Things To Do in San Diego

[Lmack]

We're on a B2B cruise from Ft. Lauderdale/San Diego/Ft. Lauderdale in October. Can anyone suggest what we can do in San Diego during the hours we're there?

[didisea]

You can tour the USS Midway which is an aircraft carrier not far from the pier. Also close to the pier is Seaport Village. Shops, restaurants and you can walk by the marina.

[mjesf]

What do you like to do, and how long are you going to be there?

[Happy ks]

For a good tour of the city take the old town trolley www.historictours.com , they have a stop right outside the port terminal. You can get on and off wherever they stop, the tour is narrated (some of the guides are funny, some not so much).

 

We live about an hour/hour and a half north of SD and visit a couple times a year. We've gone on this trolley tour at least 3 times, usually getting off in Coronado and walking over to The Del Coronado Hotel for lunch and a walk around, then we either get off again in Old Town for a margarita or Balboa Park and visit a museum.

 

They have several other stops, in case you would rather go shopping or stop at the Zoo (actually that is in Balboa Park, but with a seperate stop). For shopping there is Horton Plaza (mall, not a big deal) or Seaport Village (some unique shops, but I don't care to shop on vaca).

 

Anyway, its' a great way to see a lot of the city for little money and a short amount of time :)

 

Edit to add, I think a few of the stops have changed since we last went on. It looks like the stop for Balboa Park and the Zoo are the same. They have added Petco Park and the Ferry landing to get to Coronado Island. Unless you want to pay more to cross on the ferry (I don't think it costs much), just stay on the trolley and go over the bridge.

[Lmack]

Thanks! Your suggestions sounds exactly what we're looking for. I suspect we can get off the ship by 9 or 10am and it sails at 5pm so we'll need to be back on board no later than 3pm.

 

Lynn

[Splinter]

Take a cab to the Zoo. It will be around $20 each way, lots to see, you can be sure you get back in time. I would be a nervous wreck trying to be sure that the Old Town Trolley got you back in time (it is on a fixed route...they won't just take you back to the ship when you get back on...it could be several hours). Our world famous Zoo is not to be missed, and you really don't have time to do much more than that.

[KCcruisin07]

The zoo is phenomenal, and the weather should be good in October. If you had more time, I would add Balboa Park.

[Lmack]

Take a cab to the Zoo. It will be around $20 each way, lots to see, you can be sure you get back in time. I would be a nervous wreck trying to be sure that the Old Town Trolley got you back in time (it is on a fixed route...they won't just take you back to the ship when you get back on...it could be several hours). Our world famous Zoo is not to be missed, and you really don't have time to do much more than that.

 

That sounds good. Is it $20 per taxi ride or per person?

[Splinter]

It should be no more than $20 for up to 4 in a cab. Tell them to go up Laurel so you can drive through the park. You could save a little by having them let you off at the SD Art Museum and walk over to the Zoo through the park (Walk east down the Prado pedestrian walkway, turn left before the Natural History Museum, take the walkway north on the west side of the Artists' Spanish Village).

 

You can also take a city bus to the Zoo fairly easily, but again, I would be concerned about getting back in time as our public transportation is not the most dependable. Info here:

http://www.sdmts.com/Tripplanner.asp

 

You could take the bus to get there and then take a cab back to the ship though.

[April-in-NC]

I also vote for the zoo! I'm not usually a "zoo" person, but I was in San Diego the first week of June and had some time to kill and thought I would go take a look. They just opened up an elephant exhibit, and they have panda bears and polar bears plus the rest of the typical zoo animals. I got some really nice pictures while I was there.

 

I did the Trolley Tour which was okay but I found the commentary to be very cheesy. I only got off at the Coronado stop to see the hotel and rode the rest of the route. The trolley picks up and drops off every 30 minutes, so it can be time consuming if you get off at more than one stop.

 

Enjoy the city!

[Maryandi]

The taxi is about $20 per ride (2 to 4 people) each way, the Zoo is $30 per person.

 

We could see why ,it is the best Zoo we have ever been to. Don't let the price scare you - if you like zoos - this is the one you will talk about.

 

MaryAnn

[Happy ks]

Take a cab to the Zoo. It will be around $20 each way, lots to see, you can be sure you get back in time. I would be a nervous wreck trying to be sure that the Old Town Trolley got you back in time (it is on a fixed route...they won't just take you back to the ship when you get back on...it could be several hours). Our world famous Zoo is not to be missed, and you really don't have time to do much more than that.

 

 

The whole circle tour takes 2 hours. Simply plan to get onto a trolley well within the time to make the return. We have gotten off the ship early, spent the whole day around San Diego and been back onboard around 4-4:30 pm. Just make sure you read the schedule and don't try to get back to the ship on the very last shuttle. It does depend on the time your ship sails, as well.

 

Trolleys stops are at 30 minute intervals, not hours in between.

 

In October the Trolley runs from 8:50am - 6pm. Of you get on the early trolley, get back onto the 3pm trolley to re-embark in plenty of time, that will give you 6 hours of touring. Of course, if all you want to see is the Zoo, the cab would be best.

[iamirish]

Hi Lynn,

 

My great-Grandfather was born in Rowan, NC - I plan on going there either next year or the year after to do some genealogy research.

 

Tom

[Lmack]

Tom - We're not originally from NC but we've lived here for 36yrs. The county below us is Rowan with the main city being Salisbury. Are you referring to Rowan County or is there a city named Rowan?

 

We have a fabulous library system here in NC you might want to check out online before you come. I know our library here has a fabulous genealogy dept. You might also want to check out the NCLive and NCDigital Library.

 

Lynn

[iamirish]

Lynn,

 

I am nor sure - the census records and all the information I have found so far is a little vague - whether it is the City or the County of Rowan.

 

If you would like to e-mail me at iamirish at email dot com - I would to pick your brain a little.

 

Tom