Weekend in San Diego (no bikes)
 

The wife and I are planning on spending a weekend in San Diego within the next couple of weeks. No bikes are coming along. We don't want to see the zoo or any amusement parks. We need a few stress free days away from home.

It's been years since I've been to San Diego and although I can find my way around good enough. I was just looking for suggestions from the locals or others that frequent the area.

We're probably going to be at the Holiday Inn Express (SeaWorld Area) which puts us on the South end of Mission Bay. I know that Saturday night we'll most likely be having dinner in Old Towne. My wife is from Mexican and will be looking for an authentic meal and some good tequila. Any suggestions? During the day I thought we'd just drive and explore the coast heading North. But we'd still like to stay in the San Diego area. Any suggestions on which beaches or areas have some nice hiking trails or sand where we can just kill some time?

I guess what I'm asking is... If you had a free Saturday and just wanted to relax, what would you suggest?

Snorkeling and kayaking in La Jolla Cove

Get a take out lunch and take it to Cabrillo Point to eat. Maybe walk around the tidepools after lunch. (It's $15 / car to get into Cabrillo Point now.)

When going north, maybe hike around Torrey Pines.

on the nw edge of dtown sd is little italy. fun area to browse and stroll. it's essentially india and kettner streets bordered by laurel st to the north and beech st to the south.
if the weather's nice, hopping a few blocks to the west and walking the waterfront is worthwhile too. can always take the ferry over to coronado and back.

as mentioned, cabrillo national monument to the south of where you're staying (about a 12 min drive) or torrey pines state reserve and state beach (about a 20 min drive north).
torrey pines has more hiking trails and if you park in the lower beach lot, you can walk up the paved road (a good warmup) and do the beautiful fleming loop trail then
continue up to the visitor center and hook up with the beach trail. take the beach trail down to torrey pines state beach and make a right (head north) back to the parking lot
for an approx very scenic 4 mile walk. cabrillo national monument is all about the views as there is precious little hiking there and the tidepools can be difficult to access unless
it's a very low tide. arguably the best view of the san diego environs tho. on a clear day you can see mt. san gorgonio about 100 miles away.

there's the village of la jolla with ocean views with plenty of paved wakling streets and restos/shops.

just north of that is the la jolla shores area. you can grab a sandwich at the cheese shop deli and head over to the nearby beachside park. walk north along the beach to your heart's content
and-fair warning-you'll eventually hit black's beach which is the local "clothing optional" beach. ypu may be more distracted by the nearby gliders taking off/landing/soaring the beach cliffs.
the glider port (just north of the salk institute) makes a nice stop once back in the car heading north as does the salk institute if you're into modern architecture. from la jolla shores
to torrey pines state reserve/beach parking, it's about a 12 min drive.

a little farther north, there is fletcher cove which is a nice beach walk in solana beach. it's a block west of the solana beach train station and the coast highway. on the other side of
the coast highway south of the train station, there is the cedros street/cedros district area. it's a fun stroll thru the upscale home furnishing, art places and clothing boutiques.
farther north of that are encinitas and the village of carlsbad. encinitas has the self-realization fellowship gardens which are a nice, oceanside area to stroll and the adjacent
coast highway has some quirky places to browse plus plenty of places to grub and grog. a favorite in that area is 3rd Corner restaurant which has a great little wine store and
a killer scallops entree. the village of carlsbad is even larger and would take approx two hours to stroll everything. since both of these are on the way back to la and about a 30 min
drive north from where you're staying they're probably best explored on the way to/from san diego.

if you want to do the beach areas of solana beach, encinitas and/or carlsbad, you could park in old town and take the local coaster (not amtrak) train since it stops in convenient places in all three cities.
the walk to the beach from all three train stations is 6 blocks or less. upside, you won't have to deal with weekend beach parking and the coaster is relatively cheap transportation. downside
is that it'll take a little longer and that it doesn't stop in la jolla, la jolla shores or torrey pines areas.

i feel the old town mexican cafe is the best and most consistent of the food offerings in that old town area. if you're looking for just great food and tequila/mescal and don't mind an additional few mins from the hotel,
my recommendation is cantina mayahuel on the nw corner of 30th st and adams ave which is about a (again) 12 min uber/lyft ride from the hotel. across from cantina mayahuel is a dynamite cocktail place called
polite provisions. and across from the cocktail place is a cute date place called jayne's (english) gastropub with an intimate back patio that'll make you forget you're in the city. a block south
of that is fall brewing which makes some killer beers in an old-school punk/alt-rock vibed place.

have fun!

South Beach bar and grill in Ocean Beach. I haven't eaten there for years because it's always packed, but they doubled the size of the joint, so that can't be bad. Great fish tacos... but again, my info is a few years old.

Find some e-bikes and nose your way around the Pacific Beach area too. That would be a great way to get to Cabrillo or Soledad if you want some views. Even if you stay closer to the hotel, parking is a PITB and heck, e-bikes are a blast. :)

Thanks for all the great tips!

This place is good!

I also like Salud in Barrio Logan for their tacos. Close to Chicano park too which is cool to check out as well as the little shops in the area.

La Jolla cove is nice; but too crowded. Cabrillo National Monument is less crowded.

My brother lives in Temecula; I visit often. If you folks like tacos; TJ's Tacos are served/made
the traditional way. Balboa Park is also a nice place to hang out.

It's opening weekend for the Del Mar fair if that floats your boat.

On your way back, stop in Oceanside at Frazier Farms market. I've never seen such fresh produce. They have an amazing deli too.

The store is very close to the freeway exit.

Thanks for the tip. We are planning to drive slowly up the coast and stop whenever it strikes us.

I believe El Agave in Old Town has the most extensive tequila selection in San Diego. Their food is great too. If you go, make sure to order any of their Mole dishes. This is not your typical Mexican restaurant. It's expensive, white table cloth, gourmet, not chips and salsa.

My wife and I just spent a few days downtown and did the site seeing trolley. I stops at some fun places and you can get off and on all day as you please. We got off and walked around Coronado, checked out the Hotel Del, stopped in Old Town and had lunch. Nice way to spend the day, no driving, no parking issues, nice if you want a beverage and they do a decent job narrating everything as you go around. They have a few other tour options too. If you do it don't bother with Seaport Village and Horton Plaza as destinations, they are not what they used to be, but Embarcadero, Gaslamp, Old Town, Balboa Park, Coronado... all have a lot to offer.

We have done these type of tours in Monterey, Sedona.. and they are a great way to get around, see more than you might on your own, learn about local things, not worry about driving and parking...

What ever you do Have Fun!

Oh I can't formally post a URL due to low post count.
Google trolleytours.com/san-diego
See the Orange and Green trolleys and you got it.

if you want a killer view with an adult bevvie, mr. a's in bankers hill on the corner of 5th and laurel slays it. opens at 4:30pm on saturdays.
dress code applies. balboa park is a short late-afternoon stroll (before or after) away and is always a blast, whether you hit a museum or just walk the beautiful open spaces.

I just wanted to thank every one for all the tips. We just got home today from San Diego and had a great time. Cabrillo Natl Monument, Mt. Soledad, Solana Beach and a little bit of La Jolla and Old Towne for dinner.

Thanks again.

awesome! it was (finally) gorgeous today.