San Diego hidden gems?

[plumsiren]

Looking for recommendations for things to see/do in San Diego that aren't the go-to attractions on the top 10 lists. Anyone have ideas? Open to anything!

 

[foolish_mortals]

Depends on what you’re interested in but check out
Hidden San Diego

 

[Douglas Dubh]

Cabrillo National Historic Site

 

[mdmost]

Yes, Cabrillo is great. Love the lighthouse up there. A trip to the tidepools down at the western shore is great. There's also some caves there but we didn't have enough time to check them out.

We enjoyed the haunted house tour in Old Town. The Whaley House Museum

The Cave Store at La Jolla Cove is great. Takes you down 143 steps to the Sunny Jim Cave. That whole area is a great with the Children's Pool (sea lions and seals). Parking is tough there.

We liked the Giant Dipper roller coaster at Belmont Park in Mission Beach. A great throwback to the old wooden coasters.

Not necessarily a hidden gem but not something I think people try to make it to: Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala. We're from Texas and have visited the missions in San Antonio so we always make a point to try to check out missions in other cities.

 

[plumsiren]

Yes, Cabrillo is great. Love the lighthouse up there. A trip to the tidepools down at the western shore is great. There's also some caves there but we didn't have enough time to check them out.

We enjoyed the haunted house tour in Old Town. The Whaley House Museum

The Cave Store at La Jolla Cove is great. Takes you down 143 steps to the Sunny Jim Cave. That whole area is a great with the Children's Pool (sea lions and seals). Parking is tough there.

We liked the Giant Dipper roller coaster at Belmont Park in Mission Beach. A great throwback to the old wooden coasters.

Not necessarily a hidden gem but not something I think people try to make it to: Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala. We're from Texas and have visited the missions in San Antonio so we always make a point to try to check out missions in other cities.

Ooh I loved the San Antonio missions!

 

[Kittyblue]

Our last visit the kids didn't want to do much of the typical stuff. We did the Safari Park with the cheetah run, the USS Midway, and Old Town with Whaley House. We also visited a couple musuems at Balboa Park. Some other things we did:

small sculpture garden- really cool stuff, check it out
https://www.escondido.org/queen-califias-magical-circle

Horse racing - on the day we went they had special activities for kids as well
https://www.dmtc.com/

hiking at torrey pines
https://torreypine.org/

Sculptures at UCSD - we were lucky enough to randomly show up to the little house when they were inside doing a tour and they invited us in, but all the collection is fun to see
https://stuartcollection.ucsd.edu/

A fun place to eat with kids was Corvette Diner
https://www.cohnrestaurants.com/corvettediner

The San Diego area also has many fun breweries and beer gardens if you're interested in that

 

[Chemist]

Second Corvette Diner as a place to eat with kids!

 

[fly girl]

We did a small drive your own speedboat tour. Still talk about it and that was 5 years ago.

Here’s a screenshot of TripAdvisor with the tour company we used.

 

[Dust2]

Rent a kayak or go on a kayak tour at La Jolla Shores.

Lajollakayak.com

 

[IronBoss]

None of these are necessarily "hidden", but we loved them. Go to Old Town and wander around the markets & get some mexican food. That was a super fun night. Go to La Jolla - it's beautiful. Also go walk around Ocean Beach. Super cool town. Get a burger at Hodads.

 

[China Expat]

Second La Jolla COve

 

[the donut]

This may be a bit too late, but my suggestions:

• The Old Globe Theater if you like Shakespeare plays - very fun outdoor theater, operates during the summer and fall
• Potato chip rock hike/Mt. Woodson - great photo opportunity where the rock formation looks much thinner than it is.
• Liberty Station - has a market with a lot of food booths and a bunch of restaurants, often has art shows as well
• Coronado Island is a great place to have a brunch or a dinner, walk, rent bikes, take the ferry. They also have beach fire pits, though they are pretty popular. Come early or come late to try to claim a spot.
• Petco Park to take in a Padres game. It's right on the water with great views and has an excellent craft beer selection and local restaurants inside. Super fun if you're even moderately interested in baseball.
• The Rady Shell for concerts right on the water, both classical and modern music. Also occasionally shows movies where the symphony plays the music. The tickets are kind of pricey, but you can also hear fine just hanging out at the park surrounding the shell for free. The rehearsals are also free.
• The Patriot Jet boat is a fun rider around the harbor. Pair it with a lunch at the Carnitas Snack Shack right at the boat harbor.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

This may be a bit too late, but my suggestions:

It isn't too late for me. We are heading to San Diego in April of next year. I am going to save all of these recommendations! Thanks!

 

[the donut]

It isn't too late for me. We are heading to San Diego in April of next year. I am going to save all of these recommendations! Thanks!

I would add that there are several things in that top 10 list that are really worth visiting, including the zoo, the safari park (I like both and would recommend visiting both if you like animals), the Midway aircraft carrier museum, Torrey Pines state park, and Balboa park with it's many museums.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I would add that there are several things in that top 10 list that are really worth visiting, including the zoo, the safari park

Thanks!!! I am finally circling back on this and trying to really plan our trip now!

 

[chezcurrie]

There are some fun food tours if you are a foodie - secret food tours in the gaslamp, carlsbad village foodie tour and Encinitas vegan foodie tour (recommend a car for these last two)

Fly Torrey Pines Gliderport if you wan’t to do a paragliding tandem flight (can combine with other La jolla stuff).

Encinitas meditation garden (again, car)

Carlsbad Oyster farm if you want to drive up the coast (tour, tasting and you learn how to shuck an oyster). Once you hit Encinitas off the 5 hop off and take the 101 up through Carlsbad village. Some really stunning views and lots of free/easily accessible parking along the drive.

And not hidden but I really enjoyed the historic tour of the Hotel Del Coronado.

 

[plumsiren]

It isn't too late for me. We are heading to San Diego in April of next year. I am going to save all of these recommendations! Thanks!

We actually rescheduled our trip and are now going in April!

 

[felice]

San Diego is certainly a wonderful city to visit. Next time we go, we are hoping to do some more of the museums in Balboa Park area.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

We actually rescheduled our trip and are now going in April!

Where are you staying? I booked us at Paradise Point. It looks nice and we are hoping for some down time at the hotel as well as site seeing.

 

[plumsiren]

Where are you staying? I booked us at Paradise Point. It looks nice and we are hoping for some down time at the hotel as well as site seeing.

Don't know yet (yes, the panic is absolutely setting in!)! I kept thinking, oh, I'll nail everything down "after Christmas". Then it was "after New Years". And now it's February!