Cheap flights to San Diego from HK$540

San Diego, the beautiful city by the Pacific Ocean, about two hours south of Los Angeles, has arguably the best climate in the US and a healthy, laid-back attitude too. It has a great ethnic and cultural mix, and its close proximity to Mexico – Tijuana is less than 20 miles away – makes for great Mexican cafes and restaurants.

Food lovers coming off their flights to San Diego will find excellent Latin, Central and East Asian, Middle Eastern, Italian, Greek, and Pacific Islander food throughout the city. Pick up the scent in the Gaslamp Quarter, Little Italy, La Jolla and Old Town.

The beaches, climate and deserts are not the only things on offer. San Diego has several world-class attractions including Balboa Park, America’s largest urban cultural park, which has more than a dozen museums as well as the world-famous San Diego Zoo.

And for those travellers booking their San Diego flights to get away from it all, Torrey Pines State Reserve is one of the wildest landscapes along the coast, with unspoilt beaches, chaparral, pine trees and a lagoon vital to many migrating birds.

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San Diego climate

The average daily temperature is 21 degrees Celsius. During the summer months and into October temperatures of 29C are not unusual. The city averages a mere 25cm (ten inches) of rain and even during the coldest months of December and January, temperatures still average a mild 20C.

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. 

What is good to know if travelling to San Diego?

• The Hotel del Coronado on Coronado Island is the largest wooden structure in the United States.
• The zoo is home to a family 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, mother of eight).
• Deep 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 theatre, 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 behaviour.
• 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.