Susan & Chris
Things To Do in San Diego
Go to the San Diego Zoo & Balboa Park
Spend a day at the San Diego Zoo! We love our zoo membership and visit this world-famous attraction all the time. The San Diego Zoo is located in Balboa Park, which is also home to gorgeous walking trails, picnic areas, museums, and more!
Go To The Beach
You absolutely cannot visit San Diego without hitting the beach! For a beautiful, wide, sandy beach, we love making a trip over the bridge from downtown SD to Coronado (an adorable city in itself and home to the famous Hotel Del Coronado). For our friends and family staying closer to La Jolla, head to La Jolla Shores. For a beach absolutely bustling with bars and restaurants, we suggest Pacific Beach.
See the Seals & Sea Lions in La Jolla
Visit Children’s Pool Beach (just down the street from our Inn By The Sea hotel block) to see if you can find any seals lounging on the beach or the rocks. Then, head north on the sidewalk along the coast to La Jolla Cove to see the boisterous sea lions and a sandy alcove surrounded by sea caves popular for snorkeling and diving.
Take a Hike
San Diego is the best place to spend the entire day outdoors. If you’d like to try something more active than a beach day, there are a ton of amazing day hikes to choose from. Visit Torrey Pines State Reserve for a gorgeous hike down the cliffs to the beach (even if you’re not interested in a strenuous hike, we still highly recommend this place for the scenery and ocean views - you can usually find parking at the top of the hill if you don’t want to walk up!). For hikes that are more strenuous, visit Mission Trails Regional Park to climb Cowles Mountain or North and South Fortuna Peaks.
Go on a whale watching tour
San Diego’s coastline is home to an impressive array of both native and migratory whale species, as well as dolphins and other marine mammals. If you have the time, get out on the water by participating in a whale watching tour (like the one we did with San Diego Whale Watch). Many of these tours leave from the man made saltwater bay Mission Bay, which is also a prime spot for other water activities for rent, such as stand up paddle boarding and jet skiing.
Take the Old Town Trolley Tour
If you don’t have a ton of time, but want to see many of the major San Diego sights at once, take the Old Town Trolley Tour! Yes, Susan has taken this tour multiple times, even after moving to San Diego. The trolley will take you in and around Old Town Historic District, downtown, Balboa Park, and Coronado.
Notable Neighborhoods
Little Italy - Our home and absolute favorite neighborhood! Head to this section of downtown for amazing restaurants and access to the beautiful San Diego Embarcadero Gaslamp Quarter - Downtown party neighborhood home to San Diego nightlife and the San Diego Padres MLB stadium Petco Park Seaport Village - a cute dining and shopping village for out of towners right on the Embarcadero La Jolla - wedding HQ! In addition to seeing the sea life along the coast, La Jolla has a small but bustling downtown area with gorgeous outdoor dining and cafes North Park - although a more residential section of San Diego, North Park has amazing restaurants and breweries!
Notable Neighborhoods, continued
Pacific Beach - rowdy party beach vibes with plenty of places for food and cocktails in the sun Ocean Beach - laid back, hippie vibes beach town Mission Beach/Bay - bustling beach front with the historic amusement park Belmont Park and access to water sports Liberty Station & Point Loma - A former naval training center now home to the Liberty Public Market, as well as restaurants and galleries. Visit Cabrillo National Monument for sweeping views of downtown San Diego and the bay **and so many more that we didn't have a chance to mention!!**
Our Favorite Restaurants!
Fine Dining - Fort Oak (California farm to table, Mission Hills), Callie (Mediterranean, East Village), Kingfisher (modern Vietnamese, Golden Hill), Trust (California farm to table, University Heights), Juniper & Ivy (California farm to table, Little Italy) Sushi - Himitsu (La Jolla) Italian - Bencotto Italian Kitchen (pasta, Little Italy), Isola (pizza, La Jolla & Little Italy) Mexican - Puesto (tacos & margs, La Jolla & Seaport Village), Lucha Libre (California burritos, North Park & Mission Hills), Lolita's (various locations) More casual dining options - Cross Street Chicken and Beer (Korean fried chicken, Convoy), Tribute Pizza (North Park), Tajima Ramen (Mercury Street location), Nolita Hall (Italian beer hall with trendy cocktails, Little Italy), Phil's BBQ (Point Loma), El Pescador Fish Market (La Jolla), Din Tai Fung (UTC mall)
Finally, our favorite breweries and dessert!
Breweries - Ballast Point (Miramar & Little Italy), Mikkeller (Miramar & Little Italy), Alesmith (Miramar), Burgeon Beer Company (Little Italy), Stone Brewing (Little Italy, Gaslamp, Liberty Station), Pure Project (Miramar, Balboa Park & North Park), Karl Strauss (Little Italy), Mike Hess (Seaport Village & North Park), Kairoa Brewing Company (University Heights), Fall Brewing (North Park) Ice Cream - Stella Jean’s (University Heights & Point Loma), Salt and Straw (Little Italy & Del Mar) Doughnuts - Devil’s Dozen (Little Italy), Sidecar Doughnuts (Del Mar)