Confirmations for flights and your San Diego resort have each hit your inbox. That’s a aid, for positive. However, you continue to probably have some San Diego trip selections that have to be made earlier than you depart.
The objective of this publish is to deal with what it’s essential take into consideration subsequent. It’s for individuals who come to us after they’ve booked flights or a resort or each. I’ve quite a bit to say and this record is predicated on the questions that individuals e-mail in.
If You Don’t Yet Have Flights or Hotels
1. Protect Your Trip
My mantra for 2025 is that everybody must examine their journey insurance coverage protection. This begins along with your bank cards. And in case you have protection in your bank cards, make sure that to make use of that bank card for related bookings.
However, you’ll discover that bank card protection may be restricted and that you simply may must complement it. If you’ve got a non-refundable flight or resort reserving that you simply’d like to guard, the earlier you purchase journey insurance coverage after buying your journey, generally the cheaper it’s.
While it appears pointless to buy journey insurance coverage in case you have a versatile resort cancelation, mom nature could produce other plans. We needed to get exceptions for lots of people who had been inside their cancelation home windows and a few massive lodges had been surprisingly tough to get this to occur.
- Hurricanes got here quick and livid and we needed to unwind numerous resort stays within the Caribbean. Bad climate can have a domino impact on the airways.
- This week in San Diego was extraordinarily foggy to the place planes had been diverted and couldn’t land. Hotel stays had been impacted.
- You or your children may get sick and develop into unable to journey (this occurs quite a bit).
- Life occurs and you’ll’t journey.
2. Figure Out How You’ll Get Around San Diego
After arriving by automobile, prepare, or aircraft, take into account whether or not you’ll depend on a rental automobile, black automobile providers, or rideshare apps. People do all three, so which you select is dependent upon your itinerary and price range.
Most folks lease automobiles. When factoring in price, do not forget that most San Diego lodges cost for parking, which may be steep even at downtown price range lodges (avenue parking is sort of by no means an alternate).
A number of locations supply free parking as a part of the resort payment (Bahia Resort Hotel, La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, and Four Seasons Aviara come to thoughts) however anticipate to pay between $25-70/night time to park in a resort.
About Public Transportation in San Diego
3. Plan Your Airport Transfer
This ties into the above, in fact. Many lodges can organize airport transportation for you. A black automobile service or Uber Black can choose you up on the curb at San Diego airport.
Black automobile providers will normally offer you a alternative. They can park and are available to fulfill you at baggage declare. Or, they will wait within the cellphone car parking zone. After you accumulate your luggage, you’ll go to the curb and have a look at the inexperienced zone signal. Call and textual content them with the letter on the inexperienced zone signal.
Tip: If you’re flying American or Alaska like I do, the zones exterior of your baggage declare are O or P.
4. Research What You’ll Put on Your Itinerary
I’d first mock up a tentative to-do record. If you want concepts, we’ve an enormous aggregation of issues to do in San Diego based mostly on price range, curiosity, and neighborhood that will help you analysis.
Keep in thoughts that our county is about 70 miles lengthy and a bit wider than that. There’s site visitors generally so that you’ll need to attempt to lump actions into the a part of city you’ll be in fairly than zig zag.
Don’t overschedule. Leave room to glide. We are a relaxed city. You could not really feel like leaving the seashore.
The motive why I say tentative is due to #5 under.
See additionally: Top Family-Friendly San Diego Activities
5. Decide Whether You’ll Buy a Sightseeing Pass or Individual Tickets
There is totally NO NEED to pay gate pricing at our main San Diego sights. You’ll must crunch some numbers to determine whether or not to avoid wasting extra with a sightseeing cross or low cost tickets to particular person parks.
I work with distributors round city to offer unique financial savings on tickets however I actually imagine that the way you save is dependent upon what you need to do. There are three sightseeing passes to select from (for my part):
- Go City San Diego
- San Diego CityPass (solely is smart if you happen to’re going to LEGOLAND California and/or SeaWorld San Diego)
- Balboa Park Explorer Pass (for the Balboa Park museums solely)
See additionally: Go City San Diego or San Diego CityPASS — Which to Choose
If you do go along with a sightseeing cross, this will alter your itinerary a little bit as a result of chances are you’ll select to see included sights that you simply won’t have in any other case thought-about.
See additionally: Our List of San Diego Tickets and Discounts
6. Make Reservations
A handful of sights require timed tickets, like LEGOLAND California. If you bought tickets via us be sure you have a reservation. If you purchased via LEGOLAND, then you definitely most likely have a date particular tickets.
The different reservations I’d make are for a few of our greater finish eating places like those with Michelin stars equivalent to Addison. Or, something that’s waterfront just like the Marine Room.
You’ll additionally want reservations for sightseeing excursions like whale watching or harbour cruises.
7. Plan For What You’ll Need to Bring
I’ve written a information about what to pack for San Diego. The most vital tip is at all times to pack layers and solar safety. You can get sunburned within the winter right here, belief me.
Life is usually numerous athlesiure until you intend to go clubbing or to a nicer restaurant.
8. Review and Organize Your Travel Documents and Memberships
If you’re arriving from abroad, your passport must be legitimate for six months after your journey.
Another FAQ is about varied journey packages chances are you’ll or could not belong to that you simply may want logins or playing cards to entry (that’s if you happen to’re not app savvy).
- Priority Pass: This will get you into the Aspire Lougne (at all times busy don’t plan on it) and Chase Sapphire Lounge
- CLEAR: We do have CLEAR in Terminal 2. I’m a member and like it. However, Terminal 2 has two “wings” for lack of a greater strategy to put it. CLEAR is situated over the place you examine in for Delta. If you fly American or Alaska chances are you’ll need to simply courageous TSA Precheck to keep away from a protracted stroll to your gate.
- TSA Precheck: Yes, we’ve it in all terminals.
- American Express Lounge Access: Aspire Lounge
- American Airlines Admirals Club: Aspire Lounge
Aspire Lounge provides precedence to Admirals Club members above AMEX so know that if it’s busy.
9. Download Helpful Apps
Here are some apps that may assist make your keep simpler. Search for them in your related app retailer.
- Uber or Lyft
- Waze: To discover out what the actual site visitors scenario is.
- Circuit: Some locations like Pacific Beach, Downtown, Oceanside, National City, Carlsbad, Chula Vista, and Coronado run low price Circuit shuttles which might be actually nice.
- Pronto: This is a reloadable fare card for public transportation.
- San Diego Zoo and Safari Park each have apps
- SeaWorld San Diego
- LEGOLAND California
- Balboa Park
- Opentable for restaurant reservations
- Your resort app: Hilton, Hyatt, Four Seasons (that is one of the best app)
- SpotHero: Disclaimer that I haven’t personally used it however folks inform me it’s an effective way to seek out parking for occasions and busy days close to the seashore and downtown. I’ve downloaded it and might see why it’s helpful.
10. Double or Triple Check Your Confirmations
I do get frantic emails from vacationers generally who booked the incorrect dates or didn’t notice their resort was in Oceanside once they thought it was in downtown. Before you go, double examine all the things particularly the placement of the place you reserved relative to your itinerary.
Have questions? Let me know.