redsoleslady

Hi, am a female solo traveller, going to SD for the first time, I will come to San Diego from Anaheim via Amtrak so I will ended up either in San Diego Santa Fe Depot or San Diego Old Town station.

I still torn of which area I should stay in, Little Italy, Gaslamp Quarter or Ocean Beach.

I wouldn't rent a car and would't wanna drive here.

I also hasn't really think about what I wanna see/do here in San Diego.

So my question is:

- Safety wise for female solo traveller, which area I should stay in??
- How easy/hard to navigate in the city to points of interest via public transport (bus/trolley/similar)? Is cab reliable here?
- I wanna do sky diving, could locals recommend the best company for this activity (tandem jump one, not solo jump)?
- Is the outlet nearby San Diego really give good bargain? (the like Las Americas or Carlsbad)
- Is SeaWorld/San Diego Zoo worth the visit or t's more for family trip with kids?
- What to do/see in La Jolla
- Ultimately, what is the 'must' see/do in San Diego.

Many thanks in advance!

sf7307

I would stay in Gaslamp or Little Italy just because they're vibrant at night with restaurants and bars (not so you can go out drinking , just so you can walk to a restaurant from your hotel).

auntie_raine

I would also recommend the Gaslamp or Little Italy. I would also take the train to the Santa Fe Depot, which is right downtown near Little Italy. The Old Town station is a little out of the way (but not much, so just a short taxi ride to downtown/Little Italy).

auntie_raine

Sorry, I meant to add that taxis are reliable, and Uber is a big presence as well. There are also buses, but I am not as familiar with using those. I would recommend the zoo. As a resident of SD, I have had memberships to the zoo in the past and I used to stop in there after work sometimes to walk for exercise. It is a beautiful place and well worth a visit. I do not recommend Sea World. Others can comment on other issues regarding Sea World, but I think it is a very expensive day that without children is not worth the time or money.

San Diego is a very safe city, especially in the areas a visitor would likely go. Just take the normal precautions you would anywhere as a single person (be aware of your surroundings and belongings, etc.) As to La Jolla - I work in La Jolla Shores, and you can take a kayak tour of the sea caves from one of the several companies here, and there are a few cute restaurants. In La Jolla Village, the cove area is very pretty and there are many restaurants and shops to explore. La Jolla is a 25 minute or so cab/Uber ride from downtown without traffic.

nanabee

If you don't have a car then you'll want to be in the Gaslamp district which us in downtown San Diego. This is where almost all bus routes begin or you at least have better access to bus stops, more routes and better time choices. If you are in Ocean Beach, for example you'll most likely take buses into downtown then have to catch a connecting bus.

To take the bus from downtown to LA Jolla will take about 40 minutes if you take the express bus. That will take you into downtown LA Jolla. You can then walk around Girard Street and continue north to the La Jolla Cove. Which is a beautiful protected area. There are reef fish if you have goggles, and sea lions.

Of you want to sky dive, the only place I know of is in Torrey Pines, near La Jolla. It's across from the University of Calif at San Diego (UCSD). Again check to see schedule from Girard Street SPECIFICALLY TO the glider park.

Another fun thing is to go to the foot of Broadway St. in downtown and catch a foot ferry over to Coronado. You can walk or rent a bike up to the main part of the small town. The Hotel Del Coronado is a beautiful hotel built in the 1980s and a nice place to explore. I'd have lunch at any of the little restaurants along Orange Ave between about 9th and 10th Ave. Miguel is a popular Mexican restaurant. Tent City is another decent place as well.

Barbara

"Of you want to sky dive, the only place I know of is in Torrey Pines"

https://www.flytorrey.com/the-gliderport/


Not sky diving. I think the closest sky diving is in Perris, about an hour north of San Diego on I-15.

nanabee

Good catch Barbara. Perris, CA is probably not doable unless you rent a car.

Yes Torrey Pines is a gliderport. It's beautiful and you "sail" off high cliffs over the ocean.

redsoleslady

Thank you all! So I will stay either in Gaslamp or Little Italy and will visit the zoo, I guess I have to do research more on sky diving.
Any ocean/water sport activities that I should do in SD or as specialty of SD?
How about shopping? Is the Outlet like Las Americas really is a bargain for american brand like TR jeans, etc or just mediocre outlet mall? Where do locals usually buy their branded stuff?

SandyBrit

redsoleslady:

Here is a link that has a lot of good information on San Diego http://www.sandiego.org

Here is a link on Ocean Beach which is such a funky little community somewhat frozen in time https://oceanbeachsandiego.com that you may enjoy a day visit to. Walk around and out on the pier.

Sandy

maitaitom

Here's a couple...Balboa Park and USS Midway (prices may have changed since I visited Midway).

http://travelswithmaitaitom.com/21708-2/

http://travelswithmaitaitom.com/uss-...eum-san-diego/

redsoleslady

Cool, thanks a lot guys!

nanabee

Redsolelady, there is a large outlet mall which includes most of the large brand name big box stores. It is on the US side on the Tijuana, Mexico border and you can take a trolley down. That is the fastest without a car. The trolley begins in downtown San Diego and can be easily caught from Little Italy and anywhere from dowtown. It starts at Broadway and Kettner and stops at each cross street along C Ave then turns and goes to the border.

With 4 days though you can probably find the same items at outlets in or near your own home town.

If you are into kayaking, snoreling, diving, or learning to surf the La Jolla Shores has tons of surf, dive shops that take people out on ocean/ beach outtings. I would recommend it. The Shores area is a protected ocean area and these tours are guided and really great. You will see lots of various reef fish, sea lions, and on a rare occasion a whale (this happened to a kayaker a few weeks ago) You can ask about kayaking tours which take you to the sea caves along the cliffs. They provide all the gear including wetsuits. La Jolla Kayak is one but there are many others as well. Google La Jolla Shores kayaking/diving/snorkeling and you'll find many. Theyre all good.

OB or Ocean Beach as Sandy brit mentioned is funky and fun. The ocean is a major surfing spot and probably ok for swimming. Not good for snorkeling or diving. Parts of OB beaches have high cliffs that are dangerous and often slide into the ocean. Be careful.

sf7307

With 4 days though you can probably find the same items at outlets in or near your own home town

Probably not, since the OP lives in Indonesia!

nanabee

If you are interested in shopping Horton Plaza is downtown around Broadway between 3rd and 5th approximately. It's a large mall. Has most big box stores like Gap, etc.

Little Italy is known for its restaurants. There are tons of really great places to eat. We've eaten at Bracerro which is new wave Mexican. And Balast Point has a brewery / restaurant. Their beer is awesome, local, homegrown .And has become a huge name in the beer business. It was just bought out for 1 billion dollars (with a "b") but still operated by local guys as I understand!!

nanabee

Thanks sf, I didn't realize. The outlet near the border would be good then. It would take up most of the day, but via trolley from downtown or Little Italy would be an easy commute. I'd check the trolley information to find out how close they go to the Mall first. Personally, I would NOT go by bus it would be a slow long haul imho.

nanabee

Oh you asked about staying in a hotel in OB. It is a biker, old hippy, surfer area with a lot of young people and is known as a party area at night. It also has its share of crime and if you are a single female I would prefer Little Italy personally. OB is fun to visit during the day.

familythattravels

Last year, our family rented an apartment via VRBO on the border of Little Italy/Harbor and we absolutely LOVED the location. I wrote a trip report about it if you are interested. We did Uber for transport as it was cheaper with 4 people. Public transit would be more cost effective for a solo traveler. I felt relatively safe but there were some sketchy looking homeless people there was a brief bit of public nudity with one person in particular which was awkward with kids, a sad situation. Good luck San Diego is a great vacation destination.

redsoleslady

Guysss, I just got info that 21-24jul is ComicCon in SD and it would be crowded there, should I skip SD altogether and save it for next time? or it's ok?

(I plan to go to SD on the 19-22Jul, bad idea?)

sf7307

I've been there during ComicCon (for a family event) and the crowds were confined to the convention center area (although we did see plenty of people walking around in wild costumes). I wouldn't let that drive my decision.

redsoleslady

@sf307 Yes you are so right, but I'm still considering to move my dates (13-16Jul), will check with my flight from Jakarta, because I'll fly in on the 13th of Jul by SQ so it's gonna be like this CGK-SIN-NRT-LAX, now I have to find a way to connect to SAN directly from LAX. From research, I found the cheapest, quite easy and relaxing is by Amtrak, so LAX to Union Station (maybe by shuttle) then Pacific Surfliner to San Diego Santa Fe. Any thoughts on this?

I've check direct flight LAX-SAN by United, it's kinda expensive and no direct flight by Southwest. So I guess I'll try the Amtrak.