My family has traveled to San Diego on several occasions. I would say that San Diego is my absolute FAVORITE sunshine place to be! When you go to San Diego, you MUST check out these 9 things to do while there!
La Jolla Cove
La Jolla is my NUMBER ONE go to! We visit La Jolla every single time we are in the area. What is so special about La Jolla? EVERYTHING! It is a cute little section of San Diego that has shops, food, and fun. You can stay in a hotel, OR you can choose to rent a cute bungalow. The beach is clean and the water is GORGEOUS!
There are various water sports activities that you can enjoy while in La Jolla. We went on a kayaking tour in the ocean. It is so fun! You can see the baby sharks (no, they don’t bite) in the water along with other fish and sea animals. The scenery is also gorgeous. While kayaking, you can look at all of the mansions along the coast.
We also went to the part of the cove where sea lions love to hang out! The sea lions came within 10-15 feet of us! They seem to love people. Of course there are seagulls everywhere too.
La Jolla Cove is such a peaceful place to be. One of the shops has a cave underneath it that visitors can walk thru (for only $5) and see the ocean from the cave. That was a neat experience.
In the above video, the waves ended up becoming stronger and the water crept up towards us. The sand that started out as very dry, was about two to three feet deep after about an hour. We had soooo much fun at La Jolla! I absolutely want to go here every single time we go to San Diego. Just look at the view below! The waves and blue hues are mesmerizing.
Cabrillo National Monument
Another fun place to visit is the Cabrillo National Monument. Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo was the first European to come to the West Coast. The visitor’s center tells his story and also talks about other historical facts.
Visitors can walk along the ocean and view the tide pools. This was my FAVORITE part about this area. We truly could have spent all day at Cabrillo. It was so peaceful just sitting and watching the ocean.
Click HERE learn more about this National Monument.
Check out the video below! We had fun reading the facts about Cabrillo. Some of them were in Spanish, so we enjoyed translating it.
They also had a light house, which was pretty cool. It was neat seeing the old lights and the Artillery Control Station.
Seaport Village
If you haven’t been to Seaport Village, then you NEED to check it out! After parking, which realistically took quite a while, we walked along the ocean to get to Seaport Village. Along the coast, we saw these ships, which are museums that people can walk through. They also offer a variety of boat and ship rides.
When we arrived at Seaport Village, we realized that it is the neatest shopping center that we have ever seen! They basically created a village of shops, galleries and eateries on a coastal water front property. We browsed the shops, munched on a variety of foods and then walked on a nice path along the ocean. It was fun watching all the sailboats.
Check out this pond that is right in the middle of the village! There were quite a few ducks and ducklings enjoying the water.
San Diego Zoo
If you like zoos, then you will LOVE the San Diego Zoo! They have elephants, koalas, pandas, giraffes, and soooo much more! The San Diego Zoo was for sure a fun place to visit.
Balboa Park
When you go to the San Diego Zoo, you MUST also check out Balboa Park! It is literally right next to the zoo and the architecture is really neat. Look at the fine, intricate details of the structures. Walking through Balboa Park truly felt like we had been transported to another country. It felt like we were in Italy or Rome.
The gardens were beautiful and made for an amazing place to walk and enjoy the scenery.
San Diego Zoo Safari Park
Did you realize that San Diego actually has TWO zoos? We discovered the San Diego Zoo Safari Park is a completely different zoo and is TOTALLY worth the visit! This particular zoo starts off with an area of shops and smaller sights, such as the Japanese Garden and succulents and then spreads out into massive areas to see.
While we walked through the whole zoo, they actually had Jeep Safari tours that sounded really fun! We would love to go back some day and ride some of the Jeep tours.
Sea World
In addition to all of the beaches and zoos in San Diego, another must see is the dolphins at Sea World! They have amazing dolphin shows that all visitors can watch. Sea World also has rides and roller coasters, but I would have to say that my favorite part was truly the dolphins!
Coronado Beach
Coronado Beach has a wide stretch of sand that is clean and pristine. We spent time playing in the sand, walking along the water, and observing the scenery.
Another gorgeous beach to visit is Coronado Beach! We could see the San Diego/Coronado Bridge from the beach.
We saw helicopters, airplanes, and lots of boats!
Check out local Food and Shops
Last, but certainly not least, there is nothing like walking around and checking out the local food and shops! We had a hard time deciding what to eat because there were so many options that sounded amazing! We ended up choosing a healthy little restaurant that had delicious sandwiches and fresh fruit. And of course, for dessert, we visited a chocolate shop that made homemade candies. After eating, we found an art museum that had beautiful paintings. Then, of course, we went to the beach!!
Well, now you have ideas for NINE things to do in San Diego! There are truly HUNDREDS of fun things to do in this amazing city! You MUST add this to your bucket list!
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