23 January, 2022

A Day in SanDiego , CA - A Perfect One day itinerary

 This post has been due for so long. Other priorities took over and here we are in a new year! 

We moved to Texas from Colorado. You will read more travelogues about Texas and surrounding states in the future, but here is about a quick trip we took to San Diego.

When I asked a friend, what is great about San Diego, she told me - 

  • the all-year-around pleasant weather and
  • Sunsets to die for 

I 100% agree. We loved the weather, beaches, and Sunsets, though we couldn't visit many tourist destinations.


Here are a few destinations we could visit in one day:

Trip map courtesy of Wanderlog, a road trip planner on iOS and Android



  • Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve 
  • Coronado Island and
  • Balboa Park


Pin it for later!




Sandiego 

Sandiego is a city on the Pacific coast of California. It is renowned for the beautiful mild weather and 78 miles of wonderful beaches. It is California's second-largest city discovered in 1542 by a European explorer. The city was originally named San Miguel. 

Coronado Island

Coronado Island with many gorgeous beaches, a scenic downtown, and a historic Victorian hotel is a beautiful place to spend a day. It only takes around 20 mins to reach the island from Sandiego.


View from San Diego - Coronado Bridge


San Diego - Coronado Bridge


The drive through Sandiego - Coronado bridge is very scenic. This bridge is around 2.2 miles, and  5 lanes wide.


Hotel Del Coronado



The island gives a fantastic view of the Sandiego skyline as well. Once reaching the island, we parked our car and walked through the Hotel Del Coronado. This 130-year old hotel is very interesting to visit with amazing architecture and spectacular beachside setting. 


Del Coronado

Shining Sand on the beach

Coronado island



This luxury hotel is also known as one of the haunted places in Sandiego. There are Cabana and lounge chair rentals available at the beach. The beach is clean and good to relax with family.

We enjoyed some time on the Coronado Central Beach, tasted the homemade ice cream, and walked through the hotel. But, someday it would be interesting to stay in this resort.

The long sandy beaches in Coronado are famous for sparkling sand. The sand shines due to the mineral mica. Loved the experience of playing in the shining black sand!

The other beaches which we couldn't visit due to time crunch are Glorietta bay, Silver strand beach, and Ferry land marketplace

Balboa Park

Balboa Park is very unique with so many beautiful places to see in a single place. This park is home to more than 16 museums, buildings with beautiful architecture, many performance art venues, trails, parks, Sandiego zoo, and lovely gardens. 


Spreckels Organ Pavillion

Euclid statue

Balboa Park



Any family can easily spend the whole day there. But, We had only one afternoon. 

House of Pacific relations cottages has constructed the models of houses of 33 different cultures. This is very interesting to visit.

The Spreckels Organ Pavillion is the largest outdoor pipe organ in the world. The architecture and details are amazing to see.

Timken museum of art is highly recommended by many, but it was closed when we visited.


Balboa Park



Balboa Park has 17 gardens, out of which, some are free. The botanical building and Lilypond are the most photographed scenes in Balboa Park. The garden inside has 2100 different exotic plants. 

Botanic Garden and Lily Pond

The Old Globe

Balboa Park


Balboa park



There are many places to see here which are wonderful like - The old globe, Japanese friendship garden, Euclid statue, California tower, outdoor sculptures, etc.,.

We didn't go to Sandiego Zoo and Spanish Village art center due to time crunch, but we would definitely visit again.

Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve

This 2000-acre coastal state natural reserve is located in the La Jolla community. The drive to this beach itself is dramatic with a beautiful view of the reserve and the beach. 


Torrey Pines

Beach



We couldn't hike but we enjoyed the beautiful sunset on the beach and kids played in the water. 

These photos are the best Sunset photos that me / my husband ever captured. It's serene in the evenings during Sunset.


The Glorious Sunset

Did you see the Plane?




So, that's about our quick trip to San Diego and just around 1 day of sightseeing.

If we had more time, we would have visited Sunset Cliffs natural park, USS midway museum, Seaport Village, Lajolla caves, Gaslamp quarter, Pacific beach, Potato chip rock, Cabrillo National monument, and Queen Califia's magical circle. 

We even wanted to visit Legoland, Sea World, Los Angeles, and drive through the scenic Pacific coast. Maybe some other day!

Until next time,


 


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