What are must sees / dos in San Diego and where to stay? For couple in late 20s with only 2 days!? (Encinitas: salons)

[Marissa Marie]

My boyfriend and I are flying to San Diego Thursday morning for a weekend wedding in Palm Springs (Saturday). We have 2 full days in San Diego. I love the beach and walkable towns/main streets, he is very interested in seeing the zoo, we both like to have a few drinks at a bar but don't like anything overcrowded or crazy.

We'd love suggestions on where to go, what to do, what to see.. We will have a car. I've read a lot of posts but its hard to pick out what to choose with our short time. Also, best spot to see the sunset?

We would also love recommendations on a nice yet affordable hotel.. there are so many locations... Prefer staying near beach to city but would consider either.

Thanks so much! We are so excited for our first trip to the west coast!

[echo42]

Sounds like you are going to be on a tight schedule so I would not suggest staying at the beach. Too much traffic, not enough access and not centrally located for a tight schedule. I would suggest staying downtown, it is close to the airport and centrally located. Nice but inexpensive is not do-able here...same goes for real estate in case you were wondering. I used to stay at the Lafayette hotel in North Park when I lived out of state for a few years and would come back home on vacation. It is about as inexpensive as your going to get and still be nice. It is in a cool part of town as well.

I would suggest you go to the zoo the day you arrive. Again it is close to downtown and the airport. Maybe have dinner and drinks in the gaslamp downtown. There are plenty of places to go. I am sure the Anthony Bourdains of this forum will pipe up with suggestions.

Your quest for the sunset and a beach visit will be hit and miss, depending on the weather. The next two months are notorious for overcast, fog and grey weather the closer you are to the coast. It wont be cold, just grey. If it is clear, I would go with Pt Loma for the sunset. There is a lighthouse there and incredible veiws.

If you have a full second day and you want to see a beach or coastal town, I would recommend a drive to La Jolla, Del Mar or anything on Highway 101.

[rosa surf]

Stay at the Lafayette Hotel as mentioned above. It is affordable, nice, and located in a walkable área where you can walk to bars, coffee shops and restaurants. Best eating options are all very centralized in this area known as North Park, especially on 30th st.

Do the zoo, balboa park, and downtown one day. The zoo and the park are next to each other, and downtown is 10 minutes away.

The next day do the beach areas. I would recommend eating breakfast in Pacific Beach at Jrdn. It is a beautiful reasonably priced beach front restaurant. You can hang out at this beach or head to La Jolla. The best place to see the sunset is probably Point Loma, but you can also see a beautiful sunset in La Jolla. PB is more of a party type place for young people. La Jolla is a large upper class beach with many tourists and families.

[lrmsd]

Originally Posted by echo42

Sounds like you are going to be on a tight schedule so I would not suggest staying at the beach. Too much traffic, not enough access and not centrally located for a tight schedule. I would suggest staying downtown, it is close to the airport and centrally located. Nice but inexpensive is not do-able here...same goes for real estate in case you were wondering. I used to stay at the Lafayette hotel in North Park when I lived out of state for a few years and would come back home on vacation. It is about as inexpensive as your going to get and still be nice. It is in a cool part of town as well.

I would suggest you go to the zoo the day you arrive. Again it is close to downtown and the airport. Maybe have dinner and drinks in the gaslamp downtown. There are plenty of places to go. I am sure the Anthony Bourdains of this forum will pipe up with suggestions.

Your quest for the sunset and a beach visit will be hit and miss, depending on the weather. The next two months are notorious for overcast, fog and grey weather the closer you are to the coast. It wont be cold, just grey. If it is clear, I would go with Pt Loma for the sunset. There is a lighthouse there and incredible veiws.

If you have a full second day and you want to see a beach or coastal town, I would recommend a drive to La Jolla, Del Mar or anything on Highway 101.

Del Mar Village is right off the 5 and has very easy access-20 minutes to balboa park/central SD. And top notch beach. La Jolla Shores is nto that hard to access, either. Pacific Beach is a PITA to get in and out of and coronado can be challenging. Even Encinitas/moonlight beach is a great choice b/c it's right off the 5 and not a far drive to balboa park. Encinitas and Del Mar are walkable with shops, restaurants etc.

OP: Here is a post I recently replied to and linked to several hotels in the Torrey Pines state beach/park area.
//www.city-data.com/forum/san-d...san-diego.html
Some of the rates are in the low $100 range, from what I know. BUt it depends on the specific dates so you can check it out. (:
Most are between del mar and la jolla, off the 5 freeeway and easy enough to get to the zoo. Also, it's not likely that you will find more affordable by staying near the zoo/balboa park, so I say stay close to the coast but off the 5 so it's quick on and off. Del mar village is perfect for a few drinks at a rooftop/ocean view bar [I recommend Sbicca on 15th st. but the area is walkable and just find something you like, there are many excellent options there].

2 days really is short, so if it were me, I'd probably opt for staying in a hotel near del mar, spending Thursday strolling del mar [the beach is adjacent to the many excellent restaurants-just a few blocks away] and the beach itself, and then spend Friday at the zoo and balboa park in general. You can drive from the airport to Del Mar in about 20 minutes, give or take. When staying near del mar, I'd make a point to drive by torrey pines state beach and take pics, check out the view from the parking above the beach, a quick walk if possible. If you have time, after spending the day at balboa park/zoo, drive to little italy/downtown area [it's close by-maybe 15 minutes drive tops] and enjoy dinner and a stroll. That gives you both beach time and cool urban sites/zoo time. IF you have time, you can drive the historic 101 coast road, starting at torrey pines drive through del mar, cardiff, solana beach up to encinitas, then hop back on the 5 freeway and go south back to your hotel. The towns/cities here have tons of beach front restaurants, shops, activities. Very beautiful views, too.

Link for Del Mar info:
http://www.sandiego.org/articles/nor...alifornia.aspx
http://www.delmarmainstreet.com/
http://www.sandiegocoastlife.com/att...r-village.html
and PB:
http://www.sandiego.org/what-to-do/b...fic-beach.aspx
I think looking up images of these spots will give you a feel for whether or not they are what you are looking for. Del Mar is by far cleaner and more pristine-ie, when walking to restaurants and bars, you won't see cigarette butts all over the ground or have homeless or panhandlers. Also, PB has a few good restaurants and bars with good food, but DM has better cuisine over all. Both have good happy hour choices but again, very different environments. Del Mar is more upscale, old-school affluent SD. PB was more old school surfer enclave,t hough I think Encinitas still embodies this more than PB does.

[lrmsd]

Originally Posted by rosa surf

Stay at the Lafayette Hotel as mentioned above. It is affordable, nice, and located in a walkable área where you can walk to bars, coffee shops and restaurants. Best eating options are all very centralized in this area known as North Park, especially on 30th st.

Do the zoo, balboa park, and downtown one day. The zoo and the park are next to each other, and downtown is 10 minutes away.

The next day do the beach areas. I would recommend eating breakfast in Pacific Beach at Jrdn. It is a beautiful reasonably priced beach front restaurant. You can hang out at this beach or head to La Jolla. The best place to see the sunset is probably Point Loma, but you can also see a beautiful sunset in La Jolla. PB is more of a party type place for young people. La Jolla is a large upper class beach with many tourists and families.

Yes, PB is very party, lots of bars, tattoo parlors and tanning salons. Can be kind of skeevy, too. But the pier and beach are pretty and lots of tourists come to check it out. La Jolla has all ages for tourists, but downtown la jolla is congested and the cove isn't really a beach. La Jolla shores is in a residential area and is a beautiful beach, BUT is definitely mellow and lots of families, as well as some surfers. All ages but not a place to walk to shops or restaurants. I think Del Mar is easiest on and off the freeway access, small enough to enjoy in a short period of time and a great spot for drinks-there are a lot of young professionas and surfers in the del mar area, who do happy hour at the many great spots in DM. Plus, it's beautiful and charming with shops and boutiques.

[LuvSouthOC]

I agree with Rosa's idea re the second day, but would skip PB and go to La Jolla, Mt. Soledad and then Torrey Pines, then Del Mar.

For tourists such as yourselves (not those of us who live in this area), breakfast or lunch might be fun in Old Town.

[rosa surf]

Originally Posted by lrmsd

Yes, PB is very party, lots of bars, tattoo parlors and tanning salons. Can be kind of skeevy, too. But the pier and beach are pretty and lots of tourists come to check it out. La Jolla has all ages for tourists, but downtown la jolla is congested and the cove isn't really a beach. La Jolla shores is in a residential area and is a beautiful beach, BUT is definitely mellow and lots of families, as well as some surfers. All ages but not a place to walk to shops or restaurants. I think Del Mar is easiest on and off the freeway access, small enough to enjoy in a short period of time and a great spot for drinks-there are a lot of young professionas and surfers in the del mar area, who do happy hour at the many great spots in DM. Plus, it's beautiful and charming with shops and boutiques.

My post was a short brief suggestion based on how much time they are here. I find Del Mar very charming but I think it is too far from central San Diego and the downtown area is kind of dead in the evening.

I think La Jolla is amazing and fun and always suggest tourists to visit there. Pacific Beach has its negatives but it still represents SD surfer culture and is popular with tourists, especially young people. It has the vibrant boardwalk and it is a good experience to eat at some of the restaurants located on the boardwalk.

Have your rever been to the JRDN the restaurant I suggested? It is gorgeous and has quality food at good prices. I wouldnt knock on PB so much, there are some gems like this restaurant and the Spanish restaurant Costa Brava.

[Larry Siegel]

The beach communities are what is special and different about SD. So I'd suggest La Jolla, Torrey Pines, Del Mar. So what if they're a half hour from downtown? The downtowns of medium sized U.S. cities are somewhat alike and San Diego's is nothing to brag about (save your downtown time for New York), while the north coast communities are among the most beautiful in the world.