San Diego sights, tours, and more
 

My husband and I will be vacationing mid August in San Diego. Would it be better to arrive on Sat or a Sun? We are looking at staying on hotel circle. Is this close to attractions? We are planning on visiting the zoo & wild animal park, Coronado and Old Town. Any recommendations for a harbor cruise? Any other sights recommended? We are kind of slow moving. How many days do you think would be necessary for our trip? Thank you in advance.

Two years ago my hubby and I and two teens visited SD for a week and last year my in-laws (late 60's/early 70's) stayed for a week also. Both of us stayed on Hotel Circle. There are many moderately priced chain hotels there that are clean and modern, nothing fancy, but SD is such a wonderful city that all you will do is sleep in the room, you won't spend a lot of time there anyway. It was a first visit to SD for all of us and we found it to be the easiest city to get around in that we have ever experienced. And it is just as easy to get to the main attractions from hotel circle as from anywhere. Besides the places you named, consider a Padres baseball game if they are in town and don't miss out on a local delicacy, the fish taco. They really are quite good. You will love Old Town and there are quite a few things to see at Balboa Park too. We needed a full week and still did not see everything. When you are downtown, see the Horton Plaza shopping area.

I live in San Diego. You don't mention what your budget is so some suggestions may not be appropriate. <BR> <BR>I would NOT stay on Hotel Cricle or anywhere else in Mission Valley. The area is perfectly safe. It is just that there is nothing to do there. There are so many other much better areas where you can see a lot by walking. There is nowhere to walk on Hotel Circle. <BR> <BR>My first choice would be to stay downtown at the Embassy Suites. There are other good hotels downtown as well. From there you can walk to many attractions. Other areas to consider are Shelter Island, Harbor Island, Coronado. The Hotel Del Coronado is a fantastic place to stay. Mission Bay is another good area. La Jolla by the ocean. If you consider La Jolla, make sure that it is by the water and not east of I-5. <BR> <BR>As I said before, the big advantage to the areas that I have mentioned is that they all offer nice views and areas to stroll in. Hotel Circle has nowhere to walk nor anything to look at. You will have to drive everywhere. <BR> <BR>Must sees are: The usual of course being the zoo, Sea World, Balboa Park, Wild Animal Park. Visit the beach areas. Dowtown San Diego is very nice. Make sure that you stay between 5th and the waterfront. Above 5th is not too nice. It is not particularly dangerous, just a little seedy. Downtown has the Gaslamp area with 80+ restaurants and interesing shops etc., Horton Plaze, Seaport Village, the waterfront etc. <BR> <BR>Take the Coronado ferry from the foot of Broadway ( next to the Broadway pier ). It will take to across the Coronado Island. Great views of the bay and the city. It is very reasonable. Walk from the ferry landing in Coronado down Orange St to the Hotel Del Coronado. This is another must see. There is a great Mexican Restaurant 'Miguel's Cocina' across the street for the Hotel Del Coronado. It is in a courtyard in next to the restaraunt 'The Brigantine'. <BR> <BR>There are so many tours that it is impossible to mention them all. Depends where you want to go. Mexico, tour of the city, etc. Go to the San Diego web site and check it out.

Thanks for all the good information. I am really excited about our trip and can hardly wait. I would like to stay close to the beach but unfortunately, the "Del" is a little out of our price range.

Lois: when we were in San Diego in March, we used the trolly; you can board and get off in several areas, stay as long as you'd like, and continue on. We did the zoo, downtown shopping, Old Town (where we boarded), and Coronado Island. It was great! <BR>