Travel Diary: 72 Hours in San Diego

One of my favorite things about living in California is how many options there are for weekend getaways. As much as I love flying somewhere new and exciting, there’s something easy and relaxing about exploring your own backyard. That’s why I was so excited about the opportunity to partner with San Diego Tourism to get out of town and share some of the highlights of this SoCal city. San Diego is about a three hour drive from Los Angeles (with gorgeous coastline views for the second half!), but despite how close the two cities are, they feel completely different. San Diego was a perfect and much needed long weekend escape from the city.

Travel Diary: 72 Hours in San Diego

To be honest, I could easily spend over 72 hours in San Diego. The city has so much to offer, and truly has something for everyone. My boyfriend and I made the drive down with our pup. San Diego definitely gets bonus points for being a super dog friendly city!). Then we got straight to exploring.

What I really loved about the city was how unique every neighborhood is. We explored the Gaslamp Quarter, La Jolla, Pacific Beach, Sunset Cliffs, Little Italy, and more. We stayed in North Park and it was just so charming. It had the best neighborhood vibes and was about a twenty minute drive to everything we wanted to do.

Some of my favorite spots in North Park:

+ Coffee, coffee, coffee.

There was no shortage of good coffee and Instagram-able coffee shops in the neighborhood. Naturally, I was extremely well caffeinated for the duration of my trip. Some of the standouts in the neighborhood: Holsem Coffee (the banana bread cold brew is a MUST, trust me), Communal Coffee (best lattes and happens to share a space with The Native Poppy – THE cutest flower shop), Young Hickory (serves Bird Rock coffee!), and Dark Horse (go for the espresso).

+ Shopping – if you’re not sure where to begin, start on University Ave and walk around, checking out the various vintage shops. Some of my favorite boutiques: Pigment (quite possibly the most Instagram-able store ever), Sage Sisters, and Artelexia.

+ Burritos at Lucha Libre or The Taco Stand

Because you can’t come to San Diego without having a California burrito (or two)! Which brings me to my next point… food.

I love eating my way through a city when I travel – I can’t leave without getting to know the food scene intimately! We couldn’t eat our way through the entire city over the course of a weekend, but we did our best. My favorite brunch spot? The Little Lion Cafe in Point Loma – you can’t go wrong with anything on the menu. Everything is seasonal, local, and fresh!

My favorite dinner we had was at Juniper & Ivy – former Top Chef winner Richard Blais’ restaurant in Little Italy (next door is his famous Crack Shack, which we did not have a chance to try, but bookmarked for next time!). Other Little Italy joints that came highly recommended to us – Craft & Commerce, Kettner Exchange, Herb & Wood, and Cloak & Petal.

And of course, you can’t visit San Diego without mentioning all of the different craft breweries – admittedly one of the most popular weekend activities we saw. We saved the brewery visits for our next trip down since we had our dog with us, and opted instead for outdoor activities that allowed us to bring him along (I know, total dog parents over here). This visit, we opted to spend as much time as possible outside, particularly by the beach.

Dog friendly beaches are hard to come by in LA, so we were excited to bring our favorite boy along with us to Ocean Beach, which happens to be dog friendly and centrally located in the city. Needless to say, he had a blast.

Balboa Park

We also brought him along with us to Balboa Park – usually I try to avoid overly touristy spots, but I could spend all day at Balboa Park. I love visiting all of the different museums and just walking through the grounds, people watching and admiring the architecture. It’s a must visit, especially if you love museums and are looking to add a more cultural aspect to your trip.

Walking tends to be my go-to form of exercise when I go on vacation. To compromise for all of the food we eat! Luckily, San Diego is home to some breathtaking hiking trails. This trip, we spent half a day hiking the different trails at Torrey Pines. It gets busy, particularly on the weekends, but the views are well worth it.

We also headed to Sunset Cliffs to watch the sunset – this is a popular spot for locals and tourists alike. Every night, people come out to watch the sunset along the road or further down the rocky cliffs, and for good reason – the views are stunning. It was the perfect way to end each beautiful day.

* Funded in part with City of San Diego Tourism Marketing District Assessment Funds.

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