San Diego City Profile for the Business Traveler

The pleasant climate and the wealth of activities in San Diego makes it an excellent choice for business meetings and events for many different sectors. Companies doing business in everything from military and defense to biotechnology, telecommunications and computer technology find the city most hospitable for individual travelers, meetings and conventions. 

Getting There & Getting Around
The San Diego International Airport, also known as Lindbergh Field is just three miles from the city center. Flights seem to “drop” into the airport from over the cityscape, providing a bird’s-eye view of downtown and the harbor on arrival. The easiest way to get downtown is a relatively inexpensive 10-minute cab ride. Many major city attractions are within walking distance of downtown hotels and street parking is difficult, so you don’t need a car if you are staying there.

The familiar red trolleys (purchase a ticket at a trolley vending machine before boarding) and the Metropolitan Transit System buses (exact change only) travel to almost every hotel and attraction, including Balboa Park and the San Diego Zoo, all beaches, regional shopping centers, SeaWorld, Old Town, Qualcomm Stadium and even the Mexican border. If you do rent a car to go further afield, be prepared to find the city’s one way streets, the intricate freeway system and the rush hour traffic rather frustrating.

Where to Stay
Hotels in San Diego run the gamut from small historic hotels to large resort chains, bed and breakfasts to trendy boutique hotels. Downtown locations offer easy to moderate accessibility to the waterfront, the historic  Gaslamp Quarter, the Convention Center and several major shopping meccas. The Mission Valley area, known as “Hotel Circle,” is also convenient and less expensive, but is a less interesting section of town. Book well in advance if you are visiting the area June to mid-September and know that downtown hotels are nearly impossible to book the last weekend of July when the giant Comic-con convention takes over.  

Must See or Do
San Diego has no shortage of interesting sightseeing experiences and visitor attractions, making it a great city to extend a business meeting, conference or event, for some personal play time. San Diego’s showplace is Balboa Park that contains amazing gardens and more than a dozen museums. The world-famous San Diego Zoo, arguably the country’s premier zoo, SeaWorld and Legoland California are other top attractions. Travel Maestro tip: The Southern California CityPass offers bundled admission to these and other major theme parks. The Gaslamp Quarter historic district, some of the best beaches in California, over 90 golf courses and spectator sports galore all await visitors to this hospitable city. For more on area attractions, see Sunny San Diego on our Travel Maestro blog.   

Where to Dine
San Diego has plenty of sophisticated, creative restaurants emphasizing fresh fish and other seafood from the Pacific, abundant produce from the farmlands of Southern California and good regional wines. You’ll also find Mexican, Continental and nouvelle American restaurants. Steak houses are also popular. The historic Gaslamp Quarter has dozens of small restaurants (many on Fourth and Fifth avenues) that range from sophisticated to funky. Waterfront locations, including Embarcadero, Coronado and La Jolla, are appropriate settings for several blue-ribbon seafood restaurants and California fusion dining. La Jolla is also the place for elegant dining. If you crave Mexican food, follow the crowds to Old Town.

Odd & Ends
The weather in San Diego is delightful with daytime temperatures from mid 60’s to upper 70’s and abundant sunshine year round although evenings can get chilly, so pack a windbreaker or light jacket.

San Diegans dress quite casually with shorts and t-shirts being the local uniform. Traditional dress code is relaxed and jacket and tie are required only in the most formal restaurants. Business casual is very common and even Hawaiian shirts are acceptable in the downtown business community.

Free Wi-Fi service is found in many cafes in the city, the Amtrak station, Balboa Park and through much of Little Italy, with more hot spots being added all the time.

If you are lucky enough to have business in San Diego, be sure to build in some time to take pleasure in the many attractions and natural beauty of this sunny southwest destination. Contact Covington Travel to make your travel arrangements and enjoy your trip.