The best units are often booked well in advance by people who return year after year to San Diego. If you want a summertime rental, it is best to shop early.

Locating a rental is another matter. A few people put their seasonal rentals in the MLS; often they are left there on an on-going basis. It is easy for me to pull up some of these rental listings and to send you an email. PLEASE NOTE: We do not offer a short-term rental map because of the scarcity of such listings in the MLS.

The majority of the vacation rentals are handled by property management companies. They take the applications, security deposits, etc. I will be happy to supply you with the names of a couple of local companies that handle seasonal rentals. You should expect that you will have to go this route and make the phone calls.

Finally, a few of the rentals are handled with signs and phone numbers. The only way to locate these is to drive the area of interest. If you choose to take this approach, it can be a slow process, but well worth it if you find a real gem.

Pricing
The beach cottages can rent from $1000 to $2500 a week, depending upon the property. If you rent by the month, you can sometimes get a discount. If you move away from the beach, prices become much more reasonable, though you have to drive to get to the beach.