Old Town San Diego
 

My fiance and I are traveling to San Diego in late July for our honeymoon. Among other things, we want to spend an evening in Old Town. What is the night life like there? We'd be interested in eating at a good Mexican restaurant (suggestions welcome!) and going to a few laid back, trendy bars. Is that area fairly safe in the evening? How is public transportation later at night in downtown? We are staying at the Blue Sea Lodge on Pacific Beach and will not be renting a car. Any suggestions for our 3 day trip would be much appreciated! Thanks.

transportation isn't that great late at night. if you won't rent a car (and i highly recommend it) i would suggest going to old town for the afternoon and have lunch there (casa de bandini has a nice atmosphere) and then have your dinners around pacific beach where there are plenty of restaurants and night life. guessing but i think a taxi from pacific beach to downtown/gaslamp area or to la jolla would be about $20 one way.

The Bazaar del Mundo and Casa de Bandini in Old Town shut down the end of May because a new company was given the contract. Supposedly some shops and restaurants have opened in June-it's now called Plaza del Pasado-but I don't know anything about the quality of the food.

I agree with itt about transporation. Not sure why you don't want to rent a car but having one makes getting around in San Diego a lot easier since public transporation is not that good.

The first time my husband and I went to SD, we debated about renting a car. We decided to rent one and I am really glad we did. It made things so much easier than relying on public transportation and cabs. We rented a Sebring convertible, which was fun.

You can easily get a bus from Old Town to Pacific beach. Just call for the schedule in advance...they don't run all that often, especially after dark. Mission Beach, Pacific beach and Even La Jolla are probably better choices for the evenings.

Aspirsig--
I just ate in Old Town last nite. There are plenty of places open. Try the Old Town Mexican Cafe on San Diego Ave. They make fresh, yummy tortillas on site. You can watch them being made through the front window. The food is good and expect a wait for a table. I would consider renting a car...

Here is a second to the Old Town Mexican Cafe. The tortillas are incredible as are the carnitas! It is a very casual place and usually very busy.

There really are not any "trendy" bars in Old Town. There is a pretty cool English Pub in Old Town but it is hardly "trendy". Your best bet is to go to the Gas Lamp District if that is what you are looking for. Although I would also receommend a rental car, you can do a trolley from Old Town to Gas Lamp but you will be doing quite a bit of walking. In fact, I would check into the following site for info on times/schedule, etc:

http://www.sdcommute.com/Rider_Infor...trolleymap.asp

Absolutely Gaslight area for trendy bars. Lots of fun to walk around there in the evening. And I LOVE Old Town, but its eating, history and shopping--not bars.

Maybe Old Town Mexican Cafe was having an off day when I went there, but I wasn't impressed. The tortillas were good, but the carnitas was marginal and the salsa was very bland. The people were really nice though.

Down the street is the Coyote Cafe where I have eaten a couple times. The food was very good both times. They have fresh tortillas as well and a nice patio in front which is great for people-watching.