What to do on vacation in San Diego?

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ccb2004
ccb2004 Posts: 16
in Chit-Chat
I am taking my 9 year old son to San Diego for winter break. We are going to be there December 25th though December 30th. Any ideas for fun places to go, good places to eat, great things to see while we are there?? I am obviously thinking the zoo and Sea World, but any other tips and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

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  • ScatteredThoughts
    ScatteredThoughts Posts: 3,562 Member
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    My sons enjoyed several of the museums at Balboa Park. I think they were about 8 & 12 years old when we went.

    http://www.balboapark.org/in-the-park/Museums
  • Newnameishardtofind
    Newnameishardtofind Posts: 867 Member
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    Point Loma is beautiful and can stop at the water front as well. Hotel Del Coronado is a nice place for lunch
  • lisapisa81
    lisapisa81 Posts: 68 Member
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    the zoo down there is great. there's also the wild animal park (farther outside of san diego) and legoland in carlsbad (about 1/2 hour north).
  • Bobbie8786
    Bobbie8786 Posts: 202 Member
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    There is a planetarium (Ruben H. Fleets Science Center) at Balboa Park that my kids enjoyed going to and it didn't cost a ton of money.

    Best food and service I ever had was at Croce's (Jim Croce's widow runs it). It is kinda pricy but the food was incredible.
  • NoTry_JustDo
    NoTry_JustDo Posts: 20
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    I also highly recommend the space theater/science center... very interactive place.

    Also highly recommend driving up to La Jolla to visit Sunny Jim's Cave. You go into a shop, go down a long flight of stairs, and end up down inside an ocean cave. It's great. http://www.yelp.com/biz/sunny-jim-cave-la-jolla

    While you're up in La Jolla go to the Scripps Institute of Oceanography... incredible aquarium and learning center.

    Old Town is very neat, too. Your son might enjoy a tour of the supposedly haunted Whaley House.
  • NoTry_JustDo
    NoTry_JustDo Posts: 20
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    Also hiking on the guided paths down to the ocean in Torrey Pines... plus there's a place up there to watch the hang gliders take off.
  • godblessourhome
    godblessourhome Posts: 3,892 Member
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    i took my family in march. two boys age 10 and 12. we loved eating at a restaurant called 'c level'. great view and wonderful food! they had an amazing happy hour menu. also decent was a mexican place called 'las olas'. the little italy restaurant area is not-to-be-missed. we hit the safari zoo, legoland, whale watching, air and space museum, corona island, la jolla, seaport village, ss midway. we skipped the regular zoo and sea world.


    we loved the beaches, wished we had planned better for spending more time on the island, the boys loved the dolphins on the whale tour better than the whales, the museum was a letdown (had the ripley's believe it or not exhibit), would totally go back to the safari zoo, legoland was a hit (and one of the boys hates legos), the midway was very informative but we expedited the audio tour.

    one thing that was surprising is how close everything is, depending on where your hotel is located. we rented a car for the whole time when we really only needed it for two days. :)

    enjoy your trip!
  • RealMarkD
    RealMarkD Posts: 92 Member
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    Balboa Park, the Zoo, Sea World, San Diego Zoo Safari Park (former the Wild Animal Park), Legoland, Point Loma National Monument, a walk along Coronado & visit to the Hotel Del Coronado, the USS Midway Museum (other maritime museums along the harbor, too), Mt. Soledad in La Jolla, just to name a few things.

    Plenty to do in San Diego!
  • flee228
    flee228 Posts: 8
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    LegoLand!
  • RealMarkD
    RealMarkD Posts: 92 Member
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    Here's a more expansive list I put together for a friend a years ago:

    A few things you should check out while you’re in San Diego. I’ve split them up by north of downtown and south of downtown. MUST see places have an * with it. I’ve included a few restaurants you should try. In all honesty, you could make a day out of each “region.”

    Downtown/Gas Lamp--http://www.sandiego.org/article_set/Visitors/32

    *Balboa Park (museums, A LOT of walking)
    www.balboapark.org

    *San Diego Zoo (if you have time, check out the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido, about 45 minutes to an hour northeast of downtown)
    www.sandiegozoo.org/

    Horton Plaza
    www.westfield.com/hortonplaza

    Sea Port Village
    www.seaportvillage.com/

    USS Midway Museum
    www.midway.org/

    Petco Park (there’s a public park out in center field that is open during non-game days. It’s nice to walk around, they have a statue for Tony Gwynn back there. If the Padres are in town, you can even get a $5 ticket and sit out there, walk around the ballpark or sit in the Western Metal Supply Building restaurant/bar)
    www.mlb.mlb.com/sd/ballpark/index.jsp

    Old Town
    www.oldtownsandiegoguide.com/

    Jack & Julio’s
    http://www.jackandgiulios.com/

    El Indio
    http://www.el-indio.com/

    Lucha Libre Taco Shop
    http://www.tacosmackdown.com/

    Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill
    http://bluewaterseafoodsandiego.com/

    Point Loma/Ocean Beach/Mission Beach/La Jolla

    *Carbrillo National Monument
    http://www.nps.gov/cabr/historyculture/old-point-loma-lighthouse.htm

    *Mount Soledad
    http://www.soledadmemorial.com/

    Point Loma Seafood
    http://www.pointlomaseafoods.com/

    Shelter Island
    http://www.shelterislandvillage.com/

    *Sunset Cliffs Natural Park
    http://www.sandiego.gov/park-and-recreation/parks/shoreline/sunset.shtml

    Hodad’s
    http://hodadies.com/home/

    Pizza Port Ocean Beach
    http://www.pizzaport.com/locations/pizza-port-ocean-beach/

    Slater’s 50/50
    http://sandiego.slaters5050.com/home/

    La Jolla Cove/La Jolla shores/Children’s Pool
    www.a-zsandiegobeaches.com/lajollacove.htm
    www.beachcalifornia.com/chilrens-pool-la-jolla.html

    South San Diego (south of downtown, MY part of San Diego)

    *Border Field State Park (open only on weekends & holidays—one of my favorite spots because it’s the southwestern most point in the continental US. Right on the border & the beach, the Tia Juana bull ring is right across the fence—I have pics)
    http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=664

    *Imperial Beach (not a lot of parking, but worth finding a spot and just walking up and down the beach—not a lot of tourists)
    http://www.ci.imperial-beach.ca.us/

    The Tin Fish (at the end of the IB pier)
    http://www.thetinfish.net/right-tinfish.php?nav_ID=105&nav_Parent=104

    *Chula Vista Marina/Bayside Park
    http://www.portofsandiego.org/chula-vista-bayside-park.html

    Las Americas Premium Outlets
    http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=76

    Olympic Training Center
    http://www.teamusa.org/about-usoc/u-s-olympic-training-center-chula-vista

    Coronado Island
    www.coronado.ca.us/
  • NoTry_JustDo
    NoTry_JustDo Posts: 20
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    Two more ideas would be the harbor excursion and, if you're staying anywhere near Mission Beach/Mission Bay, Belmont Park has a neat old roller coaster, arcade games, plus places to eat right on the beach there.
  • ccb2004
    ccb2004 Posts: 16
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    Thank you all so much-these are great ideas!! Everything sounds fun, now to narrow it down :) What do you think about the fun pass? Worth it or waste of money? Also, any recommendations for whale watching boat company to go with or are they all pretty comparable?
  • thatonegirlwiththestuff
    thatonegirlwiththestuff Posts: 1,171 Member
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    Thank you all so much-these are great ideas!! Everything sounds fun, now to narrow it down :) What do you think about the fun pass? Worth it or waste of money? Also, any recommendations for whale watching boat company to go with or are they all pretty comparable?

    If you plan on visiting multiple parks, then the fun pass is economically the way to go. There's a TON to do here.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    If you do decide to go to Legoland, this is by far one of my favorite places to eat in Carlsbad.

    http://www.tiptopmeats.com/

    Been going there since 9 or 10, good food, good atmosphere... and unless it's changed, they don't give a rip about child drinking. ;)
  • ccb2004
    ccb2004 Posts: 16
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    If you do decide to go to Legoland, this is by far one of my favorite places to eat in Carlsbad.

    http://www.tiptopmeats.com/

    Been going there since 9 or 10, good food, good atmosphere... and unless it's changed, they don't give a rip about child drinking. ;)

    lol. Thanks for the info :)
  • bloominheck
    bloominheck Posts: 869 Member
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    I also highly recommend the space theater/science center... very interactive place.

    Also highly recommend driving up to La Jolla to visit Sunny Jim's Cave. You go into a shop, go down a long flight of stairs, and end up down inside an ocean cave. It's great. http://www.yelp.com/biz/sunny-jim-cave-la-jolla

    While you're up in La Jolla go to the Scripps Institute of Oceanography... incredible aquarium and learning center.

    Old Town is very neat, too. Your son might enjoy a tour of the supposedly haunted Whaley House.

    ^ I love Old Town and always tour the haunted Whaley house. It is a blast and so much fun there.
  • shybelle
    shybelle Posts: 254 Member
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    I am going to San Diego for my honeymoon! Just wanted to respond so I could see this later :)

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