Hey guys! As some of you may have noticed, I missed my regularly scheduled Friday post. I have a good reason, I promise! I was in San Diego, California for the weekend. San Diego is an absolutely amazing place to visit – from the weather, to the water, to the city, there’s so much to offer! I highly recommend taking a trip to San Diego if you are at all interested in going to California. Keep on reading to find out how I spent my time there!
Thursday Night
We arrived around 8PM on Thursday night and immediately checked into our hotel. We stayed at the Omni San Diego Hotel. This hotel was great, given it’s location in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter, which is the downtown area. However, it was a four-star hotel, so it may be pricy. We booked through Priceline Express Deals, so it was only $100 a night. I highly recommend Priceline Express Deals! This is a great way to stay in a fancy hotel while ballin’ on a budget. I do this on almost every vacation I go on.
AirBNB can also be a great option for a place to stay. You can take $35 off your first AirBNB stay with this link!
Speaking of ballin’ on a budget, we flew Frontier Airlines to San Diego. My flight was $106 TOTAL. That’s unheard of for a cross-country flight. I can’t say Frontier was the best flying experience I’ve ever had, but it was definitely not the worst. I would highly recommend it if you are trying to save money and travel while you are young! The only thing that will get ya is the bag charges. My advice? Try packing everything in a small duffel bag that is close to their size requirements. Mine was a little bit bigger but no one ever said anything to me and I didn’t have to pay 😉
After checking into the Omni, we headed out for dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. We were definitely disappointed when we found out this is a chain restaurant. I always like to try new foods and restaurants when I’m on vacation. But guys, it was SO good. If you ever go, get the Mizithra Cheese. They are famous for this dish and it is delicious!
After dinner, we headed back to our hotel and hit the hay. After all, we were a little bit jet lagged.
Friday
First thing Friday morning, we headed to Cowles Mountain. I have never in my life seen views this beautiful. It definitely is a bit of a hike, probably about 4 miles roundtrip. But if you’re up for it, I promise it is worth it. Sitting at the summit, taking in all of San Diego with 360 views was definitely a bucket-list moment.
After hiking Cowles, we headed back to our hotel to freshen up before heading out to my favorite spot, La Jolla. Our first stop in La Jolla was the Taco Stand. This restaurant was rated highly on Trip Advisor and it was definitely amazing and a great spot for authentic Mexican food. It’s crazy how close San Diego is to the border of Mexico. Next time I visit, I want to have dinner in Tijuana since it’s so close!
In La Jolla, you’ll definitely want to walk along the beach and see the tide pools. Another great spot is Children’s Pool Beach, where you can view San Diego’s famous seals! They are so fun to watch because they are super lazy and just roll around (Kind of like me, most days…). This spot is absolutely gorgeous and very California.
Not far from the beach is a cute shopping area. You’ll find adorable boutiques as well as stores we all know and love like lululemon, along with restaurants and cafes. La Jolla is an adorable spot and a great way to spend a day in San Diego.
After visiting La Jolla, we were pretty tuckered out and headed back to the hotel for the night. One thing I will mention is that we used Lyft throughout the trip since we couldn’t rent a car (lol, we’re young). I had never used Lyft before but it is really easy to use. If you’re interested in trying out Lyft, download the app with my code: EMILY19142.
Saturday
First thing Saturday morning, we headed to Broken Yolk Cafe. I ordered the Waffle Sandwich, which was AMAZING. This was another highly rated restaurant (thanks TripAdvisor!) that definitely exceeded my expectations!
Next we headed to the San Diego wall. This was a super fun spot to take photos. We were excited to visit this neighborhood because we heard it was a fun place for young people. However, we found that the neighborhood wasn’t the greatest or safest area. If you go, I would recommend just stopping by the wall and heading out. However, if you have more time than us, Balboa Park and the San Diego Zoo are nearby. Though I didn’t get to go this time, I highly recommend the San Diego Zoo.
After our visit to the San Diego Wall, we walked around the waterfront in the Gaslamp Area and looked in the shops around that area. San Diego’s Gaslamp area has a lot to offer and we took advantage of that!
Next, we headed to the Mission Beach area. We walked around the shopping area which has a huge Brandy Melville (!!). Right next door is an ice cream cookie sandwich shop called the Baked Bear. This place was amazing and such a fun spot to grab dessert!
Our last stop before the airport was Belmont Park. Here, you’ll find a retro amusement park right next to Mission Beach. We thought this place was adorable and so old-school California. We went on a super-rickety rollercoaster there with sweeping views of the beach and surrounding area. Definitely a lot of fun! Taking in one last sunset on the beach afterwards, we sadly had to head to the airport for our red-eye flight.
I loved visiting San Diego and hope to return soon. My trip ended up being relatively inexpensive, around $300 total. I would recommend flying a budget airline like Frontier and using Priceline to save money. We initially found our flights using SkyScanner. I loved sharing my trip to San Diego with you! I hope you are inspired to visit. Please leave any cheap travel tips or destinations in the comments down below, I love hearing about vacations!
