Southern California Please critique my SD itinerary

[rnorwo1]

Hi! After scouring these boards and trip advisor for months, I have a tentative itinerary planned and would love suggestions for a few things. We will be arriving in SAN on Fri 2/28/14 around 11am, checking in at Homewood Liberty Station, and leaving for DLR on Monday night, 3/3. We have 3 kids, 12, 8, and 4, and we will have a rental car (hopefully... Prices are outrageous right now!)

Friday:
Midway museum: if we are able to arrive around 1, will we have enough time? It closes at 5. Would also love to see Cabrillo but that is probably pushing it time-wise? Dinner suggestions in this area or back near (or on the way to) Liberty Station?

Sat: Torrey Pines park to do a couple of short hikes/whale watching. Will 3-4 hours be enough?
Lunch Puesto Mexican Streetfood or Burger Lounge? Other suggestions?
La Jolla Cove to see the seals, and beach to just say we stood in the Pacific. 1-2 hours? Anything else that is a must in this area? Mount Soledad?

Sun: zoo. Would like to see most of it, so planning on all day. If Sundays are crazy busy, we can switch to Monday, although we may be more limited on time.

Mon: would like to see the model train museum (but not a must), walk around Balboa park, maybe Cabrillo? Other things? What time should we leave for Anaheim to avoid traffic?

Any advice on the pace of this itinerary? Any suggestions on how to make it more efficient by changing things around? I would also love suggestions for casual, kid-friendly lunch and dinner places near our destinations each day also. We'd like to fit in Slater's 50/50 somewhere. Any and all advice welcome!

 

[Rescue Pooh]

I believe 4 hours at the Midway should be enough time. I've only been once and can't remember how long we were there for, but it is well worth it. I'm not sure if you could make it to Cabrillo? You could also check out Seaport Village which is just south of the Midway.
http://www.seaportvillage.com/

As for food The Corvette Diner is at Liberty Station and would be great for the kids.
http://www.cohnrestaurants.com/corvettediner

I would say Torrey Pines, La Jolla Cove and Mt. Soledad are a must. Just to give you a heads up though when you go to see the seals around La Jolla Cove there will be a pretty bad smell. I'm not sure how bad it is as I haven't been out there in awhile, but it's been all over our news.

I would definitely plan all day for the zoo. Again haven't been there for awhile so I'm not sure how it is on Sundays. It's funny how many things we have to do here, but when you live here you don't go to them very often.

As for Monday Balboa Park is a great place to walk around. Lot's of museums to see. Unfortunately traffic on the 5 heading north can get pretty heavy starting as early as 3 in the afternoon. Let me know if you need any other help.

Hope you have a great trip.

 

[rnorwo1]

I would say Torrey Pines, La Jolla Cove and Mt. Soledad are a must. Just to give you a heads up though when you go to see the seals around La Jolla Cove there will be a pretty bad smell. I'm not sure how bad it is as I haven't been out there in awhile, but it's been all over our news.

Unfortunately traffic on the 5 heading north can get pretty heavy starting as early as 3 in the afternoon. Let me know if you need any other help.

Hope you have a great trip.

I actually ran across an article yesterday about a lawsuit from the business owners about the smell! I figured we would just take a quick peak and then head elsewhere! Do you think we could do that, Mt Soledad, and TP in one day?

What time would you suggest leaving SD? We can leave earlier or later.... We are just going to check into the hotel Monday night, not planning on going to the parks.

Thanks so much for the help!!

 

[Purrkins]

Hi! After scouring these boards and trip advisor for months, I have a tentative itinerary planned and would love suggestions for a few things. We will be arriving in SAN on Fri 2/28/14 around 11am, checking in at Homewood Liberty Station, and leaving for DLR on Monday night, 3/3. We have 3 kids, 12, 8, and 4, and we will have a rental car (hopefully... Prices are outrageous right now!)

Friday:
Midway museum: if we are able to arrive around 1, will we have enough time? It closes at 5. Would also love to see Cabrillo but that is probably pushing it time-wise? Dinner suggestions in this area or back near (or on the way to) Liberty Station?

Sat: Torrey Pines park to do a couple of short hikes/whale watching. Will 3-4 hours be enough?
Lunch Puesto Mexican Streetfood or Burger Lounge? Other suggestions?
La Jolla Cove to see the seals, and beach to just say we stood in the Pacific. 1-2 hours? Anything else that is a must in this area? Mount Soledad?

Sun: zoo. Would like to see most of it, so planning on all day. If Sundays are crazy busy, we can switch to Monday, although we may be more limited on time.

Mon: would like to see the model train museum (but not a must), walk around Balboa park, maybe Cabrillo? Other things? What time should we leave for Anaheim to avoid traffic?

Any advice on the pace of this itinerary? Any suggestions on how to make it more efficient by changing things around? I would also love suggestions for casual, kid-friendly lunch and dinner places near our destinations each day also. We'd like to fit in Slater's 50/50 somewhere. Any and all advice welcome!

I can do the Midway with my boy in about 2 hours, 3 if we really take our time. Cabrillo closes at dusk. Good place to eat - Pt. Loma Seafood (between Liberty Station and Cabrillo). Best bet is get a sandwich from Pt. Loma Seafood to-go and eat it at Cabrillo for the sunset. If not, sit upstairs and watch the seals bob between boats in the Bay.

Also worth chowing down at Liberty Station - Tender Greens (local salads and sandwhiches), Con Pane (cobb salad sandwich) and Luna Grill (Kabobery). Stone Brewing Co. has a huge place there too. Go for the beer, eat elsewhere. Better Burgers at Burger Lounge than Slaters 50/50.

3-4 hours in Torrey Pines will be plenty. Each hike is about a mile so you can get a few in. Puesto and Burger Lounge are excellent picks. Mt. Soledad is a nice view but you'll get a nicer one at Cabrillo. Also in the area is Scripps Aquarium and the Torrey Pines Glider Port (nothing like watching sane people running off cliffs with wings attached to them).

Go early for the zoo, usually pretty quiet for the first few hours and the animals are more active. Sunday should be fine.

For your zoo day try Mama Testas for lunch or dinner (tacos) I like it better than Puestos. Fun and bright, close to the zoo. Or you can try pizza at Bruno's (seriously good Neapolitan pizza) or Blind Lady Ale House (San Diego style pizza and beer) or Waypoint Public (comfort food, play area for kids, well thought our beer list).

Model Train Museum is one of my favorite places in San Diego. Can do it in an hour or spend the whole day there.

Sounds like a seriously well thought out and fun trip. You picked all the places we go to as a locals!

Depending on how your kids feel try the Disc Golf Course in Morley Field (next to Balboa Park). Good fun!

I'd head to Anaheim in the evening - traffic should be OK after 7 PM.

Have a great trip!

 

[rnorwo1]

Thanks for all of the additional suggestions Purrkins, I've got quite the spreadsheet going with all of them! I wish we had a whole week to spend just in SD

 

[Bizcanes]

Literally concluded 4 days in San Diego today with a 3 year old and a 7 month old.

1st Afternoon we did the USS in about 3.5 hours and had dinner at the Karl Strauss Brewery (if you like beer highly recommend - local brewery)

2nd Day did Sea World (which we loved).

3rd Day we did the Petco park tour (80 minutes) and the SD Zoo (3 hours). Not enough time was given to Balboa Park and the Zoo.we walked to the Zoo from Downtown and used all our energy, lol. You can literally spend a week visiting all the museums, including 2 days just for the Zoo. Had dinner at the Gaslamp Area.

4th day we did La Jolla (by the seals), Mount Soldedad, Pacific Beach and Sunset Cliff in about 8 hours.

We didn't really do any great lunches or dinners as we are more breakfast people and we ate at some amazing restaurants. Isabel's Catina in Pacific Beach, Richard Walker's pancake house and the Mission both in downtown San Diego. Recommend all 3 tremendously.

Rental Car used Costco Travel which was by far the best quote.

 

[rnorwo1]

Sounds like a great trip Bizcanes! breakfast is also my favorite meal, but I'm the only one so it's usually a protein bar for me
We don't have a Costco here, unfortunately, I've heard so many people get the best prices there. I decided we can squeeze into a full size car and I managed to find one for $300 or so.... Hopefully the luggage will fit, because no way was I paying $800 for a mini van!
Thanks for the estimates on time, that's very helpful... I want to make sure we don't overbook so we can really enjoy the things we are able to do!

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

My boys are 12 and 14. We have been to San Diego a few times. What we like most about those vacations is not feeling rushed or feeling like we need to cram in activity from dawn until dusk and beyond.

We can easily spend a day (10 AM - 5 PM) just visiting museums and walking around Balboa Park. We did go to the model railroad museum one day, but it wasn't of great interest to our family. I can see that if it's something you're into that you would need to allot at least an hour to it though. My boys are much more excited about science museums and really love the Reuben H Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park. They can easily spend two hours just there.

I think you mentioned Monday though as your Balboa Park day and I just thought to check...the Model Railroad Museum appears to be closed on Mondays.

My boys really enjoyed Cabrillo, more than I expected. We ended up spending a couple of hours there. We took a picture at the monument, walked through the small museum and the gift shop, checked out the lighthouse, walked the little hike, and admired the views. A Cabrillo visit could easily be done in one hour though if you don't walk around as much and linger as much as we did.

If you are going to do Balboa Park and Cabrillo on the same day (or probably anything and Cabrillo on the same day), then I would suggest starting the day with Balboa Park and saving Cabrillo for the afternoon since crowds are likely to be heavier at Balboa Park and you will get more done in the earlier hours.

The Midway tour takes a good 3-4 hours to experience the bulk of it. There was still even a bit more we could have done, but we decided that was enough time for us.

If you are staying in the Liberty Station area, none of these places are very far by car, so you aren't bogged down by travel time either.

We did try Slater's 50/50 last time in San Diego. While it's not the greatest ever, my bacon-loving DS12 was really excited about it. We all enjoyed the food enough. We went to the Slater's in Liberty Station only a few minutes away from the hotel we stayed at. I would recommend eating at a slightly off time and still being prepared to wait a little. Very popular place.

Actually, looks like we stayed at the same hotel as you are planning. We really like the Homewood at Liberty Station and have stayed there three times now. The kids enjoyed just hanging around the hotel some since there is a pool table and basketball hoop and you can check out bocce balls too. There is a big park and a lot of walking paths near the hotel.

You mentioned that you might head out to La Jolla. My kids loved Birch Aquarium out there, so it's another thing to consider if you end up making additions or subtractions to your itinerary.

 

[rnorwo1]

Thanks for the reminder, I need to check the hours of everything on our list! I think we will love Cabrillo, we should have time to spend there. My kids love museums also, but we've been to many great ones, so we're going to skip them here just bc we are short on time. If I had a full week, we'd hit all of them, especially the science one. My kids enjoy looking at model trains, but its far from a must-do... If we can't squeeze it in, it's ok. Thanks for the feedback on the hotel, it sounds very family friendly which we were looking for! I do want this to be a fairly leisurely part of the trip, before we start the insanity of disney!

 

[Rescue Pooh]

Sorry haven't had a chance to reply I would say leave SD around 2 or before or around 7 or later as was mentioned above.

 

[rnorwo1]

Perfect, thanks!