San Diego/La Jolla?
 

Hi, everyone - we're going to be taking a trip to San Diego. We've been there once before and loved it, went to Coronado, did a fun whale watching trip, and went to the Children's Pool. Looking for some new activities for this trip. Would love to know what your favorite thing to do is and also your favorite beach? Anything that's a don't miss? Thanks for any guidance you can give me!

Favorite beaches are Pacific Beach, Coronado Island and if in La Jolla, La Jolla Shores.

Check out maitai tom's report.
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...alboa-park.cfm

I loved Balboa Park (maitai Tom does a great job of picturing and describing it ) and I enjoyed visiting the Lodge at Torrey Pines and having lunch outside. George's Cove in La Jolla for a meal with great view. Brockton Villa for breakfast is fun.

Thanks, Happy - we loved Coronado. It would be fun to check out some other beaches. It's such a gorgeous area.

Gwen, thanks for that link. I will definitely read it. We did the trolley tour on our last trip, so we got to see Balboa Park, but not really explore it, did not make it to the zoo either.

That was a great read - Balboa Park looks like it has tons to do. I love anything to do with plants and gardening, so maybe I can trade my husband a trip to the Japanese Garden and the Botanical Building for some time at the Hall of Champions. I would really like to climb the tower too, and maybe enjoy lunch at Prado. Is it hard to find parking within the park? Where do you think the best place to park is?

We found this helpful on our 1st trip - http://www.localwally.com

mclaurie, thanks for that info. Torrey Pines looks really beautiful. I think someone had told me that there's hiking there, do you recall that? George's looks like a great place to dine. And Brockton Villa too - I love anything with a view of the water. They look fantastic.

Debit, that looks great - always nice to have insider tips from a local. Thank you!

I've also read that Cody's and The Cottage are good places to eat and wanted to check those out on our last trip, but we ran out of time. What do you guys think of those?

Torrey Pines has several easy, short trails. We did Guy Fleming and the overlooks are beautiful looking straight down at the beach. Spring wildflowers were abundant there, too.

Here's one site with info or just google Torrey Pines States Reserve. http://www.modernhiker.com/2014/04/0...tural-reserve/

Also enjoyed eating at George's both times we were there.

Hey volcanogirl - what time of the year are you coming and where are you planning on staying?

I love San Diego... without a doubt one of my favorite cities in the world. Love that our daughter is in school there so it encourages more visits :).

Georges is a favorite (the roof top dining ) and Brockton Villa is great too (for dinner as well!) -

The midway is an interesting thing to visit : http://www.midway.org/

The San diego zoo is worth a visit - I grew up going there and was so disappointed when I went to other zoos and they didn't hold up to what I thought a zoo was!

Balboa park is lovely -

A padre game in the summer is a blast - Petco Park is an amazing baseball park - check and see if there are any concerts too while you are there playing there... it is a great place to go even if you are not an avid baseball fan (JMO) :)

Hi volcano girl. Welcome to SD.
Cody's and The Cottage in LA Jolla are both excellent. The Cottage serves til about 3.00 Monday thru F. Then they serve dinner too on the weekends. Double check with Cody's on times.

George's at the Cove is nice but make sure you ask for the upper deck and have reservations. You want to get there early if you are going for dinner so the sun is still out and you can enjoy the view.

Check out maitaitoms trip report on San Diego it's great.

Clousie, thank you - that is really helpful. I love the look of hiking at Torrey Pines. I am down for anything with a great view. Does anyone know if there are hang gliders there? Someone from SD told me you can go watch people hang gliding, but I can't remember the spot.

Momdd, we're coming soon - in April. Hopefully the weather will be nice then, but it seems like the weather is always great there! I definitely want to go to a Padres game. My husband loves sports, so that is definitely on my list. I hadn't thought of the Midway; I will check out that link - thank you. I think the zoo and Balboa Park are definitely on our to do list this trip. The zoo is in Balboa Park - is that right? We're staying in a couple of different spots - I know one of them is a Kimpton. We stayed on Coronado last time we were there - wow, that was nice!

So how do you get around Balboa Park? Do you just park your car and then walk or is there a free trolley or something? It seems enormous with so much to do. Is it hard to find parking or are there big lots?

We did a segway tour on Coronado Island and loved it! It was our first time on segways and it was the perfect place to do it.

I "think" this was the company we used:

http://www.segwayofcoronado.com/

Hi, nana - thanks for all the good restaurant tips and info. It looks like most of the places I want to try are in La Jolla. I also have my eye on Juniper and Ivy since I'm a Top Chef fan.

I've eaten at Juniper and Ivy and it's very good. It is about 20 min by car south of Las Jolla in Little Italy.

I think the owner of Harringbone Restaurant also in LA Jolla on Herschel Ave may have been a Top Chef as well.

This is probably what you heard about. https://www.flytorrey.com

I don't really remember seeing hang gliders from Torrey Pines.

Glad to hear J&I is good, nana; I think Herringbone is a Brian Malarkey spot. We ate at his Seersucker restaurant the last time we were in town.

D, that does look fun; we did a Segway tour in San Antonio once and enjoyed it. Coronado is so beautiful.