Tips on Traveling to San Diego from Pat and Wayne Dunlap

Alright travelers, this one’s for you. San Diego is one of the world’s finest cities and is a destination hotspot for many. Not only do the locals love everything this city has to offer, travelers come visit time and time again because they just can’t get enough. Now that December has begun, the city has been blanketing with holiday cheer and decorations, transforming many areas (like Balboa Park) in to a winter wonderland…sans snow of course. Well, if you’ve always wanted to travel to San Diego but have been wary of whether you can really afford it, Pat and Wayne Dunlap are here to give you all sorts of helpful advice on how to have a great time in this great city without having to worry about your savings account.

Pat and Wayne Dunlap have been all over the world and have even written their very own book called “Plan Your Escape”, which gives tons of tips on how to travel without breaking the bank. With a true and unending passion for travel, the Dunlap’s have appeared on various media outlets and have a travel blog with the Huffington Post. This month they’ve set their sights on our own city and from the great Balboa Park, told us what they love about “America’s Finest City” and how to visit without spending more money than necessary.

The Dunlap’s consider San Diego as a city that has everything. We have beautiful weather all year round, amazing beaches, tons of opportunities for entertainment and dining, shopping hot spots, and many great areas for romantic moments. In this month’s episode of Entertainer and Lifestyles Television, the Dunlap’s chatted about San Diego’s Spanish-inspired architecture and how it reminds them of walking through Europe. Considering they’ve been all over Europe, we’ll take their word for it!

More specifically, Balboa Park is one of the city’s gems and with all the Spanish-Renaissance-inspired architecture, which is a testament to Spanish culture’s influence on the city (just visit Old Town to see what we mean), and shows that the city is a great melting of several cultures from all over the world. Aside from Balboa Park, we have tons of amusement parks to visit, like Sea World, the world famous San Diego Zoo, Legoland, and much more.

So for their first tip, if you want to enjoy some of the city’s theme parks you need to make sure to travel here in the off-season. Between Labor day and Thanksgiving is the best time to avoid all that nasty tourist traffic, finding you cheaper flights, hotel deals, and rental car options. You should also be on the lookout for value deals which offer visits to various parks at a lowered price. While theme parks are great, Pat stresses that there are plenty of things to do for free. Try to visit Torrey Pines Reserve and State Park, the beaches, or even taking some time to drive along the famous Highway 101.

The second travel tip is to travel domestically. What does that mean? Well, it means that you should research domestic budget airlines, as some of them don’t participate in the high-profile travel booking websites, which means that you may miss out on some deals if you don’t look for them. Go directly to the airline websites and discover all the deals that have been hiding from you. If you don’t know which airline to look up, search online for which ones serve the areas you want to travel to.

If you’re looking for some more great areas to visit in San Diego, the Dunlap’s suggest Old Town (for the food, history, and culture), the Gas Lamp (for the shopping, entertainment, and history), the Embarcadero (Harbor cruises, dinner, and discount packages), the Hotel Del (upscale resort that you can enjoy lunch at without paying for a pricey room), and Coronado Beach.

Make sure to check their newest video out to learn even more about this great city and their favorite money-saving tips!