San Diego
 

My wife and I will have 2 days and 2 nights in San Diego before embarking on a cruise ship. We have never been in SD. What are the must see and do attractions in the area??? (also the don't see or do areas/attractions)

We will have a rental car for transportation

Definitely spend a good part of a day at the Zoo. ((b))

La Jolla and Balboa Park along with the zoo.

Hope this helps...
Debi

The San Diego Zoo is one of my favorites.

Depends on what you like.
Balbao Park and the zoo, as mentioned, are nice and attract lots of people. That covers the must see/do.
Do you like beaches? Art? SeaWorld?
Nature?
When will you be here?

Sea World
The San Diego Zoo
The Wild Animal Park
Seaport Village

Also, a drive out to Coronado Island and the Hotel de Coronado is nice.

Of course, much depends on your taste, but if military or naval stuff is to your liking, consider a self tour of the USS Midway.

Some warnings, however:
-- Lots of walking, up and down steps.
-- It takes a couple of hours to tour the whole ship, so you're effectively tying up a half day to do. You'd probably want to tie it into some other activity in the marina area, for instance ...
There's a tour boat that does the bay area. It's a nice way to relax and see the coast when the weather's pleasant (which is often in SD).

Must go see La Jolla and the world famous San Diego Zoo. Don't bother with going to TJ if you were considering that at all.

for good information, you need to tell us what you like to do. the zoo, sea world and wild animal park are all wonderful but they would take up both of your two days.
if you like to shop, we could direct you.
beaches? history? etc, etc. what time of year? where are you staying?

We just returned from a stay in San Diego and Laguna Beach. I would not miss SeaWorld, La Jolla and Coronado Island. We stayed 3 nights at the Del, go over and check out this amazing hotel where many famous people have stayed. They have a small museum store there that is educational. Some great places we dined included: The Sheerwater @ the Del, 1500 Ocean at the Del, Rhinoceros Cafe, Miguel's, George's at the Cove and the Crab Catcher for great clam chowder. :)

Have fun and Merry Christmas! ***kim*** ((l))

For gorgeous views and exploring tidepools, visit the Cabrillo Nat'l Monument.

www.nps.gov/cabr

Follow your visit with a bowl of fish chowder at Pt Loma Seafoods. Yum!

Hi Sunray9..
All great suggestions and I would do a half a day at the SD Zoo and go to the Prado for Lunch which is a block away in Balboa Park and I would drive to Coronado and go see the gorgeous Hotel Del and the quaint town of Coronado and then head up to La Jolla and walk around the Cove and the Village and have dinner at George's at the Cove a little before sunset...Next day, hiking at Torrey Pines State Reserve is stunning and next to the famous Torrey Pines Golf Course ant the Glider Port is fun on the cliffs too.
Del Mar and North Coastal is gorgeous along highway 101..Rancho Santa Fe is a lovely drive..
Have a great time in SD!

georgesatthecove.com
hoteldel.com
cohnrestaurants.com
torreypine.org

We're staying in SD 1/11 and 1/12 - cruise ship departs 1/13 - Sea World and Zoo sound great for a longer stay - we like water, beaches, scenery, exploring,good food, ....

Hope this generates more interesting responses

If you like architecture and history, all along California are the Spanish Missions.

Here is one of many websites I found:

http://missionsofcalifornia.org/

Personally, I absolutely enjoy spending time in pacific beach and mission beach, walking along the boardwalk is interesting by day.
At night you may want to go out for dinner in the gaslamp.
"Ole Madrid" is a fun restaurant where you can eat and watch flamenco dancers. You also get to listen to a live flamenco guitar player. After dinner walk around the gaslamp area, it is a lot of fun, there are a lot of people.