Where to travel during the veteran’s day weekend? The answer is San Diego, California. I didn’t know what to expect at first, but at least I know for sure the weather was nicer than San Francisco around this time of the year (San Francisco was raining). This would be my first visiting in the downtown area of San Diego. Here is my travel guide for people who’d prefer traveling without a rental car.
Why San Diego?
- Nice weather during the veteran’s day, not too hot or too cold.
- Military base and many histories told by retirees and veterans.
- A lot of museums in the park.
- Closed to coasts and beaches.
- Accessible public transportation, especially if you stay along the trolley line. Not everything is too spread out unlike Los Angeles.
- Great food and nightlife.
What you need
In addition to your camera, day pack, and a bottle of water, you’ll need the followings:
- Compass card: The fee for the card is $2 and one day pass is $5 (as of 11/15/2017 more info). I’d highly recommend buying one day (or two days) pass. It’s cheaper and provides you with unlimited rides on trolley and MTS buses. The compass card can be purchased at the vending machine at any trolley station or participated stores.
- Comfortable sneakers or running shoes: I can assure you that you’ll be walking a lot, especially if you visited during the veteran’s day weekend.
- San Diego Downtown/Local Map: I’d recommend grab one from the tourist/information center located on Harbor drive. It is really useful and it’s highlighting attractions and landmarks in the downtown area. You can use it in conjunction with Google Maps as well.
Planning Tips:
Tip#1: Buy Tickets Online and in Advance.
It’s cheaper and reduces the time for waiting in line. I bought San Diego Zoo ticket directly from their website. You may also be able to find a discount code online.
Tip#2: Only Buy Go San Diego pass/Build-Your-own-Attraction pass at the retail stores.
Go SanDiego pass is generally a great deal and Build-Your-Own-Attraction pass also comes with a deep discount (20% off). It was operated by SmartDestination. However, I strongly advise NOT to buy Go SanDiego online from their website because their online order system isn’t quite up to a standard (as of 11/11/2017). It was such a huge disappointment seeing a great product lazily integrated with technology. Long story short, I ended up buying each ticket directly online rather than going through SmartDestination.
Skip reading this section below if you didn’t want to read my experience ordering Go San Diego via their website. In short, don’t buy it from them online.
- First, my order confirmation and all of my emails replied from them were directly sent to and labeled as spam because they didn’t properly implement their email authentication (any online business should do this correctly).
- Secondly, my order confirmation email was never sent out right after my credit card was already charged and there was no provided order confirmation number at all on the confirmation page. I initially thought I was getting ripped off. I started contacting their customer support.
- Finally, after twelve hours had passed, I finally received my order confirmation and the order cancellation email from them — Yes, you read it right that they cancelled my order. Both of these emails I had to retrieve from the Spam folder. At least they refunded me correctly.
Where I Stay During the Trip
Since I did not prefer to rent a car, I was staying at the hotel right next to County Center/Little Italy trolley station. It is easy to get around the downtown of San Diego and Balboa park with public transportation (trolley and MTS buses).
If you stayed at any hotel literally right next to the trolley station, I’d recommend requesting a room facing the opposite side of the station if possible. Otherwise, you may need to bring ear plugs with you due to traffic noise and sirens from the trolley or train in the early morning and late night.
Day One: All Things Military
Little Italy Saturday Farmer Market
I started my day exploring the farmer market and grabbed a quick breakfast there. I found a lot of local foods and interesting things at many market stalls. Surprisingly, I found fresh Thai coconut pancakes at one of the market stalls. It is common to see it in Thailand, but not in the United States.
Veteran’s Day Parade
If you’re not visiting during the veteran’s day weekend, you can skip this section.
The starting point of the parade was located at N Harbor drive and Ash street, right next to Waterfront park. Waterfront park is located about 2 blocks west of Little Italy. Therefore, it was a quick walk from the farmer market. I arrived an hour before the parade started at 11am. I was walking around and saw the parade preparation in progress. Additionally, I found it really nice that there were the seating platforms along Harbor drive for everyone who would like to sit and watch the parade.
Once the parade started, I was walking along Harbor drive facing south.
Here is the list of attractions I visited along the way:
USS Midway Museum
The museum itself is basically a military ship/aircraft carrier, which had been commissioned during the gulf war. It is very huge and it would take about 4 hours to explore. I personally think 4 hours may not be enough to completely getting into all details. I’d suggest try to be there early or at least be getting in by 1pm. Also, be prepared for walking and climbing up stairs (a comfortable pair of shoes definitely needed) in the museum. I found many stairs in USS midway museum were quite steep.
The ticket at the gate was $20 (as of 11/11/2017). If you bought online through their website, it’d cost $18. Since USS midway museum is still a military property, your backpack is subject to search.
Upon entering the museum, I picked up a map, an audio tour device, and a headphone at the counter for USS Midway self-guided tour.
Hangar Deck and Air Wing — This is the level I stepped on after entering the museum. There are flight simulations (great for kids — including adults), theatre, replicas, shop, and aircraft machinery/engine on this level.
At the bottom deck (all 4 decks), I learned a lot of how military aircraft carrier generally operates, seeing what it’s like to live and work, and all the interesting details about command center during the wartime. It was a pretty cool and interesting stuff.
Roof deck — When I visited the museum, I went straight to the roof first. The view of San Diego was breathtaking. I definitely took a lot of pictures here. There were many aircrafts and helicopters along with the talks from the veterans about how they launch and land an aircraft on the carrier, which was quite fascinating. Since I was visiting during the veteran’s day weekend, there was an entertainment stage setup on the deck.
The museum was closed at 5pm when I visited (as of 11/11/2017). Before I exited, I heard the announcement that re-admission the next day would be available and could be requested at the counter prior exiting the museum. If I didn’t already have a plan, I may have requested it.
Overall, it is a great museum filled with histories. The best part is it’s the actual aircraft carrier commissioned during the gulf war.
Here is my personal tips:
Tip#1 Eat Before Entering USS Midway Museum
It’d take about 4 hours to explore the museum. I absolutely didn’t eat enough prior entering and my energy was really low right at the end. Bring a snack and water for a backup.
Tip#2 Starting from the Lowest Deck and Explore all the way up to the Roof.
I’d save the roof deck for last if I revisited again. The reason is there is only one stairway from the hangar deck to the roof — at least I couldn’t find additional one. When I finished exploring the roof deck, the line for going down the stairway was really long — perhaps it was due to the veteran’s day weekend and event.
Nearby Attractions and Hidden Gems…
There are more places to visit along Harbor drive and is walkable. Here is some of my favorites…
Kissing Statue
Self-explanatory. The kissing statue is located next to USS midway museum. It’s certainly great for photos.
Seaport Village
I walked down further south from USS midway museum. There is a seaport village along the coast. It’s a shopping, dinning, and entertainment area. I don’t know if it was a tourist trap or not. However, it’s also great for photos due to the architecture and layout of the village.
Tuna Harbor Dockside Market
It’s located just right next to Seaport village. It opens on Saturday in the morning until 1pm. It is an open fish market where you can buy a really fresh tuna directly from local fishermen. If I lived in San Diego downtown area, I’d definitely buy fish from here.
Maritime Museum of San Diego
It’s located just across Waterfront park (Ash street and Harbor drive). If you enjoy historic vessels and ships, this would be one to visit. It also includes the world oldest active ship, Star of India. I did not get inside the museum, only look from the outside. It opens until 9pm (as of 11/11/2017). I’d definitely visit this museum right after USS midway museum if I wasn’t too tired. Therefore, this is added to my list of re-visiting.
Day Two: Animals and Nature (aka Balboa Park)
Balboa park is the main focus of my 2nd day in San Diego. It is an urban cultural park and is a home to more than 17 museums, parks, and attractions. I pick the most famous one: San Diego Zoo and it is only the tip of the iceberg. There are tons of places to visit in Balboa Park.
How to Get to San Diego Zoo
Once I acquired a day pass on the compass pass via the ticket vending machine at the trolley station, here is how to get to San Diego Zoo.
- At CountyCenter/Little Italy trolley station. Take green line trolley (heading to 12th and Imperial).
- Exit at Santa Fe Trolley station, which is one station away from Little Italy). Once exit the trolley, walk through the building and find MTS bus stop.
- Take Bus#215 which would go directly to Balboa park. It would take about 25 minutes.
- Exit at Park Blvd and Zoo Pi. You will see the giant San Diego Zoo sign at the intersection, cross the street to where all the cars park, and keep walking until you see the entrance.
- For coming back from San Diego Zoo to downtown, take bus #215 from the zoo side.
San Diego Zoo
San Diego Zoo is really big and is one of the largest zoo in the world in term of size and the number of different species housed. It is also one of the few zoos in the world that houses and breeds the giant pandas.
Once I entered the zoo, I started with the guided bus tour, which I highly recommend and it’s free (included with a day pass). Basically, I got a tour of the entire zoo for 30 minutes before I started exploring on my own. It gave me a brief layout of the zoo.
Getting Around the Zoo
Kangaroo bus
It is a yellow double-deck bus and operates like an hop-on hop-off bus. It is also free (included with a day pass). It stops at different spots along the route. I found this very helpful in reducing time getting from point A to B.
Skyfari Aerial Tram
This is my favorite. It’s an airborne shortcut to the other end of the zoo ( by Polar Bear Plunge area). I enjoyed the spectacular views and was excited flying over the zoo.
See the animals!!!
There are many animal species housed in the zoo. Here is some of the highlights and my favorites:
Panda Trek!
Giant pandas are located in the middle of the zoo. Therefore, taking Kangaroo bus would take you there the closest. This area was quite narrow and restricted because the giant pandas are territorial and loners by their nature and this area was emulating their habitats. I’d suggest seeing these famous giant pandas first because there’d be a long line of people there and pandas may have already slept. When I visited this area in the late afternoon, and they were all already sleeping and all I could see was Pandas’ butts :D.
Urban Jungle
Feeding Giraffe
While this is not uncommon in many zoos nowadays — I’ve seen it at San Francisco zoo, feeding a giraffe is still a fun activity, especially for children. If you’d like to do this, I’d suggest check the schedule with one of the staffs in Urban Jungle area. The guided bus tour also announced when the feeding time would be scheduled.
Outback
Koala
Koala is one of my favorite animals. It’s fun to watch them if they’re not sleeping and are in an active movement. I’d suggest try visiting this area earlier in the day.
Discovery Outpost
Petting Paddock
The petting paddock is located in the children’s zoo area and allows visitors to closely interact and pet livestock animals (goats and sheeps). It was such a tactile and great interactive experience. If you bring small children, they would need to be supervised and accompanied closely by adults. Don’t forget to wash your hands after you’re in contact with these animals.
Keeper Talks & Entertainment
There are talks and entertainment scheduled throughout the day. The schedule is on the back of the zoo’s map. I didn’t get a chance to see them all since the zoo is really big. Some of them is only scheduled once a day. However, I was able to see one show, which is “wild about animals” at Wegeforth Bowl at 1pm. It was about animals and their trainers. It was very interesting and great for children.
Zoo Tips:
Tip#1 Buy 1-Day Pass Online.
I bought my 1-Day Pass ticket on San Diego Zoo website (choose Print-At-home as a delivery option) and found a discount code online. This pass includes unlimited guided bus tour, Kangaroo bus and Skyfair aerial tram, which I highly recommend.
Tip#2 Animals don’t like heat.
During the guided bus tour, I was informed animals tend to be outside (and visible to people) a lot more when the weather isn’t too hot. Hence, fall and winter are probably the best time to see the animals coming out a lot more.
Tip#3 Be at the zoo Early as possible
In short, the zoo is huge. It’s going to take you the entire day. Additionally, some animals would go to sleep earlier than usual due to the end of a daylight saving time.
Explore Downtown and Food in San Diego
After the end of each day’s activity, I’d start exploring nightlife and food area if my energy wasn’t too drained.
Little Italy
Little Italy is all about foods and desserts. There are many restaurants in this area. I’ve tried an exotic dessert and an Asian fusion restaurants.
iDessert
You wouldn’t be fat from eating a dessert from this place. Why? because the portion is small and quite pricey. That sounds like a joke — but it is true. The restaurant is a self-service kiosk. I ordered through their iPad inside the restaurant, customizing my dessert the way I want, paid, and watched how it was being made. Don’t forget to add extra smoke prior finalizing your order and pay (yes, it costs extra $, but you should try it). Despite the small portion and a little high price, it’s definitely worth it.
Once my order was made, there was smoke coming out of the cup. It looks pretty cool and is great for taking photos and videos as well. I found this dessert to be quite exotic. It was fun to watch and to figure out how to eat. I personally like its look and taste.
Underbelly Ramen
Underbelly Ramen is quite different from other restaurants. It’s an open-space Asian fusion restaurant and bar. I grabbed the menu at the entrance, waited in line, ordered at the counter, picked up the number, and searched for a table to sit. I picked the loft level of the restaurant since I could see the overall layout of the place. There were also seats outside and facing the street if you’d prefer watching a pedestrian’s activity.
I ordered Underbelly Ramen. The service was decent for the most part — it was mostly self-service. I wasn’t disappointed in what I ordered, but it was taking a little bit unusually long (around 35 minutes for just one order) to cook and serve my order at the table. I absolutely did not expect a ramen’s cooking time at a restaurant to be that long. If you’d like to just eat and be done with it within a reasonable amount of waiting time, I’d suggest eating at elsewhere.
There’s a lot more restaurants, bars, and shops in Little Italy. If you have recommendation, please feel free to let me know so I could try out when I revisit San Diego.
After I finished with my dinner, I went for walk and exploration at Gaslamp Quarter district.
Gaslamp Quarter District
Gaslamp quarter district is an urban walkable playground. This area is all about the nightlife. There’s a bunch of restaurants, bars and pubs in this area. I enjoy walking along this street. It is easy to get here with a public transportation (i.e. trolley). Don’t drive here if you have or rent a car.
How to Get to Gaslamp Quarter District
- Take the green line trolley heading toward 12th and Imperial and exit at Gaslamp Quarter District station. Once exit, you wouldn’t miss be the big sign of Gaslamp Quarter.
Night Walking Tips:
In addition to exercise caution when walking at night (i.e. aware of your surrounding, stay on the well lit area, etc), here is a couple more tips:
Tip#1 Stay on 5th Ave.
If you didn’t have a high tolerance of homeless people or did not want to see them at night, stay on 5th Ave and avoid any deviation from it (i.e. going toward east of 5th Ave), especially the street with an increasing number beyond 5.
Tip#2 Take a photo with Gaslamp Quarter Sign
Self-explanatory. Don’t forget. So you can show your friends or family that you were here.
Some hidden gems…
While Gaslamp quarter district is mostly about the nightlife, I found some hidden gems nearby.
Horton Plaza
It’s not really in Gaslamp Quarter district per se, but it is just a couple blocks from it. F St. and 4th Ave. intersection is where Horton plaza is located when I was walking toward north of 5th ave at night.
Balboa Theatre
It’s a historic theatre and is located right next to Horton Plaza. That’s all I know. I may revisit here next time.
Horton Grand Hotel
This building caught my eyes when I was walking passed by. It is an elegant 19th century style hotel. It’s located on 4th Ave and Island Ave.
Petco Park: San Diego Padres
I didn’t have a chance to take a tour inside this ballpark. If I revisited, I’d add this one to my list. It’s located just right next to Gaslamp Quarter sign.
References and Resources I used for planning my trip:
This might be helpful to you when planning a trip.
- How to have a green vacation in San Diego?
- 21 dos and don’ts: San Diego Guide.
- 24 hours in San Diego’s Little Italy.
Overall, it was a fun getaway trip for me personally. It coincides with the veteran’s day weekend, which made it even better. I feel there’s so much more to explore in San Diego. One trip is not enough and I’d definitely re-visit.
Let me know what you think of my two days guide in San Diego, California or if you have suggestion you’d like to add.
