San diego to la jolla

Hi there,

We are on the Royal next May from LA to Vancouver.

Has anyone done a day trip from San Diego to La Jolla off a princess cruise port day?

(Not an official excursion)

Did you use a bus or other modes of transport?

How long did it take and is there any areas particularly that would be worth visiting.

Hope you can help.

Regards from sunny London UK

Lynda & Marty

Hi there,

We are on the Royal next May from LA to Vancouver.

Has anyone done a day trip from San Diego to La Jolla off a princess cruise port day?

(Not an official excursion)

Did you use a bus or other modes of transport? Almost no bus service from LA to San Diego. There's a train which would be fairly easy to get to. Your best bet (if you're comfortable driving on the "wrong" side of the road...rent a car.

How long did it take and is there any areas particularly that would be worth visiting. Plan plenty of time, it will take you a minimum of 2+ hours to get there. Lots to see in SD and La Jolla. Do some Google research and see what you like. Asking what I like won't tell you much.

Regards from sunny London UK

Lynda & Marty

Good luck in you planning.:D

The port is close to the airport, SAN, if you are comfortable with driving the freeways I think a car rental would be your best option. If you don't want to do that I would look into an Uber. La Jolla is a very quaint and beautiful seaside town and has very nice places to eats, places to shops and beaches. There is also the Birch Aquarium if you are interested. It also is a little hilly so hopefully you don't have any limitations.

May in SoCal is usually overcast and cool. Total driving time should be around 20 to 30 minutes.

Hi,

La Jolla IS San Diego! It is one neighborhood of our large city.

From the cruise port to La Jolla is about 15min by car without traffic.

You can take an uber or lyft car from the pier by using the app on your phone.

By bus it would take an hour or so.

There is also a hop on hop off bus tour with a stop near the pier.

It has 2 routes and one goes to beaches including those in La Jolla.

IF you have not been to San Diego before this there are other areas of the city that are "worth visiting" too. You might again use the ho ho bus to access them.

In our La Jolla neighborhood(which is quite large) there are 2 sorts of beaches.One is a series of small rock enclosed coves where you can see seals and sea lions. This area has lots of upscale boutiques,art galleries and restaurants.

A little farther north is La Jolla Shores with a wide white sandy beach and some restaurants.YOu can take a sea kayak tour here or relax on the beach or in the grassy park next to it.

There are also places to hike but without a car you'd need to continually take buses or uber/lyft cars to get from one area to the other.

Here is a link to the ho ho bus tour:

www.trolleytours.com

Now I'm confused from reading the post above. Will you be driving to La Jolla from Los Angeles or San Diego? It it's from Los Angeles forget what I said, and I don't think you could reasonably spend any time in La Jolla if driving from Los Angeles due to traffic.

Just checked the Royal itinerary - San Diego is the first port call after leaving LA. You'll have a full day in San Diego, so there's so much you can do. La Jolla would not be my first choice on how to spend only 1 day here. I'd take a cab or Uber/Lyft to Balboa Park (only 3 or 4 miles) and spend the day in one of the many superb museums and gardens, or the zoo - the slightly inland location will be sunnier and warmer in May. Have lunch at Prado restaurant in the park. Take a cab back to the pier and spend a little time just walking around the waterfront, tour the USS Midway, or visit the Maritime Museum - all visible from your ship and a very short walk.

We're currently expanding our San Diego Trolley system (light rail) northward to UCSD and UTC (very close to village of La Jolla) though I'm not sure if the extension will be completed by next May. If it is completed there already is a dedicated bus line from the UCSD campus to Prospect Ave in La Jolla village. .. If not completed as a option the estimated Uber fare from the cruise terminal is apox $ 27.00 usd .

As one of the above posters said, a solid alternative for your day in port is the world famous San Diego Zoo or maybe even Sea World

Srpilo

I visit SD often and LJ wouldn't be a place I would pick for a port stop. I would stick closer to downtown. The zoo is awesome. But we just did the Wild Animal Park, which was fantastic. The extra "Caravan" ride out to the animals is well worth the cost. We hand feed giraffes. There are a couple of bay cruises that are just steps from the cruise port that are interesting. You can take the ferry over to Coronado Island and rent bicycles ride up to the Hotel Del.

If you can work out the schedule we did the walking tour of Gaslamp, "Brothels, Bites, and Booze", which was a great way to spend a few hours.

La Jolla is nothing but a bunch of over priced glitzy shops and art galleries.

Each to their own! We think La Jolla cove is lovely but if you are also going north to Monterey and San Francisco you can see similar sea animals and landscapes there.

The Safari Park would be hard to get to from a cruise ship with no car!

It is a 45 min drive NE of downtown so not sure how these cruisers would get there??

Using the hop on hop off tour or just going to Balboa Park and the zoo by bus or uber/lyft/taxi or walking to the the USS Midway and Maritime Museum from the cruise port would be much easier!

We're currently expanding our San Diego Trolley system (light rail) northward to UCSD and UTC (very close to village of La Jolla) though I'm not sure if the extension will be completed by next May.

Srpilo

That branch of the San Diego Trolley won't be open for service until 2021!!!

That branch of the San Diego Trolley won't be open for service until 2021!!!

IF they get everything done but that rarely happens!!

Just to thank you all for your helpful comments and information about spending the day in San Diego and areas. We will take on board all your suggestions.

Kind regards from London, UK

Lynda & Marty

IF they get everything done but that rarely happens!!

You got that! When it was first proposed, it was supposed to be FINISHED by 2013. They didn't even break ground until 2015. Amusing to think someone here thought it might be finished by May 2019!!!

Just to thank you all for your helpful comments and information about spending the day in San Diego and areas. We will take on board all your suggestions.

Kind regards from London, UK

Lynda & Marty

Consider substituting Coronado for La Jolla. You can take the passenger ferry there from right next to the cruise ship pier, then catch the city bus that runs along Orange Avenue. Visit the historic Hotel del Coronado and lots of nice shops and restaurants along Orange Ave. Great beach for walking (and watching joggers from the nearby Navy SEAL base) just north of the hotel. This is also included in the San Diego Old Town Trolley Tours hop-on-hop off bus route.

Also, I would endorse the San Diego Zoo; one of the great zoos in the world, along with the museums and gardens in Balboa Park (where the Zoo is located). Short cab or Uber ride from the cruise ship pier.

If you want to visit Old Town State Park you can easily take the San Diego Trolley (light rail) from close to the cruise ship pier. Shops, museums, good restaurants. The original settlement of San Diego.

That branch of the San Diego Trolley won't be open for service until 2021!!!

See, that why I posted "IF" :)

Glad to know the date, I've been seeing the construction progressing along 5, and was wondering how much longer it would take.. Wow 2021, that's longer than I suspected

Srpilo