Plasticletters
Ride a Bike
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2009
Look at a map to make sure your hotel is on the ocean. The Pacific Beach neighborhood stretches quite a bit inland and there are some hotels considered as being in "Pacific Beach" that will be a few miles from the ocean (and not in an area where there's much to walk around and see).
1) The PB/Mission Beach area has a lot of your standard tourist fare and large chain restaurants, but there are a few gems (specifically the Mission just down the road in Mission Beach http://www.themissionsd.com/)
2) There are several surf shops right off of Mission Blvd and some right on the ocean that will offer surfboard rentals and lessons (from north PB all the way down to the tip of Mission Beach). Most (if not all) of them will teach kids. Book in advance though - and look on groupon for deals (there are often several). If you get the hang of things quickly, my favorite surf beach is in northern PB (on the border of La Jolla) off of Tourmaline street.
3) You have a 12 year old, so in general PB would not be my top spot for you. It's more of a "spring break/frat boy" crowd most of the time and the walkability factor is better in terms of finding fun little bars to stop into then finding fun family places to stop into. If you want to stay close to PB, I think Mission Beach is a better option for kids. It's full of hotels, is probably the main "tourist" beach, and has a pseudo-amusement park with all kinds of stuff for kids http://www.belmontpark.com/
also, several of the hotels themselves there are resorts and can probably set up surf lessons through their front desk. There are also lots of little tourist shops off of Mission Blvd that might be interesting to walk around, and if you want to do some calmer water sports (swimming, rowing, etc) Mission Bay is right there to use.
You might also consider La Jolla. If you stay in the village there is a LOT to walk around and see. La Jolla cover is home to a colony of Harbor Seals and many California Sea Lions as well that can be fun to watch and La Jolla Shores has several surf rental places that can offer lessons. There are also MANY excellent locally owned places to get a great meal there. San Diego's aquarium is also there. That being said, La Jolla is also a pretty big place, so if you are not going to have a car you'll want to make sure you stay near the cove (in the Village of La Jolla - not "La Jolla Village" - confusing, I know) in La Jolla Shores or in Bird Rock (which is just north of PB).
You might also consider Ocean Beach. The Dog Beach is there (if you like dogs, this place is FULL of them in the summer) and that particular beach is also where the OB Bike Path starts (this bikes and runners ONLY highway runs several miles inland out to all big malls in mission valley - so if you're into bike riding that's a nice plus). If you or your 12 year old likes to skateboard there is a free outdoor skate park there that is very family friendly and pretty nice. The OB pier is also there and pretty interesting to check out. There's a lively "downtown" area (with a farmers market every Wednesday) as well with lots of fun little tourist shops and locally owned restaurants as well (a few of my personally favorite places to eat are there!). Both Cabrillo National Monument (in Point Loma) http://www.nps.gov/cabr/index.htm
and Old Town (Historic settlement area) http://www.oldtownsandiegoguide.com/
are close-by OB as well (just a quick cab ride away).
Some people would not recommend Ocean Beach for kids either (it's a hippie hangout - which I know turns some families off), but I think it's a lot more family friendly than PB.
Other than Coronado (which I know you already mentioned is off the table) those are the best ocean front places to go if you don't have a car.
