Emma @ theweekendabroad.com on Beaches and Beer: A Weekend in San Diego
It’s probably been about two decades since Roger or I visited sunny San Diego as kids and all I can remember are the aquarium and zoo. It’s definitely not the closest Californian city to us, but we decided to make a weekend jaunt of it after hearing such great things from friends. Aside from the obvious beach-y reasons, I was really excited to experience the city’s expansive beer scene and diverse restaurant offerings. We drove down on Friday and stayed at an Airbnb in Thousand Oaks to avoid the always-dreaded Los Angeles traffic, and explored the seaside town of Ventura on the way down. What should’ve been a 5 hour drive some how turned into an 8 hour journey! Nonetheless, Ventura is a quaint town worth visiting if you have the chance to drive down the coast. We got a very early start the next morning en route to San Diego and boy did we pack a lot into that Saturday. My consensus of the city? Its coastline is breathtaking, the beer and food is wonderful, and I can’t wait to go back. Here is what we did on our worthwhile weekend in San Diego and what I would recommend during your stay!
Our Weekend in San Diego Basics
- Accommodations: We stayed in a great Airbnb in the North Park neighborhood of San Diego (just under $100/night)
- Transportation: We drove most of the time, but also took Lyft at night
- Weather: Unsurprisingly, I planned for a very hot weekend in Southern California, but we happened upon probably one of the most overcast weekends in the city. It even rained a little! The temperature still stayed around 20C, however.
- My top 3 activity recommendations for a weekend in San Diego:
- Take in the coastal sights. Stroll along Sunset Cliffs or take a short drive to the seaside town of La Jolla and spend some time at La Jolla Cove.
- If you like beer, brewery hop around North Park. Did you know San Diego has over 200 breweries?! We ended up going to 5 in one day.
- Visit Balboa Park. Wow, this completely took me by surprise. From what I read online, I thought this would be tourist central and a money-grab, but most of the park is free and provides really breathtaking natural sights. Most shocking was the free parking!
Our Weekend in San Diego Itinerary
SATURDAY
The La Jolla Cove caves
1. Morning exploration at La Jolla Cove – Our first stop was La Jolla Cove at 10AM, which was an excellent time to get there because we actually found free parking right away. And what a bustling spot this was! Apart from the many tourists, the cove was sprawling with snorkelers, kayakers, various birds, and the main attraction – the many basking sea lions.
Crystal Pier at Pacific Beach
2. A walk along the Pacific Beach Boardwalk from its Crystal Pier – This felt kind of similar to walking along Venice Beach. Skateboarders, morning cocktail drinkers, and families were all enjoying their time at Pacific Beach.
Beer flight and duck nachos at Ballast Point Brewing Little Italy
3. Lunch and beer in Little Italy – This is where our San Diego brewery tour began! And our first stop at Ballast Point Brewing happened to be our favorite out of the five. The atmosphere was great and the beers were the best we had on our trip. We shared a flight and the delicious (and filling) duck nachos then walked over to Harumama for their adorable Winnie the Pooh buns (filled with custard).
Desert garden at Balboa Park
4. Exploration at Balboa Park – You really could spend an entire weekend here in itself. The park is just enormous and offers a range of museums, gardens, and family-friendly activities. We luckily found our way to the Visitor Center where a helpful fellow told us where all the free attractions were. We started off at the botanical gardens, walked through the Timken Museum of Art, and strolled through the rose and desert gardens – all while taking in the beautiful architecture and green spaces of the park.
Belching Beaver Brewery in North Park
5. Brewery hopping around North Park – It only took us 15 minutes to walk from our Airbnb to this hip district, and we started the night off at Modern Times, which offered unique decor equipped with a lamp-ladden ceiling. On our way to the next brewery, I stumbled upon what might be San Diego’s most “Instaworthy” shop, Pigment. It’s hard to miss with its vibrant succulent and pink walls. I picked up a couple greeting cards there. We then proceeded to Mike Hike Brewing and Sicilian Thing Pizza, which had the most delicious broccoli and ricotta pie. Our last stop in North Park was at the famous Belching Beaver Brewery.
Delicious blueberry crunch ice cream from Cali Cream Ice Cream in the Gaslamp Quarter
6. Bar hop (and get ice cream) in the Gaslamp Quarter – Our fifth and final brewery took us to San Diego’s nightlife district at Stone Brewing. Very well past tipsy at this point, we decided to give the drinks a breather and got what I think might be one of the best ice cream scoops I’ve ever had at Cali Cream Ice Cream. I would go back just for that blueberry crunch flavor. We continued the night at the trailer park themed bar Trailer Park After Dark, which was definitely worth checking out. Finally, we capped the night off at arcade bar, Coin-op, which has locations in San Francisco and Sacramento. Playing skeeball there was definitely a highlight.
SUNDAY
View from our morning stroll along Sunset Cliffs in San Diego
7. Morning stroll along Sunset Cliffs – Again, we lucked out with parking at this bustling surf destination because we got there early. This was the perfect setting to just watch the waves and surfers while recovering from a night of drinking.
Carne asada fires at Lolita’s Mexican Food
8. Lunch at Lolita’s Mexican Food – Before we headed back on what would be a 9 hour drive home, we stopped by the highly recommended Lolita’s Mexican Food chain. I don’t know if it was an anomaly, but unfortunately the highly touted California burrito was disappointing. Luckily the carne asada fries were tasty though.
Our Weekend in San Diego in More Pictures:
Views at La Jolla Cove
Sea lions at La Jolla Cove
Pacific Beach San Diego boardwalk
Ballast Point Brewing Little Italy
Winnie the Pooh buns at Harumama
Botanical Gardens at Balboa Park
Sights at Balboa Park
A plant you could live in at the desert gardens of Balboa Park
The succulent wall at Pigment San Diego
Inside Pigment San Diego
Succulents on succulents
Some avocado love in North Park San Diego
Sicilian Thing Pizza in North Park San Diego
A flight at Stone Brewing in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter
Questions or thoughts on a weekend in San Diego? Let me know in the comments!
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