Great Itineraries

Great Itineraries

Day 1

Start with the San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park in the morning. You could easily knock off the entire day (and even a couple more days) checking out the thousands of animals, but even if you've got kids along and they're nagging you to stay, plan to end the day with at least a stroll down El Prado, an easy walk or five-minute drive south of the zoo. This is the cultural heart of San Diego, with a feast of fabulous museums set in ornate Spanish colonial revival buildings. If you have time for just one museum, make it the distinctive Mingei International Museum of Folk Art. (With kids along, the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center may be a better bet.)

Day 2

It's time to check out San Diego's booming and bustling downtown, beginning with a shopping scramble through both Seaport Village and Horton Plaza, both of which have numerous lunch options. Next, stroll north on the Embarcadero, setting aside some time to tour the Maritime Museum or the San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum. As early evening sets in, continue into downtown's lively Gaslamp Quarter, which pulses with hip bars, music clubs, and restaurants. Adults will find plenty to keep them busy here for hours. If you've got kids in tow, head for the festive Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop for some of the richest and prettiest desserts around.

Day 3

If you set out early enough, you might get a parking spot near La Jolla Cove. Watch the sea lions lounging on the beach at the Children's Pool and then head inland one block to Prospect Street, where you'll see the pink La Valencia hotel along with dozens of tony shops and galleries; this is also a good spot for an ocean-view lunch. Walk east on Prospect for a spin through the Museum of Contemporary Art, and then retrieve your car and head north to Torrey Pines City Park Beach and the adjacent Glider Port -- this is an especially beautiful spot to watch the sun set. As dinner approaches, you'll find plenty of great restaurants back in La Jolla, or you might try one of the classic beach restaurants south of La Jolla, down Mission Boulevard, such as Hodad's.

Day 4

Begin with a morning visit to Cabrillo National Monument. Have lunch down near Shelter Island at one of the seafood restaurants on Scott Street, and then head over to Old Town (take Rosecrans Street north to San Diego Avenue) to see portions of San Diego's earliest history brought to life. If the daily schedule lists low tide for the afternoon, reverse the order to catch the tide pools at Cabrillo.

Day 5

Spend your final day heading into some of the communities nearby. If you're traveling with young children, make Legoland California in Carlsbad your main destination. En route to North County stop off at Torrey Pines State Beach and Reserve. If you're not going to Legoland, take Interstate 5 north to Del Mar for lunch, shopping, and sea views. A visit to Mission San Luis Rey, slightly inland from Oceanside on Route 76, will infuse some history and culture into the tour.

Alternatives:

You can make Day 2, when you're exploring downtown, more of a seafaring than a shopping experience by catching the ferry from the Broadway Pier (near Seaport Village) to Coronado. Then from Coronado's Ferry Landing Marketplace, board a bus down Orange Avenue to see the town's Victorian extravaganza, the Hotel Del Coronado. If it's whale-watching season, skip the trip to Coronado, tour the Embarcadero in the late morning, have lunch, and book an afternoon excursion boat from the Broadway Pier.

If hopping over to Mexico interests you, set aside Day 5 for a trip to Tijuana rather than an exploration of the towns north and east of San Diego. It's extremely easy to make this trip, as the border crossing is only a 15-mi drive down I-5. Once there, you shoppers can easily pass a couple of hours exploring the garish but exuberant Avenida Revolución. Also be sure to visit Centro Cultural Tijuana (CECUT), with its Omnimax Theater and excellent exhibits on Baja California's history, flora, and fauna.