Anonymous wrote:Op here. Lafayette could work!

A friend from San Diego said it would be worth staying near the beach - La Jolla, Paciifc beach or ocean beach.

These look lovely, but are about 25 mins to zoo.

Any thoughts on:

Ocean Park Inn (pacific beach)

Grande Colonial La Jolla (looks nice, but 30 mins drive and pricey)

Inn by the sea (la Jolla)

Would it be worth staying somewhere like that? Or closer in (La Quinta old town or Lafayette)? What is traffic like?

Thanks!

I'm the pp who recommended the Lafayette. I've been to San Diego a lot recently on family business, and I've stayed everywhere from the Lafayette to a condo in La Jolla to Ocean Beach. I really like La Jolla, but it is a pretty quiet residential town, and isn't the first place I would take a child. I enjoy Ocean Beach, but it is pretty funky, and there are some interesting characters that hang out there. If you're alone with your daughter, you may feel more comfortable in Pacific Beach. For what you want to do, and because of the length of your trip, I would recommend staying in either Pacific Beach or the Lafayette (I think I'd choose based on whether I wanted to spend more time at Balboa Park/Zoo or the beach). I'm really not that impressed with "Old Town" San Diego area.

It's really not that far from Balboa Park to the beach area, and I've made that trip dozens of times and only encountered traffic right at rush hour (which is pretty short) and prime beach time on the weekends. Even then, traffic isn't really bad at all by DC standards. There's a bit of choke point where you get off the freeway for the turns onto the beach roads (near Sea World), but traffic still moves relatively smoothly. If I had an appointment at the beach, I would allow 20 minutes to get there from the Balboa Park area, and I was never late.

Op here. Lafayette could work!

A friend from San Diego said it would be worth staying near the beach - La Jolla, Paciifc beach or ocean beach.

These look lovely, but are about 25 mins to zoo.

Any thoughts on:

Ocean Park Inn (pacific beach)

Grande Colonial La Jolla (looks nice, but 30 mins drive and pricey)

Inn by the sea (la Jolla)

Would it be worth staying somewhere like that? Or closer in (La Quinta old town or Lafayette)? What is traffic like?

Thanks!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thanks for the itinerary ideas! So I’m not worried about getting back from Safari park, I think Children’s museum Fri am sounds fun. (Though I booked on southwest in case we’re having such a good time I add a day!)

I’m thinking zoo Weds; zoo and / or Balboa park OR safari park Thurs, and children’s museum Fri am.

Now I could use help on hotels / neighborhood suggestions. Thanks to pp who suggested the Welk - it’s 45 mins from the zoo, so might be better on a future trip.

Some options I’ve looked at for this trip are Kings Inn, Hampton Inn San Diego / mission Valley, and la Quinta inn Old town. A little further out (as far as I can tell from a nap) a friend recommended Catamaran resort and somewhat more pricey I’m looking at Manchester Grand Hyatt. (But not sure the extra cost is worth it.)

Thanks!

Out of those choices I'd stay at the Catamaran. Much better location - Mission Valley is just a mash of freeways with a mall nearby. Old Town can be fun to walk around but the La Quints overlooks the freeway and is under the flight path for the airport. The Catamaran has a nice pool for kids, is right on Mission Bay and a very short walk to the ocean.

You also might check out the Lafayette. It's not in a super touristy area, but there are a range of restaurants that are walkable and it's not far from Balboa Park. It's an old restored hotel, so it has a "retro" vibe and a really nice outdoor pool area. It's very "old California," which I like.

https://www.google.com/travel/hotels/entity/CgsI9fWe3Nm-_MH2ARAB?ap=SAE&g2lb=4208993%2C4223281%2C4240602%2C4242081%2C4242898%2C4238563%2C4244079%2C4244566&hl=en&gl=us&un=0&q=hotel%20san%20diego%20retro&rp=OAFAAEgC&ictx=1&sa=X&ei=usmCXN2fGKDvj-8P0_i06Ac&hrf=CgUIyAEQACIDVVNEKhYKBwjjDxADGAoSBwjjDxADGAsYASgAkgECIAE&tcfs=EhoaGAoKMjAxOS0wMy0xMBIKMjAxOS0wMy0xMVIA

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thanks for the itinerary ideas! So I’m not worried about getting back from Safari park, I think Children’s museum Fri am sounds fun. (Though I booked on southwest in case we’re having such a good time I add a day!)

I’m thinking zoo Weds; zoo and / or Balboa park OR safari park Thurs, and children’s museum Fri am.

Now I could use help on hotels / neighborhood suggestions. Thanks to pp who suggested the Welk - it’s 45 mins from the zoo, so might be better on a future trip.

Some options I’ve looked at for this trip are Kings Inn, Hampton Inn San Diego / mission Valley, and la Quinta inn Old town. A little further out (as far as I can tell from a nap) a friend recommended Catamaran resort and somewhat more pricey I’m looking at Manchester Grand Hyatt. (But not sure the extra cost is worth it.)

Thanks!

Out of those choices I'd stay at the Catamaran. Much better location - Mission Valley is just a mash of freeways with a mall nearby. Old Town can be fun to walk around but the La Quints overlooks the freeway and is under the flight path for the airport. The Catamaran has a nice pool for kids, is right on Mission Bay and a very short walk to the ocean.

Op here. Thanks for the itinerary ideas! So I’m not worried about getting back from Safari park, I think Children’s museum Fri am sounds fun. (Though I booked on southwest in case we’re having such a good time I add a day!)

I’m thinking zoo Weds; zoo and / or Balboa park OR safari park Thurs, and children’s museum Fri am.

Now I could use help on hotels / neighborhood suggestions. Thanks to pp who suggested the Welk - it’s 45 mins from the zoo, so might be better on a future trip.

Some options I’ve looked at for this trip are Kings Inn, Hampton Inn San Diego / mission Valley, and la Quinta inn Old town. A little further out (as far as I can tell from a nap) a friend recommended Catamaran resort and somewhat more pricey I’m looking at Manchester Grand Hyatt. (But not sure the extra cost is worth it.)

Thanks!

Ps. Pp here. We were totally underwhelmed by LEGO land and our kids love legos.

My 2 cents is:

Arrive Tuesday and do pool in PM

Wed - zoo

Thur - children’s museum in AM and Mission beach in PM (or back to hotel pool, but I love the beach myself)

Fri - animal safari (if you call, perhaps they have a bag check so you can bring luggage and leave straight to airport)

I’d check out the Welk hotel: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g32358-d76882-Reviews-Welk_Resort_San_Diego-Escondido_California.html

In terms of stroller, you know your child the best. For me, my kids were fine w/o strollers for long days of walking quite early on. But we had twins and one only 18 months older and the double stroller plus single (I did not want a triple stroller) was annoying to handle so we encouraged walking - just broke it up with rests and treats.

Anonymous wrote:I'd go to the safari park over the zoo. If you've been the DC zoo, the San Diego zoo isnt' that special and it's VERY expensive.

I would not bring a stroller. I have a 4.5 year old and I wouldn't even think to bring one for her. But I also would plan big morning outings, then lunch and some down time, and then something more low key for that afternoon.

No child wants to walk around the zoo for EIGHT HOURS. That's way too long.

You must not be a fan of zoos. There's no comparison between the San Diego Zoo and the DC Zoo.

OP, you can easily spend the whole day at the San Diego Zoo, but I don't know it I'd do 2 days. Arrive early and wear your walking shoes. If you've never been, it might be best to take a bus tour first to get a sense of the layout and what you want to see and maybe go back to. I've rented a stroller there for a 5-year-old, but make sure you're in shape because there are lots of hills.

I grew up in SD and have been back many, many times so ask any other questions. I know you said she wasn't interested in Legoland, but even my non-Lego playing girls loved it so you might want to reconsider. Six is a great age to go there because it has many more mellow rides for younger kids.

Do the New Children’s Museum. They have a really cool new exhibit called “no rules except”. It is a child dream. Mattresses from floor to wall where the kids can jump off walls and do whatever they want. It’s amazing. The whole museum is awesome. It’s literally 5 minutes from the zoo. Also you need to do Extraordinary Desserts. The one on Union st. You and your daughter will Never forget it.

I'd go to the safari park over the zoo. If you've been the DC zoo, the San Diego zoo isnt' that special and it's VERY expensive.

I would not bring a stroller. I have a 4.5 year old and I wouldn't even think to bring one for her. But I also would plan big morning outings, then lunch and some down time, and then something more low key for that afternoon.

No child wants to walk around the zoo for EIGHT HOURS. That's way too long.

A stroller at age 6? LOL.

Anonymous wrote:Op here, to the poster who was confused about where I live, sorry!

I mentioned we moved from DC because whenever I see posts along the lines of “we live in California...” people feel the need to say this board is for DC only. Especially with travel I don’t know why that matters (and haven’t found a similalry useful option here yet) but there you have it.

We live near San Francisco and my 6 year old and I are traveling to San Diego. We are flying because it’s a long (12 hrs or so) drive.

I have now booked our flights - arrive about 1 pm on a Tues, have Weds and Thurs and lots of Friday (6 pm flight)

I’m holding a cancelable hotel reservation. So, now I welcome hotel recs and continue to welcome “what to do” recs (though the zoo will remain our focus).

Hotel budget is ideally $300 or less per night (some flexibility) and hotel must have a pool. The one I’m holding is closer to $200 a night. I prefer convenient and quiet but only MUSTS are pool and safe area. Thanks!

We stayed in the embassy suites near the Midway battleship. INDOOR pool. Nice free buffet breakfast. Walk to the waterfront. Not fancy off course, but we were there with extended family members/kids.

We are from DC and have visited the SD zoo twice with our kids (including this past summer with a 4 and 6 yo). On the whole stroller thing. We rented one for our 4yo who did use it. BUT please note that you can NOT take the strollers on the sky tram (or whatever they call it) which is really the best way to get from one side of the zoo to the other - and fun for the kids to ride. So if you plan to spend the day there as we did both times - having a stroller means you have to walk everywhere or park the stroller, ride the sky tram and come back for it.

Provided its not too hot, you can easily spend a full day there. We took in some of the animal shows, and everyone had a great time. I've been to at least 5-6 large zoo's and the SD is by far the best IMO. But it is more spread out than say the DC zoo, which we liked.

There are other things to do in SD like tour the Midway aircraft carrier etc but if you are keeping it short I'd allow a full day for the zoo, half for Balboa park, and maybe a little pool time back at the hotel.

Op here, to the poster who was confused about where I live, sorry!

I mentioned we moved from DC because whenever I see posts along the lines of “we live in California...” people feel the need to say this board is for DC only. Especially with travel I don’t know why that matters (and haven’t found a similalry useful option here yet) but there you have it.

We live near San Francisco and my 6 year old and I are traveling to San Diego. We are flying because it’s a long (12 hrs or so) drive.

I have now booked our flights - arrive about 1 pm on a Tues, have Weds and Thurs and lots of Friday (6 pm flight)

I’m holding a cancelable hotel reservation. So, now I welcome hotel recs and continue to welcome “what to do” recs (though the zoo will remain our focus).

Hotel budget is ideally $300 or less per night (some flexibility) and hotel must have a pool. The one I’m holding is closer to $200 a night. I prefer convenient and quiet but only MUSTS are pool and safe area. Thanks!

Jeez, PP, is that really necessary?

Side question - would an 8 year old enjoy these activities in SD?