andyc

I will be visiting San Diego in October - a few simple questions.

What sort of weather should I expect?

I am only there for 3 days - and staying in the Hilton on Harbor Island (a priceline deal).

How easy is it to get to the sites from here? Is it far from bars, places to eat, etc? Does the water taxi come near it?

We are only here for 3 days so the plan is

We fly into LAX from the UK - will stay there overnight at an airport hotel and drive to San Diego in the morning.

Day 1 - Seaworld
Day 2 - Harbor Tour /Seaport Village / GasLamp District
Day 3 - Trip to Coronado

Is this an ok plan?

Is a day trip to Coronado worth it? What is their to do?

Thanks in advance

J_Correa

Harbor Island isn't very far from downtown and it's very close to the airport. When we were in SD, we went to a friends' wedding and the reception was at Tom Ham's Lighthouse on Harbor Island and there were great views from there.

Two very great places that we went when we were in SD, which I would recommend, are Old Town and Point Loma.

In Old Town there is a free walking tour every day at 11am which takes you through the old square and the guide will give you a lot of information on California and San Diego history - California history is very different from the rest of the US, so if you are interested in that kind of thing, definitely try to make the tour.

Point Loma is on the west side of town and has some terrific views of SD, the harbor, and the ocean. There is an old lighthouse that you can tour, as well as a visitors' center, and down below the point are some great tide pools.

I don't think that I would dedicate an entire day to Coronado Island. Instead, I would spend a 1/2 day there - possibly split the day between Old Town and Coronado Island. I think the Gaslamp Dist is best in the evenings when all the restaurants and pubs are open. Seaport Village is nice - bunches of shops right on the water. I think I would allow a couple hours there for wandering around.

There is a fun restaurant in the Hillcrest area called the Corvette Diner. It's completely dedicated to 1950s Americana - lots of fun.

DownSouth

After vacationing last week in San Diego and L. A., we were amazed at the traffic and the length of time spent in the car. If you cannot fly directly into San Diego, what about taking the train from LAX? It appeared to be much faster. Any comments from the locals?

rjw_lgb_ca

The train is not a direct option between LAX and San Diego. The Amtrak Surfliner (I think that's what it's called) goes out of Union Station in downtown LA, so andyc would have to get there from LAX. SuperShuttle, it turns out (we had a discussion about this a while back), could get them there, and that's their most convenient and cost-effective method. You COULD try getting an airport bus to the MTA Green Line station, then taking that to the Blue Line connection (Wilmington/105 station), THEN taking the Red Line to Union Station, THEN catching Amtrak.

On a typical day (traveling after 9:30 AM and before 2:30 PM), the LAX/San Diego drive will take about 2 hours. There will be LOTS of cars, but traffic will be moving at the speed limit, barring accidents.

RMParker

I have lived in San Diego for almost twenty years, my husband over twenty. You have picked the best month weather wise, although the weather is great most all of the time. Daytime will be t-shirts and shorts, evening and early morning a sweater or light jacket. Here are our suggestions for your three days assuming you do not have children.
Day 1: Bus Tour which goes all over San Diego and Coronado. Get off at Old Town and Coronado. The only important thing to see in Coronado is the Hotel Del. I recommend lunch in Old Town, less expensive than Hotel Del. My favorite Mexican food is at Casa de Bandini in Old Town. They have an outdoor area to have drinks.
Day2: Walk through Balboa Park, lunch at the Prado on the terrace (a little pricey) see the Aerospace Museum which is fabulous. There are many museums in the Park but this is the best in my opinion.
Day 3: Take Harbor Tour, see Seaport Village and Gaslamp area (evening). On this day I'd go to Point Loma (Cabrillo National Park, the highest point to see all over SD) instead of Seaport Village, but you choose.

Lastly....I'll give you my e-mail address if you have more questions. [email protected] Please have a great time in our beautiful city.

ltt

i think september & october are the best months for san diego. the restaurants mentioned above, tom ham's lighthouse and casa de bandini are both excellant. the bus tour is a great idea for getting an overall view of the city and as mentioned, you can jump on and off as much as you like and then just pick up the next bus.

flyfaraway

I'll be in San Diego as well for Labor Day. I got a great deal through Orbitz for airfare and hotel stay. I'll be staying at the Paradise Point in Mission Beach. Has anyone heard of this place. It's supposedly on some beautiful lake.. Let me know if you guys have heard about this place and what you can tell me about it.

ltt

go to the search box above - type in paradise point san diego - you'll get tons of reviews. (p.s. there are no lakes in san diego, they are bays)

diann

I have forgotten--we are tentatively planning a 1 week visit end of Sept. Can you still go to the beach or just walk on the beach at that time?

J_Correa

The weather should still be warm at the end of September. Whether or not you will want to swim in the water pretty much depends on what you consider too cold to swim. There are plenty of people who wont swim in the Pacific.