Ocean Beach is a great place to stay, near enough to get to San Diego zoo (15 minutes' drive), Sea World (10 minutes' drive), Mission beach (10 minutes' drive) and the centre of town (15 minutes' drive) but with a great Glastonbury-on-sea vibe.
It's not intimidating at all for the family as some online descriptions have said (much less so than Newquay) - it's still pristine and polite and, if you stay in the Ocean Beach hotel, you can watch the surfers from your balcony.
We were there in Dec/Jan and, apparently, it gets a lot busier and louder in the peak seasons and at spring break but out of season it was fantastic.
Ocean Beach, San Diego, California
There are 2 very special restaurants that provide the perfect Southern Califronian Experience. Mr A's is situated next to Balboa Park and has fantastic views of the city, great meanu and they have the longest balcony which allows sunset walks to see every angle of the city.
Further up the coast in a beautiful town called Del Mar is Jake's where you can experience wonderful seafood, great service and fantastic views of the ocean as it sits on the beach - with spotlights at night. Neither will disappoint and enjoyed by San Diegans.
Mr A's
www.bertrandatmisteras.com/index.htm
Jake's
www.jakesdelmar.com/
To really get a feel for the Californian surfing lifestyle, spend a week at Ocean Beach, the epitome of laid back cool. A small beach community populated by artists, surfers, families, hippies and bikers alike, it isn't unusual to see a man walking his iguana down the main street to the beach.
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