XP: San Diego mommies (or travelers)

MsNessa · June 2012

We're planning a trip with the DD's (they'll be 2.5 years and 5 months) to San Diego in September. I need recs for kid-friendly things to do and what areas would be good to stay in.

We'll probably go for about a week. I'd like to go to the zoo, DH prefers the safari park or whatever it's called (we don't want to do both). We aren't major beach people (well, I'm not because I burn like crazy) so we'd probably only do the beach as our main activity two days.

Any suggestions for other activities that would be fun for our family? I also have no idea which part of town to stay in.

TIA

JenniferMatos · June 2012

The Safari Park is a lot of walking and its HOT. It's like a fish bowl so not much for breeze and you just bake. The zoo is awesome! Lots of walking again but tons to see. There is a children's museum that is suppose to be neat and the Scripps Aquarium is also worth a visit. Balboa Park has a lot of different museums as well. I'd research ahead of time to see if there are any that you and your family might.

honeybee111 · June 2012

If you want to go to the zoo, you might want to visit the museums(they're all located at Balboa Park). The Ruben H Fleet Science Museum has a toddler area that's fun, and DD enjoys the Natural History Museum as well.

There's also Sea World(about 15 min from zoo). I prefer the zoo and Safari Park over Sea World, though for DD(2.5).

For beaches, I like the ones on Coronado Island and also La Jolla Cove. Mission Bay Park is also nice because there's lots of play structures for kids, picnic areas, and the beach.

For hotels - we've had friends enjoy the Hyatt and Omni(both are downtown near the ocean - about 10 min to Balboa Park). If you don't care about being close to the ocean, there's also tons of hotels farther east in Mission Valley of all prices(about 15 min to the zoo).

Also, I'm assuming you're going to have a car? Public transportation here is not great, so a car is definitely a must.

CMDR513 · June 2012

Carlsbad is really nice to stay and shop. Legoland is also there.

gemmal24 · June 2012

I'll tell you, as active as my two year old is, she gets BOOOORED at the Safari Park. It's too far between the animals, and they are too far away. She absolutely loves the zoo, though.

As far as other recommendations, I'm not sure about where to stay since I live in the east county, far away from the fun stuff. You could always do Seaport Village as a day trip - it's got a lot of fun stuff. The Birch Aquarium is fun, but won't take up a whole day. Good luck!

lawry13 · June 2012

JenniferMatos:
The Safari Park is a lot of walking and its HOT. It's like a fish bowl so not much for breeze and you just bake. The zoo is awesome! Lots of walking again but tons to see. There is a children's museum that is suppose to be neat and the Scripps Aquarium is also worth a visit. Balboa Park has a lot of different museums as well. I'd research ahead of time to see if there are any that you and your family might.

I would suggest this. As far as areas to stay, of you don't want to stay near a beach, I would stay in Mission Valley. Easy freeway access and close to most things.

You could also do a baseball game. They have an area where you can bring blankets and sit on grass (has a climbing structure also). I like Seaport Village too.

MsNessa · July 2012

Thanks ladies! I think we'll definitely go with the zoo over the safari park. I'm getting a few travel books from the library, but it's nice to get some input from other moms.

XP: San Diego mommies (or travelers)

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