It’s that time of year when the blossoms on the trees remind us that spring quickly blooms into summer in San Diego, where the sun nearly always shines. If you’re planning a vacation or an overnighter to San Diego this year, there’s a lot to look forward to starting with great spring events such as the Gaslamp Mardi Gras. The Fat Tuesday party takes up many blocks in the quarter and offers musical acts throughout the district, plus a Mardi Gras Parade. You won’t want to miss it. But if you do, look for the St. Patrick’s Day ShamROCK celebration in March to ease you into the summer months that prominently feature the color green.

If you are wishing for a beautiful winter escape away from the snow and cold, San Diego is the place to go. And Balboa Park isn’t just a beautiful day filled with museums and gardens, it’s a walk in the park with lovely architecture, interesting landscapes, beautiful breezes and the warm summer sunshine reminiscent of a spring day back East. The Balboa Park Pass makes a great gift any time of year, spring, summer, winter or fall.

This winter Balboa Park is offering great prices on its museum packages where you can buy a pass and save big bucks on visits to the many museums (over 13) that fill one of America’s Great Parks! If you plan a trip to San Diego, be sure to see our little piece of paradise. It’s not exactly a hidden secret, but it’s definitely a gem.

Temperatures remain on the pleasant side as we enter autumn in San Diego, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t get a heat spell or two before Christmas. Southern California is known for its warm and windy September – October days that can come unexpectedly. And of course in its 100 year history, there has only been rain on January 1 a few times.

This is the finest season to vacation in San Diego. Sunny days, less crowded beaches and even the theme parks offer pleasant experiences during this special time of year.

New developments in Legoland make it worth a trip to see not one but three new theme parks. It’s an especially fun place to take toddlers who haven’t entered school yet. There’s a water park, an Aquarium and the original Legoland California. The two new parks are pint-sized fun so kids have just the right amount of activity and entertainment.

Sure, the kids have returned to school & classes, so for many parents the trips to San Diego must be curbed for weekends only and holidays. But for those with flexibility in their jobs, their retirement and travels, fall season is superb opportunity to book your hotel rooms and have a less crowded vacation at America’s playground of sunshine in San Diego.

What you will notice is prices dropping at nearly every hotel during the fall. One exception is when major conventions and events, or a special heat wave drives exceptional fall traffic to the beach. But overall, you should check out some of the fall pricing on hotel rooms and get booking now for the break you need. One such example of great pricing as of this posting is the Hilton San Diego Resort with rooms starting at $139 in mid-September 2010. You rarely see the hotel offer such savings. This is a spectacular resort and the price is right.

San diego

San Diego is California’s second largest city and one of the top visitor destinations in the United States—a scenic harbor convention center, world-class San Diego Zoo, Wild Animal Park, Sea World, Balboa Park, Point Loma Lighthouse, Cabrillo Monument, historic Old Town, the San Diego Padres, miles of beaches, and Coronado Island are all set to the finest weather anywhere on globe, with average temperatures of 70º F.

Ocean Beach “OB”, Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, Mission Bay, and Coronado Island, and La Jolla beaches all make for a vacation that includes theme parks, fine weather, and beach settings around every bend. The outdoor sports mecca provides great walking, jogging, sailing, swimming, roller blading, kayaking, golf, surfing, and just about any other sport you can imagine.

Getting there: Located 120 miles south of Los Angeles and 20 miles north of Tijuana, Mexico, just drive on the Interstate 5 from L.A. and you’ll arrive in downtown San Diego in just over two hours. Another option is to hop on the Amtrak train at Union Station in Los Angeles and never drive during your stay! It is quite easy to get around San Diego on public transportation and many tourists do it.

San Diego has been the epicenter of hospitality for as long as people have known about the place. It is also infectious, so once you visit, you can count on returning again to explore local favorites such as Hotel del Coronado hotel, Hardrock Hotel, and the Catamaran. There are just so many amazing hotels to enjoy that you’ll never tire of exploring.

la costa resort

Carlsbad, Calif.–When a neighbor knocked on our door and asked us to watch their family’s house for the weekend, we asked where they were going for the weekend.  “LaCosta Resort,” came back the reply. For those who know San Diego’s north county region, you’ll be fully aware that La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, home to Legoland California. And in short order Legoland has grown, adding two additional attractions –Sea Life Aquarium, which opened last year, and Legoland Water Park, which opened in the summer 2010.  Geared toard toddlers, youngsters and pre-teens, Legoland is a weekend unto itself, and ideal for our neighbors with children no older than six.

La Costa Resort is a place where adults don’t have to compromise their vacations for the needs of the children. In addition to a fantastic swimming pool near the PGA ranked golf course at the resort, La Costa accesses Legoland, Carlsbad beaches, and is only a thirty minute drive from San Diego Wild Animal Park.

It’s likely our neighbors went to Carlsbad to enjoy the resort and Legoland on their three-day trip. La Costa Resort is among the top two places to stay on Legoland vacations. Highly recommended if you don’t mind paying a bit more.

One of the most fun things to do when visiting San Diego is staying at either of two hotels–Bahia Resort or Catamaran Resort. You can ride the Bahia Belle Sternwheeler in Mission Bay free with your night’s stay at the hotels. The summer schedule kicks in after Memorial Day allowing visitors more times to ride. The hotels are one mile distance from each other with the Catamaran generally costing a bit more for your hotel room. Both have beaches on site and the boat stops each night at both hotels. It is one of the most unique perks we’ve ever seen in booking and staying in hotels in San Diego, but even if you choose to stay elsewhere, you can still purchase a ticket for the affordable ride, which is around $10 (subject to change).

Temecula Hot Air Balloon Ride

With the California economy still in a slump and not enough jobs for all the people who want to work, what will the 2010 travel season bring to the beaches and bays of San Diego? Will you be able to find some deals this year? Foreclosures continue, yet, the hotel rates seem to be going up.

“It’s a mixed bag of deal-no deal,” said an industry insider who prefers not to be quoted, but who told us the hotel where he works is experiency low occupancy in 2010 compared to the average. “We thought Easter / Spring Break would be a bounce back of traffic, but it just didn’t materialize.”

What are hotels doing to survive?  This hotelier said that his property is trying to maintain higher rates than what the occupancy rate typically would have go warranted in the past. “Labor rates and operating expenses are higher, so we’re trying not to reduce our prices too much.”

Will there be any deals during the summer travel season in San Diego? VisitSanDiegoHotels.com (VSH) has studied the market and discovered travelers have become savvy in finding deals–and they seem to be going for price.

“There’s a two-tiered system of booking,” said a VSH bookings analyst. “We see the budget travel bookings in which travelers are actually finding rooms in San Diego for around $50. While some can spend 4 days for $200, there’s another segment of travel willing to spend $250/night. Those travelers tend to come from Europe, India, Asia, and are willing to spend more for amenities and location.”

What should you do to save?

• Book weekday in the popular beach and bay hotels, but be alerted to the convention and meeting groups that can inflate the price of rooms in San Diego during week days.
• Consider staying in convention hotels with ample space and below average rates for the quality of rooms. Newer high-rise hotels have a tendency when they launch to lower rates if they’re not getting traffic. It’s all about the buzz for several years. If you can build it, then the repeat customer may return and pay more.
• Consider staying in rooms minus beach views. You can save $100 or more in the room that faces the other direction. If the beach is outside your door, that $100 can be well spent on meals, entertainment, and shopping.
• Keep checking the booking engines. The researchers find the deals, but it may take them time to discover the soft spots in hotels. With San Diego offering several hundred hotel options, the deals do exist. It just take more time, research and patience to find savings ranging from $10 – 150 per night.
• Think outside the box. Try something new. One of our favorite gems where deals can be had is Temecula, approx. 30 minutes from San Diego County beaches. It features wine tasting, balloon rides, and lots of entertainment at Pechanga Resort.

San Diego Surf

The Easter Day Earthquake in 2010 brought some surprise and shaking, but the hotels in San Diego report in that there are absolutely no problems. If you are planning a vacation to the area, don’t change your plans. Come on down!

While the epicenter of the earthquake appeared to be across the U.S. border in the Baja California near Mexicali, the earth shook all the way to Santa Monica in Los Angeles, and in the Arizona desert.

San Diego is California’s top beach vacation destination, and with good reason! There are more hotels with bays and beach views than any other city in California. San Diego was made for vacations–literally! much of Mission Bay was artificially built and constructed for pleasure water sports and family fun.

If you are planning a trip to San Diego, the region features many golf courses, great surfing, a super public transportation system, and the hotels are amazing. Many are new around the Gaslamp Quarter.

So do GO have fun. San Diego is welcoming you with open arms..and it is definitely open!

Check out prices at Hard Rock these days!

Nearby, enjoy a variety of family entertainment. Our favorites include San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park, Sea World, and shopping for silver jewelry, leather goods, and even pharmaceuticals at a fraction of U.S. prices just across the border in Tijuana.

Be sure to check out Hard Rock soon. There are some deals, but by summer, they’ll be gone.

Hard Rock Hotel