Going to San Diego next weekend. Never been. Any suggestions on what to do, where to stay, share experiences, etc. Thanks guys. . . .

go to petco park to see the padres lose 3-0

***1. Go see the navy ships( a must see)

 

***2. gaslamp district( just ask for it)

 

****3. old town( just ask, "how do i get to old town", go into an opened window saloon down there, have a fish taco and some magaritas, good times.

 

*****if you feel like drivin a little- go down to "La Hoya Cove" in La Hoya, about 30 mins away. Totally sick dude, check this out. theres a dive shop down there, near the cove, not the beach, rent a snorkle and mask, and a life vest walk down the street and go snorkling down the cove- its a marine sanctuary- its loaded with fish and seals, this is the best spot in the world to hang for a day. theres a little beach but its surrounded by a huge grass lawn- pack a lunch and a blanket and chill in the shade or the sun right there 30 feet from the water. when you go in the water, go out around the right corner, its deep, so you will need a life vest just to keep you afloat. keep your eyes in the WATER. you will literally see, seals swim right up to you. It has huge geaabaldie fish, they are like huge goldfish, like the size of a football. If you go down there with a small bag of frozen peas, you can feed them, there will be so many fish around you you wont be able to see. Its all free if you have your own mask. I use to scuba dive down there , especially at night in 30 ft of water. totally sick, I can NOT recomend this any higher. just the thought of you going there gets me fired up and I dont even know you. Trust me YOU HAVE TO DO THIS. Id do it tomorrow if I could. I was down there once and I saw cloe seveny at the cove just chillin' talked to her for a lil bit. Its wicked high society down there, like the people who actually live there, so its clean and safe, and there are some sick resteraunts all walkable from the cove. I dont remember the name of the place but the best pizza Ive ever had in my life is right down there. Im tellin you, just book a day to spend the day there. plenty of parkin. If the water is rough stay away from the caves, but at low tide and if its calm you can swim in them, and they open back up. dude, promise me.

yeah definitely gaslamp district, restaurants, clubs, and bars galore. PETCO for sure. The whole downtown area is really nice, and I agree about la jolla, absolutely beautiful with the seals. Also there's Del Mar for horseracing. If you check their calendar theres a beerfest that goes on there. A very chill city.

Never been there.  But I would go to the beach and check out some babes

good, if somewhat disconnected advice, from movin.

 

The coves at La Jolla are worth seeing.  Little beach there, no waves, great for snorkelers, calm clear water, people swim way out.

 

Walk out on the walkway to the sea and see the privileged seals. They took over a childrens cove there years ago, and whenever the city moves to toss them and give it back to kids there is a big public clamor - including from the kids.

 

On the main drag in that area of La Jolla, try George's for lunch.  I like that Shelton's free range chicken they serve. Sit on second floor balcony - even if you have to wait for a table - and look out over the cove.

 

Gaslamp downtown is touristy - and in my view overpriced.  Italian food, and big bucks for pasta. 

 

If you're there for first time you do of course have to go to the famous zoo.  Take the little zoo bus once inside,or the overhead tram, but by all means take a few hours to walk around, all the way up to horned hoof mesa. If you are a Triple A member you may get a discount if you show your card.

 

Sea World too, tho this is more for kids.  Expensive.

 

Zip out to Mission Beach - I assume you have a rental car and a good map of the city and surrouinding area. MB is out on the end of Mission Bay, little streets, neat bars.

 

Ocean Beach has a great long pier - take one afternoon to watcfh the sunset from it.  OB was San Diego's main hippie hangout in the 1960s,and still may have a few old "head shops" on Newport Ave.

 

Balboa Park - on a sunny weekend a place to visit and walk around.  Street acts, the Ruben Fleet space museum and theatre and the big fountain. (Watch out for the Scientologist girls hanging near the fountain offering to give you a free personality test - unless you have Travolta's money!)

 

Balboa Park is right next to the Zoo.

 

Try a shrimp taco at Rubens. A burger at In and Out Burgers. Yes, as someone said, stop by El Indios in Old Town - or is it LIttle Italy? Both, maybe. Whaley House in Old Town is reputedly haunted..

 

Drive up to Pt Loma National Park, where the Balboa lighthouse is - you can see the whole coastline from there. The big area right below is the city and peninsula of Coronado, the Naval air base.

 

Follow the tourist signs to drive to the park - use your map. Not too far from La Jolla.

 

Go up to the Scripps Aquariam - it's differnt, not as touristy as Sea World. Not far from there is - damn forgot the name - the cliffs where the hang gliders jump off and glide on the air currents.  If you are experienced at that you can rent a pair of wings and REALLY see San Diego. If you are not experinced you can still hitch a ride with an instructor and glide around - for a fee of course.

 

Go down to the San Diego Embarcadero and walk around - the bay near downtown.  There's an old sailing ship there, accessible for a small fee.  Couple of good seafood restaurant's - touristy, but good. Usually . . .

 

Seaport Village is not far from there. Shops of all kind, a carousel . . .

 

Take the so-called Tijuana Trolley down to the Mexican border. You buy your ticket (couple of bucks) at the automatifc computeried dispenser at the stations.  Trolley runs throughout much of San Diego and part of the county. 

 

Tijuana is crime ridden, but tourists who stay in the downtown tourist area ("main street" as they call it, actually Avenida Revolucion) won't be bothered. The narco-traffickers who run the city mainly kill each other, and the kidnappings are almost excluvsivley of Mexican-Amriecans with businesses in Baja.

 

Get off at the end of the trolley line and follow everyone else over the big "Mexican bridge" onto the other side of the freeway. Eventually you will walk through swinging gates - you are now in Mexico. A short way up will be a big cabstand - a taxi will take you to the downtown tourist district for from $5 to $8.

 

It's only a five or seven minute drive - yes you can walk it.  The main street has 8 blocks of tourist stuff - curio shops selling just about everything. Drug stores where you can get some of the popular US drugs without a prescription.

 

  Walk down to 9th Street (they are numbered) and look on the left for th big Jai Alai Palace - inside there is one the of the Caliente Race and Sports books, monitors, betting on all US games and racetracks. Only thing, they take 3 percent of the winning part of a sports wager as a "tax", and a full 5 % of the entire return on a horse bet.  So have a beer (I like Carta Blanca, but most prefer Tecate) and just look around.

 

That enough?  Oh yeah, in Coronado, a clean Navy town, thre is the big, historic and old Hotel Del Coronado.  Nixon and other prezzes stayed there, and yes, it is haunted. Non-guests are invited in and you can walk around the grounds and rubberneck. No charge.

 

Disclaimer: I've only been there twice in the past year, and then briefly. But lived for years in both Orange and SD counties. So, some things may have changed. But despite the woes of Califonria, one thing that will never be bankrupt is the great weather of San Diego - considered one of the three best year-round in the world.

 

"Next year in San Diego!"  Or Orange, good too near the coast.  LA, forget it.  Frisco is good too, great city on the hills.

 

one more thing - if you're there in early Sept ride out to the stadium (just off I-8) and catch the "new" SDSU Aztecs - featuring Brady Hoke and Rocky Long. Too bad  these coaches can't block, tackle, catch, pass etc

 

Finally - even if you be not a horse player, if you are there in Aug or very early Sept a ride 25 miles up I-5 to the Del Mar Racetrack - almost right off the freeway - is worth a viist. Bring your own beer and sit in the infield, wild stuff and you may meet some great local gals. (oK too to go if you will be with wife or gf!!)

 

have fun

 

 

You also asked, where to stay?

 

Hmm, that depends on your budget. Generally, the closer you are to the beach the more you'll pay. 

 

You can get two beds in an AAA rated motel for anything from $50 a night to a grand a night. And probably more.

 

Get the AAA tourbook, they give you locations and prices.

 

For cheap but clean, there are the Motel 6 chains there, tho for the weekend they are probably booked by now.  Clean, with cable, with pool, not fancy, but no fuss no muss.

 

There is one in Mission Valley on I-8, also one in Chula Vista off the E Street exit from I-5. Call em to see if cheap is your game.

 

A friend tells me that the Vagabond Inn (AAA rated) up the street from Motel 6 in Chula Vista is always good, and reasonable.  No great scenery, it's not Mission Beach or La Jolla, but OK, you're near the free way and can get around.

 

Or if you want to go eastward a bit you'll find cheaper and clean in La Mesa, Spring Valley, or even El Cajon.  The latter is maybe a 20 minute drive into the city of San Diego. Maybe 15 degrees warmer than the ocean breeze drivin coastline (Tho colder in the winter, I once got caught in a fukkin full blown blizzard in the montains to the east of El Cajon)

 

 

As Wallastreet says. Keep going and head to Tijuana, Rosarito and Ensanada.

OK, last thing. Non-touristy but great. Esp if you are in South Bay - down by Chula.

 

When I'm in South Bay I always stop by the little Colima's Restaurant, in a separate section of a mall, up from WalMart, Old Navy, Best Buy. Look for the Target Store, just off National City Blvd (Broadway in Chuls( and 30th St). It's in back of that.

 

Colima's started about 10 years ago, family from a Mexican state of that name. Featuring burritos, in all "flavors".  Shimp, beef, chicken, "breakfast", you name it.

 

A meal in itself. Delicious. Get one of the Mexican "aguas" they sell near the counter. These are flavored waters, naturally flavored. Try the rice water. Yum.

 

This little shop has become so successful it has spawned at least one imitator, nearby in the bigger mall. Don't be fooled - this is near the Target, and right behind the entrance to the space rental place. And they do have a drive thru, as well as a few tables inside and outside. No, I don't have a financial interest in Colima's --- tho wish I did!

Little Mexican place I loved closed not long ago, but La Puerta is usually a good, and relatively cheap option.  Great city.  The whole world should live there.

Check out Coronado Island (as luckbythe truck says).  The hotel itself is pretty amazing and they have regular tours (worth it, I thought).  They also have a golf course on the island that was very affordable when I was there (it was a few years ago) and awesome....surrounded by water playing golf....not bad. 

I also threw on some in-line skates and cruised down by the navy ships.  Get a work out in and check out some cool scenery.

 

One thing you MUST do....sleep with the sliding glass door WIDE open...and don't even worry about the screen door.  No bugs.  I was there for 4 days for an HR conference and I never closed my screen door once....was on about the 15th floor...just nothing but 70 degree dry breeze during the day and 60's during the night.  Best climate in the U.S. bar none. 

Enjoy....love that city. 

The first time I was there, I ran into the President of UVa in the airport (he is, or was, on the board of the Scripps Institute, and was in town for a meeting).  I told him I had a few hours to kill and asked him what I should do.  He said, "go to La Jolla."  I asked why, and he said, "just go to La Jolla."   This is, perhaps, the best advice I ever got.  Wound up following a bunch of painters into some (relatively) cheap Mexican place on the main drag there.  It was awsome.  Try and go around sunset. 

Maine-

 

Same gig.  Our corporate headquarters were in Santa Barbara (can you find somewhere more expensive?).  We had two people from Minneapolis and 4 from corporate at the convention....we drove up the coast and ate on the water....can't remember the name of the restaurant, but it was solid.  Right as the sun set on the Pacific.....it was a 10. 

 

A guy I met at our hotel asked me to skip a day of meetings and play Torrey Pines.  I balked.  I'm dumb. 

Funny, I bailed on a half-day of whatever nonsense I was out here for to go to the San Diego Zoo.  Well worth the trip.     I recall my cab driver was from Eritrea, which I literally had never heard of until that moment.  I thought he had made it up.   

 

Also drove up to USD to check out the talent.  Also well worth the trip.