Travel Tips – Exploring Southern California from San Diego

San Diego, California is located at the Southwest corner of continental U.S.A. and is a major transport hub in Southern California (a.k.a. ‘SoCal’) region. The city is a popular entry point for exploring various locations in Southern California. In this blog we discuss some travel ideas, including route maps, using San Diego as a base.

The above map shows the route for a quick and easy trip to the San Diego harbor from the airport. The harbor side shops, restaurants and sculptures are popular with tourists and locals alike.

In addition to these attractions, the harbor side is also a naval museum showcasing the aircraft carrier USS Midway. There are also short cruise tours around the San Diego bay departing from the harbor every few hours.

A little over an hour north of San Diego is the city of Carlsbad, home to several resorts and close to some nice beaches. This location is ideal for a few nights stay. The nearby agricultural preserves between Escondido and Ramona offers wine tours, horseback riding and scenic drives through mountains and valleys.

Another hour north of Carlsbad is the start of famous beach cities near metro Los Angeles, such as Newport Beach, Huntington Beach and Venice Beach. Further up north lies Hollywood Hills neighborhood with its iconic sign. Few miles from there is the theme park ‘Universal Studios Hollywood’ which also has a live studio set and offers tour of the facility!

Due to the typical congestion in metro Los Angeles, a drive to all the above attractions and exploring them may take anywhere between few hours to couple of days..

Further northeast of metro L.A. lies the San Bernardino Mountain range. The scenic drive through the rocky hilltops and snowcapped taller mountains is an experience in itself! The highway crossing the mountain continues northwest reaching the city of Palmdale and eventually border of Nevada, with Las Vega only another hour or so away.