2 days in San Diego

[julm26]

We will have 2 full days in San Diego. We want to go to the San Diego Zoo, which we know will take up pretty much one whole day. Can you suggest what else is a must see. We do not want to do Sea World or Lego Land.

Suggestions on hotels also. There will be 2 adults and our 8DD.


Thanks

[jentifred]

What time of year are you going? Check out all the different museums at Balboa Park--we are big fans of the Ruben H Fleet science museum (very hands on). I just asked my 8yo DD what her recommendation was and she said "BEACH!"

What kinds of things do you like to do? Are you shopping people, local history people, outdoorsy people, etc?

The hotels at Hotel Circle in Mission Valley are centrally located to nearly anything you'd want to do. I have no specific recommendations, though. I grew up in the area and still have family there that I stay with.

[julm26]

We will be there 3rd week in April

[ncc1701]

We did a harbor cruise on 1 trip. If you like baseball check and see if the Pardes are in town. It is a
great ballpark.
There is also OldTown Trolley tours which will go over to Coronado in addition to stopping in Old Town and Balboa Park (10 min. or so walk to the Zoo from that stop).
We stay in the Convention Center area. There are plenty of dining options within walking distance so we don't need to rent a car while in town.

[Plasticletters]

If you're really into animals you may want to do one day at the Zoo and one day at the Safari Park (Owned and operated by the zoo. It's a more immersive experience than the zoo and rather awesome in its own right).
Heading up to La Jolla for a day and doing a kayak tour of the cove (with or without whale watching), checking out Children's Pool (home to dozens of Harbor seals year-round!), Mt Soledad, and the surfing beaches is also an option.
If you're not renting a car, I'd recommend staying in a hotel very close to Balboa Park, going to the zoo (which is IN Balboa Park) one day and just exploring the rest of the park the next day (there are a TON of awesome museums in the park and lots of outdoor activities to be involved in as well). You can spend an entire day just exploring the park easily and this will make it so you don't have to rent transportation if you don't want to.