• Home
  • About PubClub.com Nightlife Pubs And Clubs Website
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us

PubClub

Where The World Goes To Party!

The Ultimate San Diego Weekend Itinerary Guide

March 2, 2020 by kevinwilkerson Leave a Comment

From Sightseeing To Nightlife, Here’s What To Do & Where To Do It In SD

Beach House beachfront bar Mission Beach
Beach House is a beachfront bar in Mission Beach. Photo: PubClub.com

By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com San Diego Blogger

The sun it out, you’re in San Diego – San Diego! – and you’re as anxious to get moving as a teenager who has a date with the head cheerleader.

But like that person, you don’t want to fumble the opportunity. You want to make the most of it and from sightseeing to nightlife, here’s what to do and where to do it when you have a weekend in San Diego.

The key is to not be in a hurry. This guide is set up to where you can casually take in the main and most scenic sights while also enjoying the city at a pace that is in step with the culture of San Diego.

This guide does not include the San Diego Zoo and Sea World because those are parks that will take up at least half the day, if not all of it.




Saturday In San Diego

Make this your day at the beach. Or, more appropriately, day at the beaches.

• Mission Beach & Pacific Beach

Pacific Beach palm trees to pier
The palm tree-lined path leads to the pier in Pacific Beach. Photo: PubClub.com
Lanhina Beach House Pacific Beach bar
Lanhina Beach House is a good place to grab a beer in Pacific Beach, CA. Photo: PubClub.com

Experience the true laid-back Southern California beach life by walking along the concrete biking and walking path that runs parallel to the sand and Pacific Ocean. Locals call it the Boardwalk, tho it has no boards. Lay on the beach, pop into a beach store, grab a couple of tacos from a stand, ride the Mission Beach rollercoaster and have a beer at a beachfront bar; Beach House in Mission Beach and Lahina in PB are two of PubClub.com’s top watering hole recommendations.

PubClub Tip: Rent a bike and ride along the bike path; this is the easiest and best way to move between the two beach towns. Do not, however, rent one of those motorized scooters for they are illegal and you will get a ticket if caught riding one along the beach path. Click here to read more about the ban on electric scooters.

• La Jolla Cove & The Cliffs

Cliffs in La Jolla CA
The cliffs in La Jolla are among the most spectacular scenery in San Diego. Photo: PubClub.com

Wrap up the day by walking along the spectacular cliffs in La Jolla, winding up at La Jolla Cove. If its summertime, rent a mask and snorkel, and swim in the cove.

PubClub Tip: Watch the sunset here then pop over to Jose’s for a post-sunset margarita.

Friday/Saturday Nightlife In San Diego

San Diego Gaslamp nightlife Fifth Ave
The street scene in San Diego’s Gaslamp is of big-time nightlife. Photo: PubClub.com
San Diego Gaslamp nightlife Trailer Park After Dark
San Diego’s nightlife in the Gaslamp includes people partying in a trailer park bar. Photo: PubClub.com

• The Gaslamp Quarter

For Las Vegas-style nightlife, head to the Gaslamp Quarter. There is every bar imaginable, from hot clubs (Omni is a top one) to live music venues (PubClub likes The Field when the Irish band is playing) to pubs to regular hang-out bars with a solid singles scene (Barleymash, Tipsy Crow) with basements that range from lounges to dance clubs and a dueling piano bar (Shout).  There’s even a bar that’s like going into a trailer park (Trailer Park After Dark).

PubClub Tip: Most of the nightlife action is along lower Fourth Ave., a couple blocks up from the Convention Center, and along Fifth Ave., all the way up to Broadway.

Sunday In San Diego

Use this as your getting-around adventure day.

• Brunch In The Gaslamp (Careful Of The Bottomless Mimosas!)

San Diego Gaslamp bottomless mimosas lunch Union Tap
Breakfast in the Gaslamp, like this one at Union Tap, often come with a bottomless mimosas option. Photo: PubClub.com

This will either make or kill the rest of your day. Several bars and restaurants – way too many to name – have weekend brunches that include bottomless champagne and/or mimosas. These bottomless bonanzas are in the $15 range and that will really set you up for the rest of the day. That is, unless you get buzzed and comfortable and stay until the last pour at 3 p.m.

PubClub Tip: The best place to look for a bottomless mimosas bar or restaurant is along Fourth and Fifth Aves.

• Balboa Park

San Diego Balboa Park pipe organ concert
People soak up the sounds of the pipe organ in San Diego’s Balboa Park. Photo: PubClub.com

Time a trip to this scenic park on a hill just above downtown to where you are seated at the outdoor pipe organ small amphitheatre for its weekly concerts. They go from 2-4 p.m., and are a fantastic way to relax and say to yourself “am I really here!?” It’s free (donations are accepted).

Then tool around the rest of the park with its Spanish and Japanese-style buildings. In addition to the museums (some of which are donation only), there are vendors and street performers. There’s even a few restaurants where you can sit outside and eat or just have a cold beer or glass of wine in your hand.

PubClub Tip: Pack an sandwich and sit down for a picnic lunch or eat at one of the restaurants.

• Ferry To Coronado Island

Hotel del Coronado beach path
The Hotel del Coronado is a San Diego landmark on the beach. Photo: PubClub.com

Hustle back to the bay and catch the ferry to Coronado Island. You can do this at the Broadway Pier or next to Joe’s Crab Shack behind the Convention Center. It’s $10 R/T and ferries leave every half hour. And they run until 10 p.m. You’ll have to take a bus or shared ride service to go the few miles to the Hotel del Coronado, the focal point of activity on Coronado. There’s a cool little beach shack serving food & drinks, a bike and walking path along the beach and live music Sunday afternoons at the large bar deck.

Of course, the hotel is worth exploring on its own. It became famous for the movie Some Like It Hot starring Marlyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemon but few people know it was also where Jimmy Buffett came up with his song “Pre-You.”

Be sure and walk across the street to check out more shops and restaurants.

PubClub Tip: There is a bus ($2.50) from the ferry to and from the Hotel del.

• San Diego Bay

USS Midway WWII victory statue San Diego Bay
The famous World War II “Victory” statue provides a nice foreground to the USS Midway in San Diego Bay. Photo: PubClub.com

Back on the “mainland,” walk around Seaport Village, take in the massive USS Midway aircraft carrier, see the end-of-WWII kissing statue and catch the sunset from the Embarcadero.

PubClub Tip: Top off your San Diego adventure by having a beer at the Top Gun bar, the one used in the movie (it’s Kansas City BBQ, directly across from the Hyatt hotel). Who knows, you might even see “Maverick” in there having a beer. I did!

Transportation In San Diego

San Diego Trolley Old Town station
The San Diego trolley pulls up to the Old Town station. Photo: PubClub.com

San Diego has an excellent public transportation system with trolleys (a rail line; don’t confuse the name with the red cable car-looking things from San Diego Trolley Tours) and buses. Buy an all-day pass for $7 ($6, plus $1 for a card).

In the Gaslamp, there is free transportation via a neat little service called FRED. It stands for Free Ride Everywhere Downtown and it utilizes a free Uber-type app called Circuit and covers all of the Gaslamp Quarter, downtown, Little Italy and goes to the edge of Balboa Park.

PubClub Tip: While in San Diego, don’t drive. Use the above methods of transportation and/or shared ride apps like Uber or Lyft.

• Conclusion

San Diego Embarcadero Marriott Marina
There are a lot of pretty things in San Diego and it’s not confined to buildings, boats and the water. Photo: PubClub.com

Okay, we didn’t make it to Little Italy (a 5-minute trolley ride from the Convention Center),  the cool area of neighborhood restaurants and bars known as Banker’s Hill, up to any of North County that includes Del Mar and even more beaches, to any of the many concerts or festivals that take place all the time here and certainly not down to Tijuana for a different kind of San Diego experience.

But by following this itinerary, you won’t leave town feeling as if you missed anything.



Filed Under: San Diego Tagged With: California, San Diego, travel, weekend guide

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Search

Today On PubClub.com

TOP UPCOMING EVENTS & DATES
• June 23-July 9 – Summerfest Music Festival – the “Big Gig – Milwaukee
• July 2-4 – Fourth of July Weekend

Quote Of The Day:
“I spent half my money on gambling, alcohol, and wild women. The other half I wasted.”–  WC Fields

LET’S BE SOCIAL!
 
PubClub.com is a member of the Travel & Tourism Marketing Association, Inc.​, and the Travel Massive chapters in Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange County (CA).

Instagram

Follow on Instagram

Destinations

  • Destinations (1,976)
    • Asia (15)
      • Japan (4)
        • Tokyo (3)
      • Taiwan (1)
      • Thailand (7)
    • Australia (19)
      • Surfer's Paradise (3)
      • Sydney (5)
    • Brazil (7)
      • Rio (2)
    • Camping (1)
    • Canada (18)
      • Montreal (2)
      • Niagara Falls (5)
      • Toronto (1)
    • Caribbean (54)
      • Cuba (1)
      • San Juan (5)
      • Virgin Islands (18)
    • Central America (1)
      • Costa Rica (1)
    • Europe (96)
      • Amsterdam (14)
      • France (2)
      • Germany (4)
      • Ibiza (2)
      • Kiev (1)
      • London (6)
      • Malta (1)
      • Moscow (1)
      • Munich (5)
      • Paris (4)
      • Poland (3)
        • Krakow (2)
      • Prague (6)
      • Switzerland (34)
        • Basel (5)
        • Bern (3)
        • Swiss Alps (1)
        • Zermatt (3)
        • Zurich (4)
    • Greek Islands (24)
      • Corfu (3)
      • Ios (2)
      • Mykonos (5)
      • Santorini (5)
    • Mexico (9)
      • Cabo San Lucas (1)
      • Puerto Vallarta (1)
      • Tijuana (1)
    • Ski Resorts (67)
      • Aspen (1)
      • Austria (4)
      • Big Bear (13)
      • Big Sky (6)
      • Mammoth (16)
      • Squaw Valley (4)
      • Whistler (2)
    • Tokyo (1)
    • USA (1,656)
      • Alabama (3)
      • Alaska (1)
      • Arizona (6)
        • Lake Havasu (1)
        • Scottsdale (3)
        • Sedona (1)
      • Boston (5)
      • California (1,233)
        • Carmel (24)
        • Central Coast (9)
        • Lancaster (16)
        • Los Angeles (787)
          • Catalina Island (12)
          • Culver City (1)
          • El Segundo (4)
          • Hermosa Beach (170)
            • Fourth Of July (12)
            • Smackfest Events (21)
          • Hollywood (14)
          • Huntington Beach (1)
          • Lake Arrowhead (2)
          • Long Beach (40)
            • Grand Prix (11)
          • Manhattan Beach (76)
          • Marina del Rey (6)
          • Newport Beach (41)
          • Orange County (26)
          • Party Report (14)
          • Redondo Beach (81)
          • Santa Monica (3)
          • South Bay (93)
          • Sunset Strip (4)
          • Temecula (12)
          • Venice Beach (5)
        • Mendocino (8)
        • Monterey (30)
          • Restaurant Reviews (10)
        • Napa (5)
        • Oakland (7)
        • Palm Springs (8)
        • Paso Robles (4)
        • San Clemente (1)
        • San Diego (227)
          • Balboa Park (1)
          • Del Mar (10)
          • Events (62)
          • Gaslamp (39)
          • Lifestyle (4)
          • Ocean Beach (3)
          • Pacific Beach (3)
        • San Francisco (67)
          • Events (12)
      • Chicago (10)
      • Colorado (4)
        • Denver (4)
      • Florida (82)
        • Daytona Beach (1)
        • Ft. Lauderdale (3)
        • Jacksonville (1)
        • Key West (25)
        • Keys (8)
        • Miami (9)
        • Panama City Beach (3)
      • Hawaii (23)
        • Waikiki Beach (14)
      • Indianapolis (3)
      • Las Vegas (156)
      • New Jersey (1)
      • New Orleans (40)
      • New York City (14)
      • Newport, R.I. (1)
      • North Carolina (1)
      • Oregon (9)
        • Portland (8)
      • Seattle (2)
      • South Carolina (3)
        • Charleston (3)
      • Tennessee (39)
        • Franklin (3)
        • Gatlinburg (5)
        • Knoxville (8)
        • Nashville (4)
        • Smoky Mountains (3)
      • Texas (6)
        • Austin (6)
      • Utah (2)
      • Virginia (1)
  • Homepage Fun Stuff (4)
  • Homepage Lifestyle (2)
  • Hong Kong (1)
  • Men's Stuff (4)
  • Virtual Happy Hour (8)

Events

  • Events (504)
    • BVI Interline Regatta (5)
    • Carnival (5)
    • Cinco de Mayo (2)
    • Exercise and Socalize (2)
    • Fourth of July (8)
    • Halloween (9)
    • Holidays (18)
      • Thanksgiving (6)
    • Indy 500 (10)
    • Kentucky Derby (12)
    • Memorial Day Weekend (5)
    • New Year's Eve (39)
    • Oktoberfest (10)
    • Party Report (46)
    • Running Of The Bulls (4)
    • Spring Break (6)
    • St. Patricks Day (8)
    • Sundance Film Festival (8)
    • Super Bowl (15)
    • Valentine's Day (9)
  • Homepage Fun Stuff (4)
  • Homepage Lifestyle (2)
  • Men's Stuff (4)
  • Virtual Happy Hour (8)

Sports

  • Homepage Fun Stuff (4)
  • Homepage Lifestyle (2)
  • Men's Stuff (4)
  • Sports (467)
    • Baseball (7)
    • Beach Volleyball (3)
    • College Football (262)
    • Golf (11)
    • NFL (44)
    • Olympics (13)
    • Racing (25)
    • Soccer (4)
  • Virtual Happy Hour (8)

Lifestyle

  • Homepage Fun Stuff (4)
  • Homepage Lifestyle (2)
  • Lifestyle (1,504)
    • Beach Reads (1)
    • Cannabis (4)
    • Celebrity Sightings (6)
    • Entertainment (18)
    • Mr. Sorehead (3)
    • Music (269)
      • Festivals (56)
      • Jimmy Buffett (35)
      • Trop Rock (13)
    • Party Stories (2)
    • People Profiles (9)
    • Singles Life (6)
      • Men Vs Women (2)
      • Relationships (2)
    • Social Media (2)
    • Spirits (25)
    • Travel (634)
      • Airlines (29)
      • Blogger (360)
      • Cruise Ships (19)
      • Hotels (14)
      • Product Reviews (3)
      • Singles Travelers (1)
      • Solo Travel (2)
      • Touring Blog (12)
      • Weather (17)
  • Men's Stuff (4)
  • Virtual Happy Hour (8)

From the Bar Stool

  • From The Bar Stool (306)
  • Homepage Fun Stuff (4)
  • Homepage Lifestyle (2)
  • Men's Stuff (4)
  • Virtual Happy Hour (8)

Bars

  • Bars (258)
    • Bars & Food (24)
    • Bars & Nightlife (195)
  • Homepage Fun Stuff (4)
  • Homepage Lifestyle (2)
  • Men's Stuff (4)
  • Virtual Happy Hour (8)

News

  • Business News (3,403)
  • Homepage Fun Stuff (4)
  • Homepage Lifestyle (2)
  • Men's Stuff (4)
  • News (41)
  • Virtual Happy Hour (8)

Colleges

  • Colleges (28)
  • Homepage Fun Stuff (4)
  • Homepage Lifestyle (2)
  • Men's Stuff (4)
  • Virtual Happy Hour (8)

Food and Drinks

  • Food and Drinks (360)
    • Beer (94)
    • Cocktails (41)
    • Foddie Blog (25)
    • Rum (4)
    • Singles Cooking (1)
    • spirits (6)
    • Spirits & Beer Industry (79)
    • Tequila (9)
    • Wine (76)
  • Homepage Fun Stuff (4)
  • Homepage Lifestyle (2)
  • Men's Stuff (4)
  • Virtual Happy Hour (8)

Subscribe To The PubClub Party Report!

Subscribe To Blog

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

About PubClub.com

PubClub.com is a content-oriented nightlife tourist guide dedicated to social-minded travelers with articles on worldwide destinations such as Amsterdam, the Greek Islands, Prague, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Hawaii, Canada, and more. Top keywords for search are pubclub, pub club, party pubs, club pub, travel pub, pub club night, pubs and clubs and the pub club.
Read More...
Our Terms | Privacy

Legal

Featured Video: The PubClub Song

The PubClub Song By Evyn Charles!

Powered by imFORZA