San Diego

San Diego has a lot to offer tourists, from sunny beaches with a laid-back attitude to a sparkling contemporary image. San Diego, located on the southern California seacoast, is the state’s second biggest city, with 1.3 million people, and has long drawn vacationers due to its excellent temperature, miles of beaches, and proximity to Tijuana.

However, there is much more to this town than surf culture and a short hop over the border. San Diego, which is home to the United States Navy’s Pacific Fleet, has a significant marine and military legacy. Due to the existence of the world-renowned San Diego Zoo and Safari Park and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the city has also become noted for its role in animal protection. There is an abundance of natural landscapes, from rocky tidepools and seashore cliffs to desert hills and canyons inland.

San Diego is a great city that never ceases to flourish, and although the city has a distinct identity, many of its people are newcomers who have joined the city’s stream of immigration. This has resulted in the difficulties associated with cities in Southern California, such as traffic congestion and air pollution. And yet, despite its size, San Diego is a popular destination for those seeking a getaway from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles, some 100 miles to the northwest.

Tourism is a significant sector in San Diego, thanks to the city’s climate, beaches, and several tourist attractions, including Balboa Park, Belmont amusement park, San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and SeaWorld San Diego. The Spanish and Mexican past of San Diego is represented in the city’s many historic landmarks, including Mission San Diego de Alcala and Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. Additionally, the local craft brewing sector draws a growing number of tourists for “beer tours” and November’s San Diego Beer Week; San Diego has been dubbed “America’s Craft Beer Capital.”

In 2012, San Diego County welcomed more than 32 million tourists who spent an estimated $8 billion locally. Over 160,000 individuals are employed in the tourism sector.

Historically, San Diego’s cruise ship industry was the second biggest in the state. Numerous cruise lines have their terminals in San Diego. The cruise ship industry, on the other hand, has been steadily declining since 2008, when the Port welcomed over 250 ship visits and over 900,000 passengers. By 2011, the ship calls have decreased to 103. (estimated).

In San Diego Bay and Mission Bay, sightseeing cruises are available. Additionally, whale-watching excursions are offered to see the gray whale migration, which peaks in mid-January. Sport fishing is another major tourist activity; San Diego is home to the largest sport fishing fleet in Southern California.

VISITOR INFORMATION

• International Visitor Information Center, 1140 North Harbor Drive (in Downtown, in front of the B Street Cruise Ship Terminal),  +1 619 236-1212. Daily 9AM-5PM (June-September); daily 9AM-4PM (October-May).
• La Jolla Village Information Center, 1162 Prospect Street,  +1 858 454-5718.Daily 10AM-6PM (summer); daily 11AM-4PM (winter).

Almost any time of year, the San Diego region can be an amazing place to visit. The weather is perfect, with coastal temperatures hovering around 75 degrees (24°C) for the most of the year. However, the climate of Southern California is rather complicated, and temperatures shift fast as one moves eastward from the coast. During the summer, the temperature may rise by as much as one degree Fahrenheit for each mile east. Eastern locations are often colder in the winter, particularly at night. Due to the geography and other considerations, some valleys and other regions experience dramatically diverse weather. Often, they are referred to as “micro-climates.”

If you’re anticipating bright weather in San Diego, avoid visiting in May or June, when the city is blanketed in clouds on most days, a phenomenon dubbed “May Grey” or “June Gloom” by residents. In the afternoon, September is often the warmest month of the year. Mid-September through October are considered the most at-risk months for wildfires due to the prolonged lack of significant rainfall. During the warmer part of the year, it may become shockingly chilly by the shore after nightfall, even when it is not too cold inland. March and April are often the windiest months. Fog is most prevalent along the coast from September to April; it is not unusual to encounter three to seven foggy days every month.

In late summer and autumn, the normal climatic conditions are reversed, as hot, dry air rushes from the desert to the shore. These are referred to as the Santa Ana winds. While gentler Santa Ana breezes might result in great dry air conditions, stronger ones can continue for days, dramatically rising temperatures, posing a considerable fire risk, and generally making the outdoors miserable.

According to SDSU professor emeritus Monte Marshall, San Diego Bay is “the surface manifestation of a stacked graben with a north-south orientation.” The San Andreas Fault system includes the Rose Canyon and Point Loma fault zones. The Laguna Mountains are located around 15 miles (24 kilometers) east of the sea in the Peninsular Ranges, which form the backbone of the American continents.

The city is built on around 200 steep valleys and hills that divide its mesas, generating little pockets of natural open space throughout the city and contributing to its mountainous environment. San Diegans have traditionally constructed their houses and businesses atop the mesas, leaving the metropolitan canyons mostly untouched. Thus, the canyons create a fragmented feel in areas of the city, separating otherwise adjacent communities and contributing to a low-density, car-centered atmosphere. The San Diego River flows east-west through the heart of San Diego, forming a river valley that divides the city into northern and southern halves. The river used to run into San Diego Bay, and the early Spanish explorers were interested in the river’s pure water. Numerous reservoirs and the Mission Trails Regional Park also exist between and divide the city’s built portions.

Within the municipal borders, notable peaks include Cowles Mountain, the city’s highest point at 1,591 feet (485 meters), Black Mountain, at 1,558 feet (475 meters), and Mount Soledad, at 824 meters (251 m). To the east of the city, the Cuyamaca and Laguna Mountains rise, and beyond the mountains are desert lands. The Cleveland National Forest is located around a half-hour from downtown San Diego. Numerous farms are located in the city’s valleys to the northeast and southeast.

According to The Trust for Public Land’s 2013 ParkScore score, San Diego has the ninth-best park system among the 50 most populated cities in the United States. ParkScore assigns a rating to city park systems based on an analysis of acreage, access, service, and investment.

Defense/military, tourism, international commerce, and research/manufacturing are the biggest sectors of the San Diego economy, correspondingly. In 2014, a Forbes writer named San Diego the greatest city in the US for launching a small business or startup.

Defense/military, tourism, international commerce, and research/manufacturing are the biggest sectors of the San Diego economy, correspondingly. In 2014, a Forbes writer named San Diego the greatest city in the US for launching a small business or startup.

MILITARY AND DEFENSE

San Diego’s economy is affected by its deepwater port, which is home to the West Coast’s only significant submarine and shipbuilding yards. Several significant national military companies, including General Atomics, Cubic, and NASSCO, were founded and are located in San Diego.

San Diego is home to the world’s biggest naval fleet, with 53 ships, over 120 tenant commands, and more than 35,000 sailors, troops, civilian Department of Defense personnel, and contractors. Military-related occupations account for around 5% of all civilian jobs in the region, and 15,000 companies in San Diego County depend on Department of Defense contracts.

Military bases in San Diego include those belonging to the US Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard. The city is “home to the bulk of the United States Pacific Fleet’s surface combatants, all of the Navy’s West Coast amphibious ships, as well as a variety of Coast Guard and Military Sealift Command vessels.”

INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE

San Diego’s commercial port and proximity to the United States-Mexico border contribute significantly to the city’s economy. The United States government has permitted the city to operate as a Foreign Trade Zone.

The city has a 15-mile-long (24-kilometer-long) border with Mexico, with two border crossings. San Diego is home to the world’s busiest international border crossing, located in the district of San Ysidro at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. In the Otay Mesa region, a second, largely commercial border crossing exists; it is the biggest commercial crossing on the California-Baja California border and handles the third-highest number of trucks and dollar worth of commerce of any land crossing between the United States and Mexico.

The Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal is one of the Port of San Diego’s two cargo terminals. This terminal is equipped to handle containerized and bulk goods, as well as refrigerated and frozen storage, allowing it to manage the import and export of a wide variety of commodities. In 2009, the Port of San Diego handled 1,137,054 short tons of overall commerce; 956,637 short tons were international trade, while 180,417 short tons were domestic trade.

Historically, tuna fishing and canning were key businesses in San Diego, and although the American tuna fishing fleet is no longer headquartered there, seafood firms Bumble Bee Foods and Chicken of the Sea remain there.

619 is the most frequently used area code in the San Diego metropolitan region, which includes downtown, the southbay, and the eastern suburbs. 858 is used north of I-8/Mission Valley, whereas 760 is used in the extreme northern suburbs (Escondido, Oceanside, Encinitas, and so forth). When calling a phone number that may have a different area code, be careful to check. On the majority of public telephones and hotel phones, the area code is shown alongside the phone number.

In San Diego, there are several Wi-Fi hotspots, the most of them are located in internet cafés. Additionally, the San Diego Public Library system provides wireless internet access across all facilities. If you are a non-resident of the state, request a “internet only” card to avoid paying the $32 non-resident charge.