California Honeymoon

My husband and I went to California for our honeymoon. It was my first time there. I had always wanted to go. We spent 3 days in San Diego and 3 days in LA. I love the beach so we did go to the beach. We also purchased the 3 in 1 pass from the San Diego Zoo so we could go to the zoo, safari park, and Sea World. I have included what we did below.

Day 1 - Arrived in San Diego at approximately 8:30 am; Checked into our Airbnb; Went for breakfast; Went to the beach; Had dinner with the best man in our wedding who lives in San Diego

Day 2 - San Diego Zoo Safari Park and Sea World

Day 3 - San Diego Zoo and drove to LA

Day 4 - Disney

Day 5 - Hollywood; Went on bus tour of Beverly Hills; Saw Hollywood Walk of Fame; Went to wax musuem

Day 6 - Went Disc Golfing; Went to Baltimore Orioles vs LA baseball game (we live in Baltimore and they just so happened to be playing LA while we were there; Flew out of LA back to Baltimore

If you’re doing Disney you have to do Universal Studios there too! They have a tour of the actual universal studios and it’s awesome!! You get to see a lot of movie/tv show sets like Wisteria Lane from Desperate Housewives, Back to the future, Jaws and more. And if you’re lucky you might get to see a show actually filming.
How long would your honeymoon be? Would you want to drive/fly from place to place in CA?

I’m currently in LA and raised in San Diego. I would definitely recommend the ideas listed above. I would also suggest going to Coronado and taking a gondola ride if you can add that in. Of course the beaches, though every beach has its own vibe. I prefer SD to LA beaches (biases lol). I would also recommend Gaslamp of course. It’s basically our DT area, with lots of shops and great places to eat. In LA, I’d definitely recommend Universal Stufios. If you’ve been been to Hollywood, of course the Wax Museum, and seeing the stars is another perk. If you’re into hiking, there are also a lot of great trails. And beach wise I like Venice, or San Monica. If you want a cleaner, and quieter vibe then Manhattan Beach, or Redondo Beach. Hope that helps ☺️

View Quoted Comment I didn’t even think about a game! He would looove that! And Hollywood wall of fame would be awesome!
Thanks for the ideas!

View Quoted Comment A gondola ride sounds perfect!!!! Not really into the ocean, love the beach. Can’t stand the smell... although last time I went I was pregnant so that definitely could have had something to do with it lol

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You're welcome It was so much fun. We are supposed to be going back to California in October for our best man's wedding. I can't wait.

View Quoted Comment We will definitely be adding USH to our list. He loves universal Orlando and I love Disney world, so these are must-dos.

View Quoted Comment And I’m think 7-10 days and we’d definitely fly! We live in Georgia.

View Quoted Comment Ha! I’m the opposite.... born and raised in LA but living in San Diego.

View Quoted Comment I meant would you be open to driving a lot throughout california or flying throughout California?
I love road tripping down the coast it’s so beautiful. And San Francisco is amazing but it is quite far from SoCal so might not be best if you’d rather stay in one area.
Near LA I also recommend Newport Beach/Balboa Island. It’s a beachy town with cute stores and very romantic to walk around.

View Quoted Comment We are open to driving for sure. Totally misunderstood lol

I’m from Southern California (born and raised in Los Angeles, but moved to Orange County about 5 years ago) and actually had my wedding at the SD Safari Park. Definitely go there if you get the chance. Lots of fun!


Definitely do Universal Studios especially if you’re into Harry Potter.
Someone recommended Newport Beach— it’s definitely less touristy. If you go there, you have to go to Mama D’s. The pink sauce is sooo good! I used to live about a 10-minute walk from there and would eat there every week.
If you’re up for a road trip— Big Sur is beautiful. Joshua Park is great as well.
If you like wine, Temecula is about a 45-minute drive from the Safari Park. They have a cute old town and tons of wineries.
What kind of food do you like? I could recommend a million different restaurants in LA if you need!

View Quoted Comment Haha no worries! I would definitely do a road trip if you’re into that then! Best way to experience California!
I’d start with San Diego for a day or two, check out downtown, the beach/tide pools, La Jolla, the Coronado gondola ride etc..
Then drive up to LA. Do one day in Disney, one day at Universal Studios, one day visiting Newport Beach, go to a sports game, visit Hollywood and whatever else looked interesting to you.Then I’d drive to San Francisco! You can stop on the way in Santa Barbara for a nice lunch or something, it’s a really cute ocean town. I’d probably stay the night in Monterey/Carmel. In Carmel you can do the 17 mile drive which is a super cool drive through nice houses and by the ocean. It’s beautiful. You could also do a day in Santa Cruz and Capitola. Both are ocean towns and are pretty quirky, especially Santa Cruz. If you’re going during the summer, the boardwalk at Santa Cruz will be open and have a lot of rides and coasters there. Then I’d do two days or so in San Francisco area. Go see the Golden Gate Bridge (Fort point is one of the coolest viewpoint to see the bridge, but also walk/bike across the bridge). You could also go to the Coit tower which gives you a great view of San Francisco and the bay. The Embarcadero is a great place to eat and shop too, highly recommend checking it out.I would do half a day or so across the bridge in Sausalito as it’s a super cute town too to walk around and they have cute shops! And then if you still have time and like wine, Napa Valley is right there too so you guys could walk around the town and do some wine tastings.And finally if your trip is not during late November - March, you could also do Lake Tahoe. It’s 4 hours from San Francisco and just absolutely beautiful. There you can check out Truckee, Tahoe City and South Lake Tahoe. You’d be able to fly out from Reno or Sacramento airports. I love California so I have lots of ideas but it will be a lot of driving around so you could just stay in Southern Cal and not do the whole San Francisco area. Definitely look everything up and see what actually would work with your personalities and what you guys like doing!!

I’ve lived in So Cal most of my life (Ventura, Orange County, Sand Diego). If you’re set for Disney, start in LA to do Disney, Universal, and is book a small studio tour at Warner Brothers (so fun!). Then head to San Diego for a few days to enjoy the beauty & slower pace. The zoo or Wild Animal Park, Balboa Park (right next to the zoo), USS Midway tour, a meal and tour of Hotel Del Coronado.


Both LA and San Diego are big with tons of traffic so don’t overbook or you’ll be exhausted. 🚗 😴

I feel like soCal has more sights to see and more to do. You can go to Venice, Long beach, santa monica & LA. The weather is better and beaches are warmer. Frisco is freaking cold lol im always freezing when I go. I live an hour from San Francisco bay area, LA is about 4-5hours from me

View Quoted Comment Love all these ideas. Makes me even more excited. We’re really into pizza and pasta. But I love food trucks and just all the different special side items and such. And we have to have ice cream. Looking for a unique ice cream shop.

View Quoted Comment Aye Cali raised ☺️☀️

View Quoted Comment Yeah we’re going in March so definitely want to keep it warm.

View Quoted Comment Im a wimp for cold. To me frisco is cold & windy year round lol i dont understand how some people can actually wear bathing suits to the beach meanwhile i need a sweater lol.