United States: 4-day San Diego travel guide

Balboa Park is a great place to start your San Diego vacation. This city has nearly 100 museums, and 17 are located within this park.

This area is considered the heart and jewel of SanDiego; it covers over 2,000 acres… So, you could technically spend the whole day there and not have done the tour!

The famous San Diego Zoo is the main attraction here, home to nearly 4,000 animals. The latter is the best known in the United States and is one of the pioneers in developing open natural areas for wildlife.

The San Diego Zoo is a must-see, especially if you have children. Since it’s so big, you can take a tour bus inside instead of walking!

The stars of the San Diego Zoo used to be pandas, but they were relocated to China a few years ago.

When purchasing tickets, don’t forget to use a credit card with no conversion fees to save on your foreign currency transaction!

Then, my other recommendations would be to stop at the San Diego Air and Space Museum since I’m an AvGeek, the Balboa Park Alcazar Gardens that nod to Seville in Andalusia, and the Comic-Con Museum.

Comic-Con is a significant phenomenon in San Diego; the museum is a good compromise short of attending the event itself.

The various points of interest that are also worthwhile at Balboa Park are:

• San Diego Museum of Art
• San Diego Museum of Man and California Tower
• Botanical Building and Lily PondThe Old Globe Theater
• Spanish Art Village Center
• Japanese Friendship Garden

After a busy morning, head to Old Town San Diego for a quieter time. By public transport, the journey will take you around half an hour.

The old town has colonial architecture, so it’s the perfect place to stroll and dine. The city of San Diego was once part of the territory of Mexico, which explains the solid Mexican influence on many aspects of the local culture today.

TheEmbarcadero is a promenade along San Diego Bay where you can find many seafood restaurants, sea lion tour operators, museums and the international cruise terminal.

The main point of interest at this location is the USS Midway Museum. The USS Midway is an actual aircraft carrier used in several notable conflicts of the 20th century, such as the Vietnam War and the Gulf War.

Several historical planes and helicopters are there; for Top Gun fans, Tom Cruise’s F-14 is there too!

This San Diego museum is a must-see for families with young and old children, AvGeeks, and anyone interested in history; you could spend 5-6 hours here easily.

Afterwards, stroll through Little Italy, which is full of restaurants for your dinner, before taking a ferry to the Coronado Peninsula or driving there for a relaxing afternoon at the beach with the beautiful city of San Diego in the background.

Focus on the Gaslamp district’s electrifying atmosphere; its name comes from the “gas lamp” lights. This corner of San Diego is known for its artisanal markets, stores by day and gastronomy, cafes, bars, terraces and nightlfei.

Indeed, there are many clubs and entertainment such as comedy and music shows.

After a schedule mainly centred on the museums, we turn to a more restful day around La Jolla in the northeast of San Diego.

In La Jolla Cove, you can easily spend a lot of time at the beach with sea lions, doing water activities (surfing, kayaking, diving, etc.). Kids will love swimming with the sea lions all around them!

Then, for golfers, outdoor enthusiasts and hikers, there’s Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. In this park, there is also a glider airport at the Gliderport; even if you’re not up for paragliding, you can sit back and watch people jump off! From this point, you can admire the magnificent view of Black’s Beach.

With a car at your disposal, I recommend a road trip from Black’s Beach to Sunset Cliffs, stopping at all the beaches along the way. My favourite one in San Diego is Mission Beach, with the rides at Belmont Amusement Park and SeaWorld San Diego nearby. Once again, the kids will get a kick out of this.

Sunset at Sunset Cliffs is very popular, so it’s suggested that you get there early to find a place to park; if not, you can always go to the nearby residential streets. Sunset Cliffs are worth a visit if you like to watch the sun fall into the Pacific, leaving beautiful orange streaks in the sky.

To end your stay in San Diego and Baja, California, on a different day, you can take a trip to Tijuana, Mexico. You don’t need a car to get there from San Diego! The blue trolley line goes to the San Ysidro border in 45 minutes, where you can cross on foot. Then, you can jump in a cheap cab to reach the city.

Waiting at the San Ysidro border can be time-consuming as many Mexicans come to San Diego for work daily. However, there are usually short lines for American and Canadian citizens. You can use this site to determine the current waiting time according to your passage mode.

The first spot to visit would be the Mexican market Mercardo Hidalgo. It is the best place in Tijuana to immerse yourself in the culture; you can find local products, typical food counters and many handicrafts.

Afterwards, stroll along Pasaje Rodriguez to admire the street art of Tijuana. Then take a stroll through Malecon, a waterfront promenade with many street food vendors, restaurants, bars and artisans.

Finally, suppose you are not comfortable juggling public transportation and border crossings. In that case, there are several tours you can book on Viator that will take you to Tijuana for a day or half-day from San Diego.

Honestly, I think San Diego does very well on its own unless you are very tight on time. In addition, the attractions are more concentrated than in Los Angeles, for example.

However, Tijuana can be more complex for a day trip, especially with children, so this would be the trip I recommend booking.

With several days in the beautiful city of San Diego, I advise you to identify your points of interest before choosing your accommodation, as this will depend on what you plan to do during your stay.

• Gaslamp: This neighborhood is just south of Balboa Park and is the heart of San Diego. There are plenty of restaurants and bars, and the marina is not too far away for late-night walks.
• La Jolla: People like to spend a little more time on the beach.
• Old Town San Diego: good value for money for hotels and not too far from other points of interest in San Diego.

In San Diego, there are a lot of Marriott Bonvoy hotels. In addition, many are under 35,000 points, making them eligible to use a free night certificate.

By doing a quick search on the Marriott Bonvoy website, I found 24 properties in San Diego priced under 35,000 points and 26 hotels between 35,000 and 40,000 points!

If you have several days to spend in San Diego, I recommend staying in the vicinity of Balboa Park, especially if you have children; it is a relatively central place where numerous museums can occupy young and old!

Otherwise, another area I like is San DiegoOld Town, where the Fairfield Inn & Suites San Diego Old Town is a good use of the certificates offered by the Marriott Bonvoy^® American Express^®* Card and the Marriott Bonvoy^® Corporate American Express^®* Card.

Between the two of you, you could each take these cards and accumulate four free nights for a total of $540 in contributions (2 cards with fees of $120 each and two cards of $150)! Then you can top it off with points if the night you want is more expensive. In the end, Marriott Bonvoy points are a great strategy to save significantly for a stay in San Diego!

Then these credit cards also offer very generous welcome bonuses!

The city of Tijuana, Mexico, is a stone’s throw from San Diego. Although a day trip can be made, staying at least one night is preferable to get a good feel for the place. Prices are more than affordable in this quasi-suburb of San Diego.

A good alternative (or complement) to the Marriott Bonvoy program is Best Western; there are many Best Western hotels in San Diego, and the prices are relatively affordable, although they are located a bit further from the center.

However, for those new to the world of points and credit cards, the Mastercard^MD Best Western Rewards^MD Credit Card is one of the easiest to have; it has no annual fee and gives you 20,000 Best Western points on your first purchase!

So it’s quick and easy to earn enough points for a free night’s stay in San Diego. With two people, that’s enough points to stay for 2 nights! So why not?