San Diego Travel Forum

We’re going to be heading to Anaheim/San Diego for a week in May… we’ll be going to Disneyland & Sea World… but what I would love is some “insider” info on interesting, unique, adventures things to do…. Id love to know about a few really unique places to eat… also what is distinctive to the area that would be Adventurous… any suggestions???

Hi. We used to live near there and the San Diego Zoo was one of our favorite places to visit. We were members and visited often. It's in Balboa Park and you really should not miss the park. There is enough to do right in the park to keep you busy for several days.

Also fun is Old Town although they've redone it to be more "period" and we never figured out what period they were talking about. It used to be more fun and I'm not sure I'd recommend it any more except it is interesting to see the history of San Diego and they do have costumed docents and some of the cute shops are still there. The old Plaza del Mundo had to move outside the park area but you could ask directions. It's an easy walk.

The Gaslight District is fun, especially at night and there are plenty of restaurants there.

Sea World is fun, but if I could only do one thing, I'd make it the zoo. There are not many better zoos in the world. Both zoo and Sea World would be great!

Enjoy your trip. Also don't forget there's an ocean there . . . 8^)

It brings back warm memories of the area. Hmmm..there are many places I can recommend. I hope you are driving from Anaheim to SD because there are many points of interest along the way.

Along PCH, any of the OC beach areas are good. If you want to stop by the "surfer" capital, Hungtington beach gives you that mainstream beachy/touristy feel; however, along the way-Laguna Beach is more tranquil and you can stroll around there. Laguna Beach also has a bunch of nice shops and artists' galleries. They have an annual Sawdust Art Festival, but its held around June-August, so you'll miss that. Mission San Juan Capistrano is en route to SD and close to the 405 S freeway. It's one of the California missions and gives you a feel for what "old" California was like. See their website: http://www.missionsjc.com/

There are also many other beaches along the road to SD and you may stop at any one of them if you wish. I suggest heading towards the east from there and do a quick stop in one of the local wineries in Temecula.

Of course, don't forget the following in SD: San Diego Wild Animal Park, Sea World, the Historic Old Town, the Gaslamp Quarter, La Jolla Shores, and possibly a quick run in Tijuana?

I can recommend the Casa de Bandini restaurant in Old Town SD (I hope they're still in existence, it has been awhile since I've been there). I can also recommend the Royal Thai Cuisine in the Gaslamp Quarter, but there are also TONS of other restaurants in the area. There are others that I can recommend around La Jolla, but I forgot their names, sorry!

Here are some websites:

Temecula Valley Winegrowers Association: http://www.temeculawines.org/
Old Town: http://www.sandiegohistory.org/links/oldtown.htm
Gaslamp Quarter: http://www.gaslamp.org/
Royal Thai Cuisine in the Gaslamp Quarter: http://www.sdro.com/rthai/
San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau: http://www.sandiego.org/nav/Visitors
Tijuana Border Crossing Information: http://www.tijuana.com/info.html

Goodluck & do enjoy beautiful Southern California!

For a rather unique Sunday Brunch, held at the Crown Room, in the Del Coronado Hotel, you may visit: www://hoteldel.com/dining/crown.cfm. I think I gained 4 1/2 pounds reading the menu. Gary

You can also go to the following web site for things to do,etc: www.whatsonwhen.com. Just some of the things they have listed for May are a Cinco de Mayo Festival, a Zydeco & Blues Music Festival, the San Diego Sicilian Festival, and a Georgia O'Keefe exhibit. Gary

At Disneyland, I used to like to eat at the Blue Bayou. It is a sit-down restaurant with a regular, (not fast food), menu, which is located inside the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. You do need to make reservations early. Gary

Also, when you are at Disneyland, you will be very close to the Los Angeles Angels baseball stadium. You might check to see if they are in town while you are there. The last time I was there, I was able to see the Yankees play. Gary

A general link for restaurants in San Diego: www.sandiegorestaurants.com. One restaurant that I noticed was the Pacifica Del Mar Restaurant. in Del Mar. They are listed on this site & also have their own website: www.pacificadelmar.com. They have a lot of dining specials listed. Gary

Those were wouderful ideas!! i'm more excited already!!! Thank you so very much.

I hope you have a wonderful trip. Gary

Thanks again. Have a happy Easter!

Thank You. I hope yours is a good one as well. gARY

Half-day trip: take a bus or drive to San Ysidro, then take the bus over the border and walk around Tijuana for a few hours.

Forgot to paste the link:
www.tijuana.com/info.html

Hi Dora,

You've gotten a few pretty good suggestions and useful information already but I'd like to chime in too.

First, unfortunately the Casa de Bandini, which was one of my favorites too, is no longer in business at Old Town State Historic Park. It is now called The Cosmopolitian, I think, and not nearly as good as the former restaurant was. In fact all of the fun and festive Bazaar del Mundo section has been replaced by a bland version called the Plaza Del Pasado and is not nearly as fun or festive.

That isn't to say that you wouldn't enjoy a trip to Old Town San Diego and there are many restaurants to choose from besides the historical bits and shopping opportunities.

At Cabrillo National Monument there is an interesting tide pool area before reaching the parking area, up by the light house you will find a very nice hiking path down the east side (viewing the SD Bay) of the Point Loma peninsula, as well as the historic and informative aspects of this first landing place of Rodriguez Cabrillo. I suggest taking a picnic lunch up here.

In La Jolla, the Torrey Pines State Reserve offers day-hiking through the rare Torrey Pines, awesome views and even a beach just below.

A journey up to Julian has been a wonderful "adventure" day-trip for me and my sons (and now grandchildren.) Each time we drive out that way we've found interesting spots to stop at and explore, little one block towns, a Federal Fire Department where we were given an impromptu tour, mine tours, Cuyamaca Lake where fishing and boating are allowed. Then there's Julian, a combination of real mountain life town and sometimes tourist haven.

Besides my San Diego page,I have pages on these places with more suggestions and info, if you are interested.

As for restaurants, it would all depend upon your tastes. Give us a clue and we can make useful suggestions.

If you like boats and history, there are a couple of wonderful places to explore. The USS Midway is located in downtown San Diego at the Navy Pier. This is a Navy aircraft carrier, which was the longest serving carrier in the U.S., serving from 1945 to 1992. Today she is a wonderful museum for anyone interested in ships or planes. You can visit the Hangar Deck, the Second Deck, and the Flight Deck.

The Maritime Museum was established in 1948 and is located at 1492 North Harbor Drive in downtown San Diego along the bay. This museum has one of the finest collections of restored historic ships that I have seen.

risse73, Casa de Bandini is no more. When the State decided to make the Old Town more "authentic," they seem to have decided more on the Gold Rush era than the Spanish Colonial era. Casa de Bandini was required to change their format and dress in Gold Rush era costume and offer food of that era. Now you and I know that would have been exactly what it was but not according to whomever was changing things. Someone else is now running the lovely old restaurant and it's okay but we will never return. We were so disappointed on our last trip. All the fiesta atmosphere is gone and it's like eating in a state park . . . which is exactly what it is. I would still recommend visiting Old Town, but only for a few hours and then moving on. The Bazaar del Mundo has been moved outside the state park area but you can still walk to it.

Perhaps if one had not seen the park before, it would still be fun. However, if you liked the old Spanish Colonial atmosphere, it is not nearly the entertainment it used to be. Casa de Bandini was the worst loss; it was our favorite restaurant in that area.

"Beausoleil" & "lmkluque," thank you so much for this update! I have not been down there in so long that I am totally clueless to these changes. I happen to love the Spanish colonial atmosphere and it makes me sad that they had restructured things in this way. Things will never be the same again for me and I'm not sure if it's worth revisiting that part of town in the future. I will cherish those good 'ol times in my mind & heart. Take Care!

Your question posted twice and I answered on the other post, so be sure you check out those answers as well, but I suggest Catalina Island--a 1 hour ferry ride on the Catalina Express to a really fun place offshore with lots of adventurous things to do---snorkeling, scuba diving, kayaking, boating, interior island jeep tours--check out www.catalina.com. Also, Downtown Disney (outside of the park but still part of the resort) has several fun restaurants like ESPN Zone and The Rainforest Cafe.

>>>When the State decided to make the Old Town more "authentic,"

Oh, it wasn't about the State deciding to make it more "authentic," it was about($$$$$$) an East Coast company out-bid Diane Powers--who owned and ran Bazaar del Mundo. All this was a long drawn out local controversy and most of the SD residents were as sad about the results as you were. I'm lucky because my favorite restaurant was Casa de Pico, which simply moved up to Grossmont Center and is still as much fun, delicious and popular as ever.

Ignoring that "bland, replaced section" of the Park, the rest is still an interesting place to visit, especially if you like history. Honestly, I believe that the State Park "Powers That Be" soon realized the mistake they made by dumping Bazaar del Mundo, because every time I go there I've noticed that they've added more and more COLOR and parts of the Park are beginning to look festive in the style of Bazaar del Mundo.

I would not recommend any of the restaurants at "Old Town San Diego State Historic Park," but there are plenty to choose from just down the street in "Old Town San Diego" proper which is still just as much fun as it was, so I wouldn't suggest skipping it at all.