San Diego In Five Days: The Ultimate Getaway

Mission Bay

San Diego, the name brings to mind images of California sun and fun. I recently had the opportunity to travel to San Diego for a whirlwind five day trip. I was there to attend the Camp Travel Mom conference as a guest of my dear friend The Jersey Momma courtesy of Emily Kaufman. We had such a terrific time it got me thinking that everyone should visit “America’s Finest City.”

Read on for my itinerary for the Ultimate Long Weekend Getaway to San Diego!

Disclosure: I visited San Diego to attend a travel event hosted by The Travel Mom. Some accommodations and meals were provided for this trip by The Travel Mom and the event sponsors. Transportation to and from San Diego was not provided.

Travel is life changing. As you explore new destinations you learn things not only about your destination but about yourself. You will never return home the same person who left for the adventure. Your perspective changes and the memories you create will certainly last a life time. The one thing that always happens to me after traveling is the desire to see more of an area. There are always a few places that I didn’t get to work into my itinerary. That said I have put a * next to all the spots that The Jersey Momma and I did not get to experience on our trip.  These are experiences that one or both of us would love to get back to see one day. The great thing about San Diego is that you can cover a lot of ground in a short weekend and no matter what you do or see if won’t disappoint.

San Diego In Five Days: The Ultimate Long Weekend Getaway

 

Day One:

Gaslamp Quarter, Petco Stadium, San Diego Convention Center, Embarcadero-

Arrive in San Diego and head over to the Omni San Diego Hotel.

The Omni is attached to Petco Stadium so hopefully you planned your weekend getaway when the Padres are in town so you can catch a game. Unfortunately we did not get to see a game but the hotel has incredible displays of memorabilia throughout. The Omni is also home to Fres.co Cafe which is a quick and delicious spot for a delicious caffeine fix or snacks throughout the day.

Fun Fact: The Omni San Diego is the only hotel in the USA attached to a major league ball park. If you stay at the hotel you can access Petco from a private entrance.  This is truly a VIP experience. The Omni is also located directly across from the San Diego Convention Center- I’m looking at you Comic Con fans! Tack on another trip back to San Diego for me.  One day I’ll be back for #SDCC.

Embarcadero-

A visit to San Diego is not complete without a long walk along the Embarcadero.The Embarcadero has it all! Shopping at Seaport Village, vibrant art along the waterfront and delicious waterfront dining.  Make sure you do not miss the highlight of the Embarcadero, the USS Midway Museum. This area known as Tuna Harbor Park is home to the moving National Salute to the Military and Bob Hope Memorial along with the famous giant Kissing Statue.

Notable Restaurants:

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Day Two:

Coronado-

*Take the Ferry to Coronado Island. Coronado is situated just across the bay from downtown San Diego. The ferry runs daily between the convention center and Coronado,

The ride takes 15 minutes each way and from what I hear is worth the trip.  Sadly, we did not get to experience Coronado island but I’ve promised myself I will be back especially because Coronado is consistently voted best beach in the U.S. by Dr. Beach.

Things to do in Coronado:

Day Three:

Mission Bay-

Mission Bay Resort

San Diego Mission Bay Resort was our home during the Camp Travel Mom event. Full disclosure, once you check in you might never want to leave. The resort is pet friendly so upon arrival we were greeted with the cutest sign welcoming all the lucky furry friends also on vacation.

Travel Tip: We stayed on the second floor of the Belmont Building. The building did not have an elevator so if you have trouble with stairs remember to request a first floor room.
Lunch: We enjoyed mai tais, mini burgers, chips and dip at Solrisa by the pool.
Activities: yoga is offered mornings at 10am but you can enjoy the pool, hot tub or rent jet skis or paddle boards.  It was a little chilly during our weekend so we enjoyed biking along the bay as well as sitting by the fire pits and sipping chai tea compliments of RV.
For those of you who love to shop like me, the resort gift shop has everything you need from fun souvenirs to wine for purchase.

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*Mission Beach and *Pacific Beach are the hot spots in Mission Bay. *Sea World San Diego and *Belmont Amusement Park are also located in Mission Bay so if you want some adventure along side your relaxing, Mission Bay is more than ready to accommodate.

Day Four: 

Morning: La Jolla-

La Jolla (Pronounced La Hoya) by the Sea is not to be missed.  Visiting the seals and sea lions along the cliffs of La Jolla is a joy. We loved watching the playful residents sunning themselves on the rocks. Afraid you won’t see any?  Don’t worry, currently about 242 seals and sea lions reside in La Jolla.  I even got photo bombed by one!
While there make sure to take a tour of *Sunny Jim’s Sea Cave. We didn’t have time to take the tour but spent some time in the cool gift shop. We walked along the Coast Walk Trail and made sure to walk every inch of the seaside town.  There are 101 terrific restaurants to choose from and shops galore (1293 to by current count!)

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Evening:

Old Town–

Do not miss Old Town if you are a history buff.  The cultural experience, handmade crafts,  and Mexican music is an uplifting experience. Remember the regret I mentioned at the beginning of this article?  My biggest regret is not spending more time at Old Town.  We got there later in the day so there wasn’t quite enough time to explore every nook and cranny.  If you are like me and like to immerse yourself in every aspect of an area schedule a few hours to tour Old Town and another 2 to enjoy dinner and music.

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Notable Restaurants:

We ate at Casa de Maria but there are 30 delicious restaurants in Old Town. You must try an authentic Mexican spot while you are there like Casa de Reyes or Cafe Coyote.

Day Five 

San Diego Zoo-

It is convenient to purchase tickets to the San Diego Zoo online in advance. This makes it easy to jump right on a bus tour (located right beyond the entrance) to acquaint yourself with the layout. The tour is included with admission and much easier than translating the the zoo signage and map which were hard to follow,  The introductory tour really helped us navigate the expansive zoo.

There are plenty of concessions located throughout the zoo. We ate at a quick serve, Safari Kitchen but If you are a foodie Alberts treetop restaurant looks phenomenal  You eat  in the “trees” above the zoo. The view is phenomenal! I know because we got lost in the area and took an unintentional tour of the area…thanks confusing zoo map!

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Travel Tip: The San Diego Zoo Safari Park is located 35 miles away from the main zoo.  If you have animal lovers in your group you may want to tweak my itinerary and find time to visit. There is a separate admission fee to visit the Safari Park.

Dinner: We ate a light dinner at Mission Bay Resort’s Plaza del Sol. We enjoyed live music  and had drinks by the firepit afterwards. It was the perfect end to a day walking miles in the zoo.

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**Additional Itinerary Options:

On Friday and Saturday nights we attended the fabulous Camp Travel Mom event, but here are some additional San Diego spots for you to explore.  My go to spot for all things San Diego is San Diego Tourism. You can get additional ideas for your own fabulous trip there.