The essential guide to visiting San Diego

Why you should visit San Diego

Seventy miles of sun-kissed coastline. The San Diego Museum of Art and the San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park. Pop-culture fest Comic-Con. California’s first Catholic mission.

Best time to visit San Diego

Spring: In March and April, golden yarrows, mariposa lilies, and California poppies burst forth in Mission Trails Regional Park. Pink and white blooms star in March’s Cherry Blossom Festival in the Japanese Friendship Garden and Museum.

Summer: Temperatures in the 70s Fahrenheit make summer an ideal time to walk, surf, or sunbathe on local beaches like Torrey Pines and La Jolla Shores. Iconic seasonal events include Comic-Con International downtown and the San Diego Pride Parade, which brings up to 300,000 revelers to Hillcrest.

Autumn: Experience one of the country’s largest Day of the Dead processions (plus live music and food vendors) in Barrio Logan. Snorkel amid the (harmless) leopard sharks in La Jolla in September, the best time to spot the timid creatures.

Winter: From December to March, around 20,000 gray whales migrate from Alaska to Baja California, passing through the deep waters off the San Diego coast. Take a whale-watching cruise from Mission Bay, keeping an eye out for dolphin mega pods. February is Museum Month, with half-price admission to over 40 city showplaces, including the Whaley House Museum in Old Town, the USS Midway Museum in downtown, and the Women’s Museum of California in Balboa Park.

Lay of the land

Coastal neighborhoods: Traveling south, stop at Gliderport for the hang-gliding school in Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. (Tip: Tandem rides offer amazing ocean views.) Avoid tourist-clogged Mission Beach and head instead to the coastal village of La Jolla, set amid pine trees, craggy cliffs, and sparkling tide pools. Visit the recently revamped Museum of Contemporary Art, then catch a Broadway musical at La Jolla Playhouse, founded by actor Gregory Peck in 1945.

Urban neighborhoods: Historic Gaslamp Quarter, with its Victorian-style flickering streetlights, is the city’s nightlife hub. Dance to hip-hop and electronica at Bloom or soak up the views of the bay from Altitude Sky Lounge. Nearby, Little Italy comprises 48 square blocks of outdoor restaurants, patio cafés, and wineries. Stop for a slice at Filippi’s Pizza Grotto (established in 1950) then head five minutes north to the famed Ballast Point Brewery, which has more than 25 beers on tap.

Inland neighborhoods: Historic neighborhoods east of downtown include Old Town, the first European settlement in California, where you can drop by the 19th-century adobe Casa de Estudillo. In nearby Mission Valley, explore California’s first church: the serene, whitewashed Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá. Hillcrest holds gay-friendly bars, restaurants, and boutiques, as well as The Center—the heart of San Diego’s LGTBQ+ community since 1971.

Getting around San Diego

By bus: MTS operates bus routes throughout the city. Plan your trip and buy tickets at the MTS website or on the PRONTO app. Greyhound and Flixbus offer regular daily services to San Diego from all major U.S. cities, including New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

By car: With about 1,800 charging stations across the city, San Diego is one of the most EV-friendly destinations in the U.S. No matter what you drive, parking can be a challenge, so check Parkopedia for nearby lots and parking structures, and use ride-shares when possible.

By train: Amtrak connects San Diego with many U.S. cities. Pacific Surfliner runs north and south along the coast from Oakland to the Downtown San Diego Amtrak Station, with stops at San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles.

By trolley: The bright-red, eco-friendly San Diego trolley crisscrosses through the city, connecting neighborhoods such as downtown, Old Town, and Mission Valley.

Know before you go

Languages: English is the official language, but many people speak Spanish as well.

Wildlife awareness: Stingrays are ubiquitous in the summer months; remember to shuffle your feet through the sand when entering the ocean to warn them you are coming.

LGBTQ+: San Diego has the 7th highest LGBTQ+ population in the U.S. In a 2023 report by financial news website 24/7 Wall St., California was ranked the most queer-friendly state in the country. Just north of Balboa Park, Hillcrest is home to Rich’s, a celebrated gay club, and Hillcrest Brewing Company, which claims to be the world’s first gay brewery.

How to visit San Diego sustainably

Outdoors: San Diego was recently ranked the Greenest City in America. Cycling lanes are abundant; use the regional bike map to navigate. San Diego Natural History Museum offers a new native plant nature trail and a canyoneer-led hiking program with guided walks through desert, beach, or mountain wilderness. 

Shopping: In hip North Park, browse along Main Street for locally made gifts, jewelry, and vintage clothing. For secondhand surfboards, try Bird’s Surf Shed near Mission Bay.

Dining: Visit restaurants under the Farm to Fork banner. Members are committed to ethically sourced food and support local farmers and fishermen. Look for the summer 2024 opening of Michelin star chef Drew Deckman’s Watershed. The North Park restaurant will donate 1 percent of monthly revenue to sustainable farming projects.

What to read and watch

The House of Broken Angels, by Luis Alberto Urrea. This Mexican-American family saga explores issues surrounding immigration, identity, and loss in San Diego and across the border.

Mister Magic, by Kiersten White. The San Diegan horror writer serves up a creepy tale of 1990s child television stars who reunite to solve a cold case.

Veronica Mars, directed by Rob Thomas. San Diego stood in for the fictional Neptune, California, in this beachy noir TV series (and movie) starring Kristen Bell as a hardboiled, soft-hearted teenage sleuth.

For more local literature, visit the San Diego Festival of Books in August.

(For more tips on what to do in San Diego, see our Explorer’s Guide.)