Lady’s San Diego Winter Travel Guide

Today I want to bring you my San Diego winter travel guide. This beachfront city in Southern California is a great place to soak up the winter sun in the United States.

San Diego Winter Travel

One of the most difficult things about being a Californian in London is the winter. I can usually get through December with Christmas lights standing in for sun, and in January I’m able to get excited about the start of a new year.

But come February, I’m out of ways to trick my sun-starved self into remembering why I live in London. Which is why every February I seek out where to travel for winter sun. And there’s no better place to do it than San Diego.

I’ve spent a lot of time in San Diego over the years, having lived in Del Mar for six months in college and visited family in La Jolla and Point Loma a million times since. But every time I go, I discover more about the city.

San Diego Winter Water Sports

The water sports, for example. After a few days of skiing in Mammoth, I’ve flown to the California coast to prove to myself that it’s possible to ski and surf on the same trip to my home state.

San Diego is famous for surfing, and even in winter it’s sunny enough to brave the breaks of the Pacific Ocean.

My press trip group from Visit California has signed up for a surf lesson with Surf Diva in La Jolla. After checking into our accommodation, the Hard Rock Hotel San Diego, we head over one sunny afternoon to try our luck.

Upon arrival, we learn that the surf conditions are more conducive to stand-up paddle boarding, which I didn’t even know I could do in San Diego.

It’s just as fun as surfing (and probably more fun given I’m not the world’s best surfer), and as I paddle my way across the dazzling ocean water I have a hard time believing it’s the dead of San Diego winter.

San Diego Winter Paragliding

Back on land, I head up to the cliffs in Torrey Pines to watch the paragliders sail across the sunset.

Some members of my group are brave enough to hook themselves into the giant parachutes and try it themselves, but my fear of heights plants my feet on the ground and frees up my hands to take pictures.

It’s just as exciting for me, and I can’t get enough of how beautiful the gliders are in the golden light.

San Diego Neighborhoods

Still clinging to the coast, the rest of my San Diego winter travel itinerary has me visiting some of the beachfront neighborhoods that give the city its laid-back reputation and famous surfing vibe.

Over in Ocean Beach, the sounds of Tom Petty vie with the sights of VW vans for the title of the city’s most hippie sensation.

Mission Beach is the opposite, with its amusement park rides and giant roller coaster. This being San Diego, it also has a surf simulator where those that can’t get enough of the breaks can show off their skills in front of a crowd.

Up in Pacific Beach, there’s something in between. A popular place for San Diego’s many university students to live, the area has great nightlife and a youthful culture.

It also has award-winning burritos, and I can’t resist trying one at Taco Surf on Mission Boulevard.

San Diego Winter Trip

After days of soaking up the San Diego winter sun, I’m starting to feel like my old California self again.

My skin has gone from translucent to very pale (it’s a small victory, but I’ll take it) and my mood has lifted above the gray London skies.

By the time I leave, I’m armed with Vitamin D and ready to face the rest of winter in London. I just hope it won’t last too long.

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