A few friends and I are going to San Diego in mid January. No kids, young 30’s. Looking for good restaurants, activities, night life while there. Appreciate any responses.
Things to do in San Diego
- Thread starter CychiatricWard
- Start date
Goldfish Race for your bar tab to be free that night https://www.pbshoreclub.com/events/golf-fish-races
I lived there for 34 years, and here's what I'd recommend:
Activities:
1. Cabrillo National Monument - awesome views of San Diego & the ocean, lighthouse, history & hiking
2. Torrey Pines Glider Port - watch the hang giders, awesome views of La Jolla & ocean, a small restaurant
3. Coronado - stroll around the Hotel del Coronado, many bars & restaurants on Orange Ave., awesome views of San Diego from Coronado Shores
4. Balboa Park - beautiful parks with museums, gardens, restaurants and the the Zoo is great as well
5. La Jolla - cozy downtown area, ocean views, great shops & restaurants
6. La Jola Cove - walk along the ocean and one area has lots of sea lions that lounge on the beach
7. La Jolla Mt. Soledad - a war memorial at the top with wonderful views of the ocean and city
6. Take a tour of Petco Park(Padres) if you like baseball
9. Visit the USS Midway Museum - aircraft carrier, awesome history, right on the bay
10. Have a drink at the top of the Manchester Grand Hyatt downtown, 40th floor views
11. Pacific Beach boardwalk - lots of things & people to see, walk out on Crystal Pier, tons of bars & food
12. Embarcadero walk along the ocean, the convention center, ships, shoping, restaurants, bars
13. Hiking trails - Mission Trails/Cowles Muntain and Torrey Pines State Preserve(ocean views)
14. take a boat tour on the bay
15. Old Town San Diego - history & lots of Mexican restaurants
Restaurants:
Coasterra or Island Prime(steaks) - near the ariport, great city views,
The Fish Market - downtown on the ocean
Coronado - Il Fornaio(Italian) or Peohe's(seafood) both with great views of downtown San Doego
Downtown Gaslamp area - tons of places
Little Italy(north of downtown), bustling area with many Italian places
La Jolla downtown -
Liberty Station(just past airport near Pt. Loma) - lots of restaurants there
Nightlife:
the Gaslamp area downtown is the best, tons of bars and restaurants
Little Italy is grat as well
Downtown La Jolla is a little quieter and slower paced
Old Town, Liberty Station
Best breweries -
Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens - Liberty Station(Pt. Loma),
Ballast Point (Little Italy)
Eppig Brewing Waterfront - Pt. Loma
Activities:
1. Cabrillo National Monument - awesome views of San Diego & the ocean, lighthouse, history & hiking
2. Torrey Pines Glider Port - watch the hang giders, awesome views of La Jolla & ocean, a small restaurant
3. Coronado - stroll around the Hotel del Coronado, many bars & restaurants on Orange Ave., awesome views of San Diego from Coronado Shores
4. Balboa Park - beautiful parks with museums, gardens, restaurants and the the Zoo is great as well
5. La Jolla - cozy downtown area, ocean views, great shops & restaurants
6. La Jola Cove - walk along the ocean and one area has lots of sea lions that lounge on the beach
7. La Jolla Mt. Soledad - a war memorial at the top with wonderful views of the ocean and city
6. Take a tour of Petco Park(Padres) if you like baseball
9. Visit the USS Midway Museum - aircraft carrier, awesome history, right on the bay
10. Have a drink at the top of the Manchester Grand Hyatt downtown, 40th floor views
11. Pacific Beach boardwalk - lots of things & people to see, walk out on Crystal Pier, tons of bars & food
12. Embarcadero walk along the ocean, the convention center, ships, shoping, restaurants, bars
13. Hiking trails - Mission Trails/Cowles Muntain and Torrey Pines State Preserve(ocean views)
14. take a boat tour on the bay
15. Old Town San Diego - history & lots of Mexican restaurants
Restaurants:
Coasterra or Island Prime(steaks) - near the ariport, great city views,
The Fish Market - downtown on the ocean
Coronado - Il Fornaio(Italian) or Peohe's(seafood) both with great views of downtown San Doego
Downtown Gaslamp area - tons of places
Little Italy(north of downtown), bustling area with many Italian places
La Jolla downtown -
Liberty Station(just past airport near Pt. Loma) - lots of restaurants there
Nightlife:
the Gaslamp area downtown is the best, tons of bars and restaurants
Little Italy is grat as well
Downtown La Jolla is a little quieter and slower paced
Old Town, Liberty Station
Best breweries -
Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens - Liberty Station(Pt. Loma),
Ballast Point (Little Italy)
Eppig Brewing Waterfront - Pt. Loma
Tijuana! If you don’t go home with 5 pairs of fake Oakleys and a **** pipe then you didn’t really take full advantage of all the area has to offer.
USS midway 1
LA Jolla cove/seal Beach 2
Gas lamp district 3.
Walk lots
PB is great for long walks with lots of people. LA Jolla is even better for run, segway, bike or longboard. More space.
I can't say enough, for me LA Jolla is way underrated. And Coronado is WAy overpriced but cool to cruise.
Find a dolphin cruse and a safe/approved place to cliff jump if you are a thrill seeker.
LA Jolla cove/seal Beach 2
Gas lamp district 3.
Walk lots
PB is great for long walks with lots of people. LA Jolla is even better for run, segway, bike or longboard. More space.
I can't say enough, for me LA Jolla is way underrated. And Coronado is WAy overpriced but cool to cruise.
Find a dolphin cruse and a safe/approved place to cliff jump if you are a thrill seeker.
Had real Mexican food in a small restaurant in old town. Very good, can’t remember the name though.
I’ve lived here for twenty years. What activities do you like? Are you jumping the ocean to surf or dive? Hiking/camping? Fishing?
Good suggestions so far but there are a ton of options. I live in Point Loma so I’m partial to my local options. Ortiz’s for Mexican (AFC championship mayors bet when chargers were in town included Ortiz’s burritos), Point Loma seafood for seafood (people travel here just to get PL seafood), agree with Epig for brews but their are a bunch right on Newport in Ocean Beach that are really good. Zoo and sea world are good. Balboa park museums are cool. Gas Lamp is always fun. La Jolla is nice but you can hit any coastal neighborhood and have a blast. DM me and I’ll answer any questions you have.
Good suggestions so far but there are a ton of options. I live in Point Loma so I’m partial to my local options. Ortiz’s for Mexican (AFC championship mayors bet when chargers were in town included Ortiz’s burritos), Point Loma seafood for seafood (people travel here just to get PL seafood), agree with Epig for brews but their are a bunch right on Newport in Ocean Beach that are really good. Zoo and sea world are good. Balboa park museums are cool. Gas Lamp is always fun. La Jolla is nice but you can hit any coastal neighborhood and have a blast. DM me and I’ll answer any questions you have.
We loved visiting San Diego. One thing we saw people doing that looked very cool was having drinks and a picnic dinner in the park on shelter island. It was like tailgating and watching ships come into the bay. They would back their car into a parking spot with a small grassy area only between them and the bay. Beautiful views.
Most of the things that I enjoyed in San Diego have been mentioned but I don't think anybody's mentioned Mission Beach yet. It's a fun area with a great beach but the little amusement park could be skipped.
I'm a lot older than you so I don't have recommendations on "night life". Here are a few things I liked:
SD is probably my favorite location in the world for craft beer. My favorite last time was Pure Project. Some other good ones Ballast Point Little Italy, Mikkeller Little Italy, Modern Times (multiple locations), Bottlecraft,etc. They use to have a bunch of world class craft bars but those all seem to have close Hamilton's, Hopping Pig, Toronado, Tiger Tiger Tiger, etc. Craft beer bars seem to be dying in general.
Modern Times Flavordome is right next door to The Taco Stand. This would be a good lunch time combo. Pizza Port(multiple ones) is another one with decent pizza and good beer.
A few good places to eat. Oscars Mexican Seafood, El Indio Mexican, Kono's Cafe (breakfast),
The crack shack was good but not worth the hour wait in line we had a couple of years ago. If you can walk right in, it's worth it.
March and Ash is a good dispensary
SD is probably my favorite location in the world for craft beer. My favorite last time was Pure Project. Some other good ones Ballast Point Little Italy, Mikkeller Little Italy, Modern Times (multiple locations), Bottlecraft,etc. They use to have a bunch of world class craft bars but those all seem to have close Hamilton's, Hopping Pig, Toronado, Tiger Tiger Tiger, etc. Craft beer bars seem to be dying in general.
Modern Times Flavordome is right next door to The Taco Stand. This would be a good lunch time combo. Pizza Port(multiple ones) is another one with decent pizza and good beer.
A few good places to eat. Oscars Mexican Seafood, El Indio Mexican, Kono's Cafe (breakfast),
The crack shack was good but not worth the hour wait in line we had a couple of years ago. If you can walk right in, it's worth it.
March and Ash is a good dispensary
Whatever you do, don't get lost in the dark, turn off the main drag, park to check your location, enter an address into your GPS, and leave your windows down while doing it. A large man, kind of dressed like a woman, may approach your vehicle. Unless you're into that kind of thing, then do it, I guess.
Needless to say, I said no thanks, rolled up my window, and immediately drove the rest of the way around the block to the main drag without entering my destination. This was before I had/used Google maps or Siri and was trying to use a Garmin.
Needless to say, I said no thanks, rolled up my window, and immediately drove the rest of the way around the block to the main drag without entering my destination. This was before I had/used Google maps or Siri and was trying to use a Garmin.
Thanks for everyone’s responses, definitely getting fish tacos that’s for sure. We are staying right by mission beach park. Are there any moped/scooter rentals available?
