Real Estate Investor · Ellsworth, WI · Member since 2010 · 34 posts · 11 votes
I'm thinking of taking the family to San Diego for a vacation in March. Does anybody have suggestions as far as places to stay (looking at renting a condo for the week), things to do (the boys are 12 and 15), etc. I know March isn't peak fun in the sun time, but we've never been there and it'll be a nice break from the Wisconsin winter. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Tim
March is a great time to head to SD. You'll miss the summer crowds and the weather is cool in the mornings and evenings but warm in the afternoon.
As for places to stay, downtown SD/Coronado Island have some nice accommodations. Or if you are looking for a condo in coastal SD, La Jolla or Pacific Beach areas are great.
Here are some options for things to do in March: Beaches, Torrey Pines State Park, Padres game, Seaworld, Gaslamp in Downtown, Seal Beach in La Jolla Village, Balboa Park, SD Zoo.
And if your up for a hike, Cowles Mountain has a moderately difficult trail that leads to the highest peak in SD county.
Hope this helps and you have a great time on your visit.
Thanks Tim-my boys are definitely going to want to do the active stuff. Do you think in March they'll be able to do some boogie boarding if they have wetsuits? I looked at the Mission Beach area online-it looks like just the ticket. I think we're going to try and rent a condo for the week.
Thanks again,
Tim
im in TX now but grew up in SD. you guys will have a great time and mission beach will be a lot of fun. the water will definitely be cool though, so if you plan on going in, you will want to rent them some full wetsuits. they can boogie board in mission beach, or if they want to surf, head up to Tourmaline ST. it is a couple of miles (2-3) north of mission beach and will be a blast and they can rent longboards (the surf in tourmaline is ideal for a beginner). mission beach has the roller coaster and there is a park in Mission beach with games, etc.. you could rent a sailboat on the bay, which woud be awesome. also, do yourself a favor and go up to Torrey Pines and watch the hangliders jump off the cliff. very cool and of course the view is 2nd to none. catch a padre game, too. you can ride the trolley down there and stop in Old Town and have lunch/dinner and check out some of the historic sites. hope you have a great time!
Thanks for the info Jeff! The surfing sound like fun. I'd hate to go all the way to San Diego and not have the boys (and me) try our hand at it. I see you're in Austin. I've only been there once but had a great time-fantastic music, great food.
Tim
The San Diego zoo is not to be missed. A very beautiful zoo, in addition to having a lot of interesting animals. Balboa Park is also worth a visit.
Frys Electronics is always a fun place to visit, if you and the boys are into electronics at all.
There are several waterfront restaurants along the bay that make for a nice dinner. Last time we were there, which has been quite a while, they had early bird specials that made them better deals.
Do check out the travel forums on tripadvisor.com along with their to-do lists. They also have ratings and reviews for restaurants and hotels. As always, there's some monkey business with those but they can help you get a feel for the place.
It won't be super warm that time of year. Shouldn't be a problem as long as you don't expect to lounge on the beach soaking up the sun. But it will be very pleasant. San Diego's a wonderful place, one of my favorites. My nephew starts school there next month. I may have to go visit him.
Thanks Jon. We'll just be coming out of a Wisconsin winter so as long as it's mild we're going to be happy. In the middle of winter here I find myself wondering why I ever moved back from Colorado. Even though there can be some pretty wintery stretches there it always seemed like you could count on some very nice mild stretches.
We definitely have the SD zoo on the agenda already! My younger son and I will certainly have to check out Fry's Electronics.
Thanks again!
Tim