Must do in San Diego?

For all of you who have visited San Diego before, what are some "must do's" in SD.

So far on the list I have:
Kayaking in La Jolla and caves
San Diego Zoo
Sea World
Day trip to LA and I reallyyyyy want to go on a hot air balloon ride/ wineries.

Any other must see's in San Diego?

Re: Must do in San Diego?

Oh there's an amazing mexican restaurant in San Diego you must go to. Let me look up the name, we LOVED it, amazing atmosphere.

Re: Must do in San Diego?

i'm interested in this, too! we're going out there for a wedding this summer...

i think the bride and groom made a wedding website with some "things to do" listed, but i don't have it bookmarked on my work computer.... i'll try to remember to find it again when i get home, and i can post their list... i'm SO excited to go, though! i've heard its gorgeous out there!

Re: Must do in San Diego?

I know im so excited! Ive heard awesome things about SD!!!! Thanks ladies for your help!@

Re: Must do in San Diego?

You MUST must must eat brunch at Brockton Villa - it's right by La Jolla Cove. it overlooks the water... we go almost every week! the "coast toast" is the most amazing thing ever (and i don't even like french toast)


things to do:

-San Diego Zoo

-Seaworld ( I know this sounds cheesy, but seriously.. it's SO fun! Even for an adult... )

-Balboa park is nice

-Old town is fun for walking around & eating mexican!

-La Jolla is beautiful... by the shores/cove there is cute shopping (around Girard st)... tons of little shops and then your normal stores too (banana republic, etc), and there's also children's pool which is where all of the seals go!

-Gaslamp quarter has the "nyc"-style night life...

-seaport village can be fun

-it's great to drive along the Pacific Coast Highway... the view is beautiful and there are many towns to stop in along the way

-solana beach has great little antique-type stores that are fun to walk around and also has a great farmer's market on sundays

-del mar is another nice town with cute stores..

-pacific beach is the place to go for actually going to the beach, also there are some good restaurants and happy hour spots there

-hillcrest (a notoriously gay area) is also good for walking around...

Restaurants:

if you love sushi, try Zen 5 in pacific beach on garnet (i'm a big fan of the ginza roll or super salmon rolls!) this is more of a laid back place (they play reggae music)

-for fancier sushi, try Cafe Japengo - this is our friday night favorite spot! the happy hour truffle nori french fries are SO delicious and the sushi is very good and fresh- or there's always Nobu!

-if italian's your thing.... hit up little italy. there's a great restaurant called Buon Appetito on India st. they have delicious homemade pasta!

-for coffee, again... little italy on india st. Cafe Italia... a little independent coffee shop with nice vibe a fabulous cannolis! and there's also Caffe Calabria which is a cute place too!

-a little fancier is JRDN which has sushi everyday except saturday, overlooks the water, and has all around good food! (steaks, seafood, etc)

-for seafood - this place "Trulucks" is supposed to be delicious!

-for steak - Flemmings and Donovans are both great places.

-okay and for the most amazing dessert ever... you must try Extraordinary Desserts. It has a really fun atmosphere and the desserts are AMAZING... my fave is the strawberry shortcake!

LA is about 2 hours away. it's lots of fun to see the walk of fame, hollywood sign (i can tell you exactly where to go to get as close as possible!), and all of that stuff which I'm sure you already know about! also make sure you try sprinkles cupcakes! they're like the magnolia bakery of LA with the most amazing cupcakes ever! we even spotted a celeb last time we went!

if you're heading up to LA... you could also stop in Newport Beach which is just the cutest town! They have a shopping center called "fashion island" which is really fun. There's a also a small shopping center with a Sprinkles cupcakes there... and Tommy Bahama Island Grille... which is SO delicious!

Re: Must do in San Diego?

Re: Must do in San Diego?

I've been several times because my in-laws live nearby.

I LOVE Balboa Park - it's a large, pretty park with 10 or so museums all around it (of all types - art, history, I think they even have one for classic cars). A really nice way to spend an afternoon.

Old Town is cute, and would be good for dinner - it's a teeny tiny simulated Mexican village (about 15 minutes from the actual border with mexico) with delicious food at a restaurant you can eat outdoors at and some fun shopping.

I must be in the minority, but I didn't love the San Diego Zoo. It's so large, and spread out, and there are lots of hills, and by the time you hike for 5 minutes to see an animal only to find out that it's sleeping and you can't see it, it's like a 10 minute walk downhill and up another hill to see the next sleeping animal... I was so cranky by the time we left that place, DH wished he didn't know me.

Seaworld is okay - would be good, except they nickel and dime you. It's so expensive to get in, and then you have to pay extra if you want to do anything- ride the flume, feed the dolphins for 2 minutes, etc. But I guess you can't go to San Diego and NOT go to the Zoo or Seaworld. I'd choose SeaWorld of the two.

The Gaslamp District is a nice place to go for dinner - kind of like Manhattan, where you can park the car and wander around, looking at menus and just wander into a place.

Seaport Village is great for brunch - right on the water, by the bridge to Coronado, with great views and some nice restaurants and touristy shopping. Cute, though.

I've heard that La Jolla is awesome, but still have never been.

San Diego is such a cool city and the weather is almost always perfect - enjoy!

Re: Must do in San Diego?

Sorry, I hated the zoo. The animals had NO SPACE and they all seemed so depressed....it depressed me.

Everything else was great.

Re: Must do in San Diego?

Re: Must do in San Diego?

I just got back on WEdnesday! I lovedddddd La Jolla and Coronado, definitely downtown for the night life. We ate at Blue Point an excellent seafood rest. Old town has yummy mexican food. I skipped the zoo didn't have time.