Recommendations for things to do in the city of San Diego, California

How do you get to San Diego?

We arrived by car from Los Angeles. The trip includes a host who stays with you at home and drives you to attractions and from place to place. So our host, Christian, took us from Los Angeles to San Diego. About a three hour drive.

San Clemente

It’s a cute town on the way from Los Angeles to San Diego.

We stopped there for a delightful breakfast at the Pierside Bar-Cafe .Directions.

I ordered toast with avocado and an omelet with seasoned potatoes on the side and it was a great dish. Roman ordered a pear benedict with avocado and that too was really good. In short, if you are looking for a place to eat in San Clemente, I think this is a great option and if you sit outside there is a view of the sea.

After breakfast we went for a walk on the platform and in the town itself.

Coronado Island Peninsula

The trip to Coronado is an experience in itself because you cross a bridge from which you have an amazing, picturesque view of the harbor, sailboats, blue water and more. There are shops and cafes in the port area. I really liked the shops because they don’t just sell souvenirs; they also have cool clothes at good prices and accessories such as for the beach, bags and more.

From the port we took a ferry to the convention center which is an area that has one, but is also full of shops, restaurants and hotels. You can rent a bike there to get around or just walk and enjoy the view of the sea and the luxury yachts that are moored there.

The cost of the ferry is 5 dollars per person one way and 10 dollars both ways.

The ferry ride is short, about 10 minutes, but it’s a cute experience.

In addition, it is highly recommended to visit Hotel Del Coronado. (arrival map) This is a historic hotel that looks like a castle from the outside. It was considered the largest resort in the world when it opened in 1888 and hosted the biggest names there such as Marilyn Monroe and Prince Edward.

Cabrillo tide pools and lighthouse

This is a very popular and really magical area. I recommend coming with sandals that can get wet because if you want to look for cool things you will have to put in the effort in the search and get your feet a bit wet.

This is a place that is very suitable for children who can search for hours for different creatures among the rocks such as crabs, octopuses, lobsters, fish and more.

We got there in the afternoon in April and it wasn’t too busy but I have the understanding that it can get very busy. If you are a photographer, it is worth coming with macro lenses because you can take great pictures there.

Regardless of the search for surprises in the rocks and pools, this is also an area that is really nice to just sit in front of the sea or go visit the lighthouse that is up the hill.

In the lighthouse you can also see how they used to live there and there is also a small museum that shows how the lighthouse worked. There is also a small observation point up the lighthouse (on the third floor). When we were there, there were relatively many people and only three persons could go up per time because the stairs are very narrow.

In addition to the way to tidal pools, there are also hiking trails that can be done and there is also the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. This is a huge federal military cemetery that cannot be missed.

San Diego Zoo Safari Park

This is a place that is difficult to see everything it has to offer even dedicating a full day to tour it. San Diego zoo park is one of the biggest and most famous attractions in San Diego. The place was opened in 2010 and it covers 1,800 dunams!

It has a wide variety of endangered animals, including species from Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, and Australia.

It contains over 2,600 animals representing more than 300 species, as well as 3,500 plant species.

There are various shows there such as a bird show (we really enjoyed it) and there are also various attractions such as omegas (with a rather expensive additional charge).

I really liked the train ride in the area of Africa, where the guide tells a bit about the animals on the way.

Basically, getting around the park is on foot, so it is recommended to come with comfortable shoes and be prepared for a lot of walking, but in the African region there is the train ride (which you usually have to wait in line for about 40 minutes or reserve a place for a fee to get in without queuing).

There is also a short scene of a cheetah running after a doll. Why is the show short? Because the cheetah runs so fast, you only see it for about two seconds, but it’s very cool, nonetheless.

There are many restaurants in the park. We ate at The Watering Hole at Kijamii Overlook, which has an amazing view of the African region and while you eat you can see giraffes.

Book tickets to San Diego zoo safari park

In short, there are many things to do in San Diego, but due to only having a short time to do so, we only managed to do a small part of them. I am sure that in the future we will return to explore it more.