GUIDE TO SAN DIEGO

B E S T B E A C H E S

what we come for

Coronado. Our favorite with small kids. Spaced out, long shoreline, small waves, ample free parking. There is a paved path by the main life guard station all the way to the beach, which is a lifesaver if you’re pushing a double stroller. So many places to walk to for lunch. We were here all the time.

Mission Beach/Pacific Beach. Another favorite with kids. Shorter walk to the ocean from a paved path. Mission Beach connects to Pacific Beach, and together they make up a giant stretch of shoreline with a two mile boardwalk for running/walking/strollering along the water. I ran it many days and the kids loved it. Also near our favorite playground.

La Jolla. A few beaches in La Jolla and tide pools and seal watching. La Jolla Cove Beach is small area with a beautiful view, lots of scuba divers and swimmers to watch, and a cool cave to explore. We also loved Windandsea Beach, soft sand, wide open, not too crowded, and little cove areas acted as kind of natural separation for people to keep their distance. We tried Wipeout Beach on another day and found it is aptly named, great for the views, but I don’t recommend it with little kids for the wave size and hard to get down there with all the boulder climbing.

Ocean beach is also fun but a little more grungy. We tried it one foggy morning and watched some surfers. Home to a really cute tiny local ceramics shop MAEK.

P L A Y G R O U N D S

besides the beach, our favorite places to play

Pro tip: hit the parks early, like before 9am, and on a weekday to avoid the crowds. Many times we were the only ones there.

Maruta Gardener Playground. Mission Beach in Bonita Cove. New as of November 2020, beautiful, and amazing! So many things for various ages and ADA accessible. There is a paved path that I ran with the kids in the stroller to South Mission Beach, and it is exactly one mile from the playground. This was our very favorite San Diego park we found.

Waterfront park. Big and updated. Really amazing view, right by the water. Lots of slides and swings and things to climb. Walkable if you’re staying downtown.

Pepper Grove. Right in the center of Balboa Park. Large free parking lot nearby, two structures.

6th Avenue. The other larger Balboa Park playground. One updated climbing area, another older playground.

Tweet Street Linear Park. Tiny little park hidden in downtown. Feels very city life with lots of apartment dwellers and dog walkers.

Linda Vista Skate Park. Trey requested this one afternoon. This park is only three years old, and the second largest skate park in California! Better for older kids but still fun to watch, and a playground nearby.

City of Coronado Skate Park. Not actually a skate park! But we found a little playground next to the water here. Spreckels Park on Orange Ave in Coronado is a neat little grassy area with a little playground too.

E A T S & D R I N K S

AKA all the best tacos, coffee & ice cream

Oscar’s Mexican Seafood. Two locations, we got take out from one in Pacific Beach. Ceviche is $7. Loved it.

Ocean 57. Medican Seafood food truck that’s changed hands a few times, confusing to find online. Located in the Target parking lot in South Park, just a block south of the second Communal Coffee. I loved it. $1.80 fish tacos (can you ever beat that?), I had the fish ceviche and the shrimp, and the fish was the best - just $3!

Clayton’s Mexican Takeout. Coronado. Next door to Clayton’s Coffee, which is more of a diner. Carne Asada tacos are $4. Love their green salsa and they gave us a lot which is my favorite.

The Taco Stand. A few locations, the downtown one is just a few blocks from us so I walked there one day. Another one with $4 carne asada tacos and with lots of salsas, the best.

Fat Fish. Pacific Beach on Mission Blvd. A daily HH that changes. We had the $2.50 fish tacos on Thursdays (not GF) and the $4 (!!) margs. A block from the beach.

El Chignon. In Gaslamp Quarter downtown. We walked here one night and it was really fun. The Gaslamp district is closed to cars for a few blocks right now so that restaurants can do all outdoors seating in the streets. So nice with a double stroller. Our kids did surprisingly and amazingly well for eating out, and they have some great HH specials. We had $6 margs and $5 rolled tacos, and our kids were thrilled about the bacon wrapped hot dog. Free chips and two house made salsas too.

Tahini. Our friends ordered take out from here for a park picnic and it was so great. Featured on Food Network, authentic Middle Eastern street food made from scratch, no cans! I had a chicken schawarma salad and loved it.

Communal Coffee. North Park is the original (with the “COFFEE + FLOWERS” painted side that you may have seen on Instagram) and then their second location in South Park. South Park is my favorite! All outdoor seating, and you order from a remodeled little white camper that looks like it maybe could be a wedding venue. Great with kids. There is a darling, curated, local shop they also own next door full of pretty things.

Moo Time Ice Cream. Coronado. My kids love the “silly vanilly,” a bright blue vanilla. Sugar cones are free.

Salt and Straw. Doesn’t feel entirely local since we have one in Seattle and there are multiple locations, but there is one downtown in Little Italy, and it was fun and novel for us to get to walk to ice cream. A few vegan options and lots of unique flavor combinations.

Babboi Natural Gelato. We went to the one in La Jolla, there are two others. Our favorite! Organic and amazing flavors and they’ll split a scoop in two cups for free. We took ours to the grassy park overlooking the ocean just a block away.

The Donut Bar. Downtown. Walkable for us which is super fun. Award winning donuts, not GF, but big and uniquely designed. Trey picked out a giant unicorn one and it just about made his whole life.

Baked Bear. We went on a different trip a few years back, and it’s still there! In Pacific Beach, a fun ice cream sandwich shop.

Trader Joes’s. We joke that the success of our vacations depend on the proximity to a Trader Joe’s. We love it there! So nice being able to cook when traveling. The Liberty Station one near Point Loma is my favorite, followed by the Westfield Mission Valley, both have lots of parking and wider aisles. There is also a University Ave one, but it’s much smaller.

Enjoy! We loved our time there and look forward to being back someday.