Help with itinerary San Diego

[Stan1805]

Originally Posted by kateb78

Oh wow, you’ll have such a great time after such a long wait! Where else are you going?

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We are travelling South to North San Diego, Anaheim, Burbank, Pismo, Pacific Grove, Yosemite and San Francisco. Lots of planning to do.

[kateb78]

Originally Posted by Stan1805

We are travelling South to North San Diego, Anaheim, Burbank, Pismo, Pacific Grove, Yosemite and San Francisco. Lots of planning to do.

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Excellent. The planning is half the fun. Lots of good trip reports on here will give you some ideas. And Aims is a San Diego treasure chest!

[jdouds]

Have you looked at the safari park, especially the cheetah run

[Stan1805]

Originally Posted by jdouds

Have you looked at the safari park, especially the cheetah run

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We have looked at both the Safari park and the Zoo and they look amazing but have decided to give them a miss,

[cornishfrogboy]

My 2018 Trip report may help you with some of it.. and my 2022 Pretrip some more. They are in links from my signature. Both may also be of good assistance with San Francisco.

San Diego is beautiful, with much of it around the area of your Hotel.

USS Midway is awesome.

Harbour cruises go from right next to Midway and we really enjoyed both N and South.

The ‘Topgun bar’ (Kansas city bar and grill), is very close to Midway.

Balboa Park is very big and with plenty in it, a full day and particularly if you visit the excellent zoo.

La Jolla may be a disappointment, given that it might be difficult without a car.. that is why this October, we are sticking to Coronado Beach.

Whatever you do, I do not think that you will be disappointed with San Diego.

Aims or Megaflyer are generally the ‘go to’s for this lovely city.

[Stan1805]

Originally Posted by cornishfrogboy

My 2018 Trip report may help you with some of it.. and my 2022 Pretrip some more. They are in links from my signature. Both may also be of good assistance with San Francisco.

San Diego is beautiful, with much of it around the area of your Hotel.

USS Midway is awesome.

Harbour cruises go from right next to Midway and we really enjoyed both N and South.

The ‘Topgun bar’ (Kansas city bar and grill is very close to Midway.

Balboa Park is very big and with plenty in it, a full day and particularly if you visit the excellent zoo.

La Jolla may be a disappointment, given that it might be difficult without a car.. that is why this October, we are sticking to Coronado Beach.

Whatever you do, I do not think that you will be disappointed with San Diego.

Aims or Megaflyer are generally the ‘go to’s for this lovely city.

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Thank you I remember reading your 2018 report when planning our 2020 trip and it was a great help. We are staying at the Argonaut in SF and have booked Alcatraz and a Dylan’s tour including Muir woods.

[Aims]

Originally Posted by Stan1805

We arrive in San Diego around 5pm and hope to take an Uber to the Best western plus bayside. Nothing much planned for that evening other than something to eat as we will be shattered from traveling. We have a further 3 nights and this is a list of things we want to do on our visit.
Embarcadero
USS midway
Coronado
Seaport village
Old town
Balboa park
La Jolla
Carrillo national Monument & point Loma
? Trolley tours
Happy to use public transport
We won’t have a car as we are collecting that at 3pm the night before we leave.
Can someone help us to split this into days for us bearing in mind that we are in our 60’s so would prefer a more leisurely plan. Shopping is a must but we intend to stop at Carlsbad outlets on the way to Anaheim. Although would love to visit Westfield UTC if it could be fitted in. Any help would be much appreciated.

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Hi Stan1805 Have I figured it correctly that you will have three full days in San Diego? You have a lot on your list to see in three days and I'm not sure you can get it all in at a leisurely pace- but I'm going to give it a go here...



On your first full day, I suggest taking the Old Town Trolley tour for an easy, relaxed day (perfect if jet lagging is hitting hard, too). It is such a fun way to get an overall view of the city and see a few places that you might not have thought of or have time for to go back to on your own. They stop in numerous locations where you can get off to explore and then catch a later trolley to continue on. Or you can just stay on board for the length of the tour (takes approx 2-2 1/2 hours). The tour goes over to Coronado island and you could use the stop there to explore around the Hotel Del Coronado, which I highly recommend seeing. If you see any places on the tour that you feel you are running out of time to explore on that day, you can also buy two day trolley tickets and go back the next day to check out those spots- but the second day ticket must be used on consecutive days. You can't go back a couple days later. I suggest doing the trolley tour first thing in the morning, especially if you think you may want to get off at multiple spots- it could end up being a full day for you.


The Old Town Trolley tour has a stop right down the street from your hotel at the Maritime Museum where the Star of India sailing ship is located. You could start the tour there. In addition to Coronado, the tour also stops at Balboa Park and Old Town State Park, and while you could get a good look at Old Town in just an hour or two (maybe get a meal there- the Mexican food there is great), Balboa Park is much larger and has a lot to see. You could just get a taste of Balboa and only spend a brief time exploring there during the trolley tour, or you could go back the next day by either buying a two day trolley ticket or taking an Uber from your hotel to the park. There aren't any public transportation options to Balboa Park other than one city bus line and I don't recommend that.


Public transportation in San Diego doesn't extend very well into areas outside of downtown- well, to be more exact, it doesn't extend into the popular tourist areas like the beaches, Balboa Park, the Zoo and anything that is located outside of the downtown area. The red city (MTS) trolley that other people are mentioning using is great for getting to sightseeing locations around downtown and very nearby, and it does stop at a couple of shopping malls, but it doesn't go to the beach, Balboa Park or to the tourist sights in La Jolla, for example.



On the second day, I suggest taking an Uber to the Cabrillo National Monument, as there are no public transportation options here. The park opens at 9 am and I suggest getting there soon after. The park isn't large and you can easily see it in less than two hours, then you will have time to see other places. Take an Uber from there and have it drop you off at Seaport Village.You can explore Seaport for a bit and then take a walk along the embarcadero going past where the USS Midway museum is and back to your hotel or out to dinner along the way. I wouldn't suggest trying to do the Midway museum on this same day as it does require a lot of walking.


I recommend touring the USS Midway on the morning of day three. It does take an average of 2-3 hours to see it properly and will require the most walking of any of the places you want to see, so wear good walking shoes! A lot of people end up spending more than three hours on the Midway, and there is certainly a lot to see there. If you do the Midway tour first thing in the morning and finish up in the early afternoon, you could visit the UTC mall afterwards. The San Diego red city trolley goes from downtown to the UTC mall. If you decide to go to UTC after the Midway, you could walk to the Santa Fe Depot on Kettner Blvd and get the city trolley there. It's a 10-15 minute walk from the USS Midway, and it is also the Amtrak station. You would need to get trolley tickets for the Blue Line heading to UTC. The stop at UTC is on the outside of the mall and it is the last stop the blue line makes in that direction. When you get back to the Santa Fe Depot later, it is only a 10 minute or less walk to your hotel from there.



La Jolla is the furthest from downtown of all the places on your list, but it's only about 20/25 minutes drive from downtown by car. Since you will have a car on the day you leave San Diego, I am going to recommend you make a stop in La Jolla for just a quick visit on your way out- if you have the time to spare, of course. I don't know when you need to be at your next destination. If you don't have time to spare on that last day, I suggest leaving La Jolla for another trip (that is me feeling confident you will want to come back to San Diego ). There are no easy public transportation options to get to La Jolla from downtown. The city trolley does have a couple of stops in La Jolla in addition to the one at UTC, but they are in business areas and not close to where tourists will want to visit. You would need to call an Uber from the trolley station to get to the sights you want to see.



I know all this info is probably a little confusing, so if you need me to help clarify anything or if you need any more advice, don't hesitate to ask me here or contact me by private message. I'm always happy to help!

Originally Posted by kateb78

And Aims is a San Diego treasure chest!

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Thanks, Kate! 🥰 And thank you too Libby and CFB for the kind words about my planning thread! ❤️❤️

[Stan1805]

Originally Posted by Aims

Hi Stan1805 Have I figured it correctly that you will have three full days in San Diego? You have a lot on your list to see in three days and I'm not sure you can get it all in at a leisurely pace- but I'm going to give it a go here...



On your first full day, I suggest taking the Old Town Trolley tour for an easy, relaxed day (perfect if jet lagging is hitting hard, too). It is such a fun way to get an overall view of the city and see a few places that you might not have thought of or have time for to go back to on your own. They stop in numerous locations where you can get off to explore and then catch a later trolley to continue on. Or you can just stay on board for the length of the tour (takes approx 2-2 1/2 hours). The tour goes over to Coronado island and you could use the stop there to explore around the Hotel Del Coronado, which I highly recommend seeing. If you see any places on the tour that you feel you are running out of time to explore on that day, you can also buy two day trolley tickets and go back the next day to check out those spots- but the second day ticket must be used on consecutive days. You can't go back a couple days later. I suggest doing the trolley tour first thing in the morning, especially if you think you may want to get off at multiple spots- it could end up being a full day for you.


The Old Town Trolley tour has a stop right down the street from your hotel at the Maritime Museum where the Star of India sailing ship is located. You could start the tour there. In addition to Coronado, the tour also stops at Balboa Park and Old Town State Park, and while you could get a good look at Old Town in just an hour or two (maybe get a meal there- the Mexican food there is great), Balboa Park is much larger and has a lot to see. You could just get a taste of Balboa and only spend a brief time exploring there during the trolley tour, or you could go back the next day by either buying a two day trolley ticket or taking an Uber from your hotel to the park. There aren't any public transportation options to Balboa Park other than one city bus line and I don't recommend that.


Public transportation in San Diego doesn't extend very well into areas outside of downtown- well, to be more exact, it doesn't extend into the popular tourist areas like the beaches, Balboa Park, the Zoo and anything that is located outside of the downtown area. The red city (MTS) trolley that other people are mentioning using is great for getting to sightseeing locations around downtown and very nearby, and it does stop at a couple of shopping malls, but it doesn't go to the beach, Balboa Park or to the tourist sights in La Jolla, for example.



On the second day, I suggest taking an Uber to the Cabrillo National Monument, as there are no public transportation options here. The park opens at 9 am and I suggest getting there soon after. The park isn't large and you can easily see it in less than two hours, then you will have time to see other places. Take an Uber from there and have it drop you off at Seaport Village.You can explore Seaport for a bit and then take a walk along the embarcadero going past where the USS Midway museum is and back to your hotel or out to dinner along the way. I wouldn't suggest trying to do the Midway museum on this same day as it does require a lot of walking.


I recommend touring the USS Midway on the morning of day three. It does take an average of 2-3 hours to see it properly and will require the most walking of any of the places you want to see, so wear good walking shoes! A lot of people end up spending more than three hours on the Midway, and there is certainly a lot to see there. If you do the Midway tour first thing in the morning and finish up in the early afternoon, you could visit the UTC mall afterwards. The San Diego red city trolley goes from downtown to the UTC mall. If you decide to go to UTC after the Midway, you could walk to the Santa Fe Depot on Kettner Blvd and get the city trolley there. It's a 10-15 minute walk from the USS Midway, and it is also the Amtrak station. You would need to get trolley tickets for the Blue Line heading to UTC. The stop at UTC is on the outside of the mall and it is the last stop the blue line makes in that direction. When you get back to the Santa Fe Depot later, it is only a 10 minute or less walk to your hotel from there.



La Jolla is the furthest from downtown of all the places on your list, but it's only about 20/25 minutes drive from downtown by car. Since you will have a car on the day you leave San Diego, I am going to recommend you make a stop in La Jolla for just a quick visit on your way out- if you have the time to spare, of course. I don't know when you need to be at your next destination. If you don't have time to spare on that last day, I suggest leaving La Jolla for another trip (that is me feeling confident you will want to come back to San Diego ). There are no easy public transportation options to get to La Jolla from downtown. The city trolley does have a couple of stops in La Jolla in addition to the one at UTC, but they are in business areas and not close to where tourists will want to visit. You would need to call an Uber from the trolley station to get to the sights you want to see.



I know all this info is probably a little confusing, so if you need me to help clarify anything or if you need any more advice, don't hesitate to ask me here or contact me by private message. I'm always happy to help!






Thanks, Kate! 🥰 And thank you too Libby and CFB for the kind words about my planning thread! ❤️❤️

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Wow Aims thank you, thank you, thank you. Such a detailed reply and it is such a great help especially when we are trying to do so much in a short time. I would love to think we would be able to see what we missed in a future trip but this is definitely a once in a lifetime trip. Leaving La Jolla until we leave sounds like a good plan. We are also hoping to stop at Carlsbad and Laguna beach on our way to Anaheim. We have no plans for our first night in Anaheim so if we leave early we can surely fit this in.

[cornishfrogboy]

Originally Posted by Stan1805

Wow Aims thank you, thank you, thank you. Such a detailed reply and it is such a great help especially when we are trying to do so much in a short time. I would love to think we would be able to see what we missed in a future trip but this is definitely a once in a lifetime trip. Leaving La Jolla until we leave sounds like a good plan. We are also hoping to stop at Carlsbad and Laguna beach on our way to Anaheim. We have no plans for our first night in Anaheim so if we leave early we can surely fit this in.

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We did similar on our penultimate day, driving to La Jolla to see Scripps, Carlsbad for Legoland, then a night on the Queen Mary (no longer possible).
That would seem a good day that you have planned, ending at Anaheim, rather than the Queen Mary.

[Aims]

Originally Posted by Stan1805

Leaving La Jolla until we leave sounds like a good plan. We are also hoping to stop at Carlsbad and Laguna beach on our way to Anaheim. We have no plans for our first night in Anaheim so if we leave early we can surely fit this in.

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Yes, you can definitely do this plan. 😊👍 La Jolla, Carlsbad and Laguna Beach are all off the same freeway so you won’t need to go out of your way for any of them.

Glad to be of help! Of course, depending on how any individual day actually turns out you may need to tweak plans a bit, and if you need any advice with that please contact me. 😊