San Diego Recommendations
San Diego
SD Harbor walk
Beautiful views of the San Diego harbor with some cool ships/museums. A bit of a long walk so pick the portion you want to see. Not far from Little Italy.
https://www.sandiego.org/campaigns/sunny-7/embarcadero.aspx
Little Italy
Lots of great eats!
https://www.sandiego.org/explore/downtown-urban/little-italy.aspx
North Park
Neighborhood with some unique shops and good restaurants.
https://northparkmainstreet.com/north-park-san-diego/
Old Town Historic District
A small outdoor museum with many of San Diego’s oldest buildings representing the budding frontier community. A street of restaurants is just down the street. Nearby is a major transportation hub with train, light rail, bus, and airport shuttle connections.
https://www.oldtownsandiego.org/
San Diego Zoo
One of the top zoos in the world. A wide range of animals, more than enough for a full day’s visit. I’m partial to the bird aviaries. Pretty hilly but there are shuttles available. Also, check out the ski lift for an aerial view. Food options are limited but satisfactory.
Coronado Bridge
Technically not a place to stop, but this tall bridge gives a unique view of the San Diego area. Connects the city to Coronado Island.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego–Coronado_Bridge
Coronado Ferry Landing Park
A great place to view the city. Also has some shops and restaurants.
https://www.portofsandiego.org/experiences/where-go/coronado/coronado-landing-park
Ocean Beach Dog Beach
Our favorite dog beach in the county. Wraps around and goes up the river.
Sunset Cliffs
A perfect place to bring a blanket and watch the sunset (cloud cover permitting). Arrive a little early to find a place to park and a spot to sit.
https://www.sandiego.gov/park-and-recreation/parks/regional/shoreline/sunset
La Jolla Goldfish Point Trail
A great coastal trail, though I’d recommend doubling back rather than taking the streets back into town. South of the trail is the main part of town and lots of sea lions and birds along the shore.
Torrey Pines State Park
Beautiful coastal park and hike to the endangered pine trees that give the park its name. At low tide, the entire beach is walkable and can be incorporated as part of a hike but make sure not to get stranded by a high tide. There’s also a popular beach at the entrance. Parking can be limited in the summer.
https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=657
Great Bites
City Tacos
A great local gourmet taco chain with unique twists on traditional tacos.
Convoy Street
Commercial region known for lots of great Asian restaurants, particularly Korean food. Highly recommend braving the parking and wait times to try one of these eateries.
Broad Street Dough
One of the best donut shops in the county All donuts are made to order so you can combine different doughs and toppings. The fried (cronuts?) are also fried fresh.
https://www.broadstreetdoughco.com/encinitas
Salt and Straw
A boutique ice cream shop with several San Diego County locations. Known for their unique monthly themed flavors.
Handle’s Ice Cream
National ice cream chain with several north county locations. Lots of flavors and decent portions. I can recommend the 4-scoop flight if you’re sharing with others.
Azúcar Cuban Bakery
Ocean beach eatery with delicious baked goods.
Better Buzz Coffee
Local coffee chain with great locations and tasty drinks.
La Jolla Scoops
Small ice cream shop just down the street from the beach with great ice cream. I would recommend the honeycomb flavor.
https://www.scoopslajolla.com/
Oceanside
Oceanside Harbor Beach
The best beach in town. Long and wide sand beach with plenty of restaurants and shops nearby. Parking can be expensive but there’s a free lot on the other side of the railroad tracks if you’re willing to walk a ways. This is where I play beach ultimate Tuesday afternoons in the summer.
https://visitoceanside.org/things-to-do/beaches/harbor-beach/
Oceanside Pier
A must-see stop if spending any time in Oceanside. Even if you only walk out halfway, it’s a nice place to watch the surfers and see the coastline. You might even see a fisherman reel in something. The diner at the end of the pier burned down in 2024 but 90% of the pier was unharmed.
https://visitoceanside.org/things-to-do/outdoors/oceanside-pier/
San Luis Ray Mission
Historic Catholic mission created as part of the early Spanish expansion in the area. Still conducting mass and has a large cemetery. It’s an iconic part of Oceanside’s history and includes a small museum that dives into the complicated history between the church and the local Luseño people. Also has a copy of an act signed by President Abraham Lincoln to fund the mission as it stated to fall into disrepair. Out front are some ruins from an old part of the complex. Worth a short visit if you want a little insight into local history.
The “Top Gun” house
One of the last buildings of its era in Oceanside, this house was featured in the original Top Gun as the hike of the female lead. It has since been restored by the Mission Pacific Resort and moved to the center of its property. They now sell mini, portable pies.
https://missionpacifichotel.com/historic-top-gun-house/
Pier View Coffee
Local coffee shop a short walk from the pier. Good place to work on a laptop for a few hours or just grab a specialty latte.
Parlor Donuts
Croissant donut shop. Best if you can get them fresh in the morning. They used to have breakfast tacos but those were taken off the menu.
https://www.parlordoughnuts.com/oceanside-ca
Colima’s Mexican restaurant
Large, delicious burritos tucked in a central location on Pier View Way.
Sports
San Diego’s biggest sports team is definitely the Padres baseball team. However there are lots of other major and minor league teams of various sports in the area.
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