Spring Break in Carlsbad

Deep sea fishing, visit San Diego, visit old Town, play on the beach. My favorite part about being in Carlsbad was staying at the Carlsbad Inn and being so close to the ocean and beach. We made a point of walking down to the beach each evening to enjoy the sunset and to smell the fresh ocean air.

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

Since Carlsbad is about half way between San Diego and Los Angelos it is best to rent a car if you are planning on visiting any of the attractions in those areas. Additionally, being a small seaside town, I did not see any public transportation per se.

The property was well maintained, quaint, and very attractive. From what I gathered, Carlsbad Inn is located close to the center of a bustling little seaside town. There were some nice little restaurants and shops within walking distance. There were also a couple of restaurants on the resort grounds (the Mexican restaurant looked really nice). I desperately wanted to go for a late dinner because it had outdoor fireplaces on the patio and it would have been perfectly romantic for a late dinner and a cocktail. Unfortunately, the children kept us a little too busy and exhausted.

I enjoyed taking leisurely strolls across the property and down to the beach. Carlsbad Inn is not beachfront, you must cross a small street and transcend a few flights of stairs to get to the beach. We had an outside one-bedroom unit on the end, unit #334. I liked it. From our balcony we had a clear view across to the ocean and beach.

My only complaints would be the lack of closet space and the long walk from the elevator to our room. There is only one elevator in the condo section that I saw.

Just a few additional items. The pool was small, but very nice. It was heated to about 80 degrees. Perfect by my standards given that the nights dropped into the 50's. The staff was very friendly and efficient. They had several activities planned every day. We took advantage of some of the children's activities. Once we got started, the staff member facilitating the activities was enthusiastic and even ordered pizza for the kids.

I did not attend, but I noticed the resort's casino night was a "full house". We would definitely come back to Carlsbad Inn. I could not get enough of the property. It was touted as being European, I would agree with that characterization.

We went deep sea fishing on Sunday (10 minutes in Oceanside), didn't catch much but had a wonderful time. The word is that the fishing is best in August and September.

We went out on a charter boat from Oceanside just north of Carlsbad. The charter boat company was called Helgren Sport Fishing. We took a 1/2 day AM charter that had about 30 - 40 other anglers on board. The boat was clean and well-equipped, no complaints. The crew was busy, some were very helpful and others just always seemed busy. This was my sons first fishing expedition (5 years old). he had a blast, but the boat, live bait, and excitement of heading out into the ocean was plenty for him. I on the otherhand was disappointed that the fishing wasn't more exciting. The boat as a whole caught a fair amount of rock fish, I think about 75, however they were all small (less than 1 lb) and this seemed uneventful. The pool winner had a fish that was almost 2 lbs. I guess it was just that time of the season. From what I heard August/September is the best fishing time in that part of California.

In addition, we had two small children with us and everyone on board was very tolerant and excepting of them. The cost was about $29 per adult, plus another $25 for rods, licenses, bait, etc. Drinks and food were available on the boat at reasonable prices.