Wife and I are going to SD next weekend, we'll be there Thursday through Monday. We're planning on the Zoo, going to a Padres game, going to spend some time in La Jolla, and will probably wander through the gas lamp district. Anything that we absolutely must do? Anything to stay away from? We literally know nothing about the area and have never been there before.

We're staying at the Grand Hyatt near the convention center.

check out coronado island and the hotel del. the peninsula with the light house is pretty cool and has a great view of the city.

Kill a guy with a trident.


At La Jolla, try Georges at the Cove terrace for lunch. Check out Children's Beach for the sunbathing seals.

beautiful place, my kids love the bridge connecting SD to coronado (sp) some of the hotels on coronado are suppose to be haunted

DallasAg let me know how everything goes as I am going for Labor Day with my girlfriend and we are wondering the same things you are. Hope yal have fun!

Definately do the gas lamp district.

If you want to drop some change on a VERY nice meal go to Island Prime. Probably the best food I've ever put in my mouth and one of the more romantic places I've ever taken the bride.

Have fun!

http://texags.com/main/forum.reply.asp?topic_id=1406707&forum_id=54

this thread was posted in the travel forum TOC. It has some similar info and some different info as well.

beer tours!

Ballast Point has a nice operation, and Stone is incredible. Lost Abbey, Alesmith, and Hess offer a glimpse at how these giants get started. We packed a lot into 2 days.

Coronado Island has a nice shopping/walking district....and also a decent brewery.

If you're over near Qualcomm there is a pizza/beer joint that is really good. Blind Pig.

If you make the drive out to the Stone Brewery it is well worth it. They have an amazing restaurant and garden area to relax.

SD has tons of great rooftop bars downtown. Great views, great weather. You can make a whole night walking from hotel to hotel having cocktails at these rooftop bars. The one at The Marriott overlooks Petco Park.

If you ride bikes there are a couple places downtown that rent and you can ride all along the harbor.

GasLamp has lots of cool bars to suit most every taste.

Sunday morning pool party at Hardrock Hotel.

USS Midway.

Beach in front of Hotel de Coronado.

Sight seeing cruise in the harbor.

Seaworld is nice but the one in San Antonio is a close second to SD. For the time investment I like the zoo and the harbor tours.

1. Coronado beach that runs to Navy base
2. Hike at Torrey Pines state park
3. Zoo
4. Padres game/ Gaslamp district
5. Balboa Park

Go to Old Town if you feel like Mexican food one day.

Hotel Del Coronado and Coronado Island are absolute musts, as is the Zoo.

Whatever you do, DON'T go to the Holiday Bowl. I did this a few years ago and it was NOT a good experience.

Just got back last night. Here's a list of things we did, for those heading out there in the future:

- Little Italy
- Gaslamp Quarter
- Coronado Island
- La Jolla/La Jolla Cove
- Torrey Pines Golf Course/State Beach/Reserve
- Birch Aquarium
- Balboa Park
- Padres Game
- Sunset Cliffs
- San Diego Zoo
- Point Loma/Cabrillo National Monument

Restaurants (that I can remember):

- Boun Appetito (Italian, in Little Italy)
- George's at the Cove (La Jolla)
- Pizza Nova
- El Cuervo (Dirty Mexican, in Mission Hills)
- Casa Guadalajara (Old Town)
- Sunday Brunch at Del Coronado (EXPENSIVE, but cool)

Anyway, there's my list for those who might be going out there. It was a great city, I can't wait to go back. I'd spend a week there for the weather alone.

[This message has been edited by Dallasag02 (edited 8/31/2010 4:11p).]

How is the weather? I am concerned I wont pack enough warm clothes but not sure how the weather is there at all.

Also what on your list do you think is something me and my g/f should not miss out on? Right now we have a Padres game scheduled and dinner reservations at George's.

[This message has been edited by Aglaw09 (edited 8/31/2010 8:39p).]

Weather was great, it'll be a little bit chilly in the mornings and when the sun starts going down, but overall I had shorts and a t-shirt on most of the time. Probably ranged from 62-63 to 75-76 while we were there. If you're in the sun, it's always good. Shade can be chilly at times.

As far as can't miss stuff, I'd say La Jolla Cove was a really cool thing to see. Nothing crazy to do, just a beautiful place to hang out and take everything in. There are Kayak rentals where you can go kayak the seven caves along the cliffs there. We couldn't do one because the wife is pregnant, but they looked cool. The view from the top of Mount Soledad is amazing on a clear night. You can see downtown from way up there.

Padres game was great, its good that you're going. The park fits in well with the downtown area, Gaslamp is very easy to do right after a game.

The brunch was cool, if brunch is your thing. They had absolutely anything you could possibly want to eat. It's a champagne brunch and like I said, it's expensive. It's a good way to get over to Coronado and wander out to the beach though.

The view of the city from Point Loma is very good, you're way up on a mountain looking down on the naval base/downtown skyline. Only problem is that it closes around 5:00. We went there as the last thing on our trip before heading to the airport, it was a good way to end things.

Zoo was cool, at the end of the day it's a zoo but you're in San Diego and it might be the most famous zoo in the world. It's huge, tons of hills to walk up and down.

We spent alot of time just taking everything in. The beaches and cliffs along the water are beautiful, really it's just a great place to kinda hang out. Everything is close together, La Jolla was as far away from the city as we went, and it takes about 10-15 minutes to get there from downtown.

Very cool...my wife and I are headed there next week. Zoo, Wildlife Park, Coronado on our agenda. Staying in the Gas Lamp district. Definitely need to check out some of the suggestions on here.

For those who went recently...did you see any seals? Curious if they're out this time of year and I heard dealing with protesters and such can be a problem.

[This message has been edited by SJEAg (edited 9/8/2010 1:14p).]

just got back from SD yesterday...didn't see any seals or protestors. weather was great, some fog in the mornings but it cleard off by 9 or 10 usually. evenings are cooler, I wore a light jacket and jeans and was fine. the sidewalks were crowded in the shopping areas but I didn't think any of the beaches were all that bad. Coronado was pretty packed but still a great place to see.

have fun!

Go to la jolla, tons of seals and sea lions when we were there two weeks ago. There was a group of old ladies (4-5) at childrens beach handing out flyers about the seals, but no protesting.

The Bodyshop.

The Bodyshop.

Those that have mentioned or done Harbor Tours, which do you suggest?

I'm beginning to plan for a trip to SD in a couple of months.

As awesome as the SD Zoo is, I also enjoyed the Wild Animal Park. A bit of a drive but I really liked it.

Any suggestions on harbor tours?

People suggest going to visit Hotel Del. Is there a specific reason this hotel is such a draw? Or is it just going to see the architecture?

Lived there fir 4 years while in the Navy.... love every second of it

quote:

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People suggest going to visit Hotel Del. Is there a specific reason this hotel is such a draw? Or is it just going to see the architecture?

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It's a pretty cool hotel and it gets you on Coronado, which has a lot to do there.

hotel Del was amazing...felt like being in an old movie...hmmm wonder why.




Also, one of our favorite things we did (the one time we've visited) is take the old trolley tour around town. But then again we are into that sort of thing...and some may not be.

Absolutely loving our time in SD. I'll have some to add when we make it back home.


If we do decide to leave...

I spent a Thursday - Sunday in San Diego last month. I absolutely loved it.

We arrived at our hotel about noon. We stayed at the Courtyard Downtown. Nice property. Cool old bank building.

After checking in, we went to Barrio Logan and luckily found parking right in front of Las Cuatro Milpas. Delicious Mexican Food. The Chorizo con Huevos is delicious. Cash Only, closes at 3. (Not that you'd want to be in that area any later than 3)

We then Drove across the Coronado Bridge to the island. I took some pictures back at the city from Centennial Park. It offered great views. It's also adjacent to Old Ferry Landing Shopping Center which my wife enjoyed. There are so many art galleries in San Diego!

Next we drove over to the Hotel Del and looked at the hotel itself. Then we walked to the beach behind the hotel - it's a great beach. We dipped our toes in the water. Wow, the Pacific is COLD.

We had dinner reservations at Top of the Market (at the fish market) so we went to Seaport Village and did a little bit more shopping. The Upstart Crow was a nice book store. I found my favorite brand of flip flops (Sanuk) at San Diego Surf Co.

The USS Midway is just down the way from this area, so we took a few glances at that. Did not go on the tour, I've been to the USS Lexington enough...

Dinner at Top of the Market was ok.

After dinner we caught some live music at The Field and Dublin Square. The Field was especially enjoyable.

Friday morning began with a Whale Excursion through Rib Rides. I highly recommend them, much much smaller tours than the big whale watching boats. Saw several whales and a couple of different types of dolphins.

Fish Tacos were on my list of things to eat in SD, so we did so at South Beach Bar & Grill. Cool place, pretty good food. If you sit upstairs, you have a huge window to watch the surfers on the beach.

Next we drove up to Point Loma, stopping on the way at Sunset Cliffs to take a few pictures. Point Loma was a beautiful area for pictures. I'd reserve an hour and a half for the visit.

We did not make it to Soledad Park or to Children’s Pool Beach for the Seals (though we got plenty of seal pictures from the Whale Excursion)

Dinner was at George's on Fifth (downtown). It was ok. Cool building. I'd skip it next time.

We caught some Blues at Patrick's Gaslamp Pub. Excellent but tiny venue.

The Local was a nice wind down spot.



Saturday was zoo day. We got to the San Diego Zoothere about 8:40, gates opened at 8:50 and we were first on the tour bus. Doing the tour first thing was good. It did not take very long but definitely helped us get our bearings. We left the zoo a little after close, 5:15 and had seen everything on the property (except for a section of the children's zoo). Huge zoo, doable in a day if you plot your course and bring your walking shoes. (If you buy tickets online, use code 20066 to save $4 each). I don't love zoos but am glad we did it because it's iconic. Lunch was at the upscale restaurant in the zoo, Albert's Restaurant. Not overly great, but pleasantly surprising for a zoo restaurant.

Dinner was at George's on the Cove in La Jolla. We got to La Jolla and did some shopping. There were several great art galleries in the area. Allow plenty of time to walk around and visit the shops and galleries.

Dinner at George's on the Cove was Excellent. I highly recommend it. Be sure to try the "Fish Tacos" as an appetizer.

Afterwards, we went back to San Diego to check out a few different places. We went to Basic, a loud club that I didn't care for. Not my scene. Then we went to the top of the Marriott to check out the views of Petco Park. Cool spot.


Sunday we went to Richard Walker's Pancake House. Very cool breakfast spot. We got there about 8:45, no wait. About 15 minutes later, the line was down the block. The turnaround was very quick though. The German Pancake and Apple Pancakes are just ridiculous, almost art-like.

Went on a quick tour of Old Town and Heritage Park. Everything was closed while we were there. Neat little historic area though, very touristy.

We did not get to check out the Mormon Batallion (which I heard was disappointing anyway. I was told it kind of got the Hollywood treatment) or Little Italy.

Really enjoyed the trip. Let me know if you have any questions.



And I leave you with these...

View from Centennial Park:


Hotel Del:



Seals:


Dolphin:


Whales:


Shots at Point Loma:






[This message has been edited by CDub06 (edited 2/10/2012 10:39a).]

Well, I think my trip is planned!

Now you know why I deal with the crazy taxes and liberal politicians to live here.

For a specific response to the harbor tour question, my wife and I did the South Harbor cruise with San Diego Harbor Excursions www.sdhe.com - and enjoyed it a lot. The South tour takes you down under the Coronado bridge and past the Navy shipyards. We spent the morning on the USS Midway and highly recommend that if you have any interest.

Just got back from San Diego. Loved the 3-day trip! I will post the main things we did and pictures soon.

Here are some of the pics...I will post an explanation of what we did soon. I will probably post more pictures eventually also...