Overview
** SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA **
Read travel tips for San Diego, California from our amazing community of BLACK AND BROWN TRAVELERS that will help you find some of the best places to visit San Diego, California. Our variety of travel tips will definitely help you plan your next trip. Our tips range from best places to visit in San Diego, California, affordability, nightlife, local food, where to stay and even what it is like Traveling While Black. Lastly, we are working diligently to create a comprehensive city guide for San Diego, California. Stay tuned! But in the meantime, scroll down to read tips below!
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My husband and I recently went to San Diego on a road trip around California for one of our stops. We stayed at Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego on the Waterfront. This hotel gave luxury and relaxation vibes. We had a corner room on the top floor with a view of the water; it was beautiful. Seaport Village is minutes away for a pleasant stroll or a run. We went on a sunset cruise with San Diego Sailing Tours, which was so romantic. One night, we had dinner at Fogo de Cho Brazilian Steakhouse…one word…DELICIOUS! The salad bar was fully stocked, and all the cuts of meat were fresh, hot, tasty, and melted in your mouth. You’ll get your money’s worth and an excellent dining experience at this restaurant. We also took the tram to the border and walked over to Tijuana. We enjoyed going to bars and eating authentic Mexican food. We returned before dark since so many people told us it gets sketchy in the area. The line to return to the US was about 2-3 hours long, but thank God for Global Entry. We were able to bypass the hundreds of people who were waiting to cross over. Overall, I loved our trip to San Diego and plan to return before the year ends.
San Diego downtown area is huge and is a place for tourist. They have a huge park called Balboa park- it has museums(both free ones and ones you have to pay to enter), gardens, vendors, art, and beautiful scenery. Because it’s Cali and it’s a tourist city (like think Disney tourist) hard to find quality food that is affordable. We did drive an hour from the down town area to neighborhood called Barrio Logan they had the best food out the whole trip it was the best Al pastor taco I have ever had in my life at a restaurant called Salud. There are so many places to see beautiful sunsets my favorite was Point Loma Nazarene University it was sooo beautiful and chill.
San Diego is absolutely beautiful! I spent my babymoon there and took my maternity photos at the La Jolla Pier (Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Pier). It is the best place to take photos if you are searching for that. We had to go to the San Diego Zoo to see what all the hype was about. I didn’t find it that “special” but it could be because I was six months pregnant and the park is HUGE. Either way, we had an amazing time. I spent most of the trip relaxing in the sun and spending time at the spa at our resort which I do not recall the name of. We rented a sports car and drove up the highway all the way to Laguna Beach which was very romantic and the sites were breathtaking. My recommendations would be to stay as close to the beach as possible because Ubers can get expensive.
San Diego is an amazing place to be! The weather is amazing and you have a large variety of things to do! You are right next to the beach! There is a lot of great places to eat at! You can drive up to LA! While visiting you can try popular activities such as Hop on hop off trolley, San Diego harbor cruise and the whale watch cruise
Things to do: ABSOLUTELY TACOS!!!! 1. Salud in Barrio Logan. Enough said! Barrio Logan is a cool neighborhood with a ton of Mexican street art. 2. 50% Sunday baseball games if you are military or just go anyway. PetCo Park is probably the best venue in all of MLB. So open and fan friendly. The Padres can lose 0-100 and everyone still enjoys themselves. 3. Hike Life!!! Potato Chip Rock in Poway, Los Penasquitos and Cowles Mountain. 4. The Beach!!! Catch the sunset at Pacific Beach or at Sunset Cliffs!!! 5. Gaslamp!!! This place can be very rowdy. I like coming here after a baseball game on Sunday and doing Trivia and Karaoke at Henry’s Pub. 6. North Park!! Wow Wow Waffle, Seven Grand Whiskey Bar, and Coin-Op (Arcade that serves alcohol)!!! 7. Little Italy!!! Kettner Exchange and Waterfront bar & grill are a really good time.
Traveling While Black: San Diego doe snot have a huge black population. However, Californians are so relaxed and chill. Surfer vibe mentality. No issues in San Diego as a person of color.
Best place to visit is sea world and if you’re in military you get 4 free passes a year. The have a lot of wildlife such as dolphins! I think the best attraction is the artic section ….lots of penguins and beluga wales! It’s definitely worth a trip. As you the city you can go to the waterfront and see the navy museum.
While visiting San Diego I definitely recommend going to Broadway Pier or San Diego Convention Center located downtown, to catch a ferry over to the beautiful island ? of Coronado! Ferry rides are just $7 round trip and only take about 5-7 minutes to reach the island. Rode bikes all over the island. Coronado is just a small island where you can relax and unwind. Scenery is amazing.
San Diego is a beautiful city, very mountainous, and very clean. There is something for everyone of all ages to do. Flights average from NYC is $3oo you can expect to pay more during holiday time or if there is a special event taking place. Some must see spots are San Diego Zoo, Seaport Village, Balboa Park, Missions Beach/Belmont Park, just to name a few. San Diego is a place you can visit all year around, they don’t get much rain and the nights can get cold so bring a light sweater.
If you only have a weekend in San Diego some things you can do is visit Hollywood, its around a 2 hour drive, prepare for traffic it’s worst than New York traffic (anyone who lives in NY knows how that is). Once in Hollywood you can see the stars on the Hollywood walk of fame, take a hike to the Hollywood sign, visit the wax museum, or even take a tour to see celebrities houses. A famous place to eat in Hollywood is In-N-Out Burger which is known for their fresh (not frozen) beef, hand-cut French fries, inexpensive menu and great service.
After the day in Hollywood you can spend the rest of the time in San Diego. If you have kids or just a lover of animals you can visit the San Diego Zoo and Safari. One day pass $56 adults $46 child. It houses more than 3,000 animals and opens from 9am-6pm. It is located in Balboa Park which is a must see.
Day two visit Belmont Park/Mission Beach. There you can go on 12 rides, eat at 3 ocean front eateries, and play at an 18-hole Tiki themed golf course. There are many other attractions and things to do there as well. It was opened back in 1925 by John D. Spreckles, its main attraction is the wooden roller coaster named Giant Dipper and is a National Historic Landmark of its own. One famous food attraction is Sweet Shoppe where you can dare to eat a monster waffle cone ice cream.
Day three go to Seaport Village, it is a big tourist trap but you will definitely enjoy your time there. It’s a waterfront mall, with plenty of restaurants, souvenir shops, beautiful architectural buildings, and live music and entertainment.
San Diego has many attractions and things to do. It just depending on the person you are and who you are traveling with, so make plans accordingly. I like to do adventurous things and site seeing, but because I visited in the pace I try to do something different each time.
If you go to San Diego, the best thing to do there is relax. I didn’t enjoy much of the nightlife there, at Bassment. There weren’t a whole lot of people, and the customer service wasn’t the best. However, the beaches there are amazing, especially La Jolla! Also, the gardens at Balboa Park are extremely beautiful!
I planned a trip for me, my sister, brother, and friends to go to San Diego. overall great expereince we had a good time dancing at night and exploring during the day when we weren’t hung over. You should try the club Onyx. Downtown wasn’t so nice during the day, there is a large homeless population and there was a serious drug problem in the past but i don’t know anymore. we stayed by the beach, had great food options and many things to activities to do. we were too hung over to do much but that’s our fault.
San Diego is beautiful! I love anything near the water first off so this place is right up my alley. I’ve been quite a few places but Southern California is just a dream. The best vibes are in Cali. The beach has so much scenery and interesting things to do, a bit colder than most bodies of water but with a nice body suit it shouldn’t be too bad. San Diego isn’t the cheapest getaway but it’s worth the adventure. You get the best weather it seems to always be sunny and great warm weather. I’d recommend the pier while in San Diego or a tour in the largest zoo in America: The San Diego zoo. There’s also very nice outdoor malls that have a lot of nice stores to shop and get souvenirs. All in all San Diego is a must! Safe travels!
San Diego is an excellent city with many great places and resources. There are no downsides to San Diego, however it is often overlooked by others who travel and are looking for a place to stay in California, for example Los Angeles or San Francisco may be chosen in place of San Diego. San Diego has a great harbor, bay and everything! I love how relaxed the city is, the weather, the beaches, the different types of activities that you can find in San Diego, such as hiking, swimming, and camping. If you’re a foodie I would suggest Urban Plates to satisfy your hunger (if you’re vegan- even better).
I went on both a family trip and girls weekend to San Diego at different times. We visited the San Diego zoo , with my family; a must if you have kids. Take the free trolley available at the zoo and save yourself some time and energy. That zoo is huge. They have safaris and zip lining available there.
La Jolla beach is beautiful. We went and took pictures with sea lions.
Seaquarium not my favorite but you can give it a try.
Night life is the bomb in San Diego. Look for Roof top bars for amazing views and classy atmosphere.
A lot of restaurants downtown offer brunch , at very affordable prices. Very fun city for all ages.
La Jolla is the most touristy and picturesque but it’s also the most expensive. That’s where the best ocean views, coves and sea lions are. Hillcrest is the gay area, North Park is the hipster area, the most popular is the Gaslamp (downtown) and Mission/Fashion Valley area the most central.
San Diego is great! Such a great vibe. The code shops and bars, the beaches and the zoo. It just has it all