Where to stay in SD on the second visit
 

Well, having had so much help from all of you in the past, I thought maybe you SD vets could help me out again.
We stayed in the Gaslamp district last year, rented a condo and had a wonderful time. So good in fact that we are returning to celebrate our silver wedding anniversary. We loved the Gaslamp because we literally parked the car for a week and went everywhere on foot or transport - is there somewhere similar in the SD area with those qualities i.e. being able to walk to restaurants/bars/shops etc and having easy access to public transport.
I am more of a beach person (not a babe anymore unfortunately!!) but my husband likes the city life - I am sort of wondering about the beach towns around the area or places like Mission Beach/Bay but they would need to have enough in them for hubby. It is hard to get a real idea bout these places in the guide books.
Thanks in advance for all of your expert advice.

I thought this was South Dakota!

Sorry! Us Brits don't know these things!

There are lots of nice beach areas north of San Diego. La Jolla is probably the prettiest but the most expensive. Del Mar is supposed to be nice also. We have driven the coast between Orange County and San diego many times but have only stayed in Orange County. Next trip I would like to try Del Mar. From reading posts here and on trip advisor I don't get a great impression of Mission Beach or Pacific Beach. Some people mention a lot of vagrants. Don't know if this is so but I personally wouldn't want to take a chance. As far as your husband goes - if you stay in the beach areas you will need a car. I don't think there is much to do. We play golf and there are plenty of golf courses so we are happy.

I hope you will have another wonderful vacation in San Diego. I live in Pacific Beach and have to say that there are not a lot of vagrants - more in the Gas Lamp - but it is a true beach town with beach bars and a couple of really nice hotels and restaurants. If you are looking for that type of location I would recommend the new Tower 23 Hotel. It is state of the art and is right on the ocean with an excellent restaurant. On the east end of Garnet Avenue there is an excellent Italian restaurant Cafe Bella Italia and a Greek restaurant Cafe Athena. For pizza in the same area is La Cosa - voted best pizza in San Diego. If you are looking for more a more upscale experience La Jolla is the place to go. Lots of nice place to stay and all the restaurants are good. In north county Carlsbad is a lovely beach town close to Legoland and Disneyland with lovely beaches and a more laid back atmosphere. If you didn't visit the San Diego Zoo and/or Wild Animal Park on your last visit they are will worth the time. In the north county, close to the Wild Animal Park there are several winerys well worth a visit.

we enjoy visiting san diego. we live in southern calif. coronado,san diego is very nice.coronado is a beach resort.the san diego-coronado bay bridge connects coronado to san diego. we have stayed at hotel del coronado a well known landmark on the beach.

also wanted to say la jolla is nice. i don't ever visit mission beach or pacific beach i would not feel safe there with my family.mission bay is ok. good luck. calif

HI..
I responded to your first message..
Please go on Trip Advisor and read the myriad of bad comments about PB.. truth is the vagrants are all over the place and I don't think that is something you want to see..DJ, I don't know where you live but it's not the PB that we all know.. yeah, Cafe Athena is Fab..Cafe Bella is ok..but if you stay I would suggest the Catamaran or the Pacific Terrace but rooms are going to be around $250+
You can get a wonderful room in Del Mar, La Jolla or Coronado for that price without the riff raff..