There are many reasons to visit San Diego. Personally, I go for beer, food, and more beer. Here's how I Vagabond in San Diego for a weekend:
I live in Los Angeles, so San Diego is roughly a 2-3 hour drive away. I prefer leaving early Saturday morning to avoid any potential traffic passing through South Orange County and Oceanside.
San Diego boasts over 130 craft breweries (http://www.sdbeer.com/), so you can pretty much find beer anywhere around town. I like to visit the Miramar area first. Tucked away in commercial warehouses and small office complexes are a huge concentration of breweries, including two of my favorites: Pure Project and Mikkeller Brewing San Diego.
Pure Project, San Diego, CA
While both are pretty small spaces (Pure being the smaller of the two), both breweries offer a huge tap list of all types of beer. My favorites are the hazy style IPAs, and each of these breweries always has a few variations to try. Follow these breweries on social media to find out when they're having can release events so you can take some home with you.
Mikkeller, SD, San Diego, CA
Next, I like to hop over to Little Italy, downtown, for its walkability and endless restaurant options. I'll usually end up at The Crack Shack, Herb & Eatery, Kettner Exchange, Ironside Fish & Oyster, or Ballast Point Brewing, which features a full food menu alongside their huge tap list.
Herb & Eatery, San Diego, CA
Herb & Eatery, San Diego, CA
From Little Italy, it’s about 3.5 miles to the Modern Times Lomaland Fermentorium or Stone Brewing Bistro and Gardens Liberty Station. These are two really unique spaces. Modern Times features a small café that serves coffee and coffee + beer cocktails. Stone has a full restaurant with a beautiful outdoor garden patio. I can easily spend the rest of my day admiring the quirky art at Modern Times or enjoying the beautiful San Diego weather in Stone’s backyard.
Before heading home, I like to make my way down to Chula Vista for Tacos El Gordo. Their unique ordering system has a separate line for each type of meat. I recommend going with a group – you'll save time with a different person waiting in each line. These tacos will definitely hit the spot and fuel your drive back home.