I know there are a couple of threads about San Diego already, and I will review them. I am actually heading there for a conference tomorrow, but we’ve also just booked 5 nights to head there from Dec 8-13. Anything special I should know about going in December? We plan to stay at Worldmark San Diego Balboa Park, and we are hoping to do without a car. (Parking is $30 a day). I hope this is a good time to go? I’m guessing there may be some fun holiday things to see?
Thanks for any recommendations.
Take a light jacket with you for enjoying San Diego evenings. You do need a car to get around in San Diego whether by rental or Lyft/Uber services. Balboa Park has lots of things to offer: museums, botanical garden, the Old Globe, SD Zoo, etc. The Seaport Village (adjacent to SD Bay) and the Old Town are fun places to visit. Then, there are the beaches: La Jolla, Coronado (be sure to visit the Hotel del Coronado), Torrey Pines, Mission Beach, etc. Again, you do need a car ride from one place to another. SD isn’t a great for sightseeing via public transportations. Stay away from Tijuana.
@1214mom - some things we like to do are the boat parade of lights which you would be able to see the night of the 8th. We have a friend with a boat so we watch it on the bay, but you can watch it all along the waterfront. The Hotel Del is decorated nice for the holidays. Check to see when the nighttime zoo Jungle Bells starts. It’s fun to go after dark and many times you see animals that are usually asleep during the day.
Little Italy has a lot of good places to eat or grab a drink. There are a lot of breweries around town if you like beer. Our friend’s brewery is called Eppig and they have a great space in Point Loma to sit outside and have a beer and watch the sunset. A good breakfast place downtown is Breakfast Republic.
The weather could be chilly at night (even dipping into the 40’s) and possibly a bit of rain, but you can check the forecast before you come for a better idea. Your hotel’s location will involve Uber/Lyft to get around; not really an area to stroll around.
Jungle Bells at the zoo doesn’t start until December 13.
Here’s some links of holiday activities during your visit:
This is best with a car -https://www.sdbgarden.org/botanicwonderland.htm
https://libertystation.com/events/salute-the-season
https://hoteldel.com/events/holiday-festival/
The Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park usually has lights but the info isn’t up yet. The park in general will have lights and decorations up.
There are some Nutcracker ballets, and family holiday shows. Perhaps your concierge at the conference hotel this week can help you with specifics, especially if you’re interested in tickets.
I debated about canceling because it’s the rainy season, and it won’t be that warm, but we have timeshare time we need to use up, and it will still be nice to get away. We are going Sunday through Friday which is kind of odd, but actually works well because of various festivities.
I really want to bike while we are there. It looks like there are some nice long rides we can do. I’m hopeful we can go from our place by Balboa park to LaJolla and/or Cabrillo monument. We are fine with riding up to 50 miles or so a day, as long as there aren’t too many strenuous hills. It looks like riding to or on Coronado will also be fun, and there’s a long ride along the bay.
I love biking on Coronado because it’s relatively flat and very scenic. Going to La Jolla would involve some biking on streets rather than bike trails, other than going along Mission and Pacific Beach boardwalks. Here are some good rides:
https://www.sandiego.org/articles/biking/bike-route-san-diego-bay.aspx
This is the whole circle bay route but I would suggest just going down the Silver Strand as far as you like and turning around. http://coronadovisitorcenter.com/static/media/uploads/PDFS/walkingjoggingmap_color_041012.pdf
https://www.traillink.com/trail/mission-bay-bike-path/
Biking to Cabrillo would involve some uphills: . http://www.thebikerevolution.com/where-to-ride/road-bike-rides/cabrillo-national-monument/
Thanks @Marilyn! I have gone through old threads and come up with a good list of things to do. I head off to SD today, for a conference, but we only have part of tomorrow and then evenings to do anything “fun.”
But in December it will be all vacation.
We were in SD for a bowl game in Jan this year so can’t say much about the things before Christmas. But we got around on buses just fine. And rented the electric scooter BYRD things and rode around just to ride around and they were lots of fun. We also rented bikes and rode to Coronado and I recommend that a lot. Just outside the city, if you like to hike, was Torrey Pines reserve, which we took the bus to, and it was really a nice day for a hike. We needed a jacket, it didn’t rain, and I loved it. Have a great time!
DH and I grew up in the San Diego area and still have family there. We LOVE the beaches in December. We usually go the week between Christmas and New Years. The hotels are cheaper and the beaches are uncrowded and beautiful for beachcombing and just relaxing. Less for swimming! You do need a sweater. I think we’ve only had rain once.
I’m not a biker, but I’d think that’s better on the coast. It’s pretty hilly inland.
It was a little chillier than I expected when my sons and I saw the Longhorns play in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego one year, but the boys still ran into the ocean! It was warmer than some summer days in Maine. 
The rainy season and cooler temperature are a matter of perspective. San Diego averages 1.5 inches of rain in December. That’s not what most people would call “rainy”, but it’s rainier than the summer. Sometimes there is no rain throughout the entire summer. Similarly the average high in December is 66F. That’s not what most people would consider a cool winter day, but it’s cooler than the summer months. December in SD will most likely be a pleasant change in weather from your home area. It feels odd talking about rain and cold weather today. In my area of coastal NC, it is currently sunny with temperatures in the 80s.
You’re 6 minutes walk away from the trolley line which will take you to a few visitor destinations. The trolley line isn’t particularly fast, but goes to a lot of places. Buses, a lot of them too especially in the Balboa Park area. But some places like UCSD / La Jolla and Point Loma you’re going to have to resort to Uber/Lyft.
If you are close to the trolley then you could get to Little Italy, the Gaslamp and Old Town. We will have the trolley up my way (I’m in La Jolla near UCSD) in 2021. H and I just returned from an afternoon hike at Torrey Pines. It’s a great place especially during the week when there aren’t many people there.
We really enjoyed the Water Grill bar area and Rustic Root rooftop restaurant one evening in the Gaslamp area. Water Grill looked great to eat at, too. But we wanted to hit 2 places. Both amazing places. I enjoyed visiting Old Town afternoon. You said you already have researched things to do. You’ll have a great time.
It rained multiple days of my business trip, so I’m hoping I “paid my dues” and it doesn’t rain when we are there in December. I was able to “scope things out” a little, and I’m looking forward to getting away. I think we will be fine without a car, but we may choose to rent one for a couple of days. I am considering buying some of the Lyft discounted coupons or whatever they are at Costco. I think you can get some discounts when you first sign up for UBer, etc., so my husband and/or I may sign up right before we go.
@1214mom - you just happened to be in San Diego when we got our first rain in almost 200 days. Good idea about the Costco Lyft coupons.
My daughter lives in San Diego WITHOUT a car. I just visited for a week and we took buses. You can text the buses to find out when they are coming and many stops have an electronic board with times. It is $2.50, $1.25 for seniors for each ride.
I love Balboa Park and there are lots of gardens and museums. There is an area where artists sell their work. Downtown is fun to walk around, including Little Italy and Bankers Hill (on the way from the park to downtown). Coronado is a must. Barrio Logan is interesting. La Jolla, Pacific Beach, Del Mar.
We get pizza in University Heights, salads downtown and sorbetto in La Jolla every visit. All by bus.
@compmom - does your D live in a walkable area? We have busses in our area since we are near UCSD and in 2 years the trolley will be within walking distance for us. But San Diego has many areas that are not serviced by the busses or trolley. The city is pushing for high density housing along the new trolley line.
She lives downtown. PM’ed you.
You’ll be in town just in time to see the new platypus exhibit that recently opened at the San Diego Zoo - the only platypuses on display anywhere in the world outside of Australia:
https://www.kpbs.org/news/2019/nov/22/platypus-display-san-diego/