Hi, on behalf of my sister who is travelling from Sydney Australia to SD from 7 to 12 Oct (5 nights) I am tasked with finding some accom for her and her husband.
Without the luxury of a car (and you really do not want Aussies driving on the wrong side of the road)I am looking for any type of accom that is safe, next to public transport that will take you to the major attractions, has close by restaurants/shopping.
The maps I have looked at reminds me of LA very spread out, and need to be careful of not staying in the middle of nowhere without a Car, (I did that is LA)
Any help would be fantastic

Cheers

Hi TracieR,
I take it that SD means San Diego..
I think the Gaslamp area in downtown San Diego would work perfect for them and with the trolley/bus/water taxi's you can't beat it..I don't know your budget but I looked on Expedia and you can get a nice hotel for $269 or less..from the Manchester Grand Hyatt or the Hilton or Omni..all are great hotels..if those don't work you can check out the gaslamp website.
gaslamp.org
sdhe.com

thanks heaps, I will checkout the links

without a vehicle you'd want to focus on the downtown area.

I agree with TT that downtown would be the best area for them to stay, preferably not too far from a Trolley stop.

They may have to get a cab to the Zoo and Balboa Park as the Trolley doesn't go there or to Sea World. But they can take it to other places like Old Town and Mission San Diego de Alcala.

If they're interested in American football, the San Diego Chargers play at home on Sunday, October 8. It's an evening game, 5:15pm, against the Pittsburgh Steelers and will be on National TV. There might be tickets available.

www.chargers.com

ready my reply: 1. SAN DIEGO SEPT 14-18 2006, on this site, we just came back from San Diego last week. I agree, without a car, you'd probably stay downtown. Many restaurants, & hotels. I liked the downtown GASLAMP district.(which is where the fun bar, Dick's Last Resort is.) You'd be near the water & can do a lot of tours from that location. Have fun, we did!

If you are interested in ideas for romantic things to do in San Diego, check out this web site: http://www.sandiego-romantics.com. My daughter lives in San Diego and has just started this site. I think your sister might get some ideas from it.

Gaslamp is a fun area with lots to do. Many restaurants, many good ones, especially Italian. There is good shopping, little boutique shops, bars, parks. It is a great place to walk around, on the busy streets or along the marina. Seaport Village is a good place to catch a cup of coffee and read the paper at the Panikan. You can take a tour of the Midway, an aircraft carrier turned museum. And also the Star of India, an old passenger tall ship that took people around the world ( it is amazing how cramped the quarters are). You have parks, dogs on leashes, movie houses. And you can take the trolly to other areas in San Diego. Or the ferry over to Coronado for the day.

There are many hotel options, Courtyard, Embassy Suites, Holiday Inn, the Southgate, and one of our favorites, the Westin (we love their Heavenly beds). Let us know if you need more help.