Make the most of a stopover! Get inspired by reviews of cities near San Diego International Airport

• Anonymous

  Australia
  8.0

  Relaxed Place

  We were there around New Year and even though we really liked San Diego we were disappointed not to see any fire works to welcome in the new year. Balboa Park was interesting but unfortunately were not able to go into tower at the Museum of Man without taking a full tour which was booked out for the day anyway (didn't get that). It was really easy to get around on buses, trolley or walking. Finding inexpensive places to eat with a family of 4 was a challenge. Most of the time we settled on sandwiches from 7eleven but we did find Sushi Deli 2 where the food was great and very reasonably priced. We really enjoyed the tour of Petco Park (Baseball Stadium) and the zoo. The zoo is beautiful but expensive (US$50 for an adult) and the Panda enclosure is set up in such a way that it becomes exclusive; needless to say that we didn't get to see them. Loved the Holiday Bowl parade and hype. People friendly and helpful. Would certainly return.

• Pedro

  Portugal
  8.0

  San Diego needs more than a short travel

  I only have stayed for 3 days at the town, because I went in business. However I also have made some tourism. I only have visited San Diego Zoo and Balboa Park, but I adored these places. I should have more 1 or 2 days to explore Balboa Park and another 2 days to explore another places in the city, e.g. USS Midway Museum and Old Town. Even though I was there for few days, I perfectly understand how to get around in the city. It is very well organized and it is easy to understand the streets and avenues. I stayed at Gaslamp Quarter, near 4th and 5th avenues. These are the avenues with more restaurants and bars, and also stores. So, you can have lots of place to eat an to amuse yourself. However, if you don't want to spend a lot, you must take care because this an expensive place. Here, you also have a great mall, where you can do some shopping. At last, I should mention the people, because they very nice and always have a smile for you. So, I enjoy San Diego and if I return there, I will be there for a week, at least.

• Anonymous

  Canada
  8.0

  Family fun in the sun.

  To start off the airport was great. We had no troubles getting our rental car from and to the airport. We have traveled into LAX before and would much rather travel into San Diego and deal with less frustration. We visited Lego Land, Sea World, and the Zoo. All of which were great places to visit with our two young children. We could have gone back to Lego Land if we had additional time. The only down side to these sites is the expense. If you visit plan to pay for parking and high prices on food and any merchandise. If your working on a vacation budget you don't have much room to play. The city has a lot to offer. We wanted to experience more but we did not have enough time in the city to see and do everything we wanted. We found that getting around was relatively easy. San Diego is a beautiful city with great places to stop and see the ocean, play in the sand and watch a beautiful sunset. The weather was great. Even on a colder day the sun was out and we could still get out and do things. I look forward to our next visit.

• Matthew

  Australia
  10

  Great city, very scenic and safe

  We were there primarily to attend the San Diego Supercross on 16/01/2016 which wasn't too far a walk from the Urban Boutique hotel. We were also able to get to the USS Midway museum for 3-4 hours which was an awesome experience. Then we just generally walked around the area including Seaport Village, Little Italy and the North Harbor Drive area. We were there on MLK day so got to see the parade on North Harbor Drive which was great; a bunch of different groups of folks just having a positive celebration of MLK. Very cool. San Diego was just a really nice, scenic city in general and I felt safe everywhere at different times of the day/night.

• Anonymous

  USA
  8.0

  San Diego is great and has some really nice historical spots.

  San Diego is great and has some really nice historical spots. If you are over the age of 35 and have traveled extensively, do not venture off into the Glasslamp district...not worth it. There you will every cheesy douche and douchette all within a 10 block radius. The bars and restaurants are sub par and geared toward folks you might see walking off a cruise ship. Trust me, it will be a wasted evening. A better bet would be to stick with Coronado Island. There are tons of incredibly inventive and beautiful restaurants and activities to do just on the island, and with better looking people and higher end experiences. We did wish we had ventured into other areas of San Diego, but were not there long enough. Overall, California, in general, is a wonderful place with beautiful, sweet people at every turn.

• Julie

  Australia
  8.0

  San Diego has some really good family-oriented places.

  San Diego has some really good family-oriented places. In particular, we loved Balboa Park (Zoo, museums, a beautiful setting, and lot of activities), Hotel del Coronado in the evening, USS Midway Museum and the Maritime Museum on the harbour, and dinner at Fiesta del Reys in the Old Town. Also enjoyed great live music at the Dublin Square Irish Pub. San Diego is relatively easy to get around by car, though we had a few dramas with the freeways which bisect the otherwise easy to manage streets. Didn't try the public transport.