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Old 12-20-2013, 02:43 PM
 
Location: Poway
1,445 posts, read 2,731,805 times
Reputation: 954

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Quote:
Originally Posted by malcorub16 View Post
My 5 year old son loves the aquarium and so do I. I prefer places that you can spend an hour or two at and not $pend a whole lot.

Sea World might be a bit too much for a five year old. If Sea World would cost less we would go more often (ive only been once). Same reason why I have never been to LegoLand either. We can afford it, but I feel like its a waste of money and not worth the all day stress with little ones.
Not sure if they still have this, but Sea World used to have annual passes with parking steeply discounted and a play area specifically for small kids. If you have a pass like this and nothing else to do on a weekend, then this would be the go-to place for water fun.
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Old 12-20-2013, 02:57 PM
 
Location: Colorado
2,483 posts, read 4,353,877 times
Reputation: 2685
Quote:
Originally Posted by bloom View Post
Sea World sucks. Visit Birth Aquarium and Chula Vista Nature Center.
Ok, I didn't mean to start a Sea World debate, which is why I said "if you like that sort of thing". Sheesh. I'm sure a visit to Chula Vista is way better.

It depends on what the OP wants. Some people prefer off-the-map stuff, even things like a local nature center, which are a dime a dozen in any city. Other people prefer the main attractions, which in San Diego, are the zoo, sea world and (maybe) legoland (besides the beaches of course). I like a bit of both. We spend most of our time on and around the water or doing local stuff with family. But we do usually go to the zoo too because fam always has passes and the kids love it (so do I). I haven't been to Sea World in a while because it is expensive, but when I do go, I love it for the same reason I love the zoo. I usually go on off days though, and get some discounts through friends… which makes it really quite nice. Besides, I draw, so I can easily spend a whole day in one spot trying to draw bears or something… which makes it enjoyable on a different level than most people, I guess.

So, you can tell the OP 'sea world sucks' which is basically just a crass opinion, which are like… you know. Or you can say, here are your options, list some pros and cons maybe, and let them decide.

OP:
The pros to the Zoo, Safari Park, and Sea World is that they're all world class for the type of destinations they are. Also, they are fairly weather-friendly. That is, if it's foggy, overcast, or even lightly raining, you won't be nearly as disappointed as if you tried to spend that day on the beach.

The cons are that they are expensive (especially Sea World) and they do get crowded, especially on weekends and holidays.

It appears we have some suggestions to spend your whole two weeks sipping heavy beer in the hip-heights with "locals". I think it's worth a visit to some of those places, but probably not all of them. SD locals can be aloof and you may just end up at the bar by yourself trying to strike up conversations with people who want to know who this person is trying to talk at them… I know because I was a local ones too… but probably before a lot of these people were old enough to ride a bike though.

IMO, The best thing to do, if possible, is to get out on the Bay and/or Ocean. The best days I've had have been surfing/swimming at Coronado, kayaking La Jolla cove, sailing SD bay and fishing for giant sea bass in the kelp off point Loma in a little skiff. It's kind of hard to do though if you don't know people with their own boats in the area. There are tourist options for all of that, but they're expensive and, you know, touristy. Surfing might be an option, but pretty hard and/or dangerous with no prior experience.

Last edited by otterprods; 12-20-2013 at 03:41 PM..
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Old 12-20-2013, 03:06 PM
 
Location: San Diego CA>Tijuana, BC>San Antonio, TX
6,479 posts, read 7,441,634 times
Reputation: 6816
..my bad, I jacked the thread with my opinions of why I don't go to Lego Land and Sea World as a local. These are certainly huge draws for out of town first time tourists like the OP is.
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Old 12-20-2013, 03:33 PM
 
6,885 posts, read 8,868,428 times
Reputation: 3495
LegoLand is good.
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Old 12-20-2013, 03:35 PM
 
Location: Colorado
2,483 posts, read 4,353,877 times
Reputation: 2685
Quote:
Originally Posted by malcorub16 View Post
..my bad, I jacked the thread with my opinions of why I don't go to Lego Land and Sea World as a local. These are certainly huge draws for out of town first time tourists like the OP is.
I think it's totally legitimate to say why you don't go as a local. That's valuable information for someone visiting, to know what the 'reality' is behind travel ads. My only exception was to a comment like '…it sucks' with no explanation or reasoning as to why the OP may or may not end feeling that way too, so that he/she can make the right decision for him/herself. Either way, you have to take it with a grain of salt. I've gone to NYC a couple times and when I asked locals I happened to know there what I should do, they said: 'we don't go to the city, it's for tourists'. Same thing from friends in Vegas. And I have friends here in CO that will say the same thing about our ski resorts. Perfectly valid opinions, but not very helpful to me as a visitor.
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Old 12-20-2013, 06:11 PM
 
Location: SoCal
6,418 posts, read 11,552,007 times
Reputation: 7093
Quote:
Originally Posted by otterprods View Post
...
As for Mexico… Baja is a great place to go, but border towns (including Tecate and Mexicali) are very touristy and pretty dirty. It can be ok to just walk across the border and say 'hey, I'm in mexico' and maybe eat a taco if you're daring enough. But it really doesn't start getting good until you get past Ensenada, which would be a whole separate trip that I don't recommend for inexperienced NYer who don't speak spanish (nothing personal).
OP, this is not even close to accurate. Even Tijuana is no longer nearly as touristy as it used to be, since the tourists stayed away in droves during the drug wars.
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Old 12-20-2013, 11:17 PM
 
Location: San Diego CA>Tijuana, BC>San Antonio, TX
6,479 posts, read 7,441,634 times
Reputation: 6816
Quote:
Originally Posted by oddstray View Post
OP, this is not even close to accurate. Even Tijuana is no longer nearly as touristy as it used to be, since the tourists stayed away in droves during the drug wars.
I agree, the only part that is touristy and filled with Americans (men) is Zona Norte where Adelitas and Hong Kong Club are. For the most part, the urban core (Zona Rio and surrounding districts) is very cosmopolitan and resembles the modern parts of Mexico City in scaled down way. Revolucion is still sort of hanging onto its tacky past, but for the most part is transforming. I am one of those that says the drug wars were good in a way, they helped TJ to rid itself of its tacky image.

If anything, Ensenada and Cabo are hanging onto their gringo tourists much more than Tijuana is. Tijuana has turned into a real hip cosmo Mexican City in the last 10 years.

I am in TJ right now as I type this. Its a happening Friday night as I look out the restaurant window.

Last edited by malcorub16; 12-20-2013 at 11:25 PM..
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Old 12-21-2013, 02:28 PM
 
Location: Hookerville, formerly in Tweakerville
15,111 posts, read 32,158,073 times
Reputation: 9689
There are still lots of tourists on Avenue Revolucion, because I see them when I cross through Revolucion to catch a cab home when I walk.
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Old 12-21-2013, 03:52 PM
 
Location: San Diego CA>Tijuana, BC>San Antonio, TX
6,479 posts, read 7,441,634 times
Reputation: 6816
Quote:
Originally Posted by oddstray View Post
This might be a good way to go into Mexico: Turista Libre— Rad Tijuana Tours!
I've never been but this tour group has great yelp reviews. They do interesting tours from Swap Meets to water park to taco stands to high end restaurants and bars. The guy apparently gave Andrew Zimmerman of the cable food show a personal tour.

Turista Libre - San Ysidro - San Diego, CA
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Old 12-21-2013, 06:21 PM
 
Location: Hookerville, formerly in Tweakerville
15,111 posts, read 32,158,073 times
Reputation: 9689
Quote:
Originally Posted by malcorub16 View Post
I've never been but this tour group has great yelp reviews. They do interesting tours from Swap Meets to water park to taco stands to high end restaurants and bars. The guy apparently gave Andrew Zimmerman of the cable food show a personal tour.

Turista Libre - San Ysidro - San Diego, CA
There's also Tijuana Adventures - Tijuana ADVENTURE.

Last edited by moved; 12-21-2013 at 06:32 PM..
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