California Birthday Trip Itinerary

I might be biased but I may have the best birthday out there. Each year it falls at or near a 3 day weekend making it the perfect time to escape for a long weekend getaway. Plus, if you are not traveling in January you are missing out on cheaper rates and lower crowds.

I was pleasantly surprised how I was able to make 4 night hotels accommodations, flights, tours, and a rental car under $2000 for 2 people. I thank myself for spending all of cyber week hunting for the best deals. So take note and mark you calendars for Cyber Week 2023 and make sure to get some great deals.

So lets jump right into the good stuff. My 5-day/4-Night Southern California Birthday Itinerary!

Day 1 Saturday January 14^th

7:05am Flight from Tampa to LAX

• Pro tip: always try to take the first flight out. You are less likely to get delayed

10:15am Pick up Rental Car from Alamo

• This as my first time ever renting from Alamo and the pick up process was so smooth. We booked a mid size SUV and were able to pick from any car on the lot.

11:30am Lunch at Tender Greens and Donuts at Randy’s

• My friend Shea and I went to LA almost 4 year ago to the day and fell in love with the freshness of Tender Greens. Because it is a California chain we were able to find plenty of options on our route. Plus we conveniently picked a location near Randy’s donuts cause we cant go a meal without dessert.

12:30 pm Drive to Temecula

• Our first stop of the trip was a Southern California wine region called Temecula. It is about an hour and half south of LA and about an hour north of San Diego. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND. Stay tuned next week where I gush all over how much I love Temecula.

2:00 pm Target Stop

• I always recommend making some sort of grocery run. It was a game changer to have bottle water and snacks in our room.

2:30 pm Check into Ponte Vineyard Inn

• After a long rainy drive we finally made it to the cutest boutique hotel located right on a vineyard. We are convinced we got an upgraded room with a nice birthday Moscato to kick off the trip.

3:30 pm Drinks at Ponte Vineyard Winery

• We were eager to get the trip started, so after unpacking and freshening up we walked over to the on sight winery for our first wine tasting of the trip.

7:15 pm Dinner at Small Barn

• Our first night out, we headed to Old Town to one of Temecula’s most popular restaurants, Small Barn. The cocktails were yummy as was my steak.

9:15 pm Drinks at Apparition Room

• Another hidden gem in Temecula is their speakeasies. While you have to make reservations well in advanced we were excited to check out this cool spot and end our first night with some Chocolate Martinis.

Day 2 Sunday January 15^th

9:00 am Breakfast at Eat Marketplace

• Since we were still on east coast time, we were up bright and early and ready to eat. We headed over to a cute café in Old Town for some delicious breakfast sandwiches.

11:00 am Jeep Tour

• By far the highlight of the trip was this private jeep tour with Sunrider Jeep Tour. We stopped by 3 Wineries; Frangipani, Palumbo (my personal favorite), and Akash where they have delicious brick oven pizzas and a fun atmosphere. Our tour guide as great, he stopped along the vineyards explaining the wine growing process and answering our endless questions. Our wine tastings were included in the tour.

4:00 pm Drinks with new friends at Doffo

• We made some friends at Akash who invited us to another wine tasting at Doffo. We had a great time hanging out with them and once again drinking way more wine.

6:00 pm Dinner at The Cellar

• After a long day of drinking we decided to stay in for the night and do dinner at the Hotel. Ponte Vineyard has 3 restaurants on property and we decided to check out The Cellar where we watched some Sunday night football.

Day 3 Monday January 16^th

9:00 am Breakfast at Toast

• Another early morning for us East Coast girls. We were actually suppose to go on a hot air balloon tour but unfortunately it got cancelled because of weather. So instead we went to a local’s favorite brunch spot, Toast and ate so much. It was delicious. I highly recommend the avocado toast.

11:00 am Walk Around Old Town

• We then popped over to Old Town to explore the shops. We were a bit underwhelmed by the selection.

12:00 pm Lunch and Wine Tasting at Altisima

• The wine here was subpar however the views and the food were amazing! The weather turned around and it ended up being a beautiful afternoon for us to sit outside and enjoy the view.

2:00 pm Wine tasting at Oak Mountain

• We headed to our last wine tasting of the trip at Oak Mountain which is home to the only caves in Temecula. We happened to run into our new friends from the day before and enjoyed another glass of wine before heading out.

3:00 pm Spa Evening at Pechanga

• Because our hot air balloon got canceled we decided to treat ourself to a spa evening. We each got an hour long massage and enjoyed the amenities such as the sauna, steam room, and whirlpool.

7:00 pm Dinner at Goat & Vine

• Titled the best restaurant in Temecula, we figured this would be a great place to wrap up our time in this cool city. The food did not disappoint. However I highly recommend joining their virtual waitlist because even on a Monday we had about an hour wait.

Day 4 Tuesday January 17^th

8:00 am Breakfast at Le Coffee Shop

• 3/3 with great breakfast spots. This little coffee shop had the crepe I had been craving all trip.

9:00 am Drive to Laguna Beach

• We took the scenic route along the Pacific Coast Highway to our next stop Laguna Beach. It was about an hour and a half drive.

10:30 am Check into Laguna Beach House

• Another great boutique hotel located right along the famous Helser Park.

11:00 am Lunch at Asada Tacos

• We started our time in Laguna Beach with tacos and margaritas. I couldn’t think of a better way to start a day.

12:00 pm Walk Helser Park and Downtown Laguna Beach

• Any photos you see of Laguna Beach come from Helser Park. This scenic cliffside walking path is covered with tropical flower and palm trees with staircases leading right to the rocky coast.
• After walking Helser Park we made our way to downtown Laguna where we shopped their cute boutiques and enjoyed their famous gelato at Gelato Pardiso on Pepper Tree Lane.

4:30 pm Sunset Drinks at Las Brisas

• A good friend drove down from Santa Monica to celebrate my birthday so we kicked off the evening watching a gorgeous sunset at Las Brisas and enjoying some yummy margaritas.

6:30 pm Dinner at South of Nick’s

• Wow this last meal did not disappoint! This modern Mexican restaurant had a great vibe and great food. We ordered a margarita pitcher to keep the party going. I highly recommend this spot on your next trip to Laguna Beach

10:00 pm Evening Hot Tub

• After a lot of walking, we wrapped up the day in the hot tub recapping another amazing girls trip.

Day 5 Wednesday January 18^th

8:30 am Drive back to LAX

• We left plenty of time to get to LAX because you know… LA traffic. And let me tell you we are so glad we did. What should have been an hour drive took almost 2 hours.

10:30 am Randy’s Donuts… again

• We couldn’t stop thinking of these donuts so had to grab a few more before heading to the airport.

11:00 am Arrive at LAX 

• Crying because an amazing trip has come to a close and we were heading back to reality.

Be sure to check back here on the blog as I continue to write some dedicated posts for Temecula and Laguna Beach. I am positive you will want to add both to your travel bucket list.