Thursday, January 23, 2025

You’ve got Booked A San Diego Trip – Now What?


Confirmations for flights and your San Diego lodge have each hit your inbox. That’s a aid, for certain. Nonetheless, you continue to probably have some San Diego trip selections that must be made earlier than you depart.

The aim of this publish is to handle what you’ll want to take into consideration subsequent. It’s for individuals who come to us after they’ve booked flights or a lodge or each. I’ve lots to say and this checklist is predicated on the questions that folks e mail in.

If You Don’t But Have Flights or Inns

  • For those who don’t but have flights, you’ll be able to search or create alerts on Kayak for finest costs. Individuals typically ask me when the the perfect time to purchase flights is and I don’t have reply for that as a result of it’s practically unimaginable to gauge. Shopping for early is mostly higher.
  • For those who don’t have a lodge, we may also help. I’ve written many posts about San Diego lodges, and we have now reserving instruments you should use.

1. Shield Your Journey

My mantra for 2025 is that everybody must examine their journey insurance coverage protection. This begins along with your bank cards. And if in case you have protection in your bank cards, be certain to make use of that bank card for related bookings.

Nonetheless, you’ll discover that bank card protection might be restricted and that you simply may have to complement it. You probably have a non-refundable flight or lodge reserving that you simply’d like to guard, the earlier you purchase journey insurance coverage after buying your journey, typically the cheaper it’s. 

Whereas it appears pointless to buy journey insurance coverage if in case you have a versatile lodge cancelation, mom nature might 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 troublesome to get this to occur.

  • Hurricanes got here quick and livid and we needed to unwind numerous lodge stays within the Caribbean. Dangerous 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. Lodge stays had been impacted.
  • You or your children may get sick and turn into unable to journey (this occurs lots).
  • Life occurs and you’ll’t journey.

2. Determine Out How You’ll Get Round San Diego

After arriving by automobile, prepare, or airplane, take into account whether or not you’ll depend on a rental automobile, black automobile providers, or rideshare apps. Individuals do all three, so which you select is determined by your itinerary and finances.

Most individuals lease vehicles. When factoring in value, do not forget that most San Diego lodges cost for parking, which might be steep even at downtown finances lodges (road parking is sort of by no means an alternate).

A number of locations provide free parking as a part of the resort price (Bahia Resort Lodge, La Jolla Seaside and Tennis Membership, and 4 Seasons Aviara come to thoughts) however count on to pay between $25-70/night time to park in a lodge.

About Public Transportation in San Diego

  • Sure, we have now public transportation however you’ll be able to’t completely depend on it to get to all of the vacationer areas.
  • Examine the MTS journey planner to see how possible it’s for you.
  • It’s cheap and nice when you should use it however I’d nonetheless finances slightly for the occasional Uber.

3. Plan Your Airport Switch

This ties into the above, in fact. Many lodges can prepare airport transportation for you. A black automobile service or Uber Black can decide you up on the curb at San Diego airport.

Black automobile providers will often offer you a alternative. They will park and are available to satisfy 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 take a look at the inexperienced zone signal. Name and textual content them with the letter on the inexperienced zone signal.

Tip: For those who’re flying American or Alaska like I do, the zones exterior of your baggage declare are O or P.

4. Analysis What You’ll Placed on Your Itinerary

I’d first mock up a tentative to-do checklist. For those who want concepts, we have now a large aggregation of issues to do in San Diego primarily based on finances, curiosity, and neighborhood that can assist you analysis.

Needless to say our county is about 70 miles lengthy and a bit wider than that. There’s site visitors typically so that you’ll wish to attempt to lump actions into the a part of city you’ll be in fairly than zig zag.

Don’t overschedule. Go away room to float. We’re a relaxed city. You might not really feel like leaving the seaside.

The rationale why I say tentative is due to #5 beneath.

See additionally: High Household-Pleasant San Diego Actions

5. Determine Whether or not You’ll Purchase a Sightseeing Move or Particular person Tickets

There’s completely NO NEED to pay gate pricing at our main San Diego points of interest. You’ll have to crunch some numbers to determine whether or not to avoid wasting extra with a sightseeing go 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 determined by what you wish to do. There are three sightseeing passes to select from (in my view):

  • Go Metropolis San Diego
  • San Diego CityPass (solely is sensible for those who’re going to LEGOLAND California and/or SeaWorld San Diego)
  • Balboa Park Explorer Move (for the Balboa Park museums solely)

See additionally: Go Metropolis San Diego or San Diego CityPASS — Which to Select

For those who do go together with a sightseeing go, this will likely alter your itinerary slightly as a result of you might select to see included points of interest that you simply won’t have in any other case thought of.

See additionally: Our Listing of San Diego Tickets and Reductions

6. Make Reservations

A handful of points of interest require timed tickets, like LEGOLAND California. For those who bought tickets by way of us be sure to have a reservation. For those who purchased by way of LEGOLAND, then you definitely most likely have a date particular tickets.

The opposite reservations I’d make are for a few of our increased 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 Must Carry

I’ve written a information about what to pack for San Diego. An important tip is all the time to pack layers and solar safety. You may get sunburned within the winter right here, belief me.

Life is mostly numerous athlesiure except you intend to go clubbing or to a nicer restaurant.

8. Assessment and Set up Your Journey Paperwork and Memberships

For those who’re arriving from abroad, your passport must be legitimate for six months after your journey.

One other FAQ is about varied journey packages you might or might not belong to that you simply may want logins or playing cards to entry (that’s for those who’re not app savvy).

  • Precedence Move: This will get you into the Aspire Lougne (all the time busy don’t plan on it) and Chase Sapphire Lounge
  • CLEAR: We do have CLEAR in Terminal 2. I’m a member and adore it. Nonetheless, Terminal 2 has two “wings” for lack of a greater option to put it. CLEAR is positioned over the place you examine in for Delta. For those who fly American or Alaska you might wish to simply courageous TSA Precheck to keep away from an extended stroll to your gate.
  • TSA Precheck: Sure, we have now it in all terminals.
  • American Specific Lounge Entry: Aspire Lounge
  • American Airways Admirals Membership: Aspire Lounge

Aspire Lounge provides precedence to Admirals Membership members above AMEX so know that if it’s busy.

9. Obtain Useful Apps

Listed below are some apps that may assist make your keep simpler. Seek for them in your related app retailer.

  • Uber or Lyft
  • Waze: To seek out out what the actual site visitors scenario is.
  • Circuit: Some locations like Pacific Seaside, Downtown, Oceanside, Nationwide Metropolis, Carlsbad, Chula Vista, and Coronado run low value Circuit shuttles which can be actually nice.
  • Pronto: This can be 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 lodge app: Hilton, Hyatt, 4 Seasons (that is the perfect app)
  • SpotHero: Disclaimer that I haven’t personally used it however folks inform me it’s a good way to search out parking for occasions and busy days close to the seaside and downtown. I’ve downloaded it and may see why it’s helpful.

10. Double or Triple Examine Your Confirmations

I do get frantic emails from vacationers typically who booked the unsuitable dates or didn’t understand their lodge was in Oceanside once they thought it was in downtown. Earlier than you go, double examine every thing particularly the situation of the place you reserved relative to your itinerary.

Have questions? Let me know.

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