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Travel guide
San Diego
5 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: April to May, July to October
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Welcome
San Diego, in a few days
California's second city stretches from the Mexican border to the cliffs of La Jolla, with a naval port, a bay full of sailing boats and neighbourhoods that live facing the beach. You go from a 1945 aircraft carrier to the sea lions of La Jolla, from the Spanish-Moorish museums of Balboa Park to the tacos of Barrio Logan, under a sky that rarely tops 26°C.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 1 thing
- D2 Day 2 1 thing
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 3 things
- D5 Day 5 1 thing
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Balboa Park free · half a day to a full dayA 486-hectare park laid out for the 1915 Exposition, whose Spanish Colonial pavilions now hold more than fifteen museums, with free gardens and a free Sunday organ concert.
🛏️ Where to sleep · AC Hotel by Marriott San Diego Downtown Gaslamp Quarter ↗ · All places to stay by budget →€200 a night
D2
Day 2
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- All day · San Diego Zoo · a full dayFounded in 1916 in Balboa Park, 40 hectares of planted canyons with over 12,000 animals in recreated habitats, a guided double-decker bus tour and the Skyfari aerial tram.
🛏️ Where to sleep · AC Hotel by Marriott San Diego Downtown Gaslamp Quarter ↗€200 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · USS Midway Museum · about 3 hAn aircraft carrier in service from 1945 to 1992, moored opposite downtown, with some thirty restored aircraft on its 300-metre flight deck and veteran volunteers recounting life aboard.
- Afternoon · Coronado free · half a dayThe peninsula facing downtown, reached by bridge or ferry, with a wide mica-flecked beach in front of the white-timbered Hotel del Coronado of 1888, where Some Like It Hot was filmed.
🛏️ Where to sleep · AC Hotel by Marriott San Diego Downtown Gaslamp Quarter ↗€200 a night
D4
Day 4
3 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Cabrillo National Monument · 2 to 3 hAt the tip of Point Loma, high above the ocean, the 1855 lighthouse, sweeping views over the bay and tide pools full of anemones, octopus and crabs at low tide.
- Afternoon · Old Town San Diego free · about 2 hThe birthplace of California, where a state historic park preserves the Mexican village of the 1820s to 1870s, its adobe houses and workshops, surrounded by Mexican restaurants.
- Evening · Sunset Cliffs free · about 1 hSandstone cliffs south of Ocean Beach carved into arches and sea caves, with a clifftop path where locals and visitors line up to watch the sun set over the Pacific.
🛏️ Where to sleep · AC Hotel by Marriott San Diego Downtown Gaslamp Quarter ↗€200 a night
D5
Day 5
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- Morning · La Jolla Cove free · 2 to 3 hA small cove between sandstone cliffs where sea lions crowd the rocks, part of a marine reserve for snorkelling among bright orange garibaldi, with seven sea caves in the cliff.
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
Some links are partner links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Burgers and barbecue: brisket and ribs cooked low and slow, done differently in every state.
- Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl: the classic lunch on the San Francisco waterfront.
- Mexican food: tacos from a truck in Los Angeles, a Mission burrito in San Francisco.
- Pancakes and weekend brunch: a national habit, generous to the point of excess.
- Craft beer, and California wine from Napa and Sonoma.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Tipping is not optional: add 15 to 20% in restaurants and bars.
- Prices on menus and in shops exclude sales tax, which is added at the till.
- Do not plan more than four or five hours of driving a day: the distances are larger than they look on the map.
- Never travel without health insurance. A night in hospital can cost thousands of dollars.
- In summer, do not hike down into the Grand Canyon in the heat of the day: the climb back out is where people get into trouble.
Getting by
Words that help
🗣️ English is the main language here, so there is nothing to learn by heart.
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyUS dollar (USD, $)
BudgetAbout €200 a day, mid-range
Best seasonApril to May, July to October
PlugA/B · 120V
Tap waterSafe to drink
Tipping15 to 20%, expected
Emergency911
EntryUK, Australian and most EU passports need an ESTA, applied for online before departure, for stays of up to 90 days; a few EU countries sit outside the Visa Waiver Program and need a full visa. Canadians need neither, only a passport. Anyone who has been to Cuba since January 2021 cannot use an ESTA and must apply for a visa.
HealthNo vaccination required. Keep tetanus, diphtheria and polio up to date; hepatitis A is worth considering if you eat well off the tourist trail. In the desert parks, the heat is the real risk.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/san-diego
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.