San Diego

Fun Facts

  • San Diego is the second largest city in the state of California after Los Angeles.
  • the San Diego–Tijuana conurbation is the second most populous transborder metropolitan area in the Western Hemisphere (after Detroit–Windsor)
  • SAN airport is the busiest single-runway airport in the world.
  • the San Ysidro Port of Entry, is the busiest international land border crossing in the world outside of Asia

Things to do

  • Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
  • La Jolla, San Diego California Temple.
  • La Jolla Beach, sharks in August

Downtown

  • Gaslamp Quarter: a downtown neighborhood; nightlife, clubs, bars, theatres.
  • Seaport Village: shopping / food.
  • USS Midway Museum: a historical naval aircraft carrier museum.
  • Maritime Museum of San Diego: vintage ships.
  • Hornblower harbor tour

Theme parks / Zoos

  • San Diego Zoo
  • San Diego Zoo Safari Park
  • San Diego Sea World
  • LEGOLAND California, in Carlsbad, CA.
  • Sesame Place San Diego
  • Birch Aquarium: https://aquarium.ucsd.edu/ (Advanced reservations are required)

San Diego Balboa Park

  • San Diego Zoo
  • San Diego Air & Space Museum
  • San Diego Natural History Museum
  • San Diego Model Railroad Museum
  • Museum of Us
  • The San Diego Museum of Art
  • Museum of Photographic Arts Vast photo collection
  • San Diego History Center
  • San Diego Automotive Museum
  • Comic-Con Museum

Coronado Island ("Coronado" means "Crowned")

Near Legoland

  • Museum of Making Music

North County

  • San Diego Archaeological Center

Craft Beer

  • Stone
  • Ballast Point
  • AleSmith

Transportation

  • Transit: MTS https://www.sdmts.com/ Trolley (3 lines) + Buses.
  • Commuter Rail:
    • COASTER: north-south through San Diego County, from Oceanside to Santa Fe Depot.
    • SPRINTER: east-west, from Oceanside to Escondido.
  • Oceanside Transit Center: a major railway interchange.
    • Amtrak - Pacific Surfliner
    • North bound: Orange County Line, Inland Empire–Orange County Line
    • South bound: COASTER, SPRINTER
  • Cross Border Xpress:

Take Trolley from / to the airport:

  • option 1: take bus 992 from / to downtown
  • option 2: take rental car shuttle from / to Admiral Boland Way and Palm St stop, 1 block away from Trolley's Middletown station.
  • option 3: take Flyer bus from / to old town.

Naval Base San Diego

the second largest surface ship base of the United States Navy