San Diego Area Beaches?

[SJ.]

As you may have noticed, due to my serial posting this morning, we are taking trip to San Diego!   :party:

We definitely want to spend some time at the beach.

 

What San Diego area beach would you recommend?

 

Any beach-y activities you recommend?

 

IIRC, there is a cove or a harbor where you can see (wild) sea lions.  Is that right?  If yes, where is it?

 

Any tips for a fun day at the beach?

[purplejackmama]

My family loved renting kayaks in La Jolla and going into the caves. It might be one of our most favorite california memories.

 

Enjoy! I love SD!

[PinkTulip]

We just got home from San Diego on Sunday and it was so great. We went to the beach in front of the Hotel Del Coronado and loved it. It's about a 20 minute drive from Old Town, has free street parking, and big enough waves to boogie board but not too big. There is a Von's grocery store on Orange Avenue where we bought lunch fixings, and then $14 boogie boards at the Walgreens across the street. It was really fun.

 

I saw your other post about where to stay - we stayed at a hotel in the "Hotel Circle" area and felt it was very convenient to everything: it was only about 30-ish minutes to Legoland, 20 minutes to the Coronado beach, 3 minutes to Old Town, and like 7 to Downtown, Harbor Avenue, USS Midway, etc. Its a great trip!

[mamakelly]

What San Diego area beach would you recommend? Coronado is beautiful, huge and parts of it aren't as crowded as other beaches. We like Law Street in Pacific Beach (no parking lot, you have to park in the neighborhood, but it's so much less crowded. It has nice new bathrooms too.) Mission beach is another popular one. It's fun because of the rollercoaster, shops etc...If you head more south, it's less crowded. 

 

Any beach-y activities you recommend? My kids love walking and fishing off of Ocean Beach Pier. TIdepooling is fun. Check the surf reports for low tides. Cabrillo Monument has great tide pools, so does Scripps Beach, just past the pier. (Scripps is a short walk north of La Jolla Shores). 

 

IIRC, there is a cove or a harbor where you can see (wild) sea lions.  Is that right?  If yes, where is it? La Jolla Children's pool is where the seals are. It's in downtown La Jolla. Parking can be a real bear down there, just FYI. La Jolla Shores is a very popular tourist beach. A lot of people head over to Shores, after checking out the seals. But I avoid it as much as possible during the summer, LOL. It's crazy crowded, and today I saw all sorts of trash in the water. It's just way too busy in summer. 

 

Swim and surf zones are separate during summer, so be sure you look for the checker flag and see which side you are supposed to be on. Lifeguards will make you get out of the water if you are swimming in a surf zone or vise versa. 

[SeaConquest]

If you don't want to deal with ocean waves, I would recommend going to Fanuel Park in Pacific Beach. It is in the Sail Bay part of Mission Bay, which is lovely, and has a playground, bathrooms, etc. in the park, plus a lovely beach. You can also rent bikes and catamarans nearby, and enjoy all that Mission Bay offers.

 

Coronado, Mission Beach, Law Street, or La Jolla Shores are all fun, but again, very touristy in the summer. I would avoid going to Imperial Beach, but do have to give a shoutout for Sea World's Aquatica in Chula Vista. It's a super fun water park. Definitely go early, though.