San Diego’s nickname is ‘America’s Finest City’, and with great weather, plenty of attractions and an enviable ocean-side location it’s hard to disagree.
But forget the zoo and the themes parks and even Ron Burgundy. The US' eighth-largest city offers some less conventional opportunities for appreciating its fineness by ditching terra firma and taking to the skies and the water. Here are the best options for getting a fish/bird’s-eye view of San Diego.
By air
Rooftop panorama
It can be hard to get a handle on downtown San Diego from the street. More high-rise than you might imagine and more densely-packed than other Californian cities, it is also divided into distinct districts. Happily, some of the best places to get an overview of the city are from rooftop bars which offer sensational vistas accompanied by a tempting array of cocktails.
San Diego’s harbour is dominated by the two towers of the Grand Hyatt Hotel whose 40th-floor Top of the Hyatt bar gives unbeatable sunset views over the marina. Further downtown, on 6th Avenue, the Nolen attracts a more local, fashionable crowd, who down cocktails and local craft beer above the busy Gaslamp Quarter.
Paragliding
Further north in La Jolla, paragliders emerge each morning from the clifftops at Torrey Pines. Taking advantage of the unique soaring conditions (westerly sea breezes deflected upwards by the sandstone cliffs) gliders can stay aloft for hours and land back on the clifftop. Unlike many paragliding venues, flying here is a year-round activity (although they do make a grudging exception for Christmas Day). Tandem flights take you straight out over the sea where, floating above the vast Pacific Ocean and with dolphins and surfers sharing the waters of Blacks Beach below, you can see the expanse of the La Jolla coastline spreading out on one side and North County on the other. The flight even gives you aerial views at startlingly close quarters of La Jolla’s poshest clifftop communities. It’s worth sticking around afterwards for a sandwich at the Cliffhanger Café to watch others in flight and enjoy the views with your feet on the ground.
Helicopter flights
The best way to get the full panorama of San Diego is undoubtedly to take a helicopter tour, which in one flight takes in the city’s entire area. Most fly over La Jolla (some venturing further north up the coast to glitzy Del Mar) as well as downtown and waterfront San Diego and Balboa Park, with perhaps a swoop down to the Mexican border towards Tijuana. Variations on the theme include a stop-off for wine tasting in nearby wine country. These trips don’t come cheap – prices tend to start at around $250 for the most basic tour – but they do cover a huge distance.
Combat flight
If you’re a fan of classic Tom Cruise movie Top Gun, a trip to San Diego is all about visiting locations from the movie, and a combat flight over the city is the ultimate Top Gun experience. Admittedly less sightseeing and more adrenaline adventure, this is your chance to experience a flight in a fighter jet, complete with aerobatic maneuvers and even the option to take the controls yourself. It’s wildly expensive but, for Top Gun buffs especially, unforgettable.
By sea
Harbor cruise
San Diego is built around a sea port and with its grid formation you often get tantalizing glimpses of the ocean as you walk around. To get the best water views though, you need to head out into the harbor. Tours take place at regular intervals throughout the day in cruise ships, and give you a feel of the scale, depth and history of San Diego, as well as impressive shots of the skyline. The tours typically take you past the glamorous residences of Coronado and under the Coronado bridge, passing the military base (where you get an excellent close-up look at navy destroyers and aircraft carriers) and commercial shipyards with huge floating dry docks. If you want to turn the tour into more of an experience there are dinner and champagne cruises as well as blue whale tours on some days of the week.
Seal tours
There aren’t many major cities that don’t have a boat-on-wheels tour in one form or another (often called a Duck Tour) and there’s a reason – it’s an incredibly popular, fun trip, especially for families. After a whistle-stop drive around the city, the San Diego version makes a splashy entry into the bay. From then on, there’s more of an emphasis on wildlife than in most of the harbor cruises – there’s a detour to see the sea lion colony – and the commentary is aimed at a mixed age audience.
Sea kayak trips
For messing about on the water under your own steam join one of the many kayak tours that head out from La Jolla every day into the marine ecological reserve. You need to be tolerably fit to keep up, and you will get wet, but it’s worth a little exertion to paddle with pelicans flying overhead and rays swimming beneath, out to the seal and sea lion colonies. La Jolla has attracted the rich and famous for generations and you’ll get the lowdown from the well-informed tour guides about who has lived in the grand, colonial-style mansions that dot the coastline, as well as picking up a fair bit of local history and geology. The highlight of the trip is venturing into the La Jolla caves, strong waves permitting. Prices vary substantially so it’s worth shopping around; La Jolla Sea Caves Kayak Tour is a good option.
