other inexpensive restaurants. I also agree that the La traffic to Universal is pretty messy and Laguna is on the way to San Diego. Book a hotel early, July is busy time.

 

[meandtheguys2]

I lived in Laguna for several years. It is a lovely place to visit! I second th Pageant, and will throw in the Sawdust Festival across the street, if they still have it!

 

[tmatthews]

Did both last week and laguna wins by a landside!!!!!!!!!!!!! Great views, beach, shops....not just artsy stuff! I am not into that either. Got pizza at BJs and ate on the beach! Just beautiful! We drove from anaheim...maybe 1/2 hour at best with traffic....miles wise it was only about 19! Universal took us about 1hour in heavy traffic....not much else to see except hollywood sign from the freeway!

 

[windan]

First of all...Congrats on your upcoming honeymoon. We did DL and Laguna Beach in '05 and absolutely loved it. We also did the Pageant of the Masters when we were there...it's a "must do". There's so much more to Laguna than just "artsy" stuff. Our DS was 15 at the time and he had a great time. We also stayed at the Candy Cane and highly recommend it.

 

[ladylee]

Laguan is the only way to go!!!!!!!!! After being at Disney you will be ruined for Universal. It is ust not the same people aren't as friendly, the park isn't a clean,it is just not as magical.

Laguna is beautiful. We aren't artsy at all but love the area. We love to sit on the beach and walk the shops in the area. You can drive up to Newport also and eat at the Crab Cooker if you don't find anything in Laguna. Lots of neat things to see in that area. You don't have to stay in Laguna

 

[suzannen]

Another vote for Laguna Beach over Universal. Laguna is gorgeous and we were so disappointed in Universal.

 

[PoppyGirl]

I am just back from our trip to CA--we took one day to visit Laguna beach and had a wonderful day. I lived in SoCal for 7 years. Laguna and LaJolla were my favorite beaches. There is a lovely boardwalk that goes all along the beach and a nice overlook from the cliff. There are lots of shops and nice restaurants.