Whether you’re visiting, or you live here and you’re just bored, there are plenty of things to do in San Diego!
I’ve put together a small list of some of our favorite things to do and places to explore, so you don’t have to wonder anymore!
- Padres games at Petco Park
- Coronado Island
- Drive up to Encinitas
- San Diego Zoo & Safari Park
- Explore La Jolla
Padres Games
It depends on when you’re visiting San Diego, but if it’s baseball season then you should definitely go to a Padres game if they’re in town! Even if you’re not the biggest sports fans, the games are still fun to go to. It’s always a fun vibe, and you get to hang out, meet new people, and eat baseball stadium food!
Typically, we will buy nosebleed seats and then jump over to The Still. The Still is a seating area next to a sushi bar right above 3rd base. PetCo Park is sponsored by Cutwater Spirits, and The Still is operated by Cutwater. It’s a first come first serve area, but it’s a great view of the game!
You can check the Padres schedule here to see if they’ll be playing in town when you’re here!
After the game, you can also jump over to the Gaslamp District to check out the bars around the area. Our favorites: American Junkie and Smoking Gun!
What to do at Coronado Island
Coronado Island is another favorite of ours, and we go at least once a week to hang out over there! It’s just over the bridge from Downtown San Diego, and is a great place to spend the afternoon, grab a bite to eat along their main street, or walk around the Hotel Del.
We also love Coronado’s beach the best! My boyfriend and I aren’t very big partiers, so we don’t necessarily care to be by all the bars at Mission and Pacific Beach. Coronado’s beach is a lot more relaxing in our opinion. He has spent afternoons on the beach playing SpikeBall with his friends, and we’ve also gone to just relax in the sun and read.
The beach is also just a short walk from the Hotel Del Coronado, where you can grab tacos and drinks from the Beach + Taco Shack.
The Hotel Del is a pretty iconic spot in San Diego, and it’s open for the public to also enjoy the grounds whether it’s walking around the shops, or grabbing a bite to eat at their restaurants!
Further down on the opposite end of the Del, there is a beach specifically for your fur babies! Coronado Dog Beach is a super wide, dog-friendly beach that we love to bring our Border Collie to. Everyone we have met there is very friendly, and we’ve had only good experiences with the other dogs at the beach as well.
One of the biggest reasons we love Coronado is because of how dog friendly the city is. It’s a great place for our puppy to get walked, practice his etiquette in public by meeting new people, and taking him to our favorite pet store – Wag’N Tails!
Wag’N Tails is a little pet store on the main street through Coronado, Orange Ave. It’s a cute little store that has all kinds of toys, treats, and supplies for your pet. One of our favorite aspects is that none of their treats contain any rawhide in them! They also have a dog washing station you can use where they provide everything you need for a bath.
Exploring Encinitas
A little bit north of San Diego is a town called Encinitas! We love to walk around Downtown Encinitas, try new food, explore the little shops, and ride bikes along the coastline there.
It’s a cute downtown area that can definitely fill up your afternoon if you let it! We tried a really amazing Peruvian restaurant called Q’ero. You can check out their menu here!
After walking through the shops along downtown, or grabbing coffee at San Diego’s popular chain, Better Buzz, we rented bikes to ride along the coastline. (We also love to ride bikes along North Harbor in Downtown San Diego).
Encinitas is also home to San Diego’s Botanic Garden! It’s a beautiful property not too far off of I-5. It expands over 30 acres and has a lot of different landscapes you can explore. You can view their website to get more information about hours and tickets here.
San Diego Zoo & Safari Park
A family favorite down here is the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park! The San Diego Zoo is located super close to Downtown San Diego right next to Balboa Park, and the Safari Park is about a 30 minute drive north to Escondido.
I would recommend spending a day at each of these places because there is so much to see at both parks!
For ticket pricing and parking info, you can check the links below!
Exploring La Jolla
La Jolla, CA is another iconic spot in San Diego. It’s located about 20 minutes north of Downtown San Diego and is home to tons of beautiful views!
From walking around Downtown La Jolla, hiking the trails in Torrey Pines, visiting the sea life at La Jolla Cove, etc., you’re more than able to spend a whole day in this area.
Here is a list of places to check out:
- Sea Lions at La Jolla Cove
- Art Galleries along Prospect St. (Our favorite was Modernist Cuisine)
- Birch Aquarium (A small aquarium, but still really fun!)
- Walk around Torrey Pines
- Hang Glide at Torrey Pines Gliderport
- Visit the Taco Stand (One of our favorites! We usually pick up our food to-go and eat it at Cuvier Park for an epic view of the coastline.)
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