Travel & Vacation Tips
It’s no secret to anyone that the coast of San Diego
is the ideal place to watch the annual migration of
the gray whale. Looked upon as one of nature’s ultimate
spectacles; the migration of gray whales is nothing
short of breathtaking. The coastline of San Diego is
one of their migratory points as they travel from the
waters of the Arctic to the warmer regions of the Baja
(California), where females also give birth.
As vast as the San Diego harbor is, a simple walk
around it doesn’t do it justice! To partake in the
beauty that is San Diego Harbor, you need to take a
tour of the bay. San Diego Harbor Excursion can
help you do that, as they are the most established
tour company throughout the bay.
As a guest, they will treat you with as one of them,
helping to bring your cruise to life. There are
a few parts to the tour, ensuring that you get the
most out of your time on the cruise.
Although San Diego has many things for grown ups to
enjoy, it hasa lot of activities for kids to enjoy
as well. Custom made for families, San Diego has
plenty of public parks, nice weather year round,
several museums, and many things for children of all
ages to amuse themselves with.
For kids who love animals, there’s the well known
San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Animal Park. The zoo
is located in Balboa Park, while the park is located
a bit north of the city. If you have the time, you
should take a full day for your kids to enjoy the park
and the zoo. If the traditional zoo makes your kids
uncomfortable, the park is a great alternative.
Alive with the sea and plenty of activities for all
that visit, Pacific Beach is a great place. With plenty
of activities to offer visitors, Pacific Beach in San
Diego has seen well over 26 million visitors! With
numbers like these, you know you really can’t go wrong
by visiting.
Aside from the wonders of the beach, the boutique
shopping distric of Pacific Beach features hundreds and
hundreds of choices to find treasure in the sand. With
local names such as the L.A. Rack and Starbucks, this is
truly a shoppers paradise. There are also new and retail
clothing stores, salons, and many other stores to be
found here in this shopping paradise.
The Old Town San Diego Park serves as a way to recreate
life in both the early American and early Mexican era
of 1821 – 1872. Perfectly situated in San Diego, the
park helps to recreate what was once San Diego. No
matter how you look at it, a trip to California isn’t
complete without a visit to the Old Town.
Around the five adobes of the main complex, there are
shops, a museum, and several restaurants. Around the
garden courtyard, the La Casa mansion helps to bring
back a taste of the Old Town. Just a short hop from
there, the museum is full of artifacts that help to
reflect on the life that was once the Old Town.
Located in the Ocean Beach Community, Ocean Beach is
actually just south of the entrance to the Mission
Bay channel. Located at 1950 Abbott Street, the beach
is a very popular location in the summer. During the
winter months, couples like to walk the beach and
just bask in the presence.
The Ocean Beach is wide in structure, about a mile
long. Along the north end of the beach, you’ll find
a volleyball court. During the summer, the court is
always teeming with people playing volleyball while
the sand around it is teeming with people watching.
A sparkling jewel of San Diego, the La Jolla
area is a picture perfect post card with several
beaches along more than seven miles of coast
against an array of rolling hills known as Mount
Soledad.
Being a part of San Diego, La Jolla is only
15 minutes from the downtown district. Along with
beautiful scenery, the area also offers many fine
restaurants, art galleries, hotels and resorts,
and many other attractions such as the Scripps
Institution of Oceanography.
Considering how San Diego is one of the best cities in
the United States, its really easy to tell how popular
the city is for tourists. Among the many accomplishments
behind San Diego, let’s take a look at several facts behind
this amazing city.
Fact 1
Inside the city limits of San Diego, more than 1 million
people live there. This makes the city the second largest
in California and the sixth biggest in the entire United
States! For the city to be this big, the residents still
have that hometown experience – which is quite amazing!
Everyone in California knows that the best beaches
in San Diego are on Coronado Island. Being linked to
downtown San Diego by the Island Bay Bridge, Coronado
is home to the SEALs training center and the Naval
Air Station Coronado. A military powerhouse, the
island of Coronado always has something going on.
One of the best features to Coronado is the world
famous Hotel Del Coronado. This Victorian style
seaside hotel was established in 1888, and was easily
one of the biggest and best hotels of that era. The
hotel was hosted in the past by the infamous Marilyn
Monroe and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
Throughout the vast state of California, Newport Beach
remains one of the most overlooked cities. The city
of Newport Beach is actually a very charming island,
with great beaches and a peninsula. With all of it’s
charms, it remains overlooked by tourists and those
looking for an ideal vacation spot.
Lying cradled within the Balboa Peninsula, the seven
islands that make up Newport Beach happen to have some
of the most expensive real estate in California. Many
of the homes here are 1.5 million and up! When you
consider that many are surrounded by small yacht harbors
and a peaceful yet tranquil environment, you know the
price of the homes are more than well worth it.
No matter what you go in California, you’ll quickly
discover that very few cities can capture the night
life quite like Newport Beach. Although the area
is one of the most overlooked, it’s beaming with
water sports, activities, things to see, and one
heck of a nightlife. When most areas are winding
down, Newport Beach is just getting started!
From dancing to the beats of Latin rhythms to high
energy rock and roll, Newport Beach provides cutting
edge entertainment for the lovers of the night. With
hip restaurants and trendy oyster bars, the Little
Inn by the Bay provides its fair share of helping
you enjoy the night.
If you enjoy exotic yet superb food and great wine,
the Newport Beach Food and Wine Festival is where
you need to be. Lasting a weekend long, the festival
is held annually at the Balboa Bay Club. Normally
held the first week of May, this is the perfect time
to visit Newport Beach.
Although you won’t need martinis at the festival, you
can bet on some of the best wineries in California
being on hand to pour their distinctive wines. You
should also come hungry as well, as the food is to
die for.
Picture million dollar yachts, kayaks, electric boats
and other watercrafts gliding through the Newport
Harbor – and you have the Newport Beach Christmas
Boat Parade. The parade features dazzling holiday
lights that light up the bay, amazing the nearly
one million visitors that crowd Newport Beach and
Newport Harbor.
From December 18 – 22, there are more than 200 vessels
participating in this holiday celebration. Several
of these vessels will be decorated for the season,
playing music and displaying Christmas decorations
and costumed carolers. In the past, some yacht
owners have spent as much as 50,000 dollars in
decorations for their yacht.
With beautiful sunsets, picture-perfect beaches, and
a harbor that houses some of the biggest yachts, Newport
Beach California is truly an amazing place. Perfectly
situated in Orange County, Newport Beach can be considered
both relaxing and ritzy.
The harbor features many small islands and also houses
several museums and attractions like the Newport Pier. As
far as things to do here, surfing, volleyball, and romantic
walks along the pier can help to fill the void. Surfing is
quite renowned here, as surfers can get truly bone shattering
waves from the boats that go by.
The Aquatic Center of Newport Beach is an ideal place
for anyone who loves the water or loves to work out
and stay in shape. The over 18,000 square foot
facility offers a multi-purpose meeting room, both
weight and cardiovascular training facilities, locker
rooms for both men and women, and a storage area for
well over 400 canoes and kayaks!
North Star Beach is here as well, offering a launching
dock off the sandy shore. The Aquatic Center offers
direct access to Newport Harbor and North Star Beach,
offering rowers and paddlers their choice of water
activities and sports.
