dougieshoney

My DH and I will be in San Diego for a week in September. We are staying in the Gaslamp Quarter and he will be attending a conference at the Convention Center all week. I will be on my own during the day and DH and I will have the evenings together. As of now, our plan is not to rent a car. Do you think I'll regret that? I'm not afraid to use public transportation by myself as long as it's not too much of a hassle and it is safe (we're used to the great public transportation system in Chicago). I hate to pay $40 per night to park a rental car at the hotel, but I also want to be able to get places. Maybe I should just rent one for a few days. Thoughts?

DebitNM

We have done it both way (drove there from home) - twice without a car and once with car. We were perfectly ok without the car, though there were a few places that we most likely wouldn't have seen without a car. You can rent a car for a single day if you want to go somewhere outside the range of public transit (which was ver heady to use).

Fodorite018

You are fine without a car, but may want one to venture further out for a day, maybe two.

We have always had our own car when down there, but this last time our trip was just like yours. We did not rent a car at all and were fine. I did hire a taxi for several hours one day, but that was a unique thing I was doing.

This last trip we too were staying in the Gaslamp for the first part, and DH spent his days at the Convention Center. That is all very easy to get around on foot. I had the days free, like you. Since we had been down there so many times (family in the area), our trips were never all touristy, so I played tourist, lol. The Old Town Trolley is a great way to spend a day.

You can also take the ferry over to Coronado. It is easy to walk from the ferry landing over to the Hotel del Coronado and back. We did that on a weekday to avoid the weekend crowds.

The regular trolley is great for getting around as well. We changed hotels at the end of the conference and then stayed in Little Italy and enjoyed that. It was nice to stay in both areas.

Andrew

You can actually get far out from Gaslamp if you really want to via train and bus. I was in San Diego in 2010 without a car for a couple of days. I went up to La Jolla and Del Mar by train and/or bus. The San Diego bus public transit system is not bad. You can look up the schedule on their website and also use Google Maps to see how to get from place to place.

michele_d

My son attended SDSU and for the first year did not have a car. He went everywhere using the metro and buses. No problems ever. Very comprehensive transportation system.

Tomsd

As noted - the trolley works pretty good for a number of locations (Little Italy, Old Town, Fashion Valley shopping center) and if bus service to such places as Balboa Park/the Zoo is not readily available - it's not that far/expensive of a cab ride.

Actually - you could even walk to the Zoo from downtown/Gaslamp area.

elizzie4000

Have a look at the website for the electric Trolley service to see what stop is closest to your hotel
http://www.statuecruises.com/

As well as for the Bus. The #7 goes from Downtown to the Zoo but the schedule changes on the weekends
http://www.sdmts.com/mtscr/BusRoutes.aspx

As mentioned, you can take the Ferry to Coronado or the #901 bus will take you directly to the beach and the Village. If you take the Ferry to Coronado you can take the #904 Bus to the village and beach.
http://coronadovisitorcenter.com/dir...ransportation/

If you are interested in going to a shopping mall other than the Horton Plaza downtown you can take the Greenline Trolley to both Fashion Valley and Mission Valley malls

The Old Town Trolley Tour is a good way to see different neighborhoods - and not to be confused with the electric Trolley for transportation

sunbum1944

I recommend getting out of Gaslamp and check out N County. You can take the train to Carlsbad- my favorite beach town. Train stop is in middle of downtown with restaurants, shops and the beach.

It's a cute beach town and far better than Gaslamp in my opinion

Tomsd

Would agree - a train ride up the Coast would be scenic/fun - and also love the Village of Carlsbad.

Del Mar is also fun to amble around (the train also stops there)- and the village of La Jolla is my favorite (had an office there for years) - but it is a bit harder to get to.

So many choices.

Tabernash2

I think you're good without a car for the whole week. Ask your hotel about renting a car by the day, if you need one.

Last time we did what you're doing, we stayed at the Omni, which is right across from the Convention Center. It's easy to walk along the waterfront from there, go into Gaslamp, and the large shopping center near there.

$40/day to park a car is a lot!