Known for it’s beautiful weather, San Diego is the perfect place to visit anytime of the year! We went as an early birthday vacation for me in January and were not disappointed. Traveling in the off season is the best way to experience any place due to low crowds and cheaper flights + lodging. San Diego makes it even better by providing you with sunshine, warm temperatures, and plenty to do. Here are six things I recommend for you to do on your trip to sunny San Diego!

Balboa Park

If you look at any San Diego itinerary, it will likely mention Balboa Park. Simply put, it’s a large park in the middle of a city with tons of free + low cost things to do for everyone. It’s so big, in fact, it has a free tram you can hop on + off to get around if walking is difficult. There’s several parking lots, that are also free, so you can park + explore and not have to worry about moving your car around.

When we adventured through Balboa Park, we definitely underestimated how large it was. We went there last minutely after a failed trip to Coronado Island (I’m sure there are people who love the island, and that’s okay, but it just wasn’t for us) and both wished we would have spent the entire day at Balboa Park instead. We took a stroll through the Japanese Friendship Garden, which is a wonderful way to see Japanese inspired architecture + flora in the middle of San Diego. It does cost $14/person to get in, but it was well worth it.

A couple of free trails I would recommend are Palm Canyon and the Kate O. Sessions Cactus Garden. Both provide you with gorgeous scenery that are both incredibly different from one another. If mother nature decides to give you rain instead of sunshine, no worries! Balboa Park is full of indoor museums that you can visit. We went to the San Diego Air and Space Museum on a rainy day and loved it! If you have any interest in space or aeronautics, this is the place for you!

Hike at Torrey Pines

In the mood to hike along beachside cliffs and be blessed with stunning views? Head over to Torrey Pines State Park and spend the day hiking around one of San Diegos Nature Reserves! You can pay to park in the parking lots or park along Torrey Pines Road for free and walk in.

We did the Broken Hill Trail Loop which is a moderately difficult 3.3 mile loop that boasts scenic views all around. While this trail is family friendly, your four legged family members must stay home. San Diego has many nature reserves, Torrey Pines being one of them; therefore no dogs are allowed. There are a lot of steps on this trail, so if you have any difficulty walking up + down stairs, this may not be the trail for you. But don’t worry! This trail is located right by the beach and has many cliffs you can sit on and enjoy the views.

La Jolla Cove Coastal Walk

One of the largest nature reserves, La Jolla Cove is home to many animals that you can easily see just by walking along the coastal trail. While the seals and sea lions are the most popular, there are also many different species of birds, tons of squirrels (we were so shocked at how many squirrels there were), and if you’re lucky like we were, dolphins! I mean, who needs an aquarium or sea world when you can go see these amazing creatures living in their natural habitat?

While walking along the trail, be sure to make a pit stop at Sunny Jims Sea Cove. Dug out in 1902, take 10 minutes to enjoy a piece of history! Entrance to the cove is located at the Cave Store. Once you’ve bought your tickets, descend down the 144 original steps. Be sure to use the hand rail and watch your head if you’re tall, as the steps are slick + uneven and some of the cove hangs low on the descent. Once in the cove, enjoy watching the ocean from a different point of view. It was an impromptu adventure for us and was a cool experience!

Explore The Gaslamp Quarter

Located in Downtown San Diego, The Gaslamp Quarter also known as Little Italy, provides guests with the perfect nightlife scene. Full of restaurants, bars, cigar lounges, live music performances, comedy shows, and more, it’s the perfect place for a date or night out with friends! We’re big Italian food lovers, so if you’re anything like us then this is the place for you. We ate at several restaurants in this area, two of them being Italian and one being a steak house-all of them being delicious!

Born and Raised is a 1920s themed Michelin Star restaurant that serves up an experience + delicious food! It is on the more expensive side, so if you’re looking for a ~fancy~ night out, this is the place to go! As for Italian, I recommend Barbusa and Bencotto. Both will provide very different atmospheres, but have amazing food. Barbusa is a modern take on Italian food, it was a bit loud in the restaurant with a lively crowd and good music; so if you prefer quieter restaurants, this may not be for you. Bencotto is known for their famous cheese wheel in which you can get your pasta hand spun in. It was quieter than Barbusa and little more upscale as well. You can’t go wrong eating at either of these restaurants though!

Watch The Sunset at Windansea Beach

If you don’t catch a beautiful San Diego sunset then did you really go to San Diego? There are many places that you can set up a place to sit and watch thy sky paint a beautiful picture. Torrey Pines “sunset cliffs” are probably the most popular and can get full pretty quick, but if you head to any of the beaches in La Jolla, I promise you will witness one of the prettiest sunsets. We were walking distance to Windansea Beach from our air bnb, so we went there to enjoy a peaceful evening. With it being early January when we went, the temperatures are a lot cooler at night, so make sure to pack sweatshirts + a wind breaker to stay warm.

Take a Day Trip to Joshua Tree

Located about 3 hours outside of San Diego, Joshua Tree National Park is a perfect place to spend a day or a couple of days exploring! We woke up super early to make the most out of our limited time there and it was 100% worth it. With tons of trails and rocks to climb on, it’s an amazing place to let out your inner child and get some good exercise in!

We started on the Arch Rock Trail, which leads to a cool rock formation shaped like, you guessed it, an arch. We then went full exploration mode and walked around the area, climbed on all the rocks, and just enjoyed being in the middle of the desert with very little cell service. Going in January meant that there were little to no crowds and cooler weather, so be sure to wear layers! This is a park I definitely want to go back and explore some more because it was sosososoSO cool. 10/10 would recommend taking the day to go to Joshua Tree if you’re ever in the area!

San Diego is full of so many things to do! This post just scratches the surface of what is out there. We definitely plan on making another trip back to explore some of the things we didn’t get to do. From Balboa Park to La Jolla Cove, there is something there for everyone to enjoy!

til the next trip,

bre<3

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