Recommendations for a 2 day trip to San Diego?
 

I am not sure if this is the best place but I wanted recommendations for a 2-day solo trip in san diego.
I was going to stay downtown (not sure where but have marriott/ihg/hyatt points to burn anyway).

I only been to san deigo once as a kid and it was just a day trip (I've lived in southern cali my whole life)

Anything I must see or do when I'm down there?

Some things I've liked doing in/near San Diego:

Balboa Park
Cabrillo National Monument
Torrey Pines State Reserve

What are your interests? Will you have a car?

What activities are you into? I second Balboa Park and Torrey Pines. I'd add Pacific Beach and La Jolla to the list also. If you like to kayak, kayaking to the La Jolla sea caves are nice.

As where to stay downtown, I recommend GH Manchester, nice property and location. It's a CAT-4, so only 15K points a night. The trolley is right outside of the hotel if you're not driving or choose not to drive. Other Hyatt propery in SD is Andaz and it's a nice hotel also. Right at Gaslamp district if you're planning to explore the nightlife. Lots of restaurants and bars.

I will have a car with in and out valet services at the hotel

Moonlight Beach, Encinitas for a long walk on the beach. A stunning piece of coastline and only a short drive from San Diego if you can avoid the rush hour traffic. The nearby towns of Cardiff and Leucadia are lovely too.

We stayed in San Diego for a couple of nights at the end of a work trip (trade show in Anaheim). We stayed in the Gas Lamp district at the Kimpton Solamar (dropped off our rental car at the airport on our way in to town - we needed it in anaheim and Escondido but not in San Diego). Our favorite outing was the USS Midway - we spent an entire morning there (they open at 9?) After, we walked to Ironsides (in Little Italy) for a late lunch - I had a half dozen oysters and octopus a la plancha, possibly the best octopus I've ever had.....

(we started the trip with 2 nights in Laguna Beach, which is why we stayed right in San Diego - we weren't looking for the beach experience)

Use IHG points for Kimpton Solamar. Go to the zoo and Balboa park. Take the ferry over to Coronado and see the Del hotel. Take a tour of Midway. Go to La Jolla

Eat at Bay Park Seafood then have a cocktail next door at Luce!

Also, if you want local authentic Mexican go for Roberto's on the corner of Idaho and El Cajon Blvd. (it's near Balboa park)

I could (and have) spend an entire day in Balboa Park :)

Little known (perhaps little mentioned) fact, there are a bunch of museums there, in including museum of photography. And little one room places where different countries have a "museum" or presence. It took me five visits to find this place :rolleyes:

And for me Coronado Island is a must do with the ferry the way to get there. Once on the island, I walk everywhere, it's not big :)

Complete agree but there is nothing special to eat on Coronado. Nicky Rottens has good burgers and the view isn't bad but it's not a meal worth traveling for. Coronado is perfect for a morning walk and breakfast/ coffee.

I love the Wild Animal Park. You need a car to get there, it's north of the city in Escondido. The Midway ship is right on the wharf near the airport, that's interesting if you like ships. Torrey Pines is a great hiking park and they've got a small educational center. We also like Sea World more than Legoland. There's a nice park near SeaWorld along the beach, which has a good walk or bike trail, also. Go early to any of these places to get an hour or two before it gets crowded. La Jolla (La HOY-yah) is an upscale area to walk and window shop. The Birch Aquarium at Scripps is there. The sea lions or seals hang out on the rock cliffs and you can get some nice sunset pictures there.

When you're based downtown,-There's great shows downtown, Spreckles Theatre, art galleries, live music, etc. You can grab one of the scooters on any street corner (swipe your credit card) and zoom around without a car. We generally eat at the Mexican food places, the smaller the better. Mexican food in San Diego is amazing. The Gaslamp district and Little Italy are fun to explore on foot.

In Coronado, I like walking around the Hotel del Coronado ("The Dell,"), which is free. It's a nice place to have a coffee or dessert. There's neat houses to drive by in that area, too.

North Park and Hillcrest are hip and trendy (gay) districts.

Every Tuesday there is at least one museum in Balboa Park that offers free admission to area residents and Military personnel. You can spend all day in Balboa Park, or several.

The historic Old Town Park is fun. Old Town San Diego SHP

There's a lot to do in our amazing town.

it's making me homesick for San Diego reading that and I've never lived there (my wife has)!

will be there at Christmas so something to look forward to.

Many locals (including me) will still use the old name, but for those trying to find it on a map and online, it was renamed the Safari Park a few years ago.

Ha ha, I completely forgot that!

Also it's worth mentioning that the Birch Aquarium is in the Bank of America "Museums on Us" program that offers free admission one weekend a month for BofA cardholders. I think it's the first weekend of every month. I consider the Birch Aquarium one of the finest, we just love it there, and swing by when it's free for a quick visit.