San Diego -- where to stay

[large_diver]

Going to San Diego in February (with wife and kids aged 9 & 7) -- I may do some diving, not sure yet. A few questions for people familiar with the area --

- What are air temps like at that time of year? Ocean water temps?

- I am looking at the Bahia (Mission Bay), Harvey's Half Moon Suites (Shelter Island) and the Dana Inn (near SeaWorld on Mission Bay) -- is anyone familiar with these or other hotels that have a family friendly reputation? I am somewhat clueless as to where to stay in terms of general location or specific hotel. Ideally somewhere we we can walk to restaurants and possibly the beach;

Thanks.

-Chris

 

[lragsac]

I've lived in San Diego for 9 years now, so I have some clue. Daytime temps should be in the 60's, although if a Santa Ana condition should move in, it could get a lot warmer. As for water temps I would need to check my logs to come up with a true average temp. I think you could encounter temps in the mid- to high 50's. As you probably know, a lot of people in these parts dive dry, but it's not absolutely necessary; it just depends on your tolerance. Quite a lot of people dive wet here year round and manage just fine. (I'm not one of them).
As far as the hotels you've listed, I have no experience with these facilities, but I do know where they are. I think Shelter Island would allow you and your family the opportunity to walk to some places, as would the Bahia in Mission Bay, since it is very close to Mission Beach. The Dana Inn would require a longer walk to get to the beach, but it has easy access to parts of Mission Bay and is a stone's throw from SeaWorld. Also, The Bahia and Dana Inn are *very* close to where all the day charter dive boats are based

 

[pasley]

Not from San Diego, but live 180 miles north. I do dive in hte San Diego area occasionally and find it and the golf well worth the drive. For my money, staying in La Jolla would be good. There is excellent beach diving there and easy access to the dive boats in Mission Bay, if you want to boat dive

This site is useful and have the water temp norms for the year.
http://www.divebums.com/main.html

This will give current and recent water temps:
http://cdip.ucsd.edu/tmp/stream_frame25977.html

This site will give you some hotel information on La Jolla hotels.
http://www.lajollabythesea.com/

http://www.palmersguide.com/lajolla/

Enjoy the stay. San Diego is a great place to visit and does have some very good SCUBA diving.

 

[adshepard]

Chris -

I've stayed at both the Dana and the Bahia. I preferred the rooms at the Bahia. Dana rooms were a bit rundown. Both have pools suitable for the kids. One good thing about the Dana is that some rooms opened up to the pool.

The Dana is right across from Sea World but the road is busy so I wouldn't walk it. Dana is closer to the dive boats.

Bahia is nearer the amusement park and the beach and has its own beach on the bay.

DSDO

Alan