San Diego, California Travel Guide
San Diego Sightseeing Tips
San Diego California has many sightseeing attractions for a 2011 USA holiday, from exciting theme parks like Sea World and Legoland California, to superb beaches and an excellent all-year-round climate. We share our favourite San Diego sightseeing attractions with you:-
We start our California sightseeing guide in San Diego. San Diego is the furthest south of all major California coastal cities and only 15 miles from Tijuana, Mexico. San Diego is a beautiful, clean city with many world-class sightseeing attractions and a great year-round climate.
Sea World, San Diego
Sea World San Diego is a popular sightseeing attraction and is home to Shamu and baby Shamu, the Killer Whales. Admission for adults is currently around $49 per person.
Shamu displays are usually 3 times daily. Expect to get very wet if you sit lower down in the Shamu Stadium, as Shamu creates quite a splash! All in all, it's a fun show, but we personally felt that containing such obviously intelligent creatures and training them to perform tricks for apparent financial gain, left us with a slightly sour taste.
The highlight for us was feeding the Dolphins. It was a memorable experience. Get in line early to avoid disappointment and get to feed and stroke a Dolphin!
Coronado Island
Cross the San Diego Coronado bridge (toll-bridge off I-5) to beautiful Coronado Island. Home of the world-renowned Hotel del Coronado, there's an ultra-clean, extensive beach here and free parking!
La Jolla
La Jolla is located about 5 miles north of downtown San Diego and a popular sightseeing destination. There's an attractive cove and beach often with seals and pelicans, together with a fine selection of quality shops and reasonable-priced fine dining. Hotels can be expensive in La Jolla, but it's an easy drive away from San Diego, so even if you can't stay there you can always visit for dinner or just to relax. Parking here can be difficult at times.
San Diego Zoo
Located at Balboa Park, San Diego Zoo is deservedly claimed to be one of the best zoos in the world. It's large too, we estimate it takes around four hours to really cover most of the exhibits. The zoo has helped to re-introduce a number of endangered species into the wild by captive breeding programmes. We particularly liked the diverse, huge aviaries and the Orang-utans.
San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter
An attractive historical area of downtown San Diego close to the Convention Center known for its good restaurants.
Balboa Park
San Diego's Balboa Park claims to be America's largest urban cultural park and home of the city's major natural history, science and art museums. The Reuben H. Fleet Science Center offers Imax films and exciting planetarium shows. The park is beautifully kept and a great place to unwind.
Cabrillo National Monument
On September 28, 1542, Spanish explorer Cabrillo discovered the port of San Diego. The Cabrillo National monument is a testimony to his voyage of discovery. The monument lies on a small hill with great views over Coronado and downtown. From downtown, access via Harbor Drive and I-209 south. The history of Cabrillo's discovery of San Diego is unfolded in the Visitor Center. There's also a bay-side trail (two miles round trip) that descends 300 feet through sage scrub. Admission to the Cabrillo Monument is $5. Click here for the official Cabrillo NPS web site.
San Diego Wild Animal Park
The San Diego Wild Animal Park recreates a safari type setting in southern California. In summer it gets very hot here so take lots of drinking water! There are opportunities to get up close and personal to wild animals of all types from Antelope to Zebras. The park is located inland between Los Angeles and San Diego. Take the Via Rancho Parkway exit off I-5 south and proceed east.
Seaport Village
Situated close to downtown San Diego along Harbor Drive is Seaport Village. It's a very smart area of nice shops, frequent free musical entertainment and restaurants fronting the marina. We found Seaport Village a lot of fun and enjoyed the afternoon band that played in the Gazebo in the East Plaza. Click here for Seaport Village's events directory.
San Diego Sightseeing - SEAL's Harbour Tour
Experience the best in San Diego sightseeing in a vehicle that doesn't know whether it's a cruise boat or a tour bus! It's actually a fun amphibious vehicle which gives you a great sightseeing tour of San Diego, then drives right into the harbour for a cruise just when you're not expecting it! This is a fun trip and the vehicle's flexibility allows you to see more of San Diego.
Tijuana, Mexico
The Mexican border is only about 15 miles south of San Diego on Interstate 5. Tijuana is a short bus journey from the border and offers interesting shopping. Remember that US hire cars cannot be driven in Mexico as their insurance does not generally cover such use. Hire cars must be left and secured on the US side of the border. There are large border parking lots at the US side of the Mexico border, so you can leave your car there or you can take the Tijuana Trolley Bus from San Diego which takes you to the border crossing.
San Diego Hotels, Car Hire and Holidays
If you're planning a California sightseeing holiday or a business trip to San Diego, visit our online hotel reservations page to find low rates and make online bookings for San Diego California hotels. Also find late deal California holidays and low cost deals on cheap California car hire.
San Diego Resources
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Disclaimer
Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of our San Diego Sightseeing Guide. Travel guides cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions on this page.