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Hello! So I'm planning a trip to this beautiful city from August 14-17th. This will be my first time visiting so I would just like some insights.
1. I'll be staying in Chula Vista.I'll be right on the light rail line. Is the area safe?
2. I'm in the process of filming for my travel vlog. And suggestions for places with great scenery? How about places to eat?
3. How is Imperial Beach? It's the closest to the location I'll be staying at and it looks nice.
Thanks for all responses, and if you have anything to add, it's appreciated!
If you haven't already come across it, the San Diego Tourism site has tons of information on everything there is to do and see in San Diego, including scenic places. Here's the link:
The area where you'll be staying in Chula Vista isn't the fanciest area, nor very scenic or central for seeing scenic places in San Diego, but, overall, it should be fairly safe if you use common sense.
Hopefully, though, you'll be staying with friends, and not at some of the hotels in that area, as some of them are pretty seedy. If you're staying in a hotel, I'd probably stay somewhere besides Chula Vista, such as downtown, one of the beach areas, or even in Mission Valley. It will just make your stay a lot easier to base yourself closer to the areas you'll want to spend time in during your visit. This is especially true with your limited time here. Chula Vista just isn't a tourist destination.
Since you mentioned the Trolley (what we call our light rail), I'm assuming you won't have access to a car? If so, that will really limit your ability to get to a lot of our most popular tourist destinations and most scenic places. If you are hoping to rely on public transportation to get around, especially if you'll be staying in Chula Vista, you'll probably need to use buses in addition to the Trolley. This link will be helpful
Imperial Beach has a nice pier area (look for Seacoast Drive on a map) and a nice beach for walking. The water there sometimes has pollution issues in the winter months, but that shouldn't be a problem this time of year. IB is a very "real" California beach town instead of a touristy town, so it might be interesting to visit for your vlog. If you head to IB, be sure to stop in for a drink on the patio here: https://www.cohnrestaurants.com/sea180
However, if you're hoping to take the Trolley to the beach in IB, do note, that the Trolley will not take you anywhere near the beach in Imperial Beach (or, for that matter, any beach in San Diego). The Trolley stop closest to IB would be Palm Avenue, but it is quite a distance to the beach from there so, again, look into a bus from the Trolley to the beach area.
Better yet, rent a car or borrow a friend's.
From Chula Vista, could also take the Trolley to downtown, then walk over to the Coronado Ferry (http://www.flagshipsd.com/cruises/coronado-ferry) and take it over to Coronado, which is a cute city with nice beaches and lots of restaurants. In the summer there is a free shuttle bus on Coronado that you can use to get around on the "island."
(https://www.coronado.ca.us/governmen...summer_shuttle) The Hotel Del Coronado is a beautiful historic landmark and might be worth a visit for your vlog. You don't have to stay there to visit the Hotel. https://hoteldel.com/
(As an aside, one of the best views of the San Diego City skyline is from the Coronado Ferry landing on the Coronado side; I would definitely consider that a top "scenic view" in San Diego, especially near sunset)
I'd also recommend that you do a search of this forum for other recent discussions about what to see and do while visiting the San Diego area as this is a question that gets answered here a lot. You can do that using the Advanced Search tool above the forum.
Have a fun trip! Be sure to come back and share your vlog story here!
Depends on which part of CV near the trolley. I think the H St. stop is okay. E St. stop - yikes.
Imperial Beach is great. It's not the most scenic beach (no cliffs or anything like that), but it does have a nice pier. I'd also check out the beach in Coronado. If you have a car, you can take a scenic drive up the Silver Strand to get from IB to Coronado.
I wouldn't prioritize these things by any means but if you have a little downtime after checking out San Diego proper, you'll be very close to Bayside Park (lovely views) and the Living Coast Discovery Center (small aquarium).
Seeing that you are coming from the Denver area, you'll definitely want to spend time along the water. Hopefully you'll have a car while you're here so you can experience what living in here is all about. You can check out all of the spots along the ocean from Imperial Beach, Coronado, SD Bay, Point Loma, Mission Bay, Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, and all points north to Carlsbad. Each area having it's own flavor.
I gotta ask, any reason why you are staying in Chula Vista? Definitely not an area i would recommend to anyone visiting San Diego for the first time. The area of CV along the trolley line is old and tired with nothing interesting to see and do. It's not dangerous or anything, just a no man's land.
Denver has the smothered burrito, while we have carne asada fries, the California burrito and the fish taco. Best views are from Point Loma, Mt. Soledad and Coronado towards downtown. Balboa Park and Mission Bay Park are nice places to walk relaxing.
I've always though that Denver (and Austin) have the same vibe as SD. I'm wondering if you'll think the same.
Thank you everybody for your responses! Sorry for the vague OP. Let me be a little bit more specific about my trip.
I'll be visiting with my brother and we're just going for a short little vacation. I'm also trying to get some good video shots of the city, beaches, attractions etc. I won't be renting a car, as I am still too young to rent without the additional rental fees. I'm use to taking Uber/Lyft/Light rail to get around Denver whenever I don't have a car, so I don't think transportation should be an issue. Coming from Denver, seeing the beach and being around water is a must do for us. We'd love to take a boat tour, so that's something I want to look more into. As for food, I'm open to anything! I love Mexican food, seafood, etc. Any recommendations would be appreciated!
Based on the feedback in this thread, I decided that staying in Chula Vista probably isn't the best idea. I was just looking for somewhere on the light rail line that was fairly cheap and I guess it's cheap for a reason. Clearly wasn't thinking So I decided that I'd stay in a hotel in the Mission Valley area near Westfield Mall. It's near the light rail and the area appears to be quite a bit more upscale. It's also right between the beach and zoo which is great! Do you guys think that's a better option?
I'll definitely look around the forum some more, but thanks for the responses again!
Thank you everybody for your responses! Sorry for the vague OP. Let me be a little bit more specific about my trip.
I'll be visiting with my brother and we're just going for a short little vacation. I'm also trying to get some good video shots of the city, beaches, attractions etc. I won't be renting a car, as I am still too young to rent without the additional rental fees. I'm use to taking Uber/Lyft/Light rail to get around Denver whenever I don't have a car, so I don't think transportation should be an issue. Coming from Denver, seeing the beach and being around water is a must do for us. We'd love to take a boat tour, so that's something I want to look more into. As for food, I'm open to anything! I love Mexican food, seafood, etc. Any recommendations would be appreciated!
Based on the feedback in this thread, I decided that staying in Chula Vista probably isn't the best idea. I was just looking for somewhere on the light rail line that was fairly cheap and I guess it's cheap for a reason. Clearly wasn't thinking So I decided that I'd stay in a hotel in the Mission Valley area near Westfield Mall. It's near the light rail and the area appears to be quite a bit more upscale. It's also right between the beach and zoo which is great! Do you guys think that's a better option?
I'll definitely look around the forum some more, but thanks for the responses again!
You might consider staying in Oceanside or Carlsbad -- it'll be cheaper (you might even be able to afford to stay at a hotel/motel on the beach), and there are a number of very good ways (trains) to get into SD and back to Oceanside. And you're more likely to get a GORGEOUS sunset in Oceanside. Especially if you're staying on the beach.
Just a thought.
Last edited by Fran66; 08-01-2017 at 06:44 AM..
Reason: Addition
PS: You could spend a week just exploring Balboa Park and The Zoo (I think The SD Zoo is designated the second-best zoo in the world -- may be wrong). A week is awfully short -- but better than nothing, right? :-)
Thank you everybody for your responses! Sorry for the vague OP. Let me be a little bit more specific about my trip.
Based on the feedback in this thread, I decided that staying in Chula Vista probably isn't the best idea. I was just looking for somewhere on the light rail line that was fairly cheap and I guess it's cheap for a reason. Clearly wasn't thinking So I decided that I'd stay in a hotel in the Mission Valley area near Westfield Mall. It's near the light rail and the area appears to be quite a bit more upscale. It's also right between the beach and zoo which is great! Do you guys think that's a better option?
I'll definitely look around the forum some more, but thanks for the responses again!
Yes, Mission Valley will be a better option than Chula Vista. It's much more central than Chula Vista.
However, from Mission Valley you could also easily take the Trolley over two stops to Old Town and pick up the Coaster (a train) there. Take it up to Encinitas or Carlsbad for the day. They are really nice areas with great beaches. The train ride will take you along the coast as well so you'll get to see some scenery along the way. So, that would be a good option for a fun day trip from Mission Valley as well. COASTER | NCTD
Or, you could still take the Trolley into downtown and then take the Ferry over to Coronado Island. That will kill two birds with one stone -- a beach that you get to by boat over the harbor.
The zoo and Balboa Park (where the Zoo is and a must see in itself) are also not on the Trolley line, but you can take the Trolley into downtown and then walk or take Lyft/Uber from there. Definitely take some time to walk around the Prado area of Balboa Park - gorgeous old buildings. Panama 66 is a fun open air restaurant in that area. Here's info on Balboa Park: https://www.balboapark.org/
You'll also be very close to Old Town San Diego, which is a little historic park that has a lot of restaurants and some things to see/do nearby. You can take the Trolley directly there from Mission Valley. It'll be two stops from where you're staying. There are also some Mexican restaurants in that area (although a lot of them are more touristy). Old Town San Diego Guide
You may want to also look into getting a day pass for the Old Town Trolley. This is a little shuttle bus for tourists that stops in many places around San Diego and you can hop on and off whenever you see something interesting. It does pick up at some hotels, but I bet you could also pick it up somewhere in old town and go from there. It might be cheaper than relying on Lyft/Uber to get to all of those places. There are discount coupons available. https://www.trolleytours.com/san-diego/tickets
Speaking of discount coupons, if you're on a tight budget, be sure to check out the discounts page on the San Diego tourism site. They have coupons for everything from the Zoo to Harbor Cruises.
Here's the link to the discounts page: https://www.sandiego.org/plan/offers.aspx
This is probably way too much to do in three days, but it will give you some ideas to play with. Have a safe and fun trip!
P.S. don't forget we call our "light rail" the Trolley. Remember that because if you ask someone for direction to the "light rail" they may not know what you mean. But, everyone knows what the Trolley is.
However, from Mission Valley you could also easily take the Trolley over two stops to Old Town and pick up the Coaster (a train) there. Take it up to Encinitas or Carlsbad for the day. They are really nice areas with great beaches. The train ride will take you along the coast as well so you'll get to see some scenery along the way. So, that would be a good option for a fun day trip from Mission Valley as well. COASTER | NCTD
Or, you could still take the Trolley into downtown and then take the Ferry over to Coronado Island. That will kill two birds with one stone -- a beach that you get to by boat over the harbor.
The zoo and Balboa Park (where the Zoo is and a must see in itself) are also not on the Trolley line, but you can take the Trolley into downtown and then walk or take Lyft/Uber from there. Definitely take some time to walk around the Prado area of Balboa Park - gorgeous old buildings. Panama 66 is a fun open air restaurant in that area. Here's info on Balboa Park: https://www.balboapark.org/
You'll also be very close to Old Town San Diego, which is a little historic park that has a lot of restaurants and some things to see/do nearby. You can take the Trolley directly there from Mission Valley. It'll be two stops from where you're staying. There are also some Mexican restaurants in that area (although a lot of them are more touristy). Old Town San Diego Guide
You may want to also look into getting a day pass for the Old Town Trolley. This is a little shuttle bus for tourists that stops in many places around San Diego and you can hop on and off whenever you see something interesting. It does pick up at some hotels, but I bet you could also pick it up somewhere in old town and go from there. It might be cheaper than relying on Lyft/Uber to get to all of those places. There are discount coupons available. https://www.trolleytours.com/san-diego/tickets
Speaking of discount coupons, if you're on a tight budget, be sure to check out the discounts page on the San Diego tourism site. They have coupons for everything from the Zoo to Harbor Cruises.
Here's the link to the discounts page: https://www.sandiego.org/plan/offers.aspx
This is probably way too much to do in three days, but it will give you some ideas to play with. Have a safe and fun trip!
P.S. don't forget we call our "light rail" the Trolley. Remember that because if you ask someone for direction to the "light rail" they may not know what you mean. But, everyone knows what the Trolley is.
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So I decided that I'd stay in a hotel in the Mission Valley area near Westfield Mall. It's near the light rail and the area appears to be quite a bit more upscale. It's also right between the beach and zoo which is great! Do you guys think that's a better option? 
