sapiens

My wife, daughter and I are headed to San Diego in a few weeks. We're definitely headed to the zoo. Does anyone have any other suggestions of where to go, where to eat, or where to stay?

Thanks!

synic213

Where to go:
1) Balboa Park (Right next to the zoo, but shouldn't be ingored. The museums are awesome, and Tuesdays are free if I remember correctly.)
2) The Boardwalk, Belmont Park. Start in Pacific Beach and walk (jog, rollerblade, bike) South to Belmont, ride the roller coaster, eat funnel cake, etc. A word to the wise, if you walk the Boardwalk near sunset on the weekend you will meet some "interesting" people. If your daughter is at a fragile age, you might want to avoid this.
3) Torrey Pines State Reserve. Beautiful hiking trails overlooking the ocean, nice visitors center too.
4) Old Town, Presidio Park, for a small slice of "old" San Diego. Some good Mexican resteraunts and bars to be found.
5) Gaslamp/Downtown SD, more interesting bars and nightlife, but leave yourself plenty of time to find parking.
6) Seaport village. A small shopping center right on the harbor. Lots of specialty and suveneir shops.

What to eat:
The only good thing San Diego has going for it food wise are all the little family owned Mexican eateries. Look for anything named Roybertos, Raybertos, Robiertos, Albertos, etc. They might look like crap form the outside, but damn the food is good. Always try the carne asada.

Where to stay:
Well, I guess it depends on how much you're willing to spend. But anything near the water, and North of downtown (airport) is usually pretty decent. Check this link out to find out about all things San Diego.

Sing On San Diego

Enjoy your stay!

micah67

You may want to consider going over the border to Mexico. It's generally something that all my guests want to do... Unless you've done it before, it would be better if someone who knew the do's and dont's took you.

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Rodney

All of the above is good. Balboa Park is great, many museums of all types (and I mean many), mostly close together. Which is good, because if you want to visit one museum but the wife and daughter aren't interested, they can walk to another one and leave you on your own.

The buildings are leftover from what was a rather large and grand international exposition in the 20s or 30s, and the buildings and decor are this weird-ass mix of fantasy Spanish Colonial and art-deco. I wandered around there once, in some of the lesser buildings that are now used for recreation by the city, and found things like a fountain/reflecting pool shaped like a giant V8 (part of the old Ford pavilion) and circuit diagrams inlaid in brass in some of the sidewalks. Good photo ops.

There used to be a streetcar from San Diego downtown that took you right to the border, and that might be of interest if you don't want to drive. But micah67 is probably correct in that you'll want guidance from a local.

sailor

All good advice. I was there for the Superbowl last year and loved it. Go to La Jolla if you get the chance--absolutely beautiful. Above all, get out and wander the city, you are bound to find some cool things. The Old Town is also good to check out. If you can afford it, try to get a hotel that overlooks the water--it is wonderfully beautiful.

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dogzilla

The last time I was in San Diego was about 10 years ago so things might be a little different.

I thought Point Loma was interesting, with a nice view of the ocean and the harbor. There were some fairly easy hiking trails there.

La Jolla is also nice.

Given a choice a few years back, I would have moved to San Diego as it's one of my favorite places in the country.

paddyjoe

Take a ride out to the Hotel Del Coronado. Beautiful old victorian hotel with a bunch of history.

Drive leasurely up (or down) the coast through all the cool little communities and take time to stop and check out all the local art. Some incredible stuff can be found.

Eat like a pig cause the seafood is so freakin good!

Then drive up to San Marcos and say hello to my aunt and uncle for me. I can't wait for my next trip out west. That whole area is great!

sapiens

Thanks for all of the great advice! We plan on taking a lot of the advice posted here. (Except Mexico, my daughter is only 10 months old, but maybe next time when she's older). This trip is looking better and better. I'll post again when we get back!

micah67

Hey, paddyjoe, San Marcos is where I live. It's not a small town so it's not likely I know them, though.

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paddyjoe

Have you ever eaten in a diner called Grandpa Allens? My aunts daughter owns it. Not being biased, but I've had some of the best breakfasts' of my life there.

We'll have to hook up for a couple cold pops next time we're out.

micah67

Not yet. I looked it up in the phonebook and see I drive by it every day to work! I'll stop there soon.

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Alyssa

Go to the beach in Del Mar...I recommend 17th St. right by the lifegaurd tower. The weather there never gets cold, so there won't be a problem with being at the beach in the winter.

Torrey Pines is beautiful

La Jolla is good for shopping.

I recommend Anthony's to eat, it's downtown on the water, sort of near the airport. It's next door to a big Pirate ship.

I also recommend Jakes restaurant in Del Mar...right next to 17th St. beach...good place for lunch.

My family goes to SD every summer because we have relatives down there, we go to these places every time.

Oh the zoo is good too, I went there this past summer when it was a million degrees out, but it was fun.

:::OshnSoul:::

We're trying to go this summer. We have relatives down there, so they know what's good and what's not worth it. They live in SD, so we will go to the Zoo, but there is also the Wild Animal Park which I have been to and it's really cool.
We will also travel to Sea World & Disneyland- not Cali Adventure, they said even for kids, it's really small and not that exciting.
We will also try to go to Universal Studios.
Oh, and enjoy the beach!

brianna

I second the Recomendation of going over the border to tiajuana -- you can take the trian down and catch a bus over the border that will drop you offi n downtown tijauna -- it's fun for shopping and a great lunch, though i recomend leaving town before sundown.

also if you're up for some great seafood (and why wouldn't you be in san diego?) anthony's is amazingly yummy.

Anomaly77

I just want to thank everyone for the suggestions. My husband and I just returned from a vacation in San Diego. We had a great time and the weather was fabulous!

I just want to add a suggestion:
Do take the Trolley Tour. It is 2 hours long if you stay on it straight through but, you can get off at any of the 7 stops and explore for a while and then just hop on the next trolley to continue. It was a great way to see the city and many of the "must-see" areas of San Diego. Highly recommended!

the_marq

This thread has been dead for a while but rather than let it die and make a new "San Diego" thread I'm going to try and ressurect it.

I'm travelling to SD for a trade show next weekend, and was looking for stuff to do. I think that the Zoo would take a whole day, which I do not have. But the trolley thing sounds pretty good.

I need to find a place for sushi. Something in the moderate price range that won't raise eyebrows on my expense report ($35-40) per person is about normal.

Anyone?

Oh and I am staying down near the water at a Hyatt.

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sapiens

My family recently returned from our trip to San Diego. Thanks for all of the good advice. Balboa Park was great. On Tuesdays, a selection of the museums are free. Just walking around the park was nice. We hit a lot of good restaurants. Hash House A Go Go in Hillcrest was great for breakfast. We didn't eat much lunch. We ate at the Fish Market on the harbor. A bit price, but good food and a good view if you are seated on the deck. They served sushi, but we didn't have any.