ShelliDawn

Hi

I'll be in San Diego in July and want to visit the Wild Animal Park. The park's website states that public transportation is available but not specifics. When I type in the park's address on the sdcommute.com's website as my destination it asks me to pick from a list of options and I don't know which one to choose.

Can someone tell me how to map the trip out? We'll be staying at the Little Italy Hotel (505 W Grape Street).

Thanks!

hlg22

Wow! That will be a hike. Public transportation in SD is not the greatest. Assuming you have ruled out renting a car (which I really would recommend for places like the Wild Animal Park, Cabrillo, La Jolla, etc.) or taking a cab, I would guess it will take you at least a couple of hours on the bus. Try typing in "wild animal park" instead of the address on the sdcommute site - I think it lets you type in major tourist attractions as names, not addresses. Good luck!

Also be aware that for visiting the Wild Animal Park in the heat of the summer you will want to go early or late, when the animals are more active. The area where the park is located is often much warmer than the coastal or downtown area and it can get very hot.

And one bit of unsolicited advice - your hotel is only a few blocks away from Filippi's Pizza Grotto on India Street, which is a great spot for pizza. Growing up, we took all out of towners there, and now when I go home to visit my parents we sometimes go straight from the airport. Don't be dissuaded if the line stretches out the door, it snakes through the authentic Italian deli and never takes more than 30 minutes or so.

ShelliDawn

hlg22,

Thanks for the tip.

It's not the we're adverse to renting a car, it just seemed a waste to rent a car to have it parked all day.

I typed in "wild animal park" and the day we want to go (a Sunday) and got an error repsonse. When I changed it to the following Monday, I got a route plan. It took about 3 1/2 hours to take transit and appears to not even be available on Sundays. I was hoping there would be an express bus to the park, but no luck.

Do you have a guess as to how much taking a cab would cost? I'm hoping it will be cheaper than renting a car for the day.

We're planning on making it an all day event, possibly doing the Night Moves tour in the evening (leaving the park at 9:00 p.m.).

As for the unsolicited restaurant advice, it's very much appreciated! I was planning on posting another thread asking for restaurant recommendations after we had finalized the "big stuff".

Barbara

I can't imagine that a cab to the Wild Animal Park from Downtown would be less than renting a car for a day.It's a long way.

I found this on the Yellow Cab site to help you figure out the cost of a cab.

http://www.driveu.com/yellow_cab.asp

hlg22

Too bad - the trolley excepted, public transport is just not good in San Diego. I'm sorry that I have no idea how much a taxi would cost vs. renting a car for a day or two. I would guess the rental car might be cheaper, but I wonder if maybe calling a local taxi company like Yellow Cab they might be able to give you a quote.

I am also not sure that you would need to spend the entire day at the Park, especially if staying until 9 p.m., but it's been a few years since the last time I was there so hopefully someone else can weigh in. My recollection is that the tram tour (or the Night Moves tour if you do that) is really the highlight and then there are a couple other exhibits and shows. If you did rent a car, you could perhaps use it to visit somewhere else in the morning, like La Jolla, and then head up to the Park in the early afternoon.

joeyi

Just had lunch at Filippi's yesterday and it was so good.

Renting a car would have to be cheaper for the day than a cab both ways. it's a good 40 minutes from your hotel one way. we live 10 minutes from the airport and we cab from there it's $20 one way so i would hate to guess what it would be all the way to the wild animal park.

ShelliDawn

Thanks for all the advice, it's been very helpful.

Yep, looks like renting a car is the only reasonable way to get to the park. Cab fare is estimated to be $80.00 one way (thanks for the link).

I can easily spend an full day at our city zoo which is smaller (Calgary) That's why I was expecting to sepnd the entire day at the park. We were also thinking of doing the "Running with Cheetahs" at 10:00 a.m. If we do both the night moves tour and the cheetah run, it will be a pretty expensive day. But I don't know if/when I'll be back so don't want to miss out.

Still lots of decisions to be made, but at least the transportation one has been made.

joeyi

if you do the running with Cheetahs please post about it. we are members and i have debated about doing it but haven't done it yet.

ShelliDawn

Yes, I will post about the run if we go. But we won't be visiting until late July - we like to plan way ahead

beth_fitz

We were just at the park a weeka go and it was fabulous! We did the Camera Safari (Africa) Tour and it was so much fun. We met Chuck the rhino and Embali the giraffe (who we fed).

I know it is tough thinking of renting a car to drive to the park and let it sit all day but it looks like the most efficient and cost effective way to go. There is a Dollar rental car agency off airport property that may be a better place to get the car. It is at 2499 Pacific Hwy.

BTW...it will be quite warma t the park in July....plan accordingly.

hlg22

ShelliDawn,
Are you going to the SD Zoo also? It is fantastic and you could definitely spend a whole day there. The WAP gets more attention I think because it is a different type of experience to the typical zoo. But then, the San Diego Zoo is a different type of experience than the typical zoo. The Wild Animal Park is definitely worth visiting, but don't miss the zoo! The problem with the WAP is that it can get so hot there in mid-summer (it is almost always the hottest spot in San Diego County, not unusual to be over 100F) that the animals get very sluggish mid-day.