A traveler's guide to San Diego
The weather is the amenity. Use it. A day that is all indoors missed the reason people move here.
San Diego is the California that stays outside. The zoo and the bay are easy. The better days are a neighborhood, a fish taco, and a beach that is not the one on the postcard if the postcard is already full.
When to go
It is mild most of the year. May and June can be gray near the water while inland is hot. Fall is the clearest. Winter is green and quiet. Summer crowds the obvious beaches.
Neighborhoods
Balboa Park and the zoo for a set-piece morning. North Park and South Park for food. Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach, or La Jolla depending on the kind of water you want. Coronado if the hotel is the point. Downtown is a base, not a destination.
Eating
Baja-style fish tacos, a California burrito, and Mexican seafood. Craft beer is a local hobby. The view restaurant on the water is rarely the best plate.
If you only remember this
- A car helps north and south of the center.
- The trolley covers more than people expect.
- June gloom is real. The sun may be inland.
- Beach mornings are cooler than the forecast suggests.