San Diego

[sstephensid]

I am going to San Diego for 6 days in December. I would love to hear recommendations for attractions and restaurants. Of course, I will check out TripAdvisor. We are staying in the Gaslamp Quarter. I like almost all types of food. I can splurge on a few meals ($30+ per entree), but also would like reasonably priced meals too (for me $15ish an entree)

Thanks!

 

[kmarla]

I was there about four years ago for a work conference and had an amazing time. We stayed just outside the Gaslamp district (Hilton) and the walkability from that area is fantastic. You can walk for ages along the boardwalk and there are some nice restaurants to stop at along the way. I did a trolley car tour to get familiar with the city the first day, and an amphibious tour (seals training with military) which was very interesting. Coronado is a must see, and Balboa Park, San Diego Zoo. Sea World is great if you like that kind of thing. The U.S.S. Midway Museum is walkable from where you'll be staying. I can't remember specific restaurants, but there was lots of choice in the Gaslamp area, as well as shopping. You'll have a great time!!

 

[AGBF]

My great-nephew and his partner have now been living there for about a year and love it. They are young and very adventurous. I will e-mail him.

Deb

 

[AGBF]

I am going to San Diego for 6 days in December. I would love to hear recommendations for attractions and restaurants. Of course, I will check out TripAdvisor. We are staying in the Gaslamp Quarter. I like almost all types of food. I can splurge on a few meals ($30+ per entree), but also would like reasonably priced meals too (for me $15ish an entree)

Thanks!

Hi, again, sstephensid-

I heard back from my great-nephew and I am cutting and pasting the parts of his e-mail that do not deal with Thanksgiving and Christmas plans here for you to read verbatim. English is his third language, so please excuse the misspellings. I hope the tips are helpful. He says that he does not know The Gaslamp District (which I believe I called The Gaslight District to him) well.

Good luck.

Deb

I am not very familiar with the Gaslight district. It is mostly night clubs and sport bars. It is pretty dead during the day, but super busy during the night (especially during weekend nights).

Some of my favorite restaurants in San Diego are located in La Jolla Cove (roughly 15 mins drive from Gaslight). They are a bit pricey though so I would at least try one.
My favorite is Crab Catcher. Also, the best Gellato, owned by a couple from Milan, is called Bobboi also located in the Cove.

hillcrest has lots of good places to eat and my favorite is called Parma. Owned by 4 young Italians from Parma, Italy.Â

If your friend is craving BBQ, San Diego has the best place for really really good BBQ. It's called Phil's BBQ, but prepare for a very long wait. It is probably one of the most popular places in town.


must see places (not in a particular order):

1. Balboa park - amazing spanish era architecture
2. Coronado
3. La Jolla Cove - always busy with turists but worth a visit becuase of the diverse marine life
4. Sunset cliffs - as name suggests, best time to visit is during sunset
5. Mission and Ocean Beaches.
6. Point Loma
7. Mount Soledad.
8. San Diego's Old Town for authentic mexican food. (most people who work there live in Mexico and work in Old Town, so you know the food will be authentic)

 

[Voldemort]

I am going to San Diego for 6 days in December. I would love to hear recommendations for attractions and restaurants. Of course, I will check out TripAdvisor. We are staying in the Gaslamp Quarter. I like almost all types of food. I can splurge on a few meals ($30+ per entree), but also would like reasonably priced meals too (for me $15ish an entree)

Thanks!

There are so many great restaurants. Pokez is really yummy, and has vegan options.. but you wouldn't know it.The Mission is an amazing place for breakfast and they serve Cafe Moto coffee which is my favorite! Attractions? Best burger as far as I'm concerned is Hodads on Broadway. Hash House a Go Go is in Hillcrest and has monstrous size portions.. delicious.

Where do I begin? You could do a harbor cruise, or a whale watching cruise, the Zoo is in Balboa Park will be lit up for Christmas, too.. and the museums during the day are wonderful. You could take the foot ferry to Coronado, it's gorgeous and the Hotel Del is amazing to see as well. Old Town is just up the freeway and is always a fun place to wander around, walking through Casa de Estudillo is really cool. You could do tours on the old ships on the waterfront, the USS Midway is very cool if that's your thing. Liberty Station is the old Naval Base re-designed, it's amazing and has a TON of great places to eat. Btw, The Donut Bar downtown is something you should experience if you love donuts.. I think they may be cash only but you could check beforehand. SeaPort Village is on the waterfront just down from the Gaslamp, its fun to wander in the shops there. Cabrillo National Monument and the Point Loma Lighthouse are both great places to see. There's also Birch Aquarium in La Jolla and La Jolla shores, one of my favorite places to walk around. At Balboa Park there's a restaurant called The Prado which I like very much. (I love Mexican food..).

Is there anything specific you want to see?

Hope this has helped a little.. since I live here, I often take for granted what San Diego has to offer.

 

[sstephensid]

Thanks everyone! I am at work right now but will thoroughly read the responses this evening.

 

[sstephensid]

Kmarla, glad to hear there are trolley cars! I def want to check out the Midway Museum. AGBF, that was so sweet of you to ask your nephew. I want to check out the Mexican food in Old Town, Parma and La Jolla Cove. Voldemort (love your name btw!) I LOVE DONUTS! I will have to try the Donut Bar. I also thought about taking a whale watching cruise. I have never been on a boat before, so I am a little afraid of getting seasick.

I want to see the zoo, not sure if the Safari park by San Diego Zoo is worth it... I've never been to a city in California, only a Death Valley trip from Las Vegas, so I'm super excited.

 

[sonnyjane]

Kmarla, glad to hear there are trolley cars! I def want to check out the Midway Museum. AGBF, that was so sweet of you to ask your nephew. I want to check out the Mexican food in Old Town, Parma and La Jolla Cove. Voldemort (love your name btw!) I LOVE DONUTS! I will have to try the Donut Bar. I also thought about taking a whale watching cruise. I have never been on a boat before, so I am a little afraid of getting seasick.

I want to see the zoo, not sure if the Safari park by San Diego Zoo is worth it... I've never been to a city in California, only a Death Valley trip from Las Vegas, so I'm super excited.

I just moved away from San Diego last year. I was there for 7 years. Just a few things. The "trolley car" is a tour that you pay for, it's not a mode of transportation like they have in say, SF or New Orleans. There IS however, "the trolley" that serves as public transportation that's convenient to certain locations, but it's more like what other cities might call an above-ground "metro". Aside from being directly along the trolley route, public transportation in San Diego isn't the greatest.

For Mexican food, I agree Old Town is your best bet. Old Town Mexican Cafe is usually a favorite - certainly the most authentic of the many restaurant offerings in Old Town.

I used to work for a whale watch company in San Diego. It will depend on when in December you're going to determine what you see. Early December could be quiet other than dolphins. Later in December will be more consistent for the gray whale migration. Sea conditions will depend purely on the day - if there's little wind and a small swell, it can be as flat as a lake. It can also, however, be 6 foot seas - just depends on the day. You can always take seasickness medicine as a precaution. Unfortunately there's no way to know if you'll get sick or not until you're out there...

The zoo is relatively close to you from the Gaslamp, but the Safari Park is a 45-minute drive (without traffic), so I'd pick the zoo if you're only going to do one.

In the Gaslamp, there's a neat restaurant called Searsucker with a great farm-to-table menu. It's run by Brian Malarkey from Top Chef. La Jolla is definitely worth a visit - lots of easy wildlife opportunities, but again, getting there will be a pain unless you take the bus or rent a car. It's about 25-30 minutes from the Gaslamp.

 

[UrsTx]

We were just there in August. My three food tips are, and these are all coincidentally in little Italy which is a few bucks away from gaslamp via uber: farmers market - look for the fruit stand that sells a three-basket combo of berries (prob not in season by then but they're soooooo gooooood). The bakery, and food, is great at Cafe Zucchero in little Italy. And the favorite of our whole group of 12 was Queenstown Public House, which usually has a long line to get in but is so worth it!