MSU Red Cedar Message Board

I prefer hermosa/manhattan over the OC beaches. Venice is interesting too. Other than that, the typical Hollywood touristy stuff is fun once. Universal city, Hollywood blvd, driving through the hills of Malibu.

Not really. If you do, I would say plan for a half a day, tops. Inglewood Jack was pretty right on with his advice. Also, hike Runyon Canyon and go to the Griffith Observatory.

Laguna Beach is a nice place to spend an afternoon. Recently lots of whales been spotted on boats out of Newport; might want to check it out.

San Diego is really cool. I'd definitely recommend going to La Jolla down there, it's beautiful. Coronado Island is pretty cool as well. Up by LA, Manhattan Beach is a really neat place to go, better than Huntington, Hermosa, etc. in my opinion. Hollywood and that area is pretty touristy and there's not a whole lot to do that isn't essentially a tourist trap, although I did go on a tour of the Sony studios one time and that was pretty cool. You might consider taking a drive through Bel-Air and the Hollywood Hills, pretty cool to see all the insane homes and there are some pretty nice views as well.

Wahoos fish tacos great after a morning surf.

Go a little farther north to Summerland/Santa Barbara area. You can enjoy the beach (more interesting than the flat beaches in San Diego) and hiking trails in the hills. Scenery is prettier.

Culture? Excitement? Nightlife? Music scene? OP didn't mention how old he or his vietnamese lady friend are.

I love San Diego and I'm not going to bash it but allow me to defend other parts of SC for a moment...

San Diego is great if you're older or have kids. It's safer, cleaner, and a bit more "white-bread" than LA. But if you're younger and looking to get into trouble (the good kind), you may have a better time in LA. The Gaslamp district in SD is great with lots of bars and restaurants and I had many a good time there but the crazy adventures I had on the Sunset Strip were absolutely nuts and just don't happen in SD.

Venice Beach can be touristy but it has an authenticity just below the surface and a cultural vibe that has no equivalent in San Diego (PB is a frat boy hangout)

Hollywood is a giant tourist trap but if you love the movies it's still a must see. You can take tours of the movie studios and possibly see a show or film in production. There are hundreds of productions going on daily in LA and it's quite easy to get in the studio audience of any number of game shows, sit coms, talk shows, comedy shows, etc. If you want to spot celebrities, they are pretty much everywhere in LA.

Like I said, I love SD and now that I'm older I love it even more, but I also love LA (queue Randy Newman) and the excitement, craziness, and mystery of LA just can't be equaled in laid-back San Diego.

Now if the OP and his lady friend want quiet sexy time, I would actually recommend Palm Springs over both LA or SD.

You will need a car. This is true no matter where in SoCal you end up.

Alright, I will make sure to rent a car. I know she will probably want to check out shopping in Costa Mesa, and maybe Disney for a day. Cruising and seeing the large houses would be fun. Hollywood is a maybe. It sounds like there are so many nice beaches that it will be hard to choose from. Whale watching is a definite possibility. Interesting night life for a couple nights would be a plus as well.

Also if we have time between April - July, when would you recommend?

Closer to July. It will be warmer then and Southern California suffers from "June gloom" which is a marine layer that hangs out all day blocking the sun.

Agree with other comments that Hollywood is a big tourist trap. The one thing I really enjoyed though was the Magic Castle. My wife was pretty skeptical, but even she loved it - we saw some top notch performances. Find out who is performing the week you'll be there - most are happy to give you a guest pass.

Right. It should also be noted that this marine layer doesn't hit every day in may-june and it only affects the beaches. Just drive a couple miles inland and you'll find beautiful blue skies.