what’s the best spot to stay in san diego?
hiya. In san diego, looking for the most central location to stay in where a person could walk around to see the major city sites like old town, etc. which section do you recommend?
is there much to see on coronado island? would it be better to stay there? if so why? or would you recommend beach area like la jolla? but what’s the commute like back and forth to town from beach or coronado? i’ve stayed near the piers (by the tall ships & bordering lil’ italy) for comic-con, but everything seems to close up there so early
thanks for your time~
c-r
San Diego is highly sectionalized – there are many different areas of attraction, but they are miles from each other. Sooo…here’s ideas for the various sections:
Coronado: The Hotel del Coronado of course – one of the most famous hotels in the U.S. with one of the best beaches in the world. But that’s about it on Coronado. During the day there’s lots of fun little shops, but except for the restaurants they roll up the sidewalks at night. There are some excellent restaurants, though.
Downtown: The Gaslamp District is the happening spot and the place where you’ll find lots of restaurants, bars, dancing and live music any night of the week. There are many excellent hotels right smack in the Gaslamp district including the Gaslamp Hilton, the Gaslamp Marriott, the Solamar and the Omni. Petco Park, home of the Padres, is right beside the Omni and the Marriott. There’s also a shopping center – Horton Plaza – right in the center of things.
Old Town: About 3 miles north of downtown. Lots to do during the day and some party activity at night. There’s a nice Holiday in right in Old Town.
Mission Beach: This is the surfer dude/Bohemian area. Lots of night life, a great beach and an old fashioned amusement park. The Catamaran will put you right in the middle of it.
La Jolla: Again, a great place during the day, with tons of shops, a contemporary art museum, kayaking, surfing, a stunning coastline and, of course, the seals. At night it’s a popular restaurant spot – particularly George’s at the Cove – but there’s not much party activity beyond the restaurant scene. The place to stay in La Jolla is definitely La Valencia.
If you’re into horse racing, Del Mar is the place. You could stay at the Del Mar Hilton, which is right across from the track, but it would probably be more fun to stay in the chic little town itself. Not too much nightlife, but lots of fun shopping. L’Auberge is the hotel of choice in downtown Del Mar.
Getting from one section to the other will take a taxi, shuttle or rental car. The trolley doesn’t really connect these areas and by the time you figured out a bus schedule your vacation would be over. My advice would be to pick the one that sounds best to you and spend your time exploring it.
By the way, the zoo is nearest to downtown and Old Town (but not really walkable distance) and Sea World is nearest to Mission Beach – again, not really walkable. If you stayed near the piers for Comicon you just didn’t walk far enough – ten blocks east on Broadway and you would have been right in the center of the Gaslamp District.
Passing 2 Harley Motorcycles 5 South commute to San Diego
