Alright, so I'm getting married in October and for the honeymoon we are going to Maui, HA and stopping in San Diego on the way there. I'm looking for advice on what to do, where to go, and where/what to eat. I really don't want to get sucked up into the tourist traps and want some good authentic stuff.

If any of you guys have been and have advice, recommendations, etc. that would be awesome and greatly appreciated!

2/17/2009 12:28:41 PM

for san diego...

you can rent beach cruisers on mission beach and go for a ride down the "boardwalk" for lack of a better description

its fun and you get in some good people watching while still moving. you can stop whenever you want to grab a beer at a little bar or go hang out on the beach. a lot of shops right on the beach rent the bikes for a daily or hourly rate

the gaslamp district is cool for dinner or something, its touristy but its still neat to go see

if you have some extra time or money to burn, the hotel del coronado is gorgeous and very historic, pretty romantic and it has its own beach access and outdoor lounge type areas. its on the island of coronado just across the bay from san diego

i did a bunch of other stuff there too but my boyfriend grew up there and a lot of it was more personal stuff like where he grew up and went to college, not stuff a random person would be interested in

2/17/2009 12:38:01 PM

there is a trolley tour in san diego that is highly recommended, especially if it's a beautiful day!

2/17/2009 12:46:25 PM

how long are you going to be in each?

and errrr hawaii is HI - not HA

2/17/2009 1:21:45 PM

^ Yeah for some reason I did HI first and it didn't look right...

I'm going to be in San Diego for like 3 nights and Hawaii for 6 nights.

2/17/2009 2:32:23 PM

where are you staying in san diego? and will you have a car?

and are you planning on staying on maui the whole time you're in hawaii?

2/17/2009 2:42:38 PM

In San Diego we are staying at the Marriott Hotel and Marina (333 West Harbor Drive) becasue her parents have marriott points so we stay there for free. It looks pretty nice but I don't know anything about the location. I'm not sure about renting a car. Not sure if we'll need it. Suggestions?

Will be staying in Maui the whole time we're in Hawaii. We're staying in some really nice, over-priced place. I would have rather stayed somewhere cheaper and used the money on doing stuff, but I'm just doing what I'm told... I'm sure it will be nice though.

2/17/2009 2:51:43 PM

That location is perfect, you are right in downtown walking distance to most of the best restaurants and nightlife. Plus its easy to get around by trolley and you are right next to the tracks at that spot. No need to rent a car.

One thing to look into is a Chargers game, football season will be going on at that time and tickets are pretty easy to come by. You'll be popular if you go out tailgating in a red NC State Philip Rivers jersey. Once again, you can get to the stadium by trolley for about 3 bucks so don't worry about renting a car.


[Edited on February 17, 2009 at 3:06 PM. Reason : 2]

2/17/2009 3:04:10 PM

^ Glad to hear that the location is good, thanks! I would love to check out the Chargers, I'll have to see who they're playing and if they're even in town that week.

Any recommendations on where to eat? I really want to go to some awesome places. Pumped to try some good authentic Mexican places for sure but not really sure what else to look for.

2/17/2009 3:20:49 PM

you can take the trolley to old town for authentic mexican -- it's super touristy but the food is still really good

while you're in a good location to walk to restaurants, bars, and clubs in the gaslamp, i'd still recommend taking a taxi or renting a car one day to check out the beaches -- 3 days is a lot to be stuck downtown, in my opinion

2/17/2009 3:37:37 PM

You can get some real authentic mexican food in Tijuana, it's pretty easy to take a cab to the border and walk over. While you're down there you can watch a donkey show

2/17/2009 3:42:21 PM

If you are going to Tijuana bring your birth certificate and/or passport! No coming back without it!

[Edited on February 17, 2009 at 3:47 PM. Reason : .]

2/17/2009 3:47:36 PM

i would advise not going to tijuana

the crime down there has been ridiculous lately and while you probably would be ok, it's really just not worth it (it's a dump)

2/17/2009 3:56:29 PM

Good advice about Tijuana, but I doubt the lady would be down for that. She's not up for risky ventures such as those.

The cool thing about our trip is that we are spending the first two nights in San Diego, then fly to Hawaii, then fly back to San Diego on our way back and are spending another couple of nights there. So although its going to be lame going in and out of the airport 4 times, its cheaper because they are both round trip tickets and it splits up the horrendous flight from here to Hawaii.

Any other advice would be great. You guys are awesome.

2/17/2009 4:08:50 PM

go to Carlsbad for a day.
there is an outlet mall with a good Coach store.
There is Legoland-if you like cheesy kid stuff, me and my lilttle sis loved it!
and there is the windmill and flower fields.

2/17/2009 4:46:47 PM

Haleakala
Lahaina

Travel to the Big Island--Volcanoes National Park

2/17/2009 5:13:20 PM

Go to the zoo in SD. If you like beer, there are MANY great breweries around there with all different types of beer. Definitely check out Coronado island. If you have a car, go to the Cabrillo Monument near Point Loma. It is a national park so there is an entry fee, but it provides a great view. Check out the gaslamp if you like touristy stuff.

Check out the USS Midway if you like that kind of stuff. Little Italy is a cool area. Definitely head to Ocean Beach. It is one of my favorite places. OB has tons of cool little bars and restaurants, and shops. It is a real chill area and is right next to the beach so you can check that out too. Try to get to a chargers game. As said, the trolley makes it easy to get around.

2/17/2009 10:06:06 PM

^awesome, thanks for the suggestions. Any more are greatly appreciated.

2/18/2009 11:05:57 AM

Definitely go to the Sunset Cliffs in San Diego, it's a beautiful place to take a girl



http://www.a-zsandiegobeaches.com/sunsetcliffs.htm

Another cool place to eat is Kono's right off the Crystal Pier, kind of a surfer style place but they have awesome french toast if you can make it their for breakfast one day.



http://cityguide.aol.com/sandiego/restaurants/konos-cafe/v-100496021

[Edited on February 18, 2009 at 11:34 AM. Reason : /]

2/18/2009 11:26:55 AM

Gaslamp District and Ocean Beach are both fun. I really like Carlsbad, too. I've spent a few weeks on Coronado Island, too, and I think it's a good time. I don't know that I'd want to live in SD for more than a couple of years, but it's probably my favorite city I've ever been to.

You could just cruise up the PCH and check stuff out. It's a beautiful drive.

[Edited on February 18, 2009 at 11:34 AM. Reason : adfda]

2/18/2009 11:32:12 AM

I've stayed in that hotel a couple times - it's actually two towers and it's huge. So you know, parking at the hotel was around $25 a day.

You could honestly WALK from the airport to the hotel, haha it's like a mile away. It's right next to Seaport Village, Petco Park, and Balboa Park. Balboa Park has like 100 museums and is an awesome place to spend a day, even if you don't go in any. The zoo is in Balboa Park. If you've seen Anchorman, a ton of the scenes are filmed in Balboa Park and the zoo (of course). The beach scenes are at Coronado Island, which is like 2 miles away.

You are right ON the trolley line and they have those egg shaped taxis all over. You could walk outside of the hotel and jump on - it even goes to Qualcomm where the Chargers play. You won't need to rent a car unless you feel the need to go outside of a two mile radius.

2/19/2009 8:00:02 AM

^ That's great stuff, thanks man. I'll definitely not rent a car knowing that, at least for the first time I'm there as it sounds like its not necessary. Someone I work with was just in San Diego said the trolleys are excellent and no one even pays, you just get in and go.

Speaking of Anchorman, what I'd really like to find is that "San Diego, drink it in" parking spot they had. Good chance that place wasn't real though, haha. Being a big fan of that movie maybe I'll look some of the spots up on the internet and take some pictures.

2/19/2009 9:14:20 AM

You could go see the hill from Top Gun! You know, the one where he's on his bike speeding away and she's chasing him in her little sports car? That was filmed in San Diego!

I was in San Diego last week to surprise my best friend for her birthday, and when we were driving around one day she pointed it out to me. That over there? That's the hill from Top Gun.

2/19/2009 9:25:48 AM

^^Chances are a lot of that stuff was filmed near LA though. I remember watching it and seeing stuff from San Diego and LA. Like they'd show SD for 5 seconds and then the setting was in LA, haha.
^The house from Top Gun is in Oceanside, 30 miles North

Another thing you may want to think about is an evening cruise in the bay out of Seaport Village, 1/2 mile walk. You go on this big boat and cruise around for 4 hours or so and eat dinner and drink.

Also, iirc the SD Symphony plays outside right by the Marriott.

2/19/2009 11:25:19 AM

most of anchorman was filmed in long beach, i think even the zoo stuff wasn't actually the SD zoo

the top gun bar (kansas city bbq) is super close to your hotel, but it closed last year due to a big fire -- i think i read it reopened but i haven't been there since

2/19/2009 12:00:19 PM

i've been living in san diego for almost 4 years now. a lot of good stuff mentioned in here...

also though, if you like dogs, you can check out dog beach in OB. OB also has one of the best burger places around, Hodad's. the museums and zoo are fun in balboa park. downtown/gaslamp area can be fun if like going out at night, it can be pricey for restaurants and bars though. Tom Ham's Lighthouse (restaurant) is good and has a great view of the bay and coronado, it's located on harbor island (not really an island) near the airport.

also, don't forget that it is illegal to: talk on your phone without a handsfree while driving, have alcohol on beaches, and smoke on any beach or park.

2/19/2009 5:54:04 PM

I honestly have such a desire to drive up California's coastline in my own car.

Every time I've done it, its been in a rental pos.

2/19/2009 6:09:58 PM

Maui is great. We stayed there for 6 days last summer. If you'll have a vehicle, do the drive/road to Hana. It's a challenging drive (tons of switchbacks), but totally worth it. Before you get to Hana, there will be a taco stand on the left side of the road. Get a kalua pork taco and thank me when you get back.

If you continue past Hana, the road takes you to Haleakala. Make sure you bring snorkel gear.

Lahaina is the touristy area, but assume this is where you'll most likely be staying. A lot to do there.

2/20/2009 4:37:20 PM

yeah, i've heard good things about the road to Hana. i haven't made it to Hawaii yet, though.

2/20/2009 4:44:43 PM

we're doing 6 nights in maui and 4 nights in kauai for our honeymoon.

for maui we're doing snorkeling cruise to molikini and turtle town with the maui dive shop, road to hana, and old lahina luau. and we're considering the haleakala volcanao bike ride.

for kauai we're doing a sunset dinner cruise and helicopter ride.

we've got a jeep wrangler for all 10 days, so we'll probably be doing a good bit of driving around and exploring while were there too.

other suggestions?

2/21/2009 9:49:39 AM

lived in hilo on the big island for a few months a couple years ago and went back to big island, oahu, maui, and kauai for three weeks last summer...

on kauai, definitely drive over to the leeward (west) side of kauai and go see waimea canyon. it's likely that it'll be foggy, so if you can't see out on the way up, stop by again on the way back down. there's some really nice hiking along some gorges if you keep going higher.

on maui, i'd highly recommend spending a night in hana (joe's place is a cheap but decent hostel in hana town) so you can take it slow and soak in the sites. there's a secluded red sand beach nearby that's a nice spot to sit and relax at the end of your journey to hana, but the real value of staying in hana is so you can wake up in the morning before all the other tourists hit town. i'd recommend going to the kipahulu area of the haleakala national park, just past hana, and doing the 4 mile pipiwai hike back to the ~400 foot waterfall. there are some other nice diversions on the way there as well. i was out on the big island during the earthquake in fall 06 and, as of last summer, the road past hana was still closed (we tried) and you have to turn around and go back the way you came.

while you're at it with the curvy roads, drive all the way around west maui. a nice afternoon drive with very little traffic (which is good since most of the roads are about 1.5 lanes) with some beautiful scenery and nice stops.

check out newish editions of maui revealed and the ultimate kauai guidebook. they'll be well worth it for places to see, though the food recommendations are hit or miss. speaking of food, i'd highly recommend picking up some dinner in kauai before sunset... we watched the sunset from whatever remote locale we were at each night, and by the time we got back into a town with (there aren't many on kauai), most were closed.

if either of you dudes want any more of recommendations or wanna see some of my pictures from either trip on facebook, pm me.

2/21/2009 1:47:50 PM

Quote :

"OB also has one of the best burger places around, Hodad's. "

I'll second that

2/21/2009 5:13:44 PM