san diego vacation
 

Wife and I are staying downtown at the Holiday Inn on the bay. Do we really need a car to get around for one week or would the ferry to Coronado and the trolley get us to interesting places?

San Diego is not as sprawling as LA or Houston, but it is spread out. You CAN get around by public transportation, but it will eat up a lot of prime touring time. By not having a car, you could miss out on visiting beautiful La Jolla and exploring at your leisure, to name one thing that would be a shame to miss.

It's just easier. I'm completely a fan of NOT renting a car when you can get away with it. But it's just not advisable in this situation.

I completely agree with rjw. The ferry and the trolley will get you to some interesting/fun places and getting to
Balboa Park and the Zoo from your hotel on the Embarcadero is easy and quick by taxi. Without a car, you will miss many other great experiences in San Diego and its surrounding small towns. You don't need a car for the whole week, but certainly for two or three days.

Thanks for the advice. We are going to rent a car for 2 or 3 days over the weekend and use public transit the rest of the time. Should be lots of fun using the ferry and trolley!

We found San Diego one of the easiest cities to navigate with a car - did not get lost once. Streets actually have signs and interchanges are actually marked (unlike Boston, where we live where even locals must guess at everything)