Balboa Park / San Diego Zoo - Balboa Park is the Jewel of our city and a must see to any visitor. To

I was born, raised and have spent the majority of my life in San Diego. I've decided to share some places and activities us locals enjoy and that you should experience when you come to San Diego. Of course I'm only one person and we all have various interests but some things cheap student travel insurance about our city are universal. I'm not in the hospitality business so all this information is non bias, I don't get any part of any money you spend at these places.
Southern California is made up of many small cities that run into each other. We really don't think of places as "towns" except some of the out lying very small communities. So San Diego has "areas", not necessary official "cities". For instance " Hillcrest " (our gay friendly part of town) is a neighborhood with in San Diego City. While Del Mar (famous for the Del Mar horse race track and where we hold our county fair) is an actual city of it's own. Within San Diego City you'll find lots of neighborhoods or areas. Us locals abbreviate some of the beach areas, as: PB - Pacific cheap student travel insurance Beach, OB - Ocean Beach, IB - Imperial Beach. For some reason nobody ever abbreviated Mission Beach, cheap student travel insurance home of " Belmont Park " where you'll find the Giant Dipper one of the older roller coasters on the west coast. By the way Belmont Park is pay per ride so you can visit it for free.
San Diego really grew up during World War II as a military installation. Much of the industry from that point up until the early 90's centered around military project development. That makes since as San Diego is home to the West coast navel fleet. You should definitely take time to go on the U.S.S Midway aircraft carrier tour while you're here. You should also visit the Reuben H. Fleet Science center, a tribute to the pioneer of San Diego aviation history and the home of the very first OMNIMAX dome theater which is located in Balboa Park , named after Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa. It will give you an eye into the military significance in San Diego. Other than military we have a large bio-medical development industry cheap student travel insurance here and of course hospitality.
There are lots of places to stay but as a tourist I would want to be one of three locations, either "Mission Valley" area where a large group of motels and hotels are known as " Hotel Circle " or in an area known as " The Gaslamp " in the downtown metro area or if beach activity will be a big part of your stay, one of the beach hotels ( Bahia or C atamaran as you don't need a car if you stay at the beach) or rent a home on the beach.
Hotel Circle - is very centrally located, if you have a rental car this is a good home base it's 10 minutes cheap student travel insurance to anyplace practically. There is also lite rail which we call the " Trolley " that can get you downtown from this area but it's a good 20 minute walk to that station located at " Fashion Valley Mall ". Fashion Valley mall is by far the best and newest mall in San Diego. It's our high end mall with the more expensive stores. For bargain shopping on clothes cheap student travel insurance go to any one of many " Ross " locations.
The Gaslamp - This is San Diego's cheap student travel insurance largest shopping and entertainment district. In the 1980's it was full of homeless cheap student travel insurance people, drunk sailors and porn shops. Today it's a model revitalization district to the rest of the county. We have a baseball stadium where you can see The Padres play during baseball season, several theaters to see a show, a comedy club , a sing along piano bar , a huge shopping cheap student travel insurance center named after Alonzo Horton who by forced moved the city center to it's current location from " Old Town " where the Whaley family had established a the first city center. There are more restaurants than you can eat at during your trip here. Everything is a bit more pricey in the Gaslamp but us locals do go their all the time so by no means is it a tourist trap. It's quality. I highly suggest you dig deep into the reviews on Yelp for anyplace you plan to eat because not all are great, some do try and take advantage cheap student travel insurance of tourists.
Beach Areas - We have lots of beaches, the two most famous are La Jolla mentioned in the beach boys song "Surfin USA" and Coronado, location of the famous Hotel Del Coronado . If you choose to stay at either location you will be isolated without transportation. If you're idea of a vacation is planting at a hotel pool then these are very nice places to do that and it won't matter much.
Julian - Is an old mining town located in the local San Diego mountains. It's a locals cheap student travel insurance favorite for their famous Apple pies. In early Oct. they do an Apple festival worth checking out. Us locals aren't used to snow and so Julian gets snow in the winter and we like to come up for the "winter small town experience."
Borrego Dessert - One of the things about San Diego that not a lot of other places offer is Beach, Mountains and Desert all within a hours drive. Borrego State Park is a desert perserve. If you like looking at desert and wildlife then there's plenty of it to see here. A day trip would consist of driving up to Julian via the route through the city of Poway, then taking banner grade down into the desert, taking S2 south through Borrego, then taking I-8 freeway back into San Diego, stopping at Veijas Indian Casino for lunch or dinner. Camping in the desert does offer spectacular night views of the sky as well and there are lots of sanctioned camp grounds to enjoy! Bring plenty of water in the summer when its hot.
Old Town - Old Town San Diego is the birthplace of San Diego. It's a fun place to visit, little bit touristy. A lot of the official Old Town restaurants are run by an East Coast Operator so the food isn't really too authentic by locals standards. Some of the others really skimp on food quality since most locals don't eat their and prices are higher. See Mexican Food below. The one restaurant that I like the most and is independent of the "old town" operator is called La Pinata on the edge of old town. That's cheap student travel insurance the spot I'd take you too for the Old Town food Experience. While in Old town you should tour the Whaley House as it's history is fascinating. This part of town is accessible via the Trolley so if you're staying downtown you can hop on the Trolley and be there in 15 minutes.
Balboa Park / San Diego Zoo - Balboa Park is the Jewel of our city and a must see to any visitor. To learn more about the parks history click here . Also the San Diego Historical Society Museum is located in Balboa park and has many interesting photos of San Diego over the years. There are lots of great spots to picnic and relax on large grass fields. A great place to get a sandwich is on the west side of the park near 6th avenue. " The Market Place Deli " is very close to the west side of the park (walking distance to the grass) and the yelp ratings speak for themselves.
cheap student travel insurance Mission Bay / SeaWorld - In the late 1950's the city of San Diego started a project to dredge cheap student travel insurance out swampy marshlands and create a recreational water ways surrounded by parks. One of the flagship parts of the project was to have a marine life park. In 1964, the very first (of at one time four, now three) SeaWorld Marine life park opened. SeaWorld has grown up a lot recently after going through several ownership cheap student travel insurance changes during the recession. It now features a magnetic launch roller coaster and classic rides such as Shipwreck rapids water rafting ride, Sky buckets, the huge Blue Sky tower ride (visible from all of Mission bay, pacific beach, old town , Wild Arctic simulator ride, Journey to Atlantis Boat/Coaster ride a 4D theater and tons of animal exhibits and shows. In summer months they put on a fireworks show every night and it's easy to find many spots outside of the park to watch, Fiesta Island cheap student travel insurance being one of the best. A side from Sea World, Mission Bay is a great place for picnic's and BBQs in the summer. You can rent wave runners, kayaks, go scuba diving, sail boats, paddle boats, bicycles and more. There are many many parks with playgrounds for little kids featuring picnic tables, cheap student travel insurance BBQs, grass and shade structures. If you like to camp there is a campground right on the bay that can be a great family destination called Campland on the Bay .
Blacks Beach - Is San Diego's only clothing optional beach . It's not officially a nude beach and can be a busy place in the summer. Parents should be ready to explain if the take their family for a walk south of Torrey pines beach or North of La Jolla Shores.
Pacific Beach - College aged mecca, lots of bars for younger adults, tons of younger people make this place home. This is the place a younger group of guys would go to meet girls. Most people who socialize in this area are 21 to 25, older than that and people tend to party in the gaslamp. Pacific beach is ideal for playing on the beach. This type of fun streaches all the way south to Mission cheap student travel insurance Beach area. Garnet Avenue is a two mile long stretch of shopping, bars and nightclubs and the center of nightlife in Pacific Beach.
Mission Beach - Little bit dirtier than Pacific beach, less shopping, cheap student travel insurance no nightclubs and a few bars. Most of the nightlife in this area centers around house parties and a few bars for younger adults. One stand out for those looking to party is The Wave House at Belmont Park which books DJs and offers a party atmosphere. However it's more of a daytime event.
Ocean Beach - Very locals cheap student travel insurance area, strong liberal community spirit reminiscent of the 60's hippie movement, Ocean Beach has a small strip of shops, most famous is the head shop " The Black ". This area reminds me of the vibe you get at Haight Ashbury St. in San Francisco but with beach bums thrown in! The OB hostel is a popular spot for younger cheap student travel insurance travelers during the summer.
Coronado - Upscale shopping, affluent area, home of Hotel Del, very isolated from everything else as it's on a peninsula connected by a bridge to the city. Locals refer to it as Coronado Island even though it's not an island.
Imperial Beach - Not thought of as a tourist area at all, it's mostly a more economic option for beach living, it's an older community