San Diego

[countthestars]

H and I are thinking of booking a trip to San Diego this fall. We are hoping to stay 5-7 days and are willing to rent a car and do some traveling. What would you suggest we do? How many days should we stay in SD? Should we do LA as well? Anywhere else we shouldn't miss while we are down there? I want the vacation to be fairly relaxing but don't expect that we would spend more than 2 days at the beach. We like exploring new cities and are up for almost anything. I don't think we will want to spend tons of time in museums but would be willing to go to 1-2 really good ones.

Thanks!

[miss1180]

We loved the San Diego zoo... It's huge!! We went hiking at Torrey Pines preserve one day- awesome views of the pacific ocean. We were there with a friend who is really into sailing so one day we rented a sailboat and he took us sailing on the San diego bay- gorgeous!! You might be able to find someone to take yiu around on one...
It's a really pretty area! Have fun!!

[travelingjen]

There are so many different things to see and do in San Diego! I spent five days there a few years ago and managed to stay busy the entire time but still didn't get to quite see everything I had wanted to. If you have five days I would stay in San Diego the entire time. But, if you have closer to seven days you could definitely split that time with LA although I am sure you would find plenty to do in San Diego and the general vicinity over the course of a week. I just published a blog entry on my San Diego trip here:
wanderlusttraveler.blogspot.com/2012/07/san-diego-california-sightseeing.html

[countthestars]

Thanks both!

[Deleted]

I would definitely try to do the following:

-San Diego Zoo
-Balboa Park (visit the museum's, the zoo is in the park but there is a ton more to see in addition to the zoo)
-Harbor Dinner cruise on the Hornblower
-Tour the midway
-Hike Torrey Pines
-Visit Old Town and get some awesome Mexican food
-Spend the day in La Jolla
-Kayaking in La Jolla Cove
-Take the train from downtown SD up to Carlsbad, walk around, enjoy the beach and then take the train back.
-Go bar hopping in the Gas lamp
-Visit Little Italy and their awesome farmer's market
-Go to Point Loma and hike around the Cabrillo national monument. Visit the tide pools.

I lived in San Diego County for 7 years and miss it very much. PM me if you want more info about any of the above. Have a great time!

[countthestars]

Awesome suggestions, Tarzans. Those all sound like things we would really enjoy!

[natsnow]

Sailing charter. Love.

[lahoagie]

You could drive up to Temecula and go wine tasting. You could also do the Wild Animal Park up near Escondido. I personally think it is better than the zoo.

Just so you know, our rainy season starts late October/early November. That doesn't mean that it will rain (it could easily be 70 and sunny) but be prepared because (at least in my experience) when it rains it can get chilly.

[clseale]

Jul 23, 2012 13:07:32 GMT -5 lahoagie said:

You could drive up to Temecula and go wine tasting.

This is what I was going to suggest. Also, if you're going that way and you are beer people, you have to make a stop at Stone Brewery. It makes for such an awesome and relaxing day.