Traveling to SMOOTHED
We live here.This is where we actually go.
Clients fly in from all over, and they always ask the same thing — where should we eat, where should we stay, what’s worth the drive. So here’s the honest version from people who’ve been in San Diego twelve years. Not a list of the top ten anything. Just where we go.
Watch the tour · part oneGetting here
From the airport to the chair
San Diego International is close. An Uber to the salon usually runs about $20 to $25 each way, more when it surges.
Watch the window between 2:30 and 6:30. That’s our heavy traffic, and you’ll be driving into it on the way here and out of it on the way back. Give yourself real margin in either direction.
Some clients rent a car. If you do, we’ll send you a video about parking before you arrive — North Park is street parking and it’s far easier with a heads-up.
Where to stay
Pick your neighborhood first
There aren’t many hotels in North Park itself, so most people stay elsewhere and Uber in. Which neighborhood you pick matters more than which hotel.
Little ItalyOur pick
MapTen out of ten, and we’d take it over downtown every time. The walkability is genuinely excellent — you can eat, drink and wander for days without a car. Plenty of hotels to choose from.
The LafayetteClosest to us
MapAbout an eight-minute Uber, and it is spectacular — bars, a club scene, a bowling alley, and every photo you take there looks incredible. But we’ve heard it’s noisy. Rooms are small and quaint and the walls are thin. Perfect for a fun trip, not for one where you need real sleep.
Hotel CircleBudget-friendly
MapVery central and much easier on the wallet. It’s the corporate part of town, so don’t expect charm — but it’s about a twelve-minute drive to us without traffic.
Pacific Beach or Ocean Beach
MapThe best beach views in the city. Just know it’s a serious Uber to and from the salon, especially at rush hour.
DowntownOne warning
If you do stay downtown, we’d steer you away from East Village.
Our block
North Park, on foot
Once you’re here you can spend most of a day without getting back in a car. Little shops, good food, an actual park nearby, and Balboa Park and the zoo just down the road.
Worth a whole day
Little Italy
If you’ve got a few days here, give one of them entirely to Little Italy. And if you’re in town on a Saturday morning, the Mercato is incredible.
The whole point
Nothing beats a San Diego sunset
Anything with a view here costs more, and honestly the food is usually a notch below what you’d get somewhere without one. Pay it anyway. It’s worth it every single time.
People will tell you to go to Sunset Cliffs. We’d skip it — it isn’t walkable, it’s a pain to get to, and you can see the same sun from a table with a drink in your hand.
If you want the properly authentic version, get to Lahaina Beach House for sundown. It’s practically standing room only and everybody screams and claps when it drops. Best done on the kind of trip where you’re drinking.
Twelve years here and still not tired of it.
Out to the water
The beaches, and who they’re for
If you’ve got a few days: one full day in La Jolla, one in Pacific Beach, one in Little Italy. La Jolla is a daytime neighborhood — don’t go looking for a night scene there.
Mission BeachIf you’re traveling with kids
MapAn amazing way to spend the day. Ride the roller coaster, and get the ice cream inside the arcade next to it — genuinely the best in town.
Cannonball
MapSushi and more, right on the sand at Mission Beach. Not a bargain, and you’re paying for the view — but the food is good and the view is our favorite over there.
JRDN at Tower 23
MapPB is known for its college scene, but there are grown-up corners if you know where to look. This is one. Higher price point, more mature crowd, and they validate parking if you’re driving.
PB Shore Club
MapOne of our favorite places in San Diego, and the day-drinking scene is a lot of fun. We wouldn’t stay after the sun goes down.
Rocky’s Crown PubBest burger in the city
MapOver in Crown Point. It’s owned by our best friend and her husband — but it was our favorite long before that. Walkable to the water from there. 21 and over.
Kate Sessions Park
MapThe full view of the city, and absolutely beautiful. Bring a book, bring a blanket, and do nothing for a couple of hours.
Anything directly on the boardwalk runs higher and the food isn’t as good. Walk a block inland and it improves considerably.
More coming
This page keeps growing
We’re filming a San Diego series, neighborhood by neighborhood, and everything we find worth sending you to ends up here. Consider this the beginning.
We still can’t believe our clients get on planes for us. Let us feed you while you’re here.