Can anyone tell me what the weather is like in San Diego in December? Is it still warm enough to enjoy the beaches or will it be too cold to go swimming and surfing?

It'll likely be too cold to swim in a bathing suit, but people surf all year round (wet suits).

Weather is an unpredictable and have had Christmas in SD with temps around 90 degrees..
You will need at least a spring suit but some great surf during the holidays.
I used to waterski every Christmas Eve around the bay without a wetsuit..back then I was young and crazy..
Bring your suit..you never know.

Thanks dm for your speedy reply! Instead of flying into Sacramento, another option was flying into San Diego and spending a few days there to enjoy the beaches, so its doable with a wet suit huh? I'll check out other options as I would still have to then fly out of San Diego to Reno....$$$$

I didn't realize that was you asking. Anyway, San Diego has a lot more to do and see than Sacramento!

Yes, dm, its me, trying to check out all options. I've been to San Diego before, but in the summer when the weather was beautiful, just like here in Hawaii. From what I've been reading, Sacramento seems to be a historical city with not much to see and do. Another option would just be to drive to Reno and check out the Tahoe cities along the way, spend a day in Truckee, Incline Village, Carson City, etc...any suggestions regarding this route? TIA

The Sacramento airport is on the far side of nowhere. The San Diego airport is a hop and a skip away from town. When you fly into San Diego you come in right above the rooftops.

San Diego is a vacation destination and there is a lot to see and do. The water will be chilly for surfing, but walks along the beach should be great. The surf report is in the Union Tribune everyday, and many people will know what beaches are best at this time of year. My daughter usually surfs Trestles in DelMar. Unless you hit rush hour, everything in San Diego can be reached in 20 minutes.

Sacramento is more like the Midwest. Nothing really wrong with it, but nothing to recommend it either. There is a small old town section with a train museum and that's about it. The nearest beach is a 3 hour drive.

I think you can do the Reno, Truckee, etc. route within a day. You may need chains if it is stormy.

Why are you going to Reno? It is not much of a destination unless you have business or family there.

Well, our final destination is Reno as we were there this past Jan and enjoyed our time there as we could gamble at night and spend the day at Tahoe and play in the snow. I have an airline voucher that I need to use and this airline only flies to certain airports. Sacramento was one of them and I just figured a 2-hour drive to Reno was pretty good and would save me about $400/couple if I flew in to, say San Diego or Portland, then flew to Reno.

I've been to San Diego before and loved it...like you said, lots to do, but I would not drive to Reno from there, therefore, would have to spend some $$$ to fly there.

I'm just weighing my options of which airport to fly to, then how to get to Reno...final destination...thanks for all the ideas and tips though

Trestles beach is in San Clemente.

http://www.surfrider.org/savetrestles/

www.weatherbase.com is a great site for temp and precipitation averages

Oops. My mistake about Trestles locale.

the weather in San Diego in December is in the 65-75 degree range. the water temp. is probably going to be in the 50-60 degree range.
i would definately bring a wet suit or rent one at Mitch's surf shop in La Jolla. Or one of the many surf shops in the beach towns were you plan to be.
I wouldn't necessarily come to San diego for beach going (although it is ok) but there is much more to do - the SD Zoo, Balboa Park & it's many museums, Cabrillo Nat. Monument, night life in Old Town & Gaslamp area, etc.