Your San Diego Weekend Travel Guide

The best part of living in California is being so close to so much! Each weekend I’ve been able to get out and explore new areas—it’s making me fall in love with this state a little more each time.

On myz first trip of the summer I went down to San Deigo for a weekend full of fun in Pacific Beach! I loved this area a lot more than I expected to. It’s a post-grad, twenty-something town full of bars, shops, and casual restaurants that are walking distance from home. You’re overdressed if you’re wearing anything other than flip flops and at any given time you can spot three bleach-blonde boys that look like they just walked off the beach. The people we met were so friendly.

Although it was a short and sweet two nights, we had the best time seeing this cute new part of California. The water was amazing and the vibes were high. Sharing a round-up of everything we packed into our weekend trip.

Where We Stayed  

Typically in this section of the blog post, I have a hotel or Airbnb to review for you. This time around I stayed with my sweet YouTube bestie Devon, who lives right in an apartment right in Pacific Beach. We were just walking distance to the beach—stopping along the pier to watch the surfers. I can’t believe some people are lucky enough to wake up to this view every day!

Things To Do

We had a casual weekend with no big plans… just seeing where the days took us!

La Jolla Beach Day

While Devon’s apartment is literally just a short walk to the beach, she drove us over to La Jolla for our beach days. There are tons of small accesses over here with the most amazing scenery you’ve ever seen. Incredible water, tons of rocks, and a mermaid vibe… there’s just no other way to describe it, lol.

I’m a big beach girl—content with a packed pb&j for lunch, my beach chair, and a good book. We spent most of the trip lazing in the sun, catching rays.

Sunset Cliffs

Devon took us to the Sunset Cliffs in the evening and it was truly an out-of-body experience. I’ve never seen anything like this. Even Hawaii didn’t feel this good. If you’re coming to San Diego, you absolutely must come here. It’s so magical.

Local Lookouts 

As I said, there were tons of lookouts around the La Jolla neighborhoods so we were able to pull over every block or so to enjoy the amazing views. We took some adorable Instagram photos over here!

Hermosa Surf Shop 

We popped in and out of a few shops just window shopping, appreciating all of the cute local businesses in the area. Hermosa Surf Shop is a fan favorite on Instagram so naturally, we had to stop in. This store has cute tees, swimsuits, surfboards, and even a little coffee counter. It made for the cutest photos too!

Where We Ate 

Eating out is one of my love languages. There’s nothing more fun to me than getting to try local restaurants.  Devon’s lived here for about six months now and had us stop in all of her favorites!

Better Buzz

Although I am not a big coffee drinker, the girls are so we stopped in a local favorite, Better Buzz so they could fuel up. This was the cutest coffee shop you’ve ever seen with tons of natural light, the cutest decor, and tons of photo ops. The perfect place to snap a picture. I got their original acai bowl and admittedly it was not my favorite. A little watery for my liking but their granola was great!

✈ Menu // Directions

Oscars

Oscars is a local taco spot just a block from the water. You order at the counter however there’s tons of setting inside and outside. I got two tacos from them—one surf and turf (my personal favorite) and one grilled shrimp. They were huge tacos, packed full of lots of toppings. It’s safe to say they don’t skimp here.

✈ Menu // Directions

Palmys

Everyone raves about the breakfast burritos in San Diego so I had to give one a try. This was another order at the counter, dine-in restaurant with the cutest atmosphere you’ve ever seen. Beach vibes and so much greenery around the place made it feel so homey. I got their breakfast burrito stuffed with hashbrowns, cheddar cheese, eggs, bacon, and avocado and it was one of the best I’ve had. Very filling too! Two thumbs up from me.

✈ Menu // Directions

Square Pizza Co 

Grabbed a quick bite to eat before leaving town Sunday night. We grabbed a slice of margarita pizza at the counter and it was so good. I’m not usually a big pizza girl but this deep dish crust was to die for. Super fresh and very filling. Highly recommend it if you’re looking for something quick and easy.

✈ Menu // Directions

Things To Pack

I had no idea San Deigo would be as laid back of a town as it was. Shorts, flip-flops, and a tee shirt work just fine here. While I did get some use out of some flowy dresses, they were mostly for pictures. The rest of the time you could find me in a swimsuit with my booty in the sand.

As always, I shared all of the outfits I wore + links to shop in my San Diego Outfit Guide. In the meantime, here are a few must-pack items. 

• Flip Flops:  This is a flat-shoe kind of town, even when going out to the bars. Bring flip-flops for the day and a cute pair of sandals for the evening.
• Jeans: California in general is a lot cooler than I ever imagined. The evenings, and even the mornings, are rather brisk here so I found myself wearing a pair of jeans every single day on this trip. I wish I would’ve packed another pair!
• A Linen Button Up: If I was wearing shorts instead of jeans, I needed a lightweight layer over top. I’ve been wearing linen button-ups left and right. They work buttoned up, they work unbuttoned with a swimsuit underneath. You just can’t go wrong!
• A Casual Bag: Tote bags or fanny packs are definitely the vibe here. No need for a fancy designer purse, just something small to throw all of your essentials in—and possibly a swimsuit😜.

Where We Went Out 

I turned 21 a few weeks ago but never had the chance to celebrate with Devon! We met up with tons of her friends and went out to a few of their favorite spots. There are dozens of spots along the block so if one place isn’t your vibe, you can literally just walk next door. That was another thing I loved about San Diego, everything was within walking distance.

The Local 

The Local seemed to be Devon and her friend’s favorite spot. There were a gazillion twenty-somethings packed in here. We went both nights and had a blast! This had a very dance-y vibe to it with great music. I met a few subscribers here too which was so fun. Definitely a hot and sweaty place so make sure you’re wearing shorts, lol.

📍Directions

West End 

West End was a hole-in-the-wall dive bar that reminded me of Kent. There were pool tables and old beer signage on the walls, drinks were just $4, and Cody Jinks was belting on the speakers. This is my favorite kind of vibe. I will say, this is a locals kind of spot so it’s more fun if you bring a group of friends you already know and plan to stick with!

📍Directions

Mavericks 

This place had more of a club vibe and was my least favorite of the bunch. There weren’t a ton of people I’d go up and chat with here and the drinks were expensive. They had great music though!

📍Directions

Watch The Weekend 

Want to see my trip to San Diego + get the inside scoop on all these photos? Check out this vlog and hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out on more travel content coming your way soon.

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Although it was a short and sweet trip, it sure was a good one! I’ll be back in San Diego for the Fourth of July and can’t wait for all of the fun! I’ll be sure to share more details on that trip when the time comes. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed this mini weekend guide. xx

With love, McKenz

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