Just back from a long weekend in San Diego, 3 days & 4 nights. Weather was cloudy in the mornings, sunny in the afternoons, breezy, and chillier than I thought it would be. Mid-60s doesn't feel that warm when it's windy. We found the best strategy was to dress in layers so that we could add & take off as needed.

Stayed at the Westin Horton Plaza and loved the location. Enjoyed being able to walk to restaurants in the Gaslamp Quarter. The hotel was very comfortable and we got a good rate of $99/night.

Spent one day at the zoo which was the highlight of the trip for me, especially the polar bears and all the tropical birds. Got to see a koala for the first time & enjoyed watching the gorillas. We really liked the fact that you could get quite close to the animals. Another day we took the trolley tour of the city, went to Balboa Park and visited the Museum of Photographic Arts (which was terrific), and shopped for antiques on Adams Avenue (no major purchases, but found prices on antique furniture to be much less expensive than on the east coast). Spent our last full day at Sea World which was also a lot of fun. Especially enjoyed getting to be so close to the killer whales, and also liked the penguin exhibit.

Had a great dinner at Croce's one night (the pistachio-crusted sea bass was outstanding), good tapas at Cafe Seville another night, and a delicious meal our last night at Osteria Panevino (wonderful antipasto and foccacia).

We found service in San Diego to be much better than in DC -- people were very friendly and helpful. We found admission prices at the zoo & Sea World to be very high (especially coming from DC where the zoo & museums are generally free), but overall worth it.

I enjoyed the zoo more than Sea World but both were fun.

We got around very easily by taxi.

Any questions, feel free to post here.

Thanks for the helpful trip report!

We're heading to San Diego in July with 1 teenager. We'd like to stay in La Jolla. What are your suggestions for activities and lodging?

Is the Horton Plaza area a tourist area and was it safe at night?

how did you get that great rate at the westin horton plaza?

La Jolla is a great place to be, but for lodging it's very high. there's some cute motels with full view of ocean. If you don't mind paying over $250/night then I would suggest La Valencia or The Grand Colonial. They are right on the strip.
horton plaza is a large shopping center. Very interesting design...
you can get confused with the levels because it quiet deceiving. The surround areas (gaslamp district) is very lively and fun in the evenings.