Thrifty accommodations - La Jolla area?

[Melicertes]

After returning to full time studying after a 10 year hiatus, my wife and I are about to finish our year's very busy and challenging study schedules and would like to get out of the Orange County area for a bit to unplug and relax. We are looking at La Jolla because we are drawn by some reports of the great diving there.

This year has aggressively bitten into our budget due to the steep exchange rate from which we have had to convert our savings to the dollar here in the US. Hence we are looking for a place where we can safely overnight for a week or so in La Jolla but that is cost effective at the same time. We are avid campers so tenting it makes every bit of sense to us unless we can find accommodations that is not going to run amok with the tight budget we're on. The San Diego Metro KOA camp ground offers rates of around $32 per night but the drive to and from La Jolla just seems a bit of a PITA to me.

Does anybody know of safe tent camping or other accommodation services in the La Jolla area? Also can anybody give me some feedback about the diving at La Jolla, what to look out for, where to go, dive shops in the area for tank fills etc?

Thnx

 

[shark.byte.usa]

Last time I was there I got a nice hotel room @ Doubletree Club Hotel San Diego for $50/night on priceline.

 

[diversteve]

There's no camping in LaJolla the land's waaayy too expensive. You've obviously never been there. It's like a Mediterranean version of Malibu.

Last time I checked(last year) even the chain hotels up the hill by UTC were just under $200 nt. The Marriot was a little less. Also in that area are a fancy Hilton and a Doubletree? Other hotels in LaJolla are boutique ones like Parisi, starts at $600/nt.

Cheaper is something in LaJolla Village. There's a Residence Inn right off the freeway before you get to Miramar A.F.B. - we stayed there once a few years ago. The cheapest hotels you'll find in San Diego are in Motel Circle, like the one suggested above. But a drive from there.

There's a beach up by Cardiff that allows camping, I've seen tents there. This might be it.

The Cove is the classic LaJolla dive, as you're walking along the cliffs north of the cove, look down, you'll see the divers. For $5 fills drop by OEX.

Or dive the Shores and the submarine canyon. Bring a light.

 

[Melicertes]

There's no camping in LaJolla the land's waaayy too expensive. You've obviously never been there. It's like a Mediterranean version of Malibu.

The Cove is the classic LaJolla dive, as you're walking along the cliffs north of the cove, look down, you'll see the divers. For $5 fills drop by OEX.

Or dive the Shores and the submarine canyon. Bring a light.

No I have never been to La Jolla before you're right. Our strenuous study schedules have prevented us from site seeing anything much beyond the 55 freeway scenery and our campus grounds for the past year, including the whole of summer. This is one of the reasons why we would like to get out of OC for a bit and see other areas also.

Thank you for the information you provided. I know about OEX and have sent them a msg requesting information about fills before but have not received a response just yet from them. Do you know whether they do nitrox fills?

I think we've pretty much decided to stay with the option to tent at San Diego Metro KOA since it's closer to a lot of the landmarks and site seeing spots we'd also like to investigate in San Diego; the museums at Balboa Park and The Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum is just two to do's high on our list. The drive out to La Jolla isn't that bad on hind sight so for good diving we'll take the punch. We're especially looking forward to diving La Jolla Canyon.

 

[CompuDude]

Be sure to post back before you actually come out, as I'm sure you could arrange a rendezvous with some locals who can best show you what the sites have to offer.

 

[Melicertes]

Be sure to post back before you actually come out, as I'm sure you could arrange a rendezvous with some locals who can best show you what the sites have to offer.

I was planning on doing exactly just that but would like to first confirm accommodation bookings before making any plans that involve other people and their schedules. Should know within the next day or so.

Just out of interest, who is in that area that would be up for a dive down the canyon wall/ledges on the 17th? Unless OEX is open for air fills on the 17th, which I doubt, it will likely be only one dive as we only have two tanks that would serve for one decent dive for my wife and I.

 

[travelmadness]

why not go thrifty in a cheap motel....or do you want to go extra tent thrifty??

 

[Melicertes]

why not go thrifty in a cheap motel....or do you want to go extra tent thrifty??

I guess there's two reasons for not going the Motel route and I realize that I'm being entirely unreasonable and off the mark with this anyway, but motels just engender mental images of noisy neighbors, customary SWAT team raids, and stoned reception assistants for me :11:. The second reason is that "camping" associates with "holiday/vacation" for me since my school holidays as a kid were almost always spent camping, hiking, and site seeing. I guess choosing between a movielike motel idea and peaceful camping, I guess my first instinct is to go with the camping idea. The other reason I appreciate camping so much is that it gives me the sense of being outside of the usual concrete and steel buildings and allows me to spend time a bit closer to nature and the outdoors, even if it is in a camping ground in the middle of a city like San Diego. So cost was not the only thing that really was determining my choices with this, but it did play a significant role

 

[Melicertes]

O.K. accommodation arrangements have been made! And we're all set for a week's fun down in San Diego in a week's time! Thank you for the input from those of you who posted here.

 

[headhunter]

I guess there's two reasons for not going the Motel route and I realize that I'm being entirely unreasonable and off the mark with this anyway, but motels just engender mental images of noisy neighbors, customary SWAT team raids, and stoned reception assistants for me :11:. The second reason is that "camping" associates with "holiday/vacation" for me since my school holidays as a kid were almost always spent camping, hiking, and site seeing. I guess choosing between a movielike motel idea and peaceful camping, I guess my first instinct is to go with the camping idea. The other reason I appreciate camping so much is that it gives me the sense of being outside of the usual concrete and steel buildings and allows me to spend time a bit closer to nature and the outdoors, even if it is in a camping ground in the middle of a city like San Diego. So cost was not the only thing that really is determining my choices with this, but it did play a significant role

KOA has Kamping Kabins (I think that's how they spell it) that are a sort of in between realm. I've stayed in quite a few of them while driving around the country playing tourist and they've been pretty good and cost much less than a motel.

Whatever you do, it sounds like you've got plenty of fun planned!

Christian