An Irish Disser needs San Diego help

[TinkTatoo]

We usually visit Florida for a month each summer and we are thinking of taking a side trip out West I don't really want to get into the whole West Coast tour thing but instead would rather concentrate on one area at a time. I'd like to try San Diego first but I have to be honest and say I know next to nothing about the area. (Apart from what I've seen on episodes of Drake and Josh )

We would probably stay for about 5 nights and I thought that we'd like to stay at a beach area (La Jolla looks nice) and take a few day trips to Sea World, the Zoo and any other places you think are worth a visit.

Does this sound like a good idea? would there be enough to do for 5 days (we'd be happy to spend some time at the beach) and if we did decide to take a trip to Lego Land and Six Flags how far away are they and is it worth the drive?

Thanks for any help or tips you can offer

Edited to add one other thing

Who would be a good airline to use from Orlando to San Diego?

 

[Krismutt]

Well going to Legoland is not that far, right up the road. However Six Flags could be a 2-3 hour trip depending on traffic. I would say more on the 3 hour side because you have to drive through Los Angeles to get there.

There are a lot of nice things to do in San Diego. We are actually going in a week. Haven't been in a couple of years but have been quite a few times. We love Sea World however have not been to the zoo's yet. There is also Old Town and Seaport Village. The Midway Carrier is a cool thing to go do if you like old Navy warships.

But it also depends if you have kids and their ages on things to do.

Not sure about airlines.

Have Fun.

 

[Monkey Monkey]

There is definitely enough to do in San Diego for 5 days.

SeaWorld is easily a day, as is the zoo. You could spend a significant amount of time at the Balboa Park museums and fill a day that way. Disneyland is less than 2 hours from San Diego if you are interested in doing that.

Have fun!

 

[bfrosty]

We usually visit Florida for a month each summer and we are thinking of taking a side trip out West I don't really want to get into the whole West Coast tour thing but instead would rather concentrate on one area at a time. I'd like to try San Diego first but I have to be honest and say I know next to nothing about the area. (Apart from what I've seen on episodes of Drake and Josh )

We would probably stay for about 5 nights and I thought that we'd like to stay at a beach area (La Jolla looks nice) and take a few day trips to Sea World, the Zoo and any other places you think are worth a visit.


Does this sound like a good idea? would there be enough to do for 5 days (we'd be happy to spend some time at the beach) and if we did decide to take a trip to Lego Land and Six Flags how far away are they and is it worth the drive?

Thanks for any help or tips you can offer

Edited to add one other thing


Who would be a good airline to use from Orlando to San Diego?

LaJolla is nice, we stay in 2005 at Carlsbad (30min north of SD) at a timeshare resort in front of the "Flower Fields" overlooking the ocean. A lot of fun and San Diego was within an easy drive. Also, you can walk across the street to Legoland...or be a big lazy american like me and drive it. Well, we have kids...little ones or I would have walked.

The Zoo was not impressive, but you may think it is. We got the "GoSanDiego" card and used it quite a bit. Balboa park is awesome, the aircraft museum is very neat. Try to go to "Point Loma" near sunset...unbelievable.

We rented a minivan an drove a bit north to Enscandido SP? and drove throught the mountains and around the Anzo Berego Desert and back again. Very fun and scenic. While we were out there, we went up to the Palomar Observatory. There are pulloff's on the mountain road leading up to it where you can fill up with mountain fresh water...ummm good and very cold.

Have a good time
Bfrosty

 

[TinkTatoo]

Thanks guys - there are some great tips here

Well going to Legoland is not that far, right up the road. However Six Flags could be a 2-3 hour trip depending on traffic. I would say more on the 3 hour side because you have to drive through Los Angeles to get there.

I think we'd give Six Flags a miss

There are a lot of nice things to do in San Diego. We are actually going in a week. Haven't been in a couple of years but have been quite a few times. We love Sea World however have not been to the zoo's yet. There is also Old Town and Seaport Village. The Midway Carrier is a cool thing to go do if you like old Navy warships.

I love the sound of the The Midway Carrier - that would be on our list to do

But it also depends if you have kids and their ages on things to do.

The kids would be 11 & 12 next year, they both have autism so we'd have to plan activities around their needs

....Disneyland is less than 2 hours from San Diego if you are interested in doing that....

That's an option I'd not thought about

.......We got the "GoSanDiego" card and used it quite a bit. Balboa park is awesome, the aircraft museum is very neat. Try to go to "Point Loma" near sunset...unbelievable....

......We rented a minivan an drove a bit north to Enscandido SP? and drove throught the mountains and around the Anzo Berego Desert and back again. Very fun and scenic. While we were out there, we went up to the Palomar Observatory. There are pulloff's on the mountain road leading up to it where you can fill up with mountain fresh water...ummm good and very cold.

Great tips - especially the mountain one

Thanks again

 

[ScooterL]

You didn't say what month you are planning to visit, but I would recommend July or August as opposed to June...we get an awful lot of gray and cloudy weather in June, and it's not good beach weather. If you're used to visiting Florida in the summer, I think you'll find the weather in San Diego to be a wonderful change - the temperatures are cooler and the humidity is a WHOLE lot lower here, and it almost never rains in the summer.

As far as airlines go...there are no airlines with non-stop flights between Orlando and San Diego - you'll have to make a connection someplace. Southwest does have a direct flight with one stop (Austin, I think, but I'm not sure about that), so that's the shortest one as far as travel time goes. But it's Southwest, so you won't have a reserved seat. We like Continental because they connect in Houston, so it breaks up the flight into 2 and 2.5 hour chunks. American flies through Dallas which also breaks the travel up about halfway, but they are usually more expensive than Continental. We often fly Delta, but they connect through Atlanta, so the Atlanta-San Diego leg is quite long. You can also fly Orlando->LAX, then LAX to San Diego, but the latter flight is on those tiny little prop jets, and I hate those, so we never do that. USAir, United, and most of the others connect in out-of-the-way places, making the flight that much longer, so we avoid those.

Hope that helps!

 

[TinkTatoo]

You didn't say what month you are planning to visit, but I would recommend July or August as opposed to June...we get an awful lot of gray and cloudy weather in June, and it's not good beach weather. If you're used to visiting Florida in the summer, I think you'll find the weather in San Diego to be a wonderful change - the temperatures are cooler and the humidity is a WHOLE lot lower here, and it almost never rains in the summer.....

It would be late July or Mid August and I love the sound of lower humidity

...As far as airlines go...there are no airlines with non-stop flights between Orlando and San Diego - you'll have to make a connection someplace. Southwest does have a direct flight with one stop (Austin, I think, but I'm not sure about that), so that's the shortest one as far as travel time goes. But it's Southwest, so you won't have a reserved seat. We like Continental because they connect in Houston, so it breaks up the flight into 2 and 2.5 hour chunks. American flies through Dallas which also breaks the travel up about halfway, but they are usually more expensive than Continental. We often fly Delta, but they connect through Atlanta, so the Atlanta-San Diego leg is quite long. You can also fly Orlando->LAX, then LAX to San Diego, but the latter flight is on those tiny little prop jets, and I hate those, so we never do that. USAir, United, and most of the others connect in out-of-the-way places, making the flight that much longer, so we avoid those.

Hope that helps!

That's great info on the airlines - thanks. We usually fly Continental transatlantic so we could use them and get our miles. I did notice that Delta have a direct flight from LAX to MCO so we might do that on the way home although I really don't like the thought of a prop jet plane for the LAX San Diego bit

 

[bumbershoot]

Everyone covered things quite well, but I wanted to comment on one thing.

"I don't really want to get into the whole West Coast tour thing but instead would rather concentrate on one area at a time."

That's exactly how I felt in Ireland, which is why we got to Sligo and stayed put until we had to get back to the airport.

 

[Holiday Planner]

When we went to San Diego we flew into LAX as the flights were cheaper and drove down to San Diego. It took us under 2 hours ( on a Saturday) and was a straightforward drive.

 

[fairycat]

The only thing I want to add as a warning is do not expect warm ocean water like in Florida. The water at its highest is CA gets to around 65. As long as you expect that you will be just fine.

San Diego is a beautiful city! You'll love it!

I also wanted to add skip San Diego (especially in the city area) July 24-27. That is comic-con weekend, the convention takes over all of the convention and more, its HUGE!!! You don't want to pay for or fight for the hotel rooms that weekend let alone the crowds it brings into the city.

 

[bonnielynn]

I am coming in May... should I skip staying near the ocean because of the "grey" effect?

 

[Monkey Monkey]

I am coming in May... should I skip staying near the ocean because of the "grey" effect?

If it's going to ruin your trip to spend extra money to stay near the ocean and only have gray days, then stay inland. It may be gray your whole trip, and it may not. You may have beautiful, clear days after the clouds burn off, but just be mentally prepared for the gray.

I do a lot of things with the little one in April and May - the zoo, WAP, SeaWorld, Mission Bay parks - and I have tons of pictures with gorgeous clear skies from the last 2 years.

At least you know it more than likely won't rain.

 

[bonnielynn]

Its my husband's 40th and he wants to see the ocean, beaches... but I dont want to be so far away from the things to do and wake up to grey skies...
Not sure what to do..

If we were staying at a beach... which would be nicest, with restaurants and stuff... also easy to get to seaworld, zoo, babaloa park.. we will have a rental..?

Thanks for your help.

 

[PSWGal]

I can echo the "June gloom" but add, it's SoCal, and the weather can change from minute to minute. We can be at 55 during the day for a week, then get to 85 the next day, and that's in January.

There is a lot to do in San Diego. Not only does Balboa Park have a lot of Museums, but there's an Organ Pavillion and and open-air theater that does night performances. It's called the Starlight Opera.

There are also harbor excursions of various types. I took a friend on a 1-day tour of San Diego a couple of years ago and the harbor cruise was one of the best things we could do. We saw a lot of the city from the bay, including Coronado and a lot of the Navy ships. I hadn't done that in ages and it was fun to do it again.

I find the zoo great, having visited a few other zoos in my time, I no longer bother with other zoos as the SD Zoo is so comprehensive. You and your kids should really enjoy the Wild Animal Park.

Yes, there's plenty to do for 5 days in San Diego. Have fun.

 

[Mrs Grumpy]

We are going the first week of June. Someone was telling me about some place to go shopping down on the beach. Sorry that is all I know other than it is supposed to be a lot of little shops. Any information on this?

 

[ScooterL]

We are going the first week of June. Someone was telling me about some place to go shopping down on the beach. Sorry that is all I know other than it is supposed to be a lot of little shops. Any information on this?

They were probably talking about Seaport Village. It's not actually on the beach, it's on the edge of San Diego Bay, near the Convention Center and Downtown. Yes, there's lots of interesting little shops - specialty/gifty places mostly, like Crazy Shirts, a kite shop, candle shop, etc. Here's a list of the shops (and there's links to other info about Seaport Village from this page, also):
http://www.seaportvillage.com/shopping/

 

[PSWGal]

If you like baseball, the San Diego Padres have a pretty new stadium in downtown. It's built in the style of the old ball parks and is really quite beautiful. Catch a game there if you can.

 

[mrswh]

Just wanted to mention that while La Jolla is a beautiful community, there really isn't anywhere to stay that is actually on the beach. If I was going to San Diego for a beach vacation, I'd focus instead on the Coronado area - a beautiful little island with lots of things to do, and the best beach (IMO) in San Diego. Good luck with trip planning!

 

[Zoemakes5]

My oldest has Aspergers and he LOVED the combo deal we got on the harbor tour and midway. If your kids are "readers" at museums, then the Midway can be quite a few hours. We've been three times and the boys still want to do it more. DD, not so much. But everyone enjoyed the harbor cruise.

From another parent with special needs kids, mine hyper focus on things that bother them. If they're hot, that's all they can think of. If that's an issue with your kids, I'd avoid the zoo and wild animal parks that time of year. Especially the wild animal park. Tooo hot.

Sea World is still a favorite. Both for the younger DD and the older boys.

I'd spend a day and a half at Sea World, a day in the harbor area, at least a day at the beach (and I'd work towards a week day). Do your kids really like rides? If so, Knott's might be a good option. Only about an hour and a half away. And, of course, Disneyland and CA adventures.

I'd stay on Mission Bay or Coronado if I could afford it. Carlsbad/Oceanside if I couldn't.

 

[Angel16]

Hi from one Irish Gal to a REAL Irish Gal

San Diego is one of my favorite places to visit. In fact during a long weekend trip there my DH proposed to me. There are so many things to do and see. We visit SD quite often during our 25 years of marriage. However, I have not seen all that San Diego has to offer.

One of the tours I recommend is the Old Town Trolley Tour. We did this for the first time a few years ago. I thought I knew pretty much everything about SD, boy was I pleasantly surprised. The tour takes 2 hours, however you can get off and on at different locations. We got off at several different places and made the tour a full day event. The site is: http://www.trustedtours.com/store/Ol...iego-C182.aspx
Take a look at their "tour suggestions" It was a lot of fun as well as educational.

Another suggestion is be sure to ride/check out the beautiful Carousel at Sea Port Village. It was built in 1895 and is all hand-carved. It also is one of the fastest carousel's I have ever been on. They have safety belts to use if one wishes (sized for children to adults).

Historic Carousel

Hand-carved in 1895 and still delighting kids and adults alike, this attraction features 54 animals (incl. a dragon, giraffe, teddy bear and lion) and two horse-drawn chariots. Created by the renowned Charles Looff, no trip to Seaport Village is complete without a ride (or two) on it.
Open Daily (541) 387-3897

One of the stops on the Trolley is near Hotel Del Coronado I have attached the site: http://www.hoteldel.com/about/history.cfm Check out the history of the hotel. One of my favorite places to have a nice lunch or dinner is in the Crown Room. The attached site tells about how the room was named.

I am sure you will have a delightful visit to San Diego and will leave wanting to return. If I can help you with any thing feel free to contact me.

Angel