San Diego Advice

[lvillotta1]

We love to travel and I love San Diego. I have 2 girls. I am thinking of going for spring break next year. I really do not want to rent a car, so I need idea's of where to stay that would be located near attractions, bus line or trolley so we could get around easily. We would also like to spend some time in the ocean. I also would not mind having a kitchen so we could cook. Price is variable,but there would be some wiggle room. Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Itinkso]

We are in SD quite often but always have a car. Mission Beach, Pacific Beach or Old Town would probably have the best bus connections. Sea World is in the Mission Beach area. The zoo is in Balboa Park; here is a link to the bus system:

http://www.sdmts.com/mtscr/BusRoutes.aspx

 

[tzeitel]

Check out the Disneyland forums, there is a section for nearby areas and SD is discussed

 

[hrslvr142]

OP like you I love SD but would not want to be without a car. If you are worried about the driving issue it really is an easy city to drive in, in my opinion, but I do live in Indianapolis so used to a bigger city feel. Great place to go for spring break or really about anytime....one of my favorite places to travel. I would also recommend Trip Advisor if you have not been there, generally great help if planning a trip.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I am an SD native and I wouldn't think about not renting a car when visiting there.

I believe there is a fairly recent thread about visiting SD; try doing a search.

 

[bjscheel]

Another really helpful forum is the San Diego forum on tripadvisor.com. They will tell you it can be done. Highly recommend you ask on there or search for similar threads. Lots of people asking about SD without a car.

I have researched this- we may go in June. DH does not like to navigate strange places and drive on vacation if he can help it (which is why we've been to WDW 5 times- no driving). The Fairfield Inn Old Town has free airport shuttle, and may have free shuttles to Sea World and the Zoo. (They don't advertise it online, but I messaged their Facebook page and they confirmed it). They are about 7 blocks from the transit station. That was one we looked at. There are others that have free shuttles and/or are close to public transport.

Our trip will be a combo SD/Disneyland, so we will only be in SD for a short time. The girls watched our video from our DH & I's trip and decided their main priorities are Sea World and the ocean. So, my plan is to stay at The Dana at Mission Bay. They will pick us up from the airport (for $18). There is a marina and Mission Bay Park right there at the hotel where we can rent water trikes or regular bikes too. Mission Beach is walkable/bikable from there. Sea World is also walkable, or they have a free shuttle too. There is a bus stop right near the hotel, but we may not utilize that. Then they will take us to Amtrak for $18 and we will ride the train to Anaheim.

One thing I found helpful in determining what could be done was to put in a hotel on Google Maps, then put in a destination and get directions and click the bus icon. It tells you how to use the bus system. I found that easier than following the SD transit website.