2016/Travel

Downtown San Diego

Gaslamp Quarter - Historic Heart of San Diego

San Diego, California is located on the Pacific Ocean, a few miles north of the border with Mexico. The conference venues is the San Diego Central Library located in the Gaslamp Quarter of downtown San Diego. The Wiki Culture Crawl day is Friday, October 7. Details will be announced, but the likely venues and focus will be at the Balboa Park Museums.

For more information on the venues, see the "Location" page.

About San Diego

For general information on the city of San Diego and surrounding areas:

• WikiTravel
• San Diego Tourism Authority
• Gaslamp Quarter
• Downtown San Diego

Lodging

Lodging in the Gaslamp Quarter is generally higher-priced than in outlying areas, but inexpensive options do exist. The planning committee has visited some of these hotels and while we do not have an "official" hotel, we have looked at several places that are close to the venue and reasonably priced.

The motels and hotels close to Balboa Park, where the culture crawl events will occur, are generally a little less expensive than in the Gaslamp Quarter, though availability of public transportation may be an issue for people who do not have a car. There are a number of reasonably-priced lodgings south of Balboa Park between that area and the Gaslamp Quarter.

We have searched for lodging within striking distance of the Library and Balboa Park advertised as under $200 per night for October 7-10. As always, book early for the best selection. Price search was done on August 12, 2016. Both rates and availability are subject to change at any time. Anyone who can ask for a AAA or other discount can, most likely, get a 10%-15% discount on room rates. Also, it may be possible to get a lower room rate by calling a hotel directly rather than booking online.

Hostels and hotels

Gaslamp Quarter (Harbor street to Broadway, centered on 5th Avenue) map

• Conference organizers have personally visited the following Hostels and Hotels, which are relatively close to the venue. We do not have any special endorsements or room deals for lodging, but are providing this information for the convenience of attendees:
  • The Hostel International (HI) Downtown San Diego on Market Street is probably the best bargain within the Gaslamp Quarter. Shared dormitory-style rooms are very inexpensive and private rooms with shared bathrooms are much less expensive than any hotel in the immediate area.
  • Hotel Z, (a block south of Market Street on 6th) $158
  • Comfort Inn (G Street, rated 2-stars, one block N of Market Street) $132/night
  • Hotel Indigo (4 star) Closest hotel to San Diego Central Library $189

Horton Grand

• Market Street and south, additional hotels include:
  • Horton Grand (Island Ave, 3 star) $167
  • Residence Inn San Diego (6th and J street, 3-star) $184

Westin Gaslamp

• Moving north of Market Street up to about Broadway (give or take a couple blocks) additional area hotels include:
  • Ramada Gaslamp Convention Center (F street, rated 3-star) $118 - is close to a 24-hour restaurant
  • Sofia Hotel Downtown (on W Broadway) $147
  • The Bristol (1 block N of Broaday & 1st) $148
  • Gaslamp Plaza Suites (E street & 5th, 3 star) $149
  • Wyndham Harbor Lights (5th and E) $152
  • The Keating (F street 4-star) $171
  • Courtyard by Marriott Downtown (Broadway) $179
  • The Westin San Diego $186 (there’s another Westin nearby at about $200)
  • Westgate Hotel (Broadway) $183
  • Kimpton Hotel Palomar (Broadway and 5th) $194 (Also a Kimpton Solamar that’s more expensive)

North Downtown San Diego/Balboa Park

• Farther north, still part of Downtown San Diego (map, in the vicinity of A street and Ash street— between 6th and 10th — closer to Balboa Park by the I-5 cloverleaf:
  • Motel 6 (on Beech and 2nd, just north of Ash street) $80
  • Day’s Inn ($103)
  • Red Roof Inn ($102)
  • Holiday Inn Express Downtown ($150)
  • Marriott Vacation Club Pulse ( on A street) $149
  • Best Western Cabrillo Garden Inn (on A street) $149

Other options

• Outside the immediate area of the Balboa Park and Gaslamp Quarter, there are additional options, some quite inexpensive. Lodging located close to a trolley line is recommended for people who will not be using a car. (Trolley line map )
  • San Diego State University list of hotels, some close to trolley lines
  • USA Today list of hotels adjacent to trolley stops, most are not cheap
  • Motel 6 (Farther south, in Chula Vista on E Street and next to the blue trolley line) $67
  • Motel 6 Mission Valley East (Well North of Balboa Park, but close to a trolley line) $79

• Other inexpensive options:
  • Motel 6 (On Pacific Hwy, north of Harborview, need car) $76
  • Motel 6 (North, by I-8, near Sea World, need car)

• Airbnb has a number of listings for San Diego, some in the area between the Library and Balboa Park.

Transportation

The light rail trolley serves San Diego and outlying areas

General transportation information is described in detail at the San Diego Tourism Authority site. There are both busses and a trolley light rail system.

Airport

• San Diego International Airport AKA Lindbergh Field is the main airport serving San Diego.
• Many hotels have an airport shuttle. If you are not staying at a place that does, there are also private shuttle companies that offer transportation from the airport
• You can also take a bus or trolley from the airport.
• Taxis are available. There is an additional surcharge on taxi fare from the airport.
• For more information on the Airport and ground transportation, see here.

Cars and parking

• General information on car rental can be located here.
• Specific information on car rental at the airport is here.
• The library has its own underground parking (first two hours free (validation in the Library lobby) $21/full day maximum)
• There are numerous additional nearby paid parking structures (usually used during the Baseball season for those going to Petco Park). Prices are generally higher than at the library.

Taxi/Ride sharing

• San Diego taxi information with rates and contact info. Fare finders are here and here.
• Car2Go, Lyft, and Uber are available in San Diego

Public Transportation

• Directions and parking for the San Diego Central Library are here.
• An interactive map with directions to Balboa Park is here.

• There are trolley and bus stops close to the library. An interactive Google Map shows trolley routes from outlying areas.

• The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System has public transportation throughout the area and maps are available. An area 511 page can assist in working out transportation options.

Bicycles

• There is bike sharing available in the Gaslamp Quarter. See here for more details.
• DecoBike is the vendor for bike sharing in San Diego.
• Interactive San Diego Regional Bike Map
• Bike SD web site

International visitors

For participants from outside the United States, information for tourists entering the USA is here:

• general information
• documents
• Information for citizens of Mexico
• Information for citizens of Canada

For the perspective of other nations on safety of travel to the United States, please see the travel advice of:

• Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade United States travel page
• Global Affair Canada's United States travel page
• New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade United States travel page
• United Kingdom's Foreign Office United States travel page

Safety

The area in and around the library has a significant transient population, so participants are advised to secure their belongings. In general, as in any large city, people are advised to travel in groups after dark.

Things to do

San Diego Zoo

The San Diego Tourism Authority has an extensive website with information on tourism options. The Travel Channel also lists many activities as well as information on restaurants.

San Diego is well-known for its World-famous Zoo in Balboa Park, Sea World, and the USS Midway Museum.

San Diego is noted for a number of breweries, and there is a web site with additional details.

More adventurous conference attendees may enjoy touring outlying portions of the city using a San Diego Trolley pass, viewing coastal scenery from the connecting Coaster to Oceanside, or taking the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains through the undeveloped terrain of Camp Pendleton.

A tour of the city waterfront is via one of the harbor cruises: [1] or [2]. The harbor tours offer some exposure to San Diego's rich history as the primary west coast port of the United States Navy.

Mission Bay, near the mouth of the San Diego River north of Point Loma, which includes Cabrillo National Monument, is the largest man-made aquatic park in the United States with miles of sandy beaches and pedestrian paths to enjoy the southern California coastal climate in a park-like atmosphere. Further north, is La Jolla Cove, Torrey Pines States Natural Reserve, Legoland California, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and the Palomar Observatory. San Diego County is also home to the largest number of Indian Reservations in any county in the United States. Information about visiting these reservations can be found here.

Visiting Tijuana, Mexico

For participants interested in travel to Mexico, please read Global Affairs Canada's Mexico Travel Warning and the U.S. State Department's Mexico Travel Warning. If someone wants to travel to Mexico, the requirements for crossing the border are here. Additionally, to re-enter the United States please remember to have one of the following documents listed here or here.