October 2019 | San Diego, California
(Originally posted on October 29, 2019)
I just got home from a super fun trip to San Diego! We had a wonderful time and I have some great new recs for you all! I’ve decided to start with a slightly simplified outline of what my family did during our long weekend–enjoy and feel free to use this quick itinerary to plan your own trip as well!
↳ Day 1
San Diego Zoo: This world renowned zoo certainly did not disappoint! It is a very big park with a large range of animals to see… even better, the zoo is a nonprofit and funds go toward animal and plant conservation around the world. Because my little sister loves animals, we opted to go on a VIP tour during our visit. We had a super nice and knowledgable guide and got to see koalas & red pandas behind the scenes, as well as feed okapis & giraffes in tour-only feeding zones! If a private tour is not your thing, the day passes include a very informative free bus tour as well!
Sushi Ota: We ate dinner at a small but wonderful sushi restaurant. The food was delicious and I loved the authentic atmosphere!
↳ Day 2
Las Americas Outlet Mall: Not only was this a great mall for a little retail therapy, it was an interesting experience as the outlet is located on the US-Mexico border (the Wall is right next to the parking lot).
In-N-Out: If you’re in California, you’ve gotta have some In-N-Out! Since we don’t have it back home, my family decided to stop for some burgers on the way to our next destination.
Balboa Park: A very popular San Diego spot, Balboa Park is a must-see! The iconic botanical garden is free to enter and is a gorgeous indoor garden. We also walked around the beautiful Japanese Friendship Garden (admission fee is payed at the entrance). The park is so big and we had a great time just exploring a small portion of it!
Sunset Cliffs: The West Coast = beautiful sunsets overlooking the ocean! The Sunset Cliffs are pretty famous for the gorgeous views they offer, especially at sunset! We went about an hour before sunset and explored the cliffs for a little bit before settling on a bench and appreciating the view at sunset–listening to the ocean and watching the sun set was absolutely breathtaking! If you’re there, I recommend taking the Ladera St. Stairs down to the water and exploring before dusk.
Mimmo’s Italian Village: This very cute Italian restaurant was designed to look like the streets of Italy! I loved the ambience and the food was great too : ) Walking around Little Italy was also lovely!
↳ Day 3
La Jolla Cove: If you haven’t seen enough animals at the zoo, don’t worry! La Jolla Cove is the sun bathing spot for many seals and sea lions. My family had a blast listening to them “talk” and run around (if that’s the right word for it, haha). We strolled through the area, watching the sea lions and seals while looking for a spot to eat brunch.
Richard Walker’s Pancake House: Only a fifteen minute walk from the cove, we ate a very big brunch here–it was delicious!
Shopping / Stroll: My family decided to do some shopping at Pacific Beach, but this is where the itinerary is really up to you! After shopping, we drove back to our hotel and walked through the historic Gaslamp Quarter (where we picked up some gelato at Gelato Paradiso)!
And that was the end of our trip :/ We flew out the next morning and landed that night. We made so many great mems on this trip and I think that it was the perfect mini vacation! I hope this itinerary gave you a little travel inspo or helped you plan your own San Diego vacation : )
