A guide to the perfect weekend in San Diego
Here’s what I love most about living in San Diego: year-round sunshine, laid-back lifestyle, easy access to beaches and hiking trails, a dynamic craft cocktail and microbrewery scene, and unsurprisingly, excellent tacos. And lucky for you: all of those things also make it a fantastic place to visit, even if it’s just for a quick weekend escape!
A few quick things to know before I dive into a million recommendations: the airport is located incredibly close to the heart of the city (when you’re flying in, snag a window seat on the left side of the plane to see the skyscrapers of downtown, or on the right side to see Balboa Park stretching out). If you’re only staying for a couple of days, it’s pretty easy to plan strategically and get around just with Lyft or Uber. If you want to do some exploring further afield (like hiking or checking out towns in North County), it might be worth renting a car–just note that parking is definitely limited in many neighborhoods. And the city is currently awash in options for on-demand bike, e-bike and scooter rental: download the LimeBike, Bird and Ofo apps on your phone before you arrive to take advantage. People are generally nice and helpful, and the city is overwhelmingly dog friendly if you want to bring your pooch along. And overall: the city is so much fun!
Where to eat
Your first stop after you land should be Crack Shack: located just two short miles from the airport, this hip al fresco spot features next-level chicken sandwiches, delectable deviled eggs and a full selection of local craft beers.
Located right next door to Crack Shack (both are owned by Richard Blais of Top Chef fame), Juniper & Ivy is worth making a reservation for and coming back all gussied up. It’s arguably one of the best restaurants in the city, with inventive yet refined offerings. Make sure to save room for dessert: the yodel is an chocolate explosion of textures and flavors.
One of our go-to favorites for a Friday night out with friends is Kettner Exchange: you can start the evening with a drink while watching the sunset on the open-air, second-floor patio, and then head downstairs for a dinner of New American share plates in the oversized booths. Another option is The Patio on Goldfinch: they have a great happy hour and a super dog-friendly front patio.
Although it’s no traditional ramen joint, Underbelly delivers on heaping portions and cool vibes. My husband always goes for the Belly of the Beast (complete with oxtail dumplings and beef short rib), and I prefer the Farmers Market with a rotating selection of seasonal veggies.
This isn’t anything fancy, but we regularly pop up to Poki One N Half for lunch or an easy dinner. It features affordable, make-your-own poke bowls and poke burritos: a nice option if you want something light and relatively healthy.
Of course, you can’t come to San Diego without tacos! The city is located just 20 miles from the Mexican border, so there are myriad choices for cheap, incredible, authentic Mexican food (and we’ve barely scratched the surface–please send recommendations!). A few of our North Park neighborhood favorites: The Taco Stand (simple and delicious, with multiple locations across the city), City Tacos (more inventive flavor combinations) and Lucha Libre (the famed “California burrito” with french fries in it). And although I’m not much of a meat eater, I’ve heard nothing but good things about the pork-centric tacos at Carnitas Snack Shack. Del Sur Mexican Cantina is another solid option for a selection of margaritas and Mexican food.
When it comes to breakfast, The Mission has been a San Diego standard for ages (we used to go here when I had soccer tournaments in the area!), and I’m still a big fan of the rosemary potatoes and strawberry granola pancakes. Breakfast Republic and Great Maple are other popular spots for egg-based meals and breakfast cocktails–go early, or prepare for a long wait.
The Rose is a laid-back neighborhood wine bar that also has a good selection of Spanish tapas and flatbreads.
An idea that I’m surprised hasn’t caught on more places: the ice cream flight! You can try a variety of flavors in small scoops at Hammond’s, and it’s pretty Instagrammable. And if you’re willing to commit to a bigger scoop of delicious-ness in plenty of crazy flavor combinations, Portland-based Salt & Straw recently opened an outpost in Little Italy.
Where to drink: cocktails
Located in the sometimes-gritty East Village, You & Yours is worth seeking out. The female-owned distillery specializes in vodka and gin cocktails (and tasting flights). And while the drinks are fantastic, the real star is the space: it feels like you’re hanging out in the living room of your most stylish friend.
To be honest, one of my favorite things about Polite Provisions is that it has cocktails on tap (my favorite is the Uncle Jalapeno: tequila, jalapeno and pineapple soda). Beyond that, the sun-soaked apothocary-esque space has an old-time charm and bartenders who take the art of cocktail crafting very seriously.
It’s hard to know where to start with Kindred: there are just so many cool things! The first thing to know is that it’s a completely vegan establishment, drinks included. But don’t let that stop you from sampling: the BBQ sandwich is shockingly good. The decor seems to be pretty pink and feminine at first glance…until you look closer and realize that the custom wallpaper is carnivorous plants and fighting eyeballs.
Where to drink: beer
Quick fact: San Diego county has more than 130 breweries, and is widely regarded as the microbrewery capital of the USA. There is A LOT of good beer to drink here, particularly in the styles of super-hoppy West Coast IPAs and sours. There are breweries and tasting rooms all over the city, and most restaurants have a local-heavy beer list: try something new while you’re in town!
Try a flight of flavor-forward ales at Modern Times (tasting rooms in Point Loma and North Park): although I’m a big fan of the Orderville IPA and Fruitlands sour, I always like to sample a seasonal or something funky that they’re testing out. It also has a cool, quirky (somewhat relevant) decor vibe: a wall of floppy disks, a bar made out of VHS tapes.
A few other breweries with fun tasting rooms that are worth checking it: Mike Hess Brewing, Stone Brewing, Ballast Point, North Park Beer Co and Mikkeller.
And if you want to try a variety of breweries in one beautiful historic craftsman home, The Brew Project has an extensive rotation of local brews on tap–and beer cocktails, and a dog menu!
Where to drink: coffee
Home of the Insta-famous “Coffee + Flowers” wall, Communal Coffee is half flower-themed coffee shop (think rose vanilla lattes, sparkling lavender lemonade and lavender honey toast) and half actual flower shop. If that wasn’t enough, it shares a courtyard with a nursery! It’s absolutely adorable, and home to good coffee and toast flights to boot. I highly recommend the half-sweet lavender latte, and also checking out their super cute trailer set-up in their location in South Park.
Better Buzz is a San Diego institution, with eight locations scattered across the city and North County–my favorite is the large, airy and super chic flagship in Hillcrest. Their speciality is the Best Drink Ever, which is a classic Americano with signature creamy vanilla–and I have to admit, it’s pretty darn good.
Located on bustling University Avenue in North Park, Holsem focuses on excellent coffee–with some unexpected flavor combinations, using ingredients like rose, orange and cardamom to spice up ordinary mochas and lattes.
The coffee at James Coffee Co. is top-notch, but I especially love the space here: it’s like a very cool curated garage, with a barbershop, home goods store and card shop.
Dark Horse Coffee Roasters roasts their own beans, and has a pretty no-frills approach to good coffee.
Bird Rock Coffee places a huge emphasis on high-quality, fair-trade, ethically-sourced beans–and the effort shows in the cups of coffee themselves. Although there are a few different locations, I love the original in Bird Rock: it’s just a few blocks from the ocean, so it’s delightful to grab a mug to go and enjoy overlooking the Pacific. It’s also right down the street from Riffs Studio, a very zen option for outdoor yoga (I always feel like I’ve magically transported to a yoga retreat in Costa Rica when I take a class on the lush back deck).
Although it’s not quite coffee, Holy Matcha is a star when it comes to good drinks in a very pretty location: think lots and lots of pink and green in decor and menu items.
Where to shop
Pigment is the holy grail of gift shops in San Diego (and maybe the world). It’s a beautifully curated space, with a succulent wall (and a build-your-own-succulent station), oodles of adorable cards and fun party favors, and the perfect place to find a gift for anyone on your list (especially a stylish baby or a person who loves artisan cocktail fare). It’s also home to a very Instagrammable pink wall.
The next best thing to gift shopping in Mexico itself is popping into the super colorful and fun Artlexia: it’s a very cool space full of cookbooks, quirky home goods and fiesta decor.
Maven features a ton of goods from independent, local makers and fashion designers. The space feels very Scandinavian: airy, light-filled and sparsely stacked with only the coolest items.
Shop Good is a clean beauty store, buuuuuut it’s also super chic and cool and doesn’t smell like incense at all. It features a ton of makeup, skin care and other ingredients for self-care that are all clean and non-toxic. They also have a holistic spa for healing facials, waxes and steams.
For a solid selection of used and rare books, pop into Verbatim Books. And if you want to pick up something to bring Fido at home, Dexter’s Deli is Gert’s hearty recommendation for healthy homemade treats and plenty of toys.
Moniker General is a concept store that has great coffee in the morning, wine, beer and craft cocktails in the evening, and a expertly curated selection of lifestyle products to browse through any time of day. It’s located in Liberty Station in Point Loma: formerly a Naval Training Center, it’s now home to plenty of restaurants, cafes and shops to explore.
What to do
Balboa Park is an enormous expanse of things to do in San Diego: the 1200-acre park is home to hiking trails, gardens, museums, restaurants, the biggest outdoor organ in the world and, of course, the world-famous San Diego Zoo. There are SO many things to do here, and I highly recommend making some time in your itinerary to explore. If nothing else, I love just seeing the Botanical Building and Lily Pond (especially beautiful at sunset) and enjoying all of the Spanish-influenced architecture of the museums that line the esplanade. We usually take out-of-towners to eat on the patio at The Prado (make reservations in advance!) and walk around the stretch of museums before or after–and maybe pop over to the Old Cactus Garden. The northeast corner of the park also houses the Morley Field Sports Complex, which has a tennis club and a pool that the public can use with drop-in rates.
The island of Coronado is a short drive or ferry ride away from downtown San Diego, but it feels like you’ve stepped into the southern Californian version of Pleasantville as soon as you arrive. It’s full of quaint cottages, a main street bustling with beach cruisers and golf carts, and stretch of glittering beach. The dog beach at the north end is basically dog heaven (even if you don’t have a dog, it’s pretty fun to see all of the pooches running around and enjoying themselves), and the historic Hotel Del Coronado at the south end is a San Diego icon (and a lovely, albeit expensive, place to grab a drink at sunset).
La Jolla is a ritzy beach community located about 20 minutes north of downtown San Diego, and the picturesque coves are popular to spot (lots and lots of) seals and sea lions, as well as go kayaking, surfing or stand-up paddleboarding. The Birch Aquarium overlooks La Jolla, and is a great spot to learn more about the layers of life in the Pacific Ocean.
If you want to do some easy hiking with some incredible views (and don’t want to drive too far), Torrey Pines has miles of scenic views (and you can tuck into the fantastic Lodge at Torrey Pines if you need a cocktail or spa treatment after). A bit further afield, Potato Chip Rock and Iron Mountain are both popular day hikes with locals.
You can find a local farmers market just about day of the week in at least one San Diego neighborhood, but the biggest and greatest of them all is the Little Italy Mercato on Saturday mornings. Open year-round from 8am to 2pm, more than 200 tents sell farm-fresh produce, meat, eggs, prepared foods, flowers and artisan goods.
A harbor cruise is a laid-back way to enjoy another view of the San Diego skyline. The city also has a very large Navy presence, and it’s a cool way to see all of the enormous naval ships that are docked just south of downtown: when we went on the cruise, we saw the world’s largest floating hospital docked!
If you’re visiting during baseball season, definitely see if there’s a Padres game on at Petco Park: you can usually find some cheap tickets, and the ballpark is located right downtown and full of great local food and drink options (Lucha Libre and Carnitas Shack have outposts, and there’s an IPA bar from Ballast Point).
And, of course, you can learn to surf (even if I don’t love it)! Pacific Beach is a good spot to take lessons and there are a ton of places to rent a board.
If you’re visiting in spring, you might want to check if the ranunculus are in bloom at The Flower Fields: it’s basically bloom heaven if they are!
Where to see sunsets
Unsurprisingly, Sunset Cliffs is a pretty darn good place to spot the sunset (this was one of my favorite moments in San Diego). The cliffs fill up with sunset spotters a bit before dusk (most toting a sneaky beer or wine in water bottles), but I like to enjoy the colorful sky changing with a brisk walk along the cliffs to spot the surfers and dog walkers.
Mister A’s is one of the fancier restaurant options in San Diego, and its main appeal is the wraparound balcony on the 12th floor that overlooks the downtown skyline and the airport. Although the food is definitely good (but not cheap), my recommendation is to come here for a cocktail on the patio at sunset (the Oaxacan is my fave) and then pop down for dinner somewhere in Little Italy.
Where to stay
My friend Stephanie and her boyfriend are opening a design-centric, very chic six-room inn in the heart of Little Italy, and I am dying over how cool it is! A couple of the rooms are ready to book now (take a look at that wall of whiskey!), and I can heartily vouch for this being probably the coolest option in San Diego at a very good value.
I live in the North Park neighborhood (which I love!), and a lot of the above recommendations are based around there. The Lafayette Hotel is one of the few hotel options (and maybe the only boutique) in the neighborhood. It also has a popular pool club if you want to take advantage of that year-round sunshine!
If you want to stay at the beach, Tower23 opens up onto the gorgeous Pacific Beach. The hotel itself is beautiful and well-appointed–and super close to good options for beginning and intermediate surfing–but Pacific Beach has a definite “frat surfer bro” feel in a lot of the surrounding restaurants and bars (think $20 margarita bowls).
The Pendry Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Gaslamp District: although the Gaslamp can feel a little crazy and touristy to me (lots of shops, lots of clubs), it’s pretty centrally located and it does have a rooftop pool.
