The Perfect San Diego Weekend Guide!
Last Fall Harper and I went on an awesome little weekend getaway to sunny San Diego. We had the most amazing time, and so I put together a brief travel guide to share with you all the highlights of our weekend!
It was Harper's first time to SD, and so I was intent on putting together a fun weekend that hit all the main sites, was full of great food, and was ultimately relaxing.
Friday
We arrived in SD early Friday morning, starving, and so I knew our first stop needed to be a delicious brunch spot.
We decided to check out Breakfast Republic, which was one of the most recommended spots I received on Instagram. You all didn't let us down!
The meal was super tasty with HUGE portions. I'm still craving the Jurassic Pork Eggs Benedict I ordered.
We weren't able to check into our AirBnB for another couple hours, and so we decided to stroll around North Park and check out some of their shops. A few of the highlights were Pigment and Holy Matcha.
Pigment is a hipster variety store full of succulents, awesome knick knacks, and stationary. It was hard to leave empty handed. Harper bought a cute rainbow pin to put on his Jean Jacket.
And then there was Holy Matcha...
I was all about the pink and plant aesthetic. You have to try their matcha donuts. So good!
We needed another coffee recharge by this time, and so we walked over to a cute coffee shop called The Coffee and Tea Collective. Loved the western vibes.
North Park was so fun to explore. It was also a great place to get all our wall photos. So many fun colorful ones!
Next we wandered over to Balboa Park
This place was HUGE and had tons of things to do. I definitley recommend checking out the Botanical Gardens and the Spanish Village.
We got some food at a fun restaurant within the park called Panama 66. They had a live jazz band playing and people were all up dancing and smiling with each other. It made for a really fun environment.
After the park we finally headed over to check out our AirBnB. It was a super cute studio Apt in the Hillcrest neighborhood. Here is a link to the listing if you want to check it out. It was very central and walking distance to a lot of fun areas.
For dinner that evening we went to a fun and tasty spot called Soda and Swine. Their menu consists of specialty sodas and delicious pork dishes. I also recommend checking out the bar next door called Polite Provisions, if you are in need of an after dinner cocktail.
Saturday
The next day we woke up early and walked to our favorite coffee shop/flower shop called Communal Coffee. We actually went there a couple of times, as they had great coffee and pastries, and it was super close to our AirBnB. It was always the perfect start to our mornings.
We only grabbed coffee that morning, as we were meeting a friend soon at a brunch spot called Madison in University Heights.
Madison was very delicious. We ordered these strange charcoal mimosas, which tasted like mimosas but had a black charcoal that helped cleanse your system. They were good, but It was a bit hard for me to get past the black coloring. The food was AMAZING though.
After our heavy meal, our friend drove us out to Torrey Pines for a beautiful hike along the ocean cliffs. The hike is well maintained and not too strenuous. You hike the cliffs at first, and then it takes you down to the beach for a loop that brings you back to where you parked.
Next we drove down the rode to the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. This instafamous building is a great example of brutalist architecture. Unfortunately it was only open on week days, and so we were only able to do a little exploring before the security guard kicked us out :/
On our way back to the city we stopped by the cute town of La Jolla. You could probably spend a whole day wandering La Jolla. Lots of boutique shops and art galleries and small seaside town vibes. A couple highlights to see were the La Valencia Hotel and this amazingly colorful tiled wall.
We finally made it back into the city and decided to have dinner in Little Italy, which is near the downtown of San Diego.
We couldn't make up our minds, and so we did a progressive meal down the entire street. We started off at Ironside Fish and Oyster for some delicious oysters and cocktails.
and then we walked to Born and Raised for another cocktail. We were initially going to eat dinner here, but we decided it was a bit pricey ($$$) and we were also underdressed. The cocktails were still worth experiencing the bougie 1920's Great Gatzby aesthetic. WOW! I would definitely go back for a nicer dinner.
We eventually landed at Crack Shack for dinner, which was more our speed for the evening. This might have been the best friend chicken and fries we've ever had. This is a MUST TRY in SD. Unfortunately I was so busy eating that I didn't take any photos.
Sunday
On Sunday we checked out the nearby Hillcrest Farmers Market, which was massive. We checked out the merchants for a bit, and eventually ended up at nearby Great Maple for an amazing brunch. The wait was a little long, but the food was well worth it!
After brunch we met back up with some friends who took us out to Coronado island for a relaxing time on the beach. It was a blast just wandering the beach and the historic Coronado Hotel.
Isn't that pool and ballroom ceiling incredible!
I'd also recommend going to the other side of the island for a pretty incredible view of the downtown skyline.
After Coronado we wanted to venture out to the Sunset Cliffs to... wait for it...watch the sunset.
On our way we stopped at a cool store/coffee shop called Moniker General. It's in an area called Liberty Station, which used to be a military base that has now been taken over by hip restaurants, cafes and shops.
Luckily we made it to Sunset Cliffs in time for the sunset....and boy was it INCREDIBLE. It was the perfect way to end a beautiful weekend.
And that was our weekend! We absolutely loved every minute. I still can't believe we fit it all within three days. Thank you all so much for reading! Did we miss anything? What are your favorite places in San Diego?
Places to Eat
- Ironside Fish and Oysters
- Born and Raised
- Crack Shack
- Soda and Swine
- Great Maple
- Breakfast Republic
- Madison
- Panama 66