San Diego Vacation/areas to stay or avoid

[*LC]

Hi,

 

The kids and I are coming to San Diego next month on vacation, and I haven't planned anything. Ughhh.

 

I don't even know where to start my questions. We have never been to San Diego and probably will never be back. We will be there for six full days.

 

Okay, we'll start with what to do. I know the boys want to go to Legoland and they will want to see animals. We have been to another SeaWorld, and we have been to a zoo with Pandas. So, I am thinking about the Wild Animal Preserve. Does that sound like where we should go? If we don't go to SeaWorld, should we go to the Scripps Aquarium?

 

My 15-year-old DD doesn't care for animals; she won't be interested in Legoland; so what can we do that I know she will like. We will be going to Fleet Science Center, because my kids love science museums. Is there anything else that will appeal to a teen girl?

 

I know the Wild Animal Preserve and Legoland are out from San Diego. Should we plan to stay some days in San Diego and others near those locations? I don't mind changing hotels if that makes the most sense. However, we need a suite-type hotel as we don't fit in a normal room. If we can stay in one place for the trip, we can rent a condo. I'd love to hear any suggestions of areas to stay and areas to avoid for hotels/condos.

 

We actually fly into Orange County Airport, so we are open to any suggestions of things to do between there and San Diego.

 

So, if this was your one shot to expose visitors to Southern California, where would you send them.

 

Thanks for your thoughts.

[ktog29]

We lived in San Diego for two years. IMO, the San Diego zoo is not to be missed. I do not like animals all that much. I do not particularly like zoos. But this zoo is amazing and beautiful and terrific. The wild animal park is...all right. We went a few times and it was fun. Scripps Aquarium is fine...smallish but ok. Sea World is much bigger, grander, etc...and more $$.

 

Balboa park has tons and tons of museums for every interest...you can easily spend a day going through museums there. There is a cool section of Balboa park called Spanish Villiage with lots of art.

 

You can take an Old Town Trolley tour (we never did this but it always seemed like a good idea) to get an overview on your first day there. Then go pack to places that look interesting...

 

Pacific Beach is quirky and fun for walking around. Mission Beach has an old wooden roller coaster and smallish beach-ish boardwalk/amusement park (oh, and a cool indoor pool called the Plunge if you just want to swim but it's too cold outside). I'd do one day at the beach.

 

La Jolla is a ritzy area and pleasant for walking around.

 

Hmmm...what else...oh, my in-laws LOVE Old Town. Good food there.

 

I'll see what else I can think of. San Diego is really quite lovely and there are so many wonderful things to do...have a wonderful time!

 

HTH,

Katie in Southern Maryland

[newbie]

If you are flying to OC and have not been to Disney, spend the nite one nite in Anaheim and go to Disney/California Adventure. California Grand is the best hotel to stay at or Disney Hotel in the towers overlooking the waterfall.

 

You can work your way down. Wild Animal Park and Legoland are North County which is one hour north of the museums downtown. The only thing is one is by the beach and other is inland. They are both weird areas for hotels or suites.

 

We did stay across the street once at a hotel/suite that starts w/a Grand Pacific Palisades. But the nicest is La Costa Resort. These both might shuttle you for free to WAP. So you can do two day one nite north county. The only other thing north county is La Jolla, which is little shi shi town on the beach. They have an awesome modern art museum.

 

Next is go downtown or beach area. My fav hotel near downtown is Paradise Point. Make sure and get room on bay. This is an experience in itself. It is awesome.

 

The other place downtown is Embassy Suites, down the street from Seaport Vlg. walking distance and best restaurant down the street from there is the Fish Market. You can get shuttle or cab to Balboa Park, which has all the museums. make sure you eat at the Mexican restaurant inside the park, expensive but oh so good. The only other place you might want to hit is Old Town.

 

When you look up Embassy Ste. and Paradise point they might have stay and play pkgs. So you can get your legoland tix.

 

Oh yeah dont miss the flower fields across the street from Legoland. They only bloom in Spring.

 

If you have more q's pm me.

Jet

[newbie]

Avoid Carlsbad hotels other than ones I stated, I got burned on a bed and breakfast.

 

Avoid South and East County and I wouldnt stay in Mission Valley, it is just a freeway trap.

[WeeBeaks]

The Wild Animal Park is tons and tons of walking. If that is your thing, perfect. They recently revamped the tram thing so it doesn't cover as much and there is even more walking if you want to see everything. Just a warning there as some people are very surprised. Next month shouldn't be unbearably hot so that is good. Our favorite thing there is feeling the lorakeets (they fly down and land on you to drink purchased nectar). If orchids and butterflies is going on, that is fantastic too. We go periodically, but the zoo is our favorite by far.

 

Both the Wild Animal Park and Legoland are only 30-40 minutes from central San Diego, so it is totally doable to stay in one hotel and not worry about that.

 

The Fleet is in Balboa park, which Katie just mentioned. It is a fantastic place to spend the day. The zoo is actually located there too. There are 2 art museums (one free!), the Natural History Museum, the Museum of Man and others along with the science museum and the zoo. The Aerospace Museum is fun though smaller. If you have an aviation buff, it is hugely fun, and also fun for a history lover as it has loads of old planes, war plane displays, etc. There are some nice restaurants too in the park. Balboa Park itself also has areas for picnics, a fountain, places to just hang out. It is a favorite of our family for weekend outings.

 

What is your daughter really into?

 

If you like to see desert flora/fauna, there is the High Desert out to the west. April is usually decent (depending on rain) for seeing the desert flowers.

 

If you love the ocean, there are nice dinner cruises and outings on boats you can look into. There is Seaport Village, which is little shops and restaurants right on the water in downtown.

 

If your daughter loves shopping, there are outlet malls to the east and north. One of them is within a mile or two of Legoland, so that might be something she likes.

 

To be honest I don't stay in hotels locally so don't have a lot to recommend. The ones near the water and downtown are way way pricier than inland. One of the biggest areas of hotels occurs in Mission Valley, most along the freeway but a couple back a ways from the freeway (better in my view). You can catch a trolley from Mission Valley area to go downtown easily.

 

Of historical interest is Old Town, now a collection of shops and restaurants, but an old church, old buildings, visitor center and so forth. It is right next to the trolley station and has decent parking as well.

 

One of our personal favorite areas to bike, skate, walk and generally hang out is Mission Bay near Sea World, very peaceful and pretty with lots of little playground areas and grass for kite flying, picnics and so forth. You can rent bikes and boats from the Hilton hotel there.

[Veritaserum]

I grew up in San Diego and I sure to miss it! Here are my thoughts:

 

 

1. The San Diego Zoo is unlike any other zoo I have ever been to. We went to the zoo at least once a month (season passes) and loved it. If you have time, I don't think you'd regret going. :) The Wild Animal Park is great, too, and is a unique experience. We loved the monorail ride around the huge animal preserve.
   
2. The zoo is closer to downtown, in Balboa Park, which has lots of cool museums. We always loved the train museum the best. We also loved the science museum, the outdoor pipe organ concerts, the International Cottages (displays from different cultures around the world), and the natural history museum.
   
3. Seaport Village (downtown) is fun if you like unique little shops.
   
4. La Jolla Cove is a great place to spot seals and look in tide pools. La Jolla Shores is a great place to swim.
   
5. I really enjoyed visiting Old Town as a kid as well. The Whaley House is a haunted house that you might want to check out.
   
6. The lighthouse at Cabrillo is fun, too.
   
7. I love the huge Victorian hotel on Coronado (Hotel del Coronado)--to tour, not to stay (unless you don't mine forking over the big bucks :p).
   

 

Those are my top picks for a San Diego trip as a San Diego native. :) Have fun!

[usetoschool]

We love to visit San Diego. Everyone has mentioned most things we like to do but here are some links a few things that might not have been mentioned.

 

Balboa Park

 

Cabrillo National Monument

 

Seaport Village and then walk along the water to the "pirate" ship, the submarine, and the Midway.

 

We love the zoo but didn't really love the wild animal park - lots of walking and not much to see except the Lorakeets which we loved.

 

We love SeaWorld and can go on the Atlantis ride over and over and over and over and over.

 

Old Town is interesting but not really exciting. Lots of walking around looking at things. We had some good food at a Mexican restaurant that makes its own tortillas, nearby but don't recall the name. Maybe someone that lives there will know.

 

Did you say how old your kids are and I just missed it?

 

ETA: while I was copying urls the pp did a much better job of listing all the stuff we love, lol

Edited March 10, 2010 by jcooperetc

[Paz]

Here is a site we used to help plan:

 

http://www.localwally.com/

 

We loved the zoo, the Wild Animal Park, and the seal beach at La Jolla. I can't remember where we stayed but it was about a 15 minute drive from the zoo.

[Guest]

Here am I, the outlier: I vastly, vastly prefer the Wild Animal Park to the zoo. The animals live together and you can observe many behaviors that you would in the wild: alert circles, goats in trees, etc. Given that the monorail is being re-routed, though, I would look into the special tours if this were going to be a one-time thing. There are behind-the-scenes tours, tours of the vet hospital, a special event-type thing where you can have snacks and drinks, meet trainers, and watch the cheetah be run in a lure course (my daughter has done this more than once and LOVED it), etc. I agree that there is a lot of walking, though.

 

Sea World is more fun and much bigger than the Birch Aquarium, I think; the Birch is a lot more educational, which you may not want to stress on vacation.

 

You don't say what kinds of things your daughter likes. There are kayaking tours on Mission Bay and in La Jolla (you get to paddle into a cave), which we have enjoyed a lot (wear a swimming suit; you get soaked). If you go out from La Jolla you could spend the rest of the day right there on the beach. There's a street of small restaurants and sandwich shops nearby.

 

There are sailing tours available downtown (by the old ship Star of India and various ships with tours/dinner cruises; the Midway is several blocks away) and also around Mission Bay; check on the internet.

 

The Museum of Contemporary Art has two branches, one downtown and one in La Jolla. Both are excellent.

 

If your kids have passports you could also consider a day trip to Tijuana... I haven't been down in well over a decade but no doubt other readers could tell you the ins and outs.

 

Across the road from Legoland, by the freeway, are organic pick-your-own strawberry fields (really good).

 

I'd stay in one spot. Even if you are by Mission Bay, Legoland and the Wild Animal Park are only about forty minutes away (if you don't drive at rush hour, that is).

[The Governess]

I have family in SD, and the best place I have stayed is Paradise Point. The rooms are great and one year my aunt got a suite with french doors that opened right onto the bay. It was sooo nice, but pricey. You can rent bikes and just ride around the bay area. I have very fond memories of that place.

 

I second checking out Coronado, Old Town, La Jolla, the wild animal park, the zoo, Balboa Park, Seaport Village. I love San Diego!

[*LC]

I have boys and girls, but only the oldest girl is opinionated about what we do on vacation. She loves to read and play sports, but that doesn't really help with vacation planning does it. She enjoys science museums and whitewater rafting. I'll have to look into the kayaking. I don't know if she enjoys shopping that much, because we just don't do a lot of it. She would definitely say it wasn't fun with all the younger siblings tagging along. She enjoys photography, and I saw there was a photography museum in the park.

 

My six-year-old loves boats, so I'll read up on those opportunities. I had seen there were a number of different old & military ships to tour. One of my most nerve-wracking times I've ever had was trying to keep up with him when we toured a huge navy ship when he was four.

 

We have never been to Disneyland, however, we have been to Disney World numerous times. Our most recent trip was a little over a year ago. Are there enough different attractions that it would make sense to go at such a crowded time of year? I'll have to check the height of the youngest two to see if they could do Space Mountain this time around, because I have heard that is better at Disneyland.

 

It will be just me with the kids, and I'm a bit leary of taking them into Mexico on my own. Is there anything there that is a must-do? They have been to Cozumel a few years ago.

 

Thanks for all of your suggestions.

[Guest]

I went to Tijuana with my family a lot when I was younger, but I have to admit I wouldn't particularly race to go there on my own with my daughter. There must be group day trips there or even further down the coast.

[buddhabelly]

We go to San Diego frequently and are members of the San Diego Museum of Natural History, the San Diego Zoo (and Wild Animal Park -- one membership gets you into both), and Legoland.

 

The Museum of Natural History is in Balboa Park and has excellent exhibits: will the Darwin exhibit still be there? It has a lot of the real specimens that he collected, his personal possessions, and is very understandable as well as just breathtaking. San Diego was the only west cost venue of the exhibition. The museum usually has one or two fascinating films showing, too. But if it's a sunny day, don't spend all day indoors! There is a big fountain in the plaza just outdoors (or in the other direction from the museum, a huge shade tree that we used to be able to climb but now it is fenced off.) On the other side of the fountain is the Reuben H. Fleet Space Center, which IMHO is one of the inferior museums. But perhaps I've been spoiled by the Exploratorium in San Francisco and OMSI in Portland, Oregon. In any event, I still go to Fleet for the incredible IMAX movies they show. I recently saw one about the Amazon River (and its peoples) that was stunning.

 

If money is not an object, or if you can get a good rate at their website online, it would be very fun to stay at the Sheraton Carlsbad. This is one of the nicest hotels I've ever stayed at, and there is a nice pool and other games. Your children will meet other kids who are (1) waiting for Legoland to open or (2) have just come back from Legoland. Much, much nicer than the Grand Palisades or whatever it's called, and you have your own back entrance to Legoland! That means you can walk to the back of the park from your hotel room (in just a few minutes -- but ask someone, it is not obvious where it is) and get on the Dragon Coaster or Technic Coaster all by yourselves because the people are just coming in the front entrance. Even if you are the only person on the ride, they will start it right at opening time. If you happen to be there on the first Saturday of the month, there is a Lego contest your kids can enter. My son won one of these monthly contests and earned the right to enter the Master Build-off competition in January. Way cool. Anyway, Legoland is fun for all ages, except maybe your 15yo dd. There will be a water park opening this summer, but it won't be open yet when you visit. That reminds me, if it is a warm day, wear bathing suits and bring towels --- there are lots of very wet things to do in the Pirate section of the park, including a water playground.

 

There is a nice walk from Children's Cove in La Jolla (where the seals are -- it might be marked as Seal Cove on some maps) to La Jolla Cove. Of course, you can walk from La Jolla Cove to Seal Cove, but there is more likely to be a parking spot at Children's/Seal Cove. Go fairly early on a weekday -- if it is Saturday, the whole town will be picnicking and playing there. La Jolla Shores is a mile or so further up the coast -- not within walking distance, so don't plan a walk from LJ Cove to LJ Shores.

 

If money is not an object, you could stay at La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club. You could open your door right onto one of the most beautiful private beaches in California! There is also a pretty well-regarded hotel right next door to it (also beachfront, but the beach is public). Check Trip Advisor website.

 

I love Cabrillo National Monument, but I realize it is not convenient to get to. Be aware that the trails close at about 4:30 out there. I love the native California vegetation. I love Torrey Pines State Park for the same reason (north of La Jolla), and it should be lovely since they've had so much rain. Lots of easy walks and gorgeous views at Torrey Pines. Lastly, I do like Birch Aquarium (what you called Scripps). It is small but very fun and the exhibits are very well-planned and educational. If other posters have not been there recently, give it another try!

 

There is more, but my forearms are all worn out from typing, LOL.

 

Oh, one more thing. Another place to think about staying, especially if you will have a car, is Shelter Island. Annoyingly, Trip Advisor and the other hotel websites do not indicate whether a hotel is on Shelter Island or not, but it is a really peaceful place to stay -- a small peninsula (not an island actually) with walking paths, a playground, and needless to say, beautiful views. I believe you can see Cabrillo National Monument from there. Hotels there include the Kona Kai Club (which was private when I was a child but you can rent rooms and have full use of all the club facilities), Humphreys, the Bay Club, and one other. Oh, looky here, they finally decided to market themselves: http://www.shelterislandsandiego.com/ Look up the individual hotels on Trip Advisor, and also check the outdoor concert schedule at Humphreys if you want to get any sleep there! We used to paddle surfboards over there and listen from the water.....

 

My favorite restaurant in Point Loma (the area of SD that Shelter Island is in) is called Tender Greens. It is hard to find, but near Trader Joe's in a new shopping area (former naval station) called Liberty Station. Very yummy. There are lots of other good restaurants in Liberty Station, too.

 

And also there is that roller coaster over in Mission Bay, and a little retro amusement park right there, as another poster mentioned. When I was young, that same roller coaster was rickety and dangerous, but oh so exciting! There is a nice breakfast place right on the beach near the coaster, but I can't remember its name. And that isn't very helpful because there are about 100 breakfast places along the beach! But I know you'll find a good one. I should clarify that it the roller coaster is considered to be in Mission Bay and Mission Beach. So if you look one direction you will see the bay, and the ocean will be behind you. You'll figure it out!

 

Julie

[Joker]

This thread has made me miss CA soooo much!! The only thing I wanted to mention is that you may want to prepare your dcs if you are also flying out of Orange County. When I lived in San Diego 10 years ago I flew out of Orange County a few times and it always freaked me out. They would basically cut the engines (due to noise restrictions IIRC) on takeoff and it felt like you were falling. The first time I wasn't sure I understood the flight attendant and it scared me. Just wanted to pass that info along - I've never since been on a plane where they did this.

 

I wouldn't miss La Jolla and the seals. Hope you have a great time!

[Dooley]

Eat at any of the taco stands called Robertos, Alibertos, Roybertos.....you get the gist, great food for a great price! I would stay away from Mission Beach - its just not as nice a family place as other beaches. We loved going to Coronado Beach on the Strand or near the Hotel Del - its beside a military base and the planes come in quite low overhead - kinda exciting. I have seen people say they loved Paradise Point - I used to work there, when it was the San Diego Princess Resort. Glad the opinion has changed about it - it was not a good place (for employees anyway!)

 

I lived there 20 years and we will be returning this summer for a few weeks, so its the beaches, Miguels Mexican Food on Shelter Island, Mandarin House in La Jolla, seeing friends in Julian - visiting all the parks and places we miss. Presidio Park is nice too, a lot of history to be learned there - that was where one of the original missions was, but it moved down into Mission Valley and they turned the area into a military base in San Diegos early history.

 

If you go to the beach in La Jolla, your kids can get surfing lessons -

 

Tijuana? No. Its dirty and most likely, you will be taken advantage of. IMO. And you can get your hotel in SD and go to all the places mentioned above. No sweat.

[Poke Salad Annie]

Here am I, the outlier: I vastly, vastly prefer the Wild Animal Park to the zoo. The animals live together and you can observe many behaviors that you would in the wild: alert circles, goats in trees, etc. Given that the monorail is being re-routed, though, I would look into the special tours if this were going to be a one-time thing. There are behind-the-scenes tours, tours of the vet hospital, a special event-type thing where you can have snacks and drinks, meet trainers, and watch the cheetah be run in a lure course (my daughter has done this more than once and LOVED it), etc. I agree that there is a lot of walking, though.

 

 

:iagree:

We went to the Wild Animal Park a couple of years ago ( and the SD zoo) and much preferred the WAP. We absolutely adored the place--so beautiful and open and relaxing. There's no hurry-up and go here or there. I could spend the whole day there and be happy...sigh...

 

I'm so thrilled to wake up and see this as a topic for discussion today, as we are planning a trip to SD this summer. Legoland is at the top of the list, and I do remember the strawberry fields there as well. I remember a nice Trader Joe's in Carlsbad (I think), and we spent more than an hour browsing that place.

 

We also loved the Midway tour, the Air and Space Museum, and the Harbor Cruise. We bought a Go Card with a nice discount and really got our money's worth! Oh, a neat place to eat that's cheap and good on the waterfront is Anthony's Fishette. There is an indoor portion with seating, but we sat outside on the covered porch. Great food and cheap too!

[buddhabelly]

Bumping this to page one in case some didn't see it yesterday...

[Poke Salad Annie]

I'd like to bring this to the top for more ideas. :)

[WeeBeaks]

It will be just me with the kids, and I'm a bit leary of taking them into Mexico on my own. Is there anything there that is a must-do? They have been to Cozumel a few years ago.

 

I would personally avoid Tijuana right now. Over the past 6 months the drug wars there have been extreme and involving a lot of "civilians" including tourists. That is not usually the case. The newspapers have very much been warning people away from the border areas, though it seems to have eased up at least a little of late (past month or so) from news reports.