Where to base yourself
Downtown and the Gaslamp Quarter. Most convenient without a car: restaurants, the waterfront and transport on the doorstep. Noisy at weekends.
Little Italy. A pleasant, walkable district just north of downtown with good restaurants and a Saturday market, close to the airport.
Coronado. Quiet, safe and beachy, with a small-town feel; a bridge or ferry ride from everything else.
La Jolla and the beach towns. Best for a seaside stay — La Jolla is smart, Pacific Beach lively and young. You will want a car.
Food & drink
San Diego’s signature dish is the fish taco, battered and served with cabbage and a creamy sauce, a style brought north from Baja California. The local California burrito adds chips (French fries) to grilled beef. The city is also one of America’s craft-beer capitals, with dozens of breweries and tasting rooms; Little Italy and the Gaslamp Quarter have the densest choice of restaurants.
Money-saving and safety tips
- Go City San Diego and similar passes bundle the zoo, the Midway, cruises and more; they are worth it only if you will use several inclusions.
- Some Balboa Park museums offer free entry on rotating days to local residents only — visitors should budget for tickets or a park-wide pass.
- Sea lions are wild and can bite. Stay well back, particularly from pups, and never stand between an animal and the water.
- Sunburn is the commonest visitor injury: the breeze hides the strength of the sun.
- If you cross to Tijuana, carry your passport and allow for long queues returning to the United States.
Sample plans
One day
- Morning in Balboa Park
- Afternoon on the USS Midway and the Embarcadero
- Dinner in the Gaslamp Quarter or Little Italy
Two days
- Day one: San Diego Zoo, then Balboa Park’s museums
- Day two: La Jolla Cove in the morning
- Afternoon on Coronado Beach and sunset at the Hotel del Coronado
Three days
- Days one and two as above
- Old Town in the morning
- A whale-watching or harbour cruise in the afternoon
Where to stay in San Diego
Stay downtown or in the Gaslamp Quarter if you are without a car and want to walk to dinner and the waterfront. For a beach holiday, choose Coronado or La Jolla and plan on driving to the city sights.
