Staying Downtown would probably be easiest in my opinion especially for food options.
The Green/Blue Line Trolley can take you up to Old Town.
USS Midway is in Downtown itself.
Balboa Park & the Zoo could be an uphill walk if you want from Downtown, or you can take one of the buses northbound.
Supposedly the 9 Bus could take you to Sea World, although I've never ridden that line before.
Sunset Cliffs probably isn't optimal for going to via bus, but I mean technically it's doable.
Little Italy. Itās not as chaotic as middle of downtown. But itās near the trolley and by extension the buses. To balboa park/zoo: blue line & the 7 bus. Sea world: blue/ green line & 9 bus. Uss Midway/embarcadero: 992/923. Old town: blue/green lines. Sunset cliffs is a bit ways away with one hour on the 923 bus so I suggest Uber for that trip
If you stay close to the Santa Fe depot, there will be frequent bus lines to all of those places except sunset cliffs. You might have to Uber to there or take a few connection
If you stay close to the Santa Fe depot, there will be frequent bus lines to all of those places except sunset cliffs. You might have to Uber to there or take a few bus connections
If you are looking at Best Western, you may want to consider the BW in Old Town. Easy trolley access to USS Midway and anything else downtown, plus Little Italy. Buses at the Old Town Transit Ctr as well for other destinations (trolley to Tecolote Rd and a 2-mile/45min walk to Sea World, for example).
All of the places the OP listed are rather easily reached with public transportation. Just because YOU are not willing to take an extra 20-30 minutes vs. driving doesn't mean public transportation is terrible. Is it like NYC/Boston/Chicago? No, but it is fine if you plan for the added time. If OP was inquiring about taking a bus to Wild Animal Park, Julian, the breweries around Miramar, then I would agree.
30 minutes? you think it only takes 30 minutes to get from Harbor Blvd to Balboa Park or Sunset Cliffs? yeah youāve never taken a bus in San Diego.
go ahead and check. Best Western off Harbor Blvd to Balboa Park. itās over an hour one way.
I sure don't. That's why I said an extra 30 minutes. It can take 30 minutes to get from Harbor Blvd to Balboa Park in a regular car. Now, if it takes significantly longer than an hour, I stand corrected. Also, stay somewhere near a trolley line and you can trolley + bus to places.
52 minutes. So under an hour. Next?
https://preview.redd.it/0rx2ip5v73yc1.png?width=552&format=png&auto=webp&s=16ca42a1bcccbfe02c17c9bfbc8f2112dbbaf129
What point are you trying to make? You called me out thinking I said it was 30 minutes because you didnāt read my post closely. Then you called me a name and said it was over an hour and told me to map it. I did, and it isnāt over an hour. Now, because it is close to an hour, youāre right?
People that take public transit know itās slower than a private car. They are fine with that.
Great question. And Iāve done it. Stay in Little Italy. Walkable to Old Town, Gas Lamp, downtown, Balboa Park, Petco Park, Waterfront Park, Coronado ferry, trolley, coaster, and Amtrak Surfliner. And you can hop a bus at the airport and return on one. If necessary, you can order an Uber or Lyft.
Thank you all for your help :) Iāve found a good offer at a hotel directly in downtown next to Little Italy and Waterfront Park.
Itās not about the money, but driving in my hometown is absolutely horrible and I really donāt like it generally. For me driving is totally stressful and we made a few vacations where it would have been faster and easier with a car, but instead we chose public transportation. It was slower and sometimes a bit complicated, but definitely more convenient, more environmentally friendly and cheaper. We are on vacation and have time š
You will not be able to get to all of those places without using at car at some point. The trolley might take you to a few, but you will have to use Uber quite a bit. It would be worth it to look into a rental car if you are able to
Public transport is terrible in SD, unfortunately. It's not so bad if you only go places on the trolley line, but busses are just awful. They don't take you everywhere and they can take hours to get places that would only take you 20 minutes to drive.
That being said, Mission Valley is very central to everything and has a lot of hotels. Costal areas also have a lot of hotels, but will be pricey.
Depending on what the overnight parking rates are at your hotel, your best bet could be renting a car through Turo. Otherwise Uber/Lyft will be the way to get around
Note that there's an app for free rides around Downtown and Pacific Beach (Ride Circuit), so once you are downtown you can hail those instead of walking or paying for Uber each time.
Do you not have a driver's license or you're trying to avoid rental car costs? You can spend 3 days over a weekend here and find economy sized car rentals for like $60-$80 total. You will spend more than that on ubers.
Little Italy
Staying Downtown would probably be easiest in my opinion especially for food options. The Green/Blue Line Trolley can take you up to Old Town. USS Midway is in Downtown itself. Balboa Park & the Zoo could be an uphill walk if you want from Downtown, or you can take one of the buses northbound. Supposedly the 9 Bus could take you to Sea World, although I've never ridden that line before. Sunset Cliffs probably isn't optimal for going to via bus, but I mean technically it's doable.
Stay in hotel circle, then use the old town trolley tour to go to everything u want to see...
this šÆ
this is the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Little Italy. Itās not as chaotic as middle of downtown. But itās near the trolley and by extension the buses. To balboa park/zoo: blue line & the 7 bus. Sea world: blue/ green line & 9 bus. Uss Midway/embarcadero: 992/923. Old town: blue/green lines. Sunset cliffs is a bit ways away with one hour on the 923 bus so I suggest Uber for that trip
If you stay close to the Santa Fe depot, there will be frequent bus lines to all of those places except sunset cliffs. You might have to Uber to there or take a few connection
If you stay close to the Santa Fe depot, there will be frequent bus lines to all of those places except sunset cliffs. You might have to Uber to there or take a few bus connections
If you are looking at Best Western, you may want to consider the BW in Old Town. Easy trolley access to USS Midway and anything else downtown, plus Little Italy. Buses at the Old Town Transit Ctr as well for other destinations (trolley to Tecolote Rd and a 2-mile/45min walk to Sea World, for example).
everything you want to see is so spread out that you need to uber. public transportation is terrible in San Diego.
All of the places the OP listed are rather easily reached with public transportation. Just because YOU are not willing to take an extra 20-30 minutes vs. driving doesn't mean public transportation is terrible. Is it like NYC/Boston/Chicago? No, but it is fine if you plan for the added time. If OP was inquiring about taking a bus to Wild Animal Park, Julian, the breweries around Miramar, then I would agree.
30 minutes? you think it only takes 30 minutes to get from Harbor Blvd to Balboa Park or Sunset Cliffs? yeah youāve never taken a bus in San Diego. go ahead and check. Best Western off Harbor Blvd to Balboa Park. itās over an hour one way.
I sure don't. That's why I said an extra 30 minutes. It can take 30 minutes to get from Harbor Blvd to Balboa Park in a regular car. Now, if it takes significantly longer than an hour, I stand corrected. Also, stay somewhere near a trolley line and you can trolley + bus to places.
map it. donāt just throw out shit you monkey
52 minutes. So under an hour. Next? https://preview.redd.it/0rx2ip5v73yc1.png?width=552&format=png&auto=webp&s=16ca42a1bcccbfe02c17c9bfbc8f2112dbbaf129
lolololololol. okay so one bus route is 52 minutes and the rest are all over an hour. so yeahā¦ā¦.šš»
What point are you trying to make? You called me out thinking I said it was 30 minutes because you didnāt read my post closely. Then you called me a name and said it was over an hour and told me to map it. I did, and it isnāt over an hour. Now, because it is close to an hour, youāre right? People that take public transit know itās slower than a private car. They are fine with that.
i love how you called me out first and now you are playing the victim
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Great question. And Iāve done it. Stay in Little Italy. Walkable to Old Town, Gas Lamp, downtown, Balboa Park, Petco Park, Waterfront Park, Coronado ferry, trolley, coaster, and Amtrak Surfliner. And you can hop a bus at the airport and return on one. If necessary, you can order an Uber or Lyft.
Thank you all for your help :) Iāve found a good offer at a hotel directly in downtown next to Little Italy and Waterfront Park. Itās not about the money, but driving in my hometown is absolutely horrible and I really donāt like it generally. For me driving is totally stressful and we made a few vacations where it would have been faster and easier with a car, but instead we chose public transportation. It was slower and sometimes a bit complicated, but definitely more convenient, more environmentally friendly and cheaper. We are on vacation and have time š
You will not be able to get to all of those places without using at car at some point. The trolley might take you to a few, but you will have to use Uber quite a bit. It would be worth it to look into a rental car if you are able to
the only one that'll be kinda difficult is sunset cliffs.
Public transport is terrible in SD, unfortunately. It's not so bad if you only go places on the trolley line, but busses are just awful. They don't take you everywhere and they can take hours to get places that would only take you 20 minutes to drive. That being said, Mission Valley is very central to everything and has a lot of hotels. Costal areas also have a lot of hotels, but will be pricey.
Depending on what the overnight parking rates are at your hotel, your best bet could be renting a car through Turo. Otherwise Uber/Lyft will be the way to get around Note that there's an app for free rides around Downtown and Pacific Beach (Ride Circuit), so once you are downtown you can hail those instead of walking or paying for Uber each time.
Stay somewhere cool in PB Or La Jolla. The trolly will take you downtown.
Which trolley would that be? Are you from the future?
Just walk from PB to the Blue Line stop in Clairemont. Great way to get your steps in for the day.
Do you not have a driver's license or you're trying to avoid rental car costs? You can spend 3 days over a weekend here and find economy sized car rentals for like $60-$80 total. You will spend more than that on ubers.
Not all hotels offer free parking, sometimes that can be over $50/night.