Close to Hotel:

1. Walk or bike along island bayside bike path– complimentary bike rentals from hotel, walk out on the pier or along the bay, watch the boats go by, and watch the sunset.

Other attractions:

2. *Cabrillo National Monument and Park on Point Loma. Breath-taking views!!  Just a few miles from the hotel, see Old Point Loma lighthouse and station, take the bayside trail, kelp forest and whale overlook, and visitor center. The military cemetery on the drive to the park is also interesting. Stop at the tide pools and go tide pooling. There is a $20 entrance fee per vehicle. Closes at 5pm.
3. *Whale and dolphin watching cruise or Harbor sightseeing cruise: City Experiences offers several options for afternoon cruises. Dolphin and Gray whale sightings guaranteed! Take a jacket and maybe some Dramamine.
4. *Old Town Trolley City Tour take the trolley for a narrated two-hour tour of San Diego and Coronado, including 100 points of interest, with 11 stops where you can hop off and hop back on the next trolley. San Diego’s best sightsee. Hotel staff can help with details.
5. Embarcadero (7 miles from hotel):

• • Star of India Maritime Museum (open till 8:00pm)
  • *USS Midway Museum (closes at 5:00pm)
  • *Seaport Village, 849 W Harbor Dr. – shops, restaurants, carousel, horse-drawn carriage rides.

6. *Historic Old Town (4 miles via Rosecrans St) – unique and specialty shops in quaint Spanish atmosphere, restaurants and museums, live performances and musical entertainment until 9:00pm in Fiesta de Reyes plaza.
7. *Balboa Park (6 miles): a San Diego must-see, ranked as one of the best parks in the world. Includes 15 great museums (see the National History Museum!) and beautiful gardens, restaurants, cultural attractions and of course, the San Diego Zoo. The Botanical Building has free admission. See Balboa Park Explorer online for discounted tickets. Walk through the park and see the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. John D. and Adolph Spreckels donated the Spreckels Organ to the City of San Diego in 1914 for the Panama-California Exposition. This unique organ contains more than 5,000 pipes ranging in length from the size of a pencil to 32 feet and is the largest outdoor pipe organ in the world. The Spreckels Organ is housed in an ornate vaulted structure with highly embellished gables. Since 1917, San Diego has had a civic organist, who performs free weekly Sunday concerts.
8. Coronado Island (12 miles) – drive over the Coronado Bay Bridge or take a water taxi to the Coronado Ferry Landing. Eat ice cream at the Coronado Hotel. Walk along the beach or the bay. Drive along the Silver Strand Beach.
9. Gaslamp Quarter (6 miles) – downtown nightlife, shops, galleries, restaurants – can take a water taxi from hotel to downtown.
10. Mission Valley Mall (10 miles) –1640 Camino Del Rio N, San Dieg0. 130 stores and AMC 20 Theatres and IMAX.
11. Fashion Valley Mall (7 miles) – 7007 Friars Road, San Diego. 200 stores and restaurants – upscale mall, AMC Theatres.
12. Mission Bay – (6 miles) beach access, ride bikes around the bay, SeaWorld, and *Belmont Park – 3146 Mission Blvd. Beachfront amusement park with amusement park rides and the Giant Dipper wooden roller coaster, one of two original oceanfront roller coasters still operating on the West Coast – originally built in 1925.  Restaurants and specialty shops.
13. Half day Fishing Trip: from Fisherman’s Landing, 2838 Garrison St. $65. 619-221-8500.
14. *La Jolla - The Cave Store / Mount Soledad. The Cave Store in La Jolla is the easiest way to visit Sunny Jim Cave, a large sea cave and the only one accessible by land in southern California. For a small fee you can descend the stairs that lead down into the cool damp dark cave. Trails near the store lead to incredible views from the point above the caves. A short walk from the store you will find seals on the rocks below the path.
    Mount Soledad is known as one of the most prominent landmarks in San Diego. Atop this 822-foot hill (the highest point in San Diego) sits the Mount Soledad cross and veterans monument. It offers 360 degree panoramic views of San Diego and the Pacific Ocean, the best views in San Diego County. The Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial is considered one of the most unique veterans memorials in America. It is the only memorial that honors veterans, living or deceased, from the Revolutionary War to the current war on terrorism, with an image of the veteran.
15. Beaches - Ocean Beach, Mission Beach, South Mission Beach, Pacific Beach.

*Highly Recommended:  Point Loma/Cabrillo, Whale watching cruise, Balboa Park, Historic Old Town, Seaport Village, Belmont Park

For more ideas, visit the San Diego Tourism website.