2016/Travel

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Revision as of 21:55, 21 August 2016 by Rosiestep (talk | contribs) (moved content from Location page)
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Visiting San Diego

Where to stay

For lodging and transportation information, see our 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.

International visitors

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

Things to do

The light rail trolley serves San Diego and outlying areas

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 and Sea World.

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. The east shore of the south end of San Diego Bay was developed as a destroyer base when the battleship fleet was transferred to the Pacific in 1919; and continues to be the major base for surface ships of intermediate size. The bay is rather shallow for larger ships, which are further limited by the overhead clearance of the bridge to Coronado. Aircraft carriers berth at North Island near the northern end of the west shore of the bay. Southern California offered optimum flying conditions for naval aviation pioneers in what became the North Island Naval Air Station. Near Point Loma on the north shore of the bay opening to the Pacific is a submarine base and the historic site of technical innovations by the Navy Electronics Laboratory. North of San Diego is the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station where the Top Gun fighter school originated.

Mission Bay, near the mouth of the San Diego River north of Point Loma, 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.

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.


For general information on visiting San Diego, see WikiTravel and the San Diego Tourism Authority.

The San Diego Central Library is located in the Gaslamp Quarter of downtown San Diego. Lodging in the area 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 Wiki Culture Crawl day is Friday, October 7. Details will be announced, but the focus is on the Balboa Park Museums. 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.

Transportation

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
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/Uber
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.
Bicycles

International travelers

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

Lodging

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.

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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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)

Other options

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

Things to do

For information on the conference venues and things to do in San Diego, see our Location page.

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