|
Visiting Sunny San Diego!
Blue skies and palm
trees – this is looking up from La Jolla Cove.
Sweet sunshine, a picture-perfect
harbor and mile upon mile of shoreline make San Diego one of North America's
most beautiful cities. The host of Super Bowl XXXVII in January, 2003,
is sophisticated and professional, let laid back and friendly enough
to be right at home in Southern California.
San Diego is a small town in a big city's body. It's the seventh-largest
city in the U.S., yet it has the mentally of Mayberry. Credit the sunshine
and the coastline. How can anyone be anything but upbeat when the weather
and scenery is always so nice?
This site is an overall guide to the city – what it's like, how
to get around, where to stay and more. For details on dining, restaurants,
sightseeing and nightlife, just click on the links at left or in this
text. But for now, sit back and enjoy the best virtual tour of this
super-scenic city.
Arrival and Orientation
The buildings of
downtown glitter against a brilliant blue San Diego sky.
San Diego is located two hours south of Los Angeles and less than a
half-hour from the Baja, Mexican border. The airport – Lindbergh
Field – is so close to downtown, people often get wide-eyed on
approach because the planes come in at almost eye-level to the buildings.
It is both compact – San Diego Bay, Coronado, Balboa Park and Old
Town are within minutes of downtown - and spread out. It would take
a month to see all of San Diego, as it runs from Mexico to the North
County beach towns of Cardiff by the Sea and Encinitas.
For those on a short schedule, downtown is where to hang. It's the
city's heartbeat, pulsating with the dining, drinking and shopping spots
of the Gaslamp Quarter. It's an easy walk to the massive Convention
Center and shopping-heavy Seaport Village. Coronado is across the big
bride that serves as the skyline backdrop. Balboa Park is just east
of downtown and the beach cities are to the north.
For city novices, the San Diego Trolley Tour ($24, pickup at Horton
Plaza) is a good orientation guide. Like the London double-decker buses,
it allows for on-and-off privileges at any of its nine stops, plus the
drivers are informative and humorous. This is different than the city-operated
trolleys; they run on tracks, not the streets.
The main areas of San Diego are briefly described below; individual
guides have links:
• Gaslamp
Quarter/Downtown. The heartbeat of San Diego's city scene.
Restaurants, bars, clubs, pubs, shops and the new Petco Park baseball
stadiu fill a 16 1/2-block area of downtown. It's the place to stay
and a good place to play.
• Pacific
Beach. Where the party meets the Pacific. A classic California
beach town where surfing is the passion and bars are the pastime.
• Del
Mar, La Jolla and North County. Gorgeous seaside scenery,
from the dramatic cliffs of La Jolla to the flat open spaces of Cardiff-by-the-Sea
and Encinitas. This is one of the California's most spectacular areas,
and that's saying something. The upscale towns of La Jolla and Del Mar
give way to the more casual setting of places like Solana Beach for
sunning, swimming surfing, shopping, dining, horse racing, and some
pretty good pubclubbing. Only here can one find one of San Diego's best
restaurants in the vicinity of one of the World's Great Dive Bars.
• Old Town and Mission Valley. Old Town is the original
San Diego community – indeed, the birthplace of California –
that today is mostly Mexican shops and restaurants. Mission Valley is
a business area that encompasses Qualcomm Stadium, where the Super Bowl
will be played. Party tip: Bully's off Hotel Circle is the place
to be before Chargers games and Seau's (owned by Junior Seau)
is the post-game place.
• Coronado, Point Loma. We've put these beautiful areas
under our Sightseeing
and Activities Guide).
Where to Stay
A converted
bank building, the cool Courtyard is in an ideal location.
San Diego has hotels all over town. Some offer spectacular views of
the bay or the beaches while most others are in a concentrated in two
main areas. The most conveniently located accommodations are downtown.
We strongly urge staying downtown. It's convenient to attractions and
steps from the restaurants and bars in the Gaslamp. No hassles of parking,
cabs or traffic, day or night. Two outstanding choices are the Courtyard
Marriott and The Westgate. Each is on Broadway at Horton
Plaza with the trolley right out the back door. You can't buy better
convenience.
The Marriott is not your daddy's Courtyard. Unless, of course, your
dad happens to be the King of England. The
San Diego Courtyard Marriott is a palace. A converted bank
building, it has a magnificent facade with a marble-floor lobby that
leads to a smiling staff at the check-in counter, which once was actually
teller windows. The Courtyard has everything from Jacuzzi suites to
quaint rooms, all beautifully appointed. This former bank is a smart
place to put your money when making San Diego hotel choices. Prices
range from $109 to $199.
The Westgate,
located a block from the Marriott, is like a classic luxury liner. Its
stately lobby is a re-creation of an anteroom in the Palace of Versailles,
and the hallways make one think you're living in the early 1900s aboard
the Titanic (except of course, you won't sink). The rooms are like staterooms
with plush white comforters on the beds. It is individually owned and
will be undergoing a room renovation, although the place is so perfect
now we can't imagine it getting any better. Plus, it has an incredible
Happy Hour in the bar – $4.95 martinis with shrimp cocktail –
from 5-6 Monday thru Friday. A perfect way to start a stay in San Diego!
There are other hotels in the Gaslamp Quarter – high luxury,
modest chains and a few tiny ultra-modest inns. Most of the city's medium-priced
chains are located at the appropriately-named Hotel Circle, about 10
minutes (without traffic) from downtown at the I-5/I-8 interchange.
PubClub offers San Diego on-line hotel reservations, some of which are
at Hotel Circle (click on "Hotel" at the top of this page).There
are more hotels (really, old Beach motels) in Pacific Beach and all
types of accommodations in La Jolla, Del Mar and other North County
cities. These are best for those spending the majority of their time
in those areas.For the best hotel deals, click the link below.
Getting Around Town
Stay downtown as we recommend and a car will only be needed for excursions.
But what excursions! One of the great things to do in San Diego is to
jump in the car and drive around (for more activities, see our sightseeing
guide).
The main North/South freeway is I-5. It ends at the U.S./Mexico border.
Interstate 8 runs East/West and heads to the beaches. There are other
freeways – the 805 also runs North/South, farther inland from "the
5" for instance, but these are the main roads. Downtown is off
the Civic Center exit. Harbor Drive runs along the downtown harbor and
to the airport.
Rush-hour traffic can be brutal, especially at the 5/805 interchange
in North County. Instead of getting frustrated, entertain yourself by
listening to the radio. XTRA (FM 91.1) is the hip, alternative/modern
rock station and KGB – yes, the KGB that originally sponsored the
San Diego Chicken at Padres games – plays classic rock at 101.5.
If you're a sports fan and it's 4 p.m., tune into "Hacksaw's Headlines"
at XTRA-AM 690 for the Best 15 Minutes in Radio. Lee "Hacksaw"
Hamilton puts timely topics on the table and has no-holds-barred opinions.
San Diego does have public transportation. Buses run
to Old Town, Mission Valley, Mexico, Coronado and Balboa Park. The very
cool trolley system goes to Mexico and Old Town, Mission Valley
and Qualcomm. Check in at the Trolly Store at Broadway and 1st for schedules
and such. There is no public transportation to/from Pacific Beach and
downtown, although PubClub.com is looking into establishing a weekend
Party Bus service.
The Beaches
 Surf's
up all over the city.
There are dramatic coastlines in and around San Diego. Some, like the
beach cities of PB, Mission Beach and Ocean Beach, are flat and ocean
access is easy. Other spots, such as Point Loma and La Jolla, have cliffs
that drop dramatically into the sea. Coronado, the Beverly Hills of
San Diego, has spectacular sand with the world-famous Hotel Del Coronado
as a backdrop.
Water sports are abundant but the water is often cold. It drops to
the high 50s in the winter, though the summer months are comfortable
without a wetsuit.
The People and The Social Scene
The San Diego
smiles are as bright as the sunshine.
Notice all the smiles – they are everywhere. People in San Diego
are universally friendly, giving it the hospitality charm of the Midwest.
There are distinct social scenes, perhaps more here than anywhere except
Los Angeles. Or San Francisco (what, is this a California thing?). First,
there is the club crowd and those who spend much of their going-out
activity in the Gaslamp. But it's not a surper-serious club scene, people
just going out having a good time. At the beach, it's really casual.
As it should be, frankly.
San Diego is a military town. It is a major West Coast port for the
U.S. Navy and home to the elite Navy Seals. The Marine Corps also have
a training center and Camp Pendleton is just to the North. Quite a few
military personnel can be seen "on patrol" in the Gaslamp.
Mexico
It's less than a half-hour away by car or the city's trolley. Tijuana
has tons of bars, restaurants and stores lining Avenida Revolucion with
a reputation for rowdiness, especially among the college-age crowd.
Rosarito– where much of Titanic was filmed – and Ensenada
are just down the coast. For more, see PubClub's guide to the Baja
Border Towns. For those who have never been to Mexico, we
highly recommend reading our orientation
guide.
The Weather
It's always sunny
in beautiful San Diego (La Jolla park shown).
One word describes it all: Perfect. But don't be fooled by all those
palm trees. This isn't Tahiti or Florida. All of Southern California
is a desert and when the sun goes down, so does the temperature. Pack
long-sleeve shirts, a light jacket and a sweatshirt. At night, you'll
need them.
Time Zone
San Diego is GMT -8.
When to Go
It's Endless Summer, right?
Well, almost. The prime months are in the Spring and Summer, although
Fall and Winter are pleasant, as well. The "rainy" season
runs from mid-January through March, although rainy days are more rare
than whale sightings.
The beaches are most crowded in the typical summer months, and the
longer days make it a much more active time. As for events, Street
Scene is the second week of September. This annual event
is a music and party extravaganza. In February, the PGA visits
Torrey Pines, the WTA goes up the coast to LaCosta in the summer
and the Del Mar Fairgrounds, where the turf meets the surf, hosts
horse racing from July to September.
 Next
stop on the Party Bus: Bars and Clubs Guide
|