Downtown in San Diego

The weather! In my opinion, one of the best reasons to go to San Diego is that it is sunny and mild almost every day of the year. It may rain occasionally, but even then you probably won't get very wet. I have never seen it pour in Southern California as it does in the Midwest.

The food is also great! If you want real Mexican food without heading to Mexico, San Diego is one place you can get it. And, if you want to go to Mexico, you can ride the trolley all the way to the border.

Plus, the scenery is wonderful! There is the coastline, with its beaches and oceanfront. Plus, the mountains are not far away. In addition, there are historical buildings that have been restored, such as the Missions.

All in all, these reasons make San Diego a great place to live or visit!

Quick Tips:

The cost of living in the San Diego area is rather high compared to much of the rest of the US, so that can cause problems for vacation budgets. However, many hotels in the San Diego area offer mini-fridges and microwaves in their rooms, making it possible to eat some meals in and keep costs down.

I also recommend looking for the best deals when finding hotels. Hotel Occidental was one surprisingly inexpensive find in the downtown hotel world of + rooms. Location also makes a difference: how much to do you care about being right downtown versus being a little farther out?

Also, ask locals for help in planning your itinerary. While some places, like the San Diego Zoo, would be on most tourist lists of places to go, other places will benefit from a local's perspective. For example, I asked the hotel clerk whether Old Town San Diego really was a good place to visit and found out that while it's known as a good place to eat, the cultural end of it doesn't really hold up.

Best Way To Get Around:

Around town—There are several public transportation options: the Light rail (known locally as "the trolley", not be to confused with Old Town Trolley, a tourist service), bus, taxi, and commuter rail. What works best for you depends on where you are staying and where you are going. Fortunately, the transit authority has a website that will help you figure out the best routes to where you are going. Just go to http://www.sdcommute.com/ and click on "Trip Planning." You can also get their phone numbers (for various parts of the county) from their website so that you can call for trip planning services.

There is also the option of renting a car, but if you are staying in downtown, I would not expect that to be necessary. It might actually be somewhat of a hassle, as I am not sure of what the parking situation is like downtown.

To and from the airport—It depends on if you are traveling alone or with others. Alone, your best bet is to use Cloud Nine or one of the other shuttles to get you to your hotel, as it will cost around . Under ideal conditions, that might be the same cost as using a taxi, but the shuttle won't cost extra if they get lost going to your hotel! If you are traveling together with others, a taxi is probably your best bet from the downtown area. The bus is also an option if you are traveling light and staying along the main route of the airport bus (992 Airport/Downtown). At .25, the price can't be beat, but if you need to go off the downtown route, the wait time between buses will probably make it unwieldy.

It was wonderful how this new hotel in downtown San Diego was able to keep such a nice hotel within my budget. Located just north of the 5, it is an easy walk to the Gaslamp Quarter, Little Italy, Balboa park, and other downtown locations.

Hotel Occidental is cheaper than anything else I found downtown, and has some really nice amenities. Each room has a sink, fridge, microwave, safe, and enough dishes for the standard occupancy of the room. Most of the rooms have DVD players (although mine did not), and the hotel has a DVD library. Wireless internet (free), continental breakfast (free), and laundry ($1.25 a load for washing or drying), are all available on-site. The cheapest rooms do feature shared baths, which made me a little nervous, however, they were incredibly clean, and because there were so few people there at the time, I was able to personally select my room right next to the well-appointed handicapped bathroom. The only downside to sharing a bathroom was that I had to remember to take my room key with me every time I went to the bathroom (doors lock automatically after you).

I stayed in a single corner room that was large and well-lit, I chose it because it was larger and featured two windows looking out onto the streets. One of the rooms I saw was rather small (although fine for one person), but all the rooms feature an outdoor window (although some look onto a courtyard).

The only thing that would make me think twice about staying at the Hotel Occidental again was the issue we had with the heat in my room. The heat is controlled centrally from behind the desk, and we never seemed to get it right. When it was cold in my room, I had them turn it up, and then it became a sauna. When it was too warm, I had them turn it down... and ended up freezing all night. We never really found a happy medium. But then, I only stayed there one night—I think we would have worked it out on the second day. Other minor downsides are air traffic overhead, and street noise, but neither of these bothered me much.

I thoroughly enjoyed my stay. The staff was very friendly and helpful. I got to pick out my room (although don't expect this as the hotel gets more popular). The rooms are tastefully decorated, and have more character than you'd find in typical budget accommodations. It's a great choice for business travelers wanting to save a little money, or tourists looking for somewhere close to the sights. It probably would not work as well for families, as all the rooms apparently only have one bed (a twin, full, or queen).

The Omni was everything you'd expect from a high-end hotel. The rooms are very comfortable and spacious, including a desk, bed, and entertainment center with cable, video games (for a fee), pay-per-view movies, and internet (for a fee). The usual bathroom amenities are offered, such as shampoo and conditioner, and even a robe. The location is great, too, just on the edge of the Gaslamp district (lots of shopping and dining), and next to the Convention Center. However, nothing really sets it apart in my mind, from other high-end hotels I've been to. The prices were higher than I would ever pay for myself (I was there for a conference).

The staff was friendly and helpful, they arranged for a shuttle service to the airport, as well as checking me in early when my room was ready (although not everyone there for the conference was able to check in early).

I was pleasantly surprised when I was able to use their business center, and check-in for my flights for free and print boarding passes. I was contemplating whether it was worth it to pay the $5.95 for 15 minutes when I noticed at the bottom of the screen that there was a place to go online to check-in for free.

Having passed a Persian Restaurant in the taxi on my way to the hotel, I decided to go back and give it a try (I love culinary adventures). I wasn't disappointed. Although at first I felt slightly out of place in this ethnic restaurant, the people were helpful and the food was great!

Darband Fifth Avenue Grill is a cross between a sit-down restaurant and a fast food place. You order and pay at the counter and then receive a number and your food is brought out to you.

I had a kabob wrap, which took all the traditional ingredients of a shish kabob and wrapped them up with lettuce and tomato in a wrap. It was excellent and very filling. If I thought I would have the opportunity to eat the leftovers, I would have saved half of it for later.

The prices were good. Although some of the platters were around $15, many of the sandwich/lunch options were under $10. I had a hard time choosing what option sounded best!

The decor is great-it definitely reflects the type of food served there. There are many pictures from Iran hanging on the walls. The atmosphere created is much better than your typical chain restaurant. The restaurant also has large windows at the front, so it is very light inside.

The only complaint I had was the service at the counter. I was served by about three different people in the course of ordering my meal. This wouldn't bother me except that I was almost overcharged for my meal- a miscommunication among the staff caused them to first charge me for the kabob platter rather than the wrap (at two times the cost). However, when I pointed out the problem to them, they corrected it with no argument.

Overall, I felt this was a great restaurant. Every time I travel to a larger city, I try to get out and sample different ethnic cuisines, and I was not disappointed with my experience at the Darband. I would eat here again if I were in that part of San Diego.

After walking throughout the downtown area, I was looking for a light, inexpensive dinner while walking back up through the Gaslamp District. However, inexpensive is not a word that applies to most restaurants in that area, so I was happy to come across Alambres, a relatively inexpensive Mexican restaurant.

Alambres was mostly empty on Saturday night, so the service was prompt and I had my pick of seats in the restaurant.

The food, however, was not what I expected. I had been to San Diego several times before and had eaten at other authentic Mexican restaurants, so I thought I knew what to expect. However, when my chicken tacos came, I was surprised to discover that that was all it was—chicken wrapped in a soft taco, no sauces, no other condiments, only a side of rice alongside the chips and salsa that had been brought out earlier. However, the horchata (a sweet rice drink) was very good. And I believe (from seeing a few other dishes brought out) that other dishes would have better met my American expectations. So, I believe this was a problem of my expectations, but I mention it for others so that you can modify your expectations.

I would eat at Alambres again if I were in a similar situation (in the Gaslamp looking for something cheaper to eat), but I probably would not go out of my way to eat there again (particularly due to the many Mexican restaurants available in the San Diego area).

On my early arrival in San Diego for a conference, I was looking for something to do with the rest of the sunny Saturday afternoon without having to spend a lot of money. The hotel clerk recommended taking a walk through the downtown area. So that is what I did.

The route she recommended had me walk down Fourth Street, then over on Ash to the harbor, along the harbor to Seaport Village, and then across again and up Fifthth Avenue through the Gaslamp District. It was a very good route to walk, as it took me through several major areas of downtown San Diego. However, it was long (probably 3 to 4 miles), and by the time I started up Fifth through the Gaslamp, I was exhausted (and it was getting dark).

My favorite part about the walk down Fourth and across on Ash was seeing the many churches in that area. Most of them are historic, well-maintained, beautiful houses of worship, and I was pleased that I was even able to stop in one and take a look at the inside.

While walking along the harbor, the views of the ocean along with the ocean breeze were very pleasing. It was a very relaxing walk that made me feel "on vacation." However, next time, I would bring sunglasses or a hat, as the sun was reflecting off the water and made it difficult to enjoy sitting and looking at the view.

Seaport Village was a nice area to poke through- it contains many shops and restaurants in historic-feeling buildings. I wasn't really interested in shopping, but there were enough speciality shops in the area that I was interested in just browsing in that it was still an interesting diversion. Apparently, though, the area is best known for shopping for cruise ship passengers- every store seemed to offer discounts to cruisers plus adversing that they could ship anywhere in the world.

I would have enjoyed the Gaslamp District more if I hadn't been so tired already. It is a beautiful restored area with many restaurants and nightlife, so that it really comes alive in the evening. Besides which, it is less for looking at and more for experiencing.

I would recommend this walk to anyone, either to see all the points together or separately. If you do the whole walk, you would need to be in good condition. Starting from a point closer to downtown would also be helpful.

Monday afternoon, we had a break from our conference, so we decided to go over to Coronado and explore. One of the guys had been there before, so we kind of knew where we were going.We walked from the Omni Hotel up to the ferry landing (a bit of a walk, but it was a nice day). Unfortunately, we arrived just after the ferry had left and had to wait around for the next ferry, 45 minutes later. We bought our round-trip tickets (first mistake) and poked around the gift shop until it was time to go. The ferry ride over to Coronado was nice, but it was a bit breezy and cool.When we arrived on Coronado, we headed over to the beach and the Coronado Hotel. The bus that circles Coronado actually pulled up right as we left the ferry landing, but our guide said that it's "not far" to the side where the beach was, so we chose to walk and not take the bus (second mistake). It was probably a half an hour walk to the other side, but by the time we got there, we were starting to run short on time if we wanted to take the ferry back in time for our evening sessions. The beach was beautiful, though. It being February, not everyone wanted to dip their toes in the water, but those of us that did enjoyed it even though it was a bit chilly. We also took a quick look at the inside of the Hotel Coronado before we had to head back. It's gorgeous inside—I can't imagine what it would be like to stay there.Then we had to head back in order to make it back for our evening sessions. Unfortunately, this time there was no bus around, and we couldn't work out when one would be by. So we ended up walking back to the ferry landing and catching the ferry in time. We did manage to figure out the trolley system to get us back to our hotel, but all the waiting for public transport left us with very little time for dinner, so we ended up at Subway that night (disappointing considering all the great food in San Diego!).The moral of the story? Go to Coronado, definitely go. But take the bus one way to the island (they run more often) and the ferry the other. And if the opportunity to take the bus around the island presents itself, take it! You may not be so lucky on your way back.