Taking the family to San Diego at the end of September. Me, wife, boy (15) and girl (13).
Planning on zoo and a Padres game.
What are your recommendations on other things to do, best beaches, places to eat, and places to stay.

Hotel Del Coronado is my favorite place to stay (my kids love it as well). Not in the city but a wonderful spot to be for the rest of your vacation!

AgBanker said:

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Taking the family to San Diego at the end of September. Me, wife, boy (15) and girl (13).
Planning on zoo and a Padres game.
What are your recommendations on other things to do, best beaches, places to eat, and places to stay.

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The zoo is fantastic and you could spend a whole day there. Old Town is great, good restaurants and shops. With kids that age, I'd drive up to LA and spend a day at Universal Studios.

Check out the zoo experiences (added cost). We always do the early morning panda tour to beat the crowds. The safari park is also cool. They have a zip line that my son loves.

If you stay in the area of the Gas Lamp District you can walk to many restaurants and the Padres' game.
If you don't stay on Coronado Island you should go over there and have lunch/dinner and walk through the Hotel Del Coronado.

If you have time, drive up to some of the beach towns. Go to LaJolla and eat lunch at George's on the Cove. Too pricey to take kids in my cheap opinion. Go a little farther north to Del Mar. Jake's in Del Mar which is right on the beach is a great place for dinner and to watch the sunset. Reservations are a must.

For beaches, Pacific Beach is a more local beach, which I like. Or the beaches up in Del Mar or Escondido which is just north of Del Mar.

Balboa Park is a great place to stroll through and people watch. Also some places to eat in the park.

La Jolla
Birch aquarium
Midway
Coronado beach at sunset

If you have a free day drive up to Dana Point and do a catamaran whale and dolphin watch
Eat seafood on the San Clemente pier

All great recommendations above except I'll add the following for beaches:

NOTE: tide can make the difference for
Some beaches, especially in late September as king tides start to come to play. Lower tide is best in all cases and especially if your trying to do tide pools. Any tide 3.5 and lower is best. 3.5' is pushing it as a general rule of thumb.

You'll have great water temps in the 70s at that time of year. It's supposed to an El Niño year but haven't seen it yet. Water is already 67ish degree,


Photos I added are my photos from Del Mar all way to Carlsbad

From south to north:

Coronado - great town and view however the beach is typically closed due to the Tijuana sewer spills. If it's closed (most likely) you won't be able to get in the water. Still a great visit

OB - local beach but great people watching. Pier is closed and under redesign

Mission Beach - pretty touristy and not as stunning of a beach you'll find up north. You do have https://maps.app.goo.gl/EsWHP1iUJpFuFT889?g_st=ic Belmont Park which would be fun with kids your age

PB (pacific beach) - Local and very college / party eccentric. For family I would skip this

La Jolla and Scripps - great town and views. LJ has seal cove which has a cool for first timers. I like LJ Shores if you're not wanting to go further north, this would be my rec.

Torrey Pines State Beach - now you're getting better views and big cliffs. This beach has a lot of options for paid and free parking. Look at the tides and aim for lower tides. (2' and below are ideal). You can also hike Torrey pines which is very cool.

Del Mar - great family beach and can't go wrong between 15th street and power house all the way to Dog Beach. Jake's is great spot and views. I would also recommend Monarch in Del Mar for views. Lot of places to eat and treat.


Solana Beach - fletcher cover, table tops, and seaside. All family friendly beaches. seaside is another state park and plenty of parking. A lot of lunch options around too. Las Olas right past seaside is a great Mexican food spot.


Encinitas (someone said Escondido above…they have their E towns mixed up) - depending on your comfort level for parking there's bunch of options. This is where I go mostly as it's closest. Beacons is a hike but my favorite, moonlight is a family tourist spot with facilities, Swamis / Pipes is actually an awesome beach if you don't mind stairs.

Carlsbad - Ponto, Tamaracks are family friends and close to Legoland

Oceanside - they are doing beach restoration in most beaches so it's tough. Great surf spots though

Our daughter lives in San Diego. She had told us about the water off Coronado. I found it hard to believe it was that bad.

Sounds like she was right. That's horrible.

Got a Natty! said:

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Our daughter lives in San Diego. She had told us about the water off Coronado. I found it hard to believe it was that bad.

Sounds like she was right. That's horrible.

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Yeah it really doesn't get enough national attention but somehow since Mexico is Mexico it gets conveniently overlooked

Go see the pandas right when you get in the zoo at the open before long lines form.

Do you recommend renting a car?

If you are driving up to LaJolla, Del Mar and other beach towns to the north, then yes, rent one for the day.

If just going around San Diego or Coronado Island, just Uber.

We walk All over downtown San Diego. Where Broadway St runs into the bay there is a great restaurant/bar to watch the sun go down. We have stayed at a Courtyard by Marriott on Broadway, walked to Petco Park then along the water (as much as you can stay by the water) to this restaurant/bar to watch the sun go down then back to that Courtyard. I don't remember how many miles we walked that day but it was several. Of course there were stops along the way for lunch, a beer, people watching etc.

That restaurant/bar at the end of Broadway I'm sure you would need reservations for the restaurant. We have just gone upstairs to the bar, where you can also eat with a limited menu, and were seated without reservations. But you would need to get there at least an hour before sunset.

We may be stupid but we have never felt unsafe walking around downtown SD. NOT out much at night though. There is a rail system that runs around downtown. I think we have taken it once. We are both turning 70 this year. We probably should be more careful

There is an Italian area but we have given up on finding a good place to eat. Found great Italian food in South Park but can't recall its name.

For 90% of downtown, and especially gaslamp and little Italy your are completely safe.

The homeless and druggies stick around mostly east village.

You won't have reason to really wonder that way, especially after a padres game.

Cabrillo National Monument at Point Loma, spectacular views of the city. Sunset Cliffs Natural Park is a great place to stop for a couple of photos....it's near Point Loma.