A Young Giraffe at the San Diego Zoo

San Diego is a great vacation destination for families.  There’s plenty of things to do that will appeal to everyone in the family.  Having said that, The World Famous San Diego Zoo is about as mandatory a place to visit as there is in San Diego.  Situated in historic Balboa Park, the park is minutes from downtown and a short drive from most of the hotels in the San Diego area.

The zoo is rather large and can be seen in a variety of ways depending on the amount of time you have.  The zoo opens at 9:00 a.m. and I would suggest visiting early.  Not only do you beat the crowds that generally start arriving around 11:00 a.m., a lot of the animals are very active at this point of the day.  Later in the day, particularly in the summer heat, many of the animals lay low and you don’t get the full effect.

As I mentioned, there are plenty of ways to view the park.  There is a double-decker bus that can take you to the far reaches of the zoo and the driver will give you a guided tour of about 75% of the park.  You can upgrade your ticket to include this tour or purchase the tour once you’re inside the park.  This ticket will also allow you to take the express buses that drop you off at bus stops around the park.

If you choose to walk, keep in mind that the zoo is located on a steep hillside.  A walk to the farthest part part of the park to see the Polar Bears is a good 20-30 minute walk.  If you have small kids, I would suggest taking the bus or even the skyfari aerial tram which gives you a birds-eye view of the park while taking you to the opposite end of the park.  If you need to push the little ones, you can take your stroller with you or you can rent one from the park guest services when you enter the zoo.  You can find a detail map of the zoo here.

Flamingos are fun for every age

There are a lot of wonderful exhibits within the zoo but, in my opinion, the can’t-miss exhibits include the monkey trails, the gorilla tropics, the giraffes and elephants and, of course, the Panda exhibit.  The San Diego Zoo has one of the most successful Panda breeding programs in the world.  The Pandas have their own special exhibit and you can often see the latest born Panda before it is shipped back to China.  Of course, pink flamingos are also quite a thing to check out.

Since the zoo closes at dusk (it’s open later in the summer when it gets darker later), exploring the zoo thoroughly might take more than one day.  The zoo has two-day passes, along with other combo packages that include San Diego’s Wild Animal Park.  You can find ticket information here.

Photo: M. Henry

From guest blogger Marsha Takeda-Morrison of Sweatpantsmom

If you only visit Sea World when you go to San Diego, you’re missing out on a lot. Besides, how many times can you watch a whale jump through the air chasing a sardine? On your next trip, check out these romantic hotels – one of them is great for hookups, of both the romantic and the internet kind…

We recently stayed at the Sheraton Hotel & Marina, and while I know my husband chose it for its beautiful pool with cascading fountains and their cafe on the water, I know he also picked it for that one thing he knew would make me swoon: a plush internet lounge with WiFi. Because nothing says ‘I Love You’ like free Internet connection with a killer download speed.

To be honest, I’m not a big fan of Sheratons, but because we’re part of the Starwood program we decided to give the chain another try while on a recent visit to San Diego. We were pleasantly surprised – the hotel was in a beautiful location overlooking the marina, appeared to have been recently renovated and had excellent service. After lounging by the pool, we moved to the outdoor patio for a romantic evening sipping martinis by one of their outdoor fire pits. One definite buzzkill was the room service breakfast bill the next morning – how is it possible to spend almost $80 on a mediocre meal? I’ll tell you how – by cleverly hiding both a delivery charge and a room service fee in the bill, on top of which I unknowingly added a very generous tip. Luckily I was able to console myself with some quality time at Link, the internet lounge.

But one of our favorite places to stay is still the W Hotel located downtown. We love the modern, sleek rooms and the hip vibe – although if they heard me using the words ‘hip vibe’ they’d probably set me up in a room with a tub of Epson salts, a glass next to the bed for my teeth and a DVD boxed set of the Golden Girls. The Sand Bar on the roof is amazing – grab a private cabana, wiggle your toes in the (real) sand and sip a Mai Tai next to the one you love. You’d swear you were alone on a deserted tropical island if it weren’t for the techno music blaring on the speakers and the waiter who keeps showing up to ply you with expensive booze.

Not quite in San Diego, but close, is the Surf and Sand Resort in Laguna Beach. We haven’t been there for years, but it was one of the first hotels my husband and I stayed at together when we were dating (Yes, unmarried and in the same room! Sorry, mom.) This place truly is spectacular, and if you get one of the rooms on the upper floor of the main tower you’ll have a breathtaking view – a perfectly framed, unencumbered view of the ocean, sky and clouds. Now if that doesn’t scream romance I don’t know what does.

Photo: W Hotel, San Diego

A pet friendly vacation should be about what’s best for your pet. There is nothing a dog in the city loves more than to lose the leash and go nuts. Like, in a park or on the beach. This is where San Diego wins by a mile and a leash. And then some.

Dog Beach at Ocean Beach – Located at the north end of Ocean Boulevard, at the west end of the San Diego River Floodway, where the river meets the Pacific Ocean, the 38 acres of sandy Dog Beach has been a happy no-leash zone for dogs for the last 30 years. Much as kid-friendly hotels free parents to do their thing, Dog Beach frees pet owners to just sit back and watch their dogs go crazy running up and down in the sand and water.

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Since our school is closed this week, we decided it was time for a quick trip south to San Diego. Our son is almost at the age when Legoland will not longer be interesting, and both my husband and I went to college at the University of California, San Diego. That, and the generally good weather in San Diego year-round, helped us decide on this quick family vacation.

We drove down from the Bay Area (a wonderful 9 hour trip in the car with two small kids!) and stayed at the Pacific Terrace Inn in Pacific Beach, and visited Sea World and the San Diego Zoo. Both places are excellent for families, and the American Automobile Association (AAA) is even running a special for Sea World! My kids loved Sea World, my daughter commenting to me that she was surprised that Shamu could jump so high.

After a day of visiting Sea World, and another day spent on the beach (we could see the Pacific Ocean from our hotel room), we drove north, visiting UCSD on our way to Legoland. U.S. News and World Report ranks UCSD as the 7th best public university in the nation, and 32nd among the nation’s top 50 universities. Clearly, this all happened after I graduated, but I still looked forward to visiting the place where participation in the Overseas Travel Program in my junior year helped me discover my desire to explore the world through travel.

Following our morning visit, we headed up to Legoland in Carlsbad. Our friends have told us great things about this park, and my 7 year old son and 5 year old daughter certainly found much to entertain them. My daughter loved the fact that she was tall enough to ride any ride she wanted. My son, of course, wanted to spend all his time on the Knights Joust. However, both kids were slightly disappointed in Legoland, after our action packed Disneyland experiences. Legoland is great for a first-time amusement park visit and is also perfect for the toddler set, as many areas of the park are specifically designed for the experience of little kids. That night, we stayed at the West Inn & Suites, which offers a double king room and complimentary breakfast, great for our family of four. And, they provided complimentary shuttle service to the park!

After a second half day at Legoland, we headed back home, taking an easy drive up the coast. All in all, a pleasant trip to San Diego for our family!