Laguna Beach or Santa Monica in January with two kids? -

My husband and I and our two kids -- ages 3 4 -- will be traveling to California for 2 weeks in January. We cannot decide between Laguna beach and Santa Monica. We are planning to rent a condo/villa and I will be without a car most of the time during the day. My husband will be working around LA/Orange County and I will be on foot with a stroller. I recently visited Santa Monica and it definitely has a lot to offer, but I m worried that it s just too busy and won t be relaxing. I m concerned that Laguna Beach will be the opposite -- too slow with not much to do. ANY insight will be VERY much appreciated!

Santa Monica may be busy, but at least it s more fun to go there than Laguna Beach.

well you should choose whatever is nearer your husbands work as those two places are quite far away in LA-miles... or he will spend hours a day in traffic. sm doesn t have that much to offer, except homeless ppl laying around and a mall/ ferris wheel. laguna beach is much nicer and will be much warmer. i dont know how far you will get on foot.. might want to rent a car.

i would go to johnston, rhode island. its very exotic there

I love both of those places. I lived in Santa Monica, so I d chose that. One reason is.. if you want to do anything at all in LA, The Valley, Hollywood, Bev Hills, Pasadena etc etc after your husband gets home.. you d have less trouble getting there and back. Laguna Beach is one of my favorite beaches tho,however, you cant swim in January. Just sit on the beach. Thats doesnt leave you without much to do. On foot, there s a lot more to walk to in SM. If you want quiet, you can always stay inside. Perhaps there will be a nice balcony.I love the palm tree lined streets in SM too. The park over the ocean. Sigh Im getting homesick now. I better move on.

That s a really tough call. For 3 4 YO, you can put them almost anywhere there is a beach or playground, and they ll have fun. Santa Monica Pier has some rides and the merry-go-round, as well as a lot of little shops. And there are swings on the beach. You can take the Big Blue Bus and Metro bus to other places as well (www.bigbluebus.com and www.metro.net)Laguna is actually more clean, and has tidepools, as well as several parks by the beach. And it s closer to Disneyland, so hubby could drop you off in the morning. And there s bus service to take you places (www.octa.net)I ll let you decide. Either way, it should be nice!