San Diego - Near Beach?

Hi!

We will be staying in San Diego for an extra 3 days and we'd like to stay on the beach - or nearby. Any suggestions? We are going in June and there will 7 of us including a toddler.

Thanks in advance! :)

Renee

Any San Diego experts out there....

thanks again!

Renee

I've been to San Diego several times but have never stayed at the beach. I've stayed downtown at the Sheraton Suites and also at the U.S. Grant (historic hotel). Of course the times before that I had the cheapest room of all because I stayed with family.

If you are looking for a beach hotel, Expedia has an option where you can search areas of San Diego and search beach cities. When you're searching, be aware that La Jolla (while absolutely beautiful) tends to be more expensive and crowded than the rest of San Diego. Also, Coronado is expensive and across the bay from everything else. Mission Bay and Shelter Island would probably be your best bets for a beach hotel that's still close to other family friendly places.

The San Diego area is beautiful. In three extra days, you can visit Sea World, the San Diego Zoo (definitely a must see), and lots of other places. There are several hotels close to SeaWorld, which would also be near the beach.

However, if you are going to rent a car for the three days, you'll have more options. You can stay on Hotel Circle in Mission Valley and be close to both the beaches and the Zoo at Balboa Park.

Also, the cruiseship terminal is downtown, which is easy to walk around in. The Gaslamp District is beautiful.

You might want to visit www.sandiego.org which is the link for their Convention and Vistors Bureau. They have a search function for hotels by area. I recommend looking under Mission Bay and Shelter/Harbour Island for hotels close to the beach.

You'll also find a link on that cite for Attractions. They have a booklet called the San Diego Passport you can purchase which is a great value if you plan on visiting the Zoo and any of the other places on the list (it's not much more than a ticket to the zoo by itself). I used it on my last visit there and it was worth every penny. Just looking at it now, they've also added a discount package that covers the Zoo, the Wild Animal Park, SeaWorld, and LegoLand, which is probably a good deal.

Oh, and as to weather. San Diego has some of the best weather in the country. It usually only rains during the winter. During May and the surrounding months, they have something called May Gray, which is just an afternoon haziness.

Have a great time in San Diego.

I don't know the prices, but on the beach in Mission Bay is a very nice hotel called the Catamarran. Inside bay makes it nice for a toddler. This is fairly close to Sea World, as well.

Thanks so much!

We found a 2 bedroom suite in La Jolla area which looks great!

Thanks again for all your help!

Renee