San Diego flights and travel guide

What will you get from a flight to San Diego? A little bit of everything. Whether you're in the mood for sun, surf, sailing or snorkeling, you won’t regret booking flights to San Diego. 

San Diego is California’s first city, discovered in 1542 when Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sailed into San Diego Bay. Today, San Diego maintains its naval integrity as one of California’s busiest sailing ports and a U.S. Navy hub. Tourism keeps this city afloat - thanks to cheap flights to San Diego - and provides a major boost to the city’s economy every year. Book airline tickets to San Diego for some of the best swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, windsurfing and sailing in the nation. While you’re there, head to famous tourist attractions like Balboa Park and the San Diego Zoo.

Visitors arriving on San Diego flights will immediately feel at ease in the nation’s seventh-largest city. Its neighborhoods rival that of tourist-packed San Francisco, but when you book a flight to San Diego you’ll find the city’s Spanish-Mexican heritage honored. If you've got some time to spare while you're here, add a few extra days to your San Diego flight and take a side trip to one of California's nearby cities.

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San Diego climate

The average daily temperature is 70 degrees (Fahrenheit). During the summer months and into October temperatures up to 85 degrees are not unusual. The city averages a mere 10 inches of rain and even during the coldest months of December and January, temperatures still average a mild 68 degrees.

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Best Time to Fly to San Diego

There is no bad time to book flights to San Diego. The warm climate makes San Diego a year-round destination spot.

Peak Season:

May to October. Sailing is at its peak and many festivals take place in San Diego.

Off Season:

November to January is the best time to take a cheap flight to San Diego.

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Getting downtown San Diego

San Diego International Airport (SAN)
Distance: 2 miles northwest of San Diego
Drive time: 10 mins

Shuttle vans, buses and taxis leave from one of three islands in front of the terminals. The cheapest option downtown is Metropolitan Transit System Flyer Route No. 992, which departs every ten minutes between 5am and 12:50am, and will drop you at most downtown businesses and hotels. The fare is about $2.

Taxis departing from the airport are subject to regulated fares, which work out to $10 or so. Limousines are also available.

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Getting around San Diego

Like much of Southern California, the easiest way to get around San Diego is by car. You can find several rental car companies at the airport. Bus tickets are cheap and the trolley system is a great way to get around downtown or to nearby Tijuana. The Blue Line can take you through Old Town before crossing the border into Mexico. Tickets cost a few dollars and last for two hours.

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San Diego Travel Information

• The Hotel del Coronado on Coronado Island is the largest wooden structure in the United States.
• The San Diego Zoo is home to a pair of giant pandas, and when Hua Mei was born here, she was the first baby panda born in the Western Hemisphere since 1990 (she is now in China).
• Deep theater discounts are available at the ARTS TIX booth downtown in Horton Plaza Park, where day-of-show tickets are available on a cash-only basis. Events include theater, concert and dance throughout the city.
• Each July, Mission Bay is home to a San Diego original, the Over-the-Line Tournament. This beach softball event dates from 1953 and is renowned for boisterous, anything-goes behavior.
• And for the holidays, kids of all ages gather in the lobby of Loews Coronado Bay Resort, where the Cat in the Hat gives regular readings of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) is one of San Diego's most treasured native sons.
• For more insider information visit the San Diego visitor's bureau at www.sandiego.org

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San Diego airports

San Diego International Airport (SAN)

Alternative Airports (distances in miles):
Orange County (76); Palm Springs (86); Long Beach (96); Los Angeles (109)

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