San Diego

[nj2Type-S]

hey guys,

my family and i are going to san diego at the end of may for 5 days. i wish i could've booked a longer stay, but scheduling constraints prevented that. i didn't realize that there are so many things to do there. i'm planning to get the 2-day pass: http://mobile.city-discovery.com/tour.php?id=4144

what are the "must dos" in san diego given my duration of stay?! we're not looking into going to the theme parks since my parents are coming with us.

we would also like to get some shopping done. which premium outlet is better? carlsbad or las americas? i searched online, but i could not find a shuttle bus that can take us to either location. can you guys point me in the right direction, or should we just rent a car for the day?

thanks!

[SlickA70]

Sea World
San Diego Zoo
Gas Lamp Alley
San Ysidro Shopping Centre

That pretty much took care of my week there.

[Mibz]

San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Pay the extra and do the rhino/giraffe ride where you get to feed them. Shit was so cash.

Legoland is meant for kids but there's some fun stuff there too.

[darthVWader]

Blue jays are in town on the 31st. And the Mariners are in town on the 29th and 30th.

Marilyn Manson is playing, Marianas Trench is in town. Suicidal Tendencies on the 12th

http://www.stubhub.com/search/doSear...go,+California

[mo_money2supe]

From what I recall, the Las Americas Premium Outlet is slightly larger than the Carlsbad one. However, because Las Americas is right off the Mexican border, there's stereotypically more crime in the area, so keep that in mind.

I'd rent a car to get yourselves around. It's cheap down in the states for rentals anyway; it's probably going to be comparable in cost to a family (of 4+ I presume) taking transit/bussing around. Not to mention the time savings in the commute.

As for things to do down there, May isn't quite warm enough to play around in the water yet (the best time is actually closer to beginning of Fall), but if you wanna go surfing, full body suits will keep you warm enough even in the cooler temps. There's also bar hopping in downtown San Diego. There's plenty of bars with secret entrances to enter them (ie. door disguised as a couple of stacked kegs).

[cet]

I was down there at the beginning of November for a couple of days before going on a cruise. We rented a car whilst we were there as things are pretty spread out. We did a day at Sea World, a Day at the zoo and drove up to the Carlsbad outlet. If I had more time there I would have liked to explore Balboa park a bit more and take a tour of the USS Nimitz.

[TC2002]

If you want to hit the beach, go to La Jolla beach, which I found was more family-friendly than the Mission Bay area. Lots of good food right off the beach there too!

[anarchy]

I visited Sea World and the Zoo - both pretty fun and cool to check out.

[topher91]

OOOOH

I love San Diego!

If you like Military/Navy stuff, do the aircraft carrier tour.

Mission Beach is a cool area with boardwalk and amusement park for the kids. Lots of shops and eating. Great place to watch the sunset.

Las Americas Premium outlet is just like the Premium outlet in Las Vegas if you have ever been there. I'd rent a car to get there, its about 30mins south. Just make sure you exit before you hit the border, otherwise your fukked lol

Get a food truck app and find those food trucks!!!! They didn't disappoint at all. Neither did any of the Diner Drive ins and Dives places.

What part of San Diego are you staying in?

[BigShow]

Great city! Gas Lamp district all the way,
Tons of cool places to eat, drink and party!!

[gamman]

point loma university (and the areas around it) is a must see, the little library there was on playboy's top 10 places to do it, but you are with family, so unless you get out to wheel....

Sea world is like a mini disney. 78 admission, gets you a year pass? I wanted to go for 2-4 hours, so we went to the zoo, and took the bus. Saw cool animals, and didn't break a sweat. Saw the cheeta being walked around by a dog (and a ton of handlers).

all beaches are good,
miramar airport if you are a top gun geek,
la jolla horserace track (is that still open?),

[nj2Type-S]

thanks for the response guys! we've never, ever been to san diego so i don't even know where what area we're in. haha! my father is a huge military buff so he asked me book a hotel near the midway. we're staying at the marriot marquis & marina....whatever area that's in.

we've been to seaworld in floriday so seaworld in san diego is not really in our radar. there will be 5 of us going so i think we'll end up renting a car for a day for when we go shopping.

i have read online about the exit to las americas being the last exit in america LOL. i wonder how hard it will be to go back in the states if i miss that exit.

[taemo]

if you have a GPS, it's impossible to end up going to Tijuana and missing the stop to Las Americas and there's 2 exits in the highway that will take you to the mall.
tbh though my fiance and I didn't find anything impressive at that outlet, mainly because we are not big shoppers, but it's good for stocking up on work clothes, kakhis, jeans.

go view the sunset and surfers in Sunset Beach
chill out and watch the sunset in La Jolla
visit Balboa Park and San Diego Zoo
go to the San Diego Safari
Legoland I heard is good

tip on the Zoo/Safari, buy the year membership for 2-3 of you, you get discount coupons.

not my favourite Cali city, but IMO fairly laid back and relaxing unlike LA. Great mexican food too!

[flipstah]

Las Americas is an awesome outlet mall to go to and SeaWorld was fun for us because it was our first time.

Didn't go to the Zoo, which was a big mistake.

Gotta visit the Mexican border or see it at least.

We planned to go to Tijuana but when I looked at our pink slip, it said 'Not valid in Mexico'.

We were at the border and I started to worry when we had to buy Mexican insurance so we turned back haha.

It's just a nice, relaxing city.

[Black Gts]

how long does the zoo,seaworld, and midway take? no kids just me and the gf. is 4-6 hours each enough?

[topher91]

The zoo and sea world is a full day each. The zoo is huge!!!

Midway is only a half day, unless you are stopping and reading everything in the audio tour. I think we squeezed in the midway tour and shopping in one day.

My buddies made the mistake of missing that exit to the outlet mall. They were stuck in mexico for 4 hours just trying to get back in. Waste of time.

[nj2Type-S]

awesome tips so far, guys.

my mom's and my wife's past-time is shopping so that will be a full day, for sure. i know that the outlet malls in san diego are part of a nation-wide outlet mall chain; we've been to the ones in new york, seattle and vegas. they do have the same stores, but the prices are so ridiculously cheap!

i'm definitely looking forward to some mexican food! ...maybe i should keep driving to tijuana? hah!

i honestly wasn't even considering the zoo but from the feedback, i'd probably be crazy not to go.

[mo_money2supe]

Check out this taco place in La Jolla (just north of San Diego) if you want authentic Mexican food: http://goo.gl/maps/65gLO

By far the BEST Mexican food I ever ate while down there. Looks like somewhat of a dive but the food is oh so good...

EDIT: Nevermind, looks like they have several other locations too: http://www.rigobertostacoshop.com/ri...-locations.htm Well worth checking at least one of the stores out!

[TrevorK]

If you are staying in the gas lamp area (or one of the other areas services by rapid transit) you can take a single train to las americas outlets. It didn't seem unsafe or anything and the stop is a 5 minute walk from the outlet mall if I recall. Might be cheaper than renting (and parking) a rental car. The train ride is about the same length of time as driving.

You will even get the chance to walk through the storage yard "flea market" on the way to help complete the experience

[nj2Type-S]

hey guys,

we're leaving tomorrow and I am finally just getting around to buying the "go san diego card" for my family and I. I'm looking at the redemption places and it's near our hotel. Should I even bother buying it online, or just buy it when I go there?

should we go for the san diego zoo or the san diego zoo safari? stupid question but how is the traffic on Saturdays? lol, that's when we plan on going to las Americas.

thanks again!