To say this past weekend in San Diego was one of the best weekends would be an understatement. Initially San Diego might have seemed like a random Bachelorette destination but it really ended up being the most perfect place to celebrate our (other) ginger bestie, Melissa! It really has something to offer for everyone and it is safe to say we did it ALL.
Theme
When asking Mel what she wanted for her Bach she really only had one request and that was a boat to go with a nautical theme which gave birth to #NautiOneMooreTime. The beauty of having a last name like Moore is that it really contributes well to the whole #hashtag era. My favourite part of this theme had to be the matching Captains hats we surprised the bride and all of the girls with for our pontoon ride which was really the cherry on top for Mel’s Last Sail Before the Veil.
Where to stay
San Diego is a great city but very vast in terms of getting in between neighbourhoods. From what I could gather the two main areas to stay are the Downtown, also known as the Gaslamp Quarter and Pacific Beach. We opted to stay in the North Park neighbourhood which is known for its streets lined with Craft Breweries. What really sold us on North Park was our accommodations; The Lafayette Hotel, Swim Club & Bungalows.
This old hotel was perfect for a group our size as it had bungalows that came equipped with kitchens and hang out areas for bigger groups. This allowed us to have the safety and amenities of a hotel, but the group feel of an AirBnB. The selling feature was really the super cool and retro feeling pool that the entire hotel surrounds that had chill pool party vibes all weekend long. We were lucky and the Saturday we were there had a live band set up and local brewery pop up. They do one major pool party (think DJ) each month and often have special pop up events. If we were a smaller group I would highly recommend one of the rooms that walks out to the pool; those people looked like they were having a time! The one watch out from staying this far (10-15 minutes) from Gaslamp and the Beach is that the Uber costs really got up there since it was impossible to walk to either.
Gaslamp Quarter:
If choosing to stay in The Gaslamp Quarter I'd recommend a hotel over AirBnB, mostly due to availability and also access to amenities (namely a pool). Right downtown you have plenty of options to choose from with some stand-outs being The Pendry Hotel, Palomar by Kimpton (I LOVE a Kimpton hotel!), The Omni Hotel or The Hard Rock. All have either rooftop bars or pools.
Pacific Beach:
To be honest when looking at options in and around PB I didn't focus too much on the hotel opportunities but noticed there are a ton of AirBnB’s to choose from. Plus here you'll pretty much be walking distance to the beach so a pool isn't a mandatory when you're out this way.
What To Do
The better question is what not to do …
We started our weekend with a walk through North Park. 30th street is lined with craft breweries and murals which makes for great photo ops with amazing brews in between! Some notable breweries include North Park Beer Co, 32 North Brew and The Belching Beaver (which has the Greetings from San Diego mural on its outside wall). If you're lucky the Simply Fresh food truck will be outside and they're not lying when they say their Cuban sandwich is an award winner!
San Diego is in California so it can get spicy which means a pool day is a must! Most of the hotels will throw their own pool parties including ours (The Lafayette) and The Pendry. The biggest is probably the one that takes place at The Hard Rock hotel. Double check whether or not your hotel has a good pool vibe, otherwise check out a neighbouring one which you can usually pick up a day pass for!
Like I said up top, Mel's one wish was a day on a boat so we made that happen. Her Last Sail Before the Veil took place with Seaforth Boat Rentals and we booked their double decker pontoon boat. There are a ton of options from sail boats to catamarans, tiki bars and yachts in the harbour so take your pick from whichever style suits your group personality and size the best! In my mind there really is nothing better than hanging out with your best friends on a boat, somehow the water just makes everything 100x better!
San Diego is a beach town and their are two great strips not far from each other. Both Pacific Beach and Mission Beach are packed with people and have bustling piers.
Side note ... Hawaiian shirts are back and I like to believe I started this trend. I've been wanting to do a Hawaiian shirt day at a bach for months and months now and San Diego was finally that opportunity!
There is so much else to do in San Diego, while we did a ton, we barely scratched the surface. Obviously there is the infamous San Diego Zoo. I went with my family years ago, but this didn't quite seem like the right activity for the group. There are lots of hikes you can do if you're up for an active day. The Tijuana border is only about 40 minutes away so if you are feeling adventurous you might want to venture into Mexico for a fun day. To note most ubers won't take you across the border because of the wait time unless you pay the big bucks, however you can get dropped off and walk across. Remember safety first! There are also a lot of amusement parks and attractions between the beach boardwalks and Sea World. San Diego truly has activities for every sort of group!
Where To Eat
Brunch:
Firehouse PB - $16 bottomless mimosas and a super cute patio.
Crushed - We went for dinner, but I would definitely recommend their brunch menu. Check out their beer, mimosa and margarita flights!
Happy Hour:
Cannonball! If you can get a spot on the patio overlooking Mission Beach, do it! The views are incredible, not to mention the food and spicy margaritas. Seriously had the best sushi of my life (Firecracker Roll ... do it!).
Gaslamp Quarter has a ton of rooftop patios that do great happy hours with beautiful views of the city! Look into Level 9 and Altitude
Dinner:
Searsucker - Cool vibe and great food. Connected with Omnia if you want to continue the night.
Ironside Fish & Oyster (Gaslamp) - You can't go to SD and not get some fresh seafood!
Kettner Exchange (Little Italy) - Pops up on a lot of SD reco sites. Has a chefs table and great patio cabanas, not to mention it turns into a lounge for your group to stay for the night
Where To Drink
To say San Diego has it all is an understatement. Over the course of the four nights we did everything from a country bar to Vegas nightclub, karaoke bar to rooftop patio and a dueling piano bar to a beer pong game in a bar.
Gas Lamp:
This is really the downtown of San Diego with all of the bars and nightclubs lining the streets. Once you are down here everything is very much walkable (or safely hop on a bird and get there in half the time). Based on your groups preferences your options really are endless.
While nightclubs were not present on the itinerary we hit up a couple this trip…who knew San Diego was such a scene?! The first night we ended up at Omnia; The truest Vegas style nightclub you will get, complete with DJs, bottle service and a dance floor. We were lucky enough to have had the owner at Searsucker set us up to take us to Omnia (full disclosure they are connected) with line bypass, no cover and a drink. Followed by meeting a really nice group of guys and joining their booth for the night. The best part is these guys weren’t the sketchy, creepy old men from Vegas but super chill and friendly.
Double Deuce – One of many country bars, this bar is a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll hip hop and revolves around a mechanical bull. Yes our bride rode it and yes you can pay the operator a little bit extra to hop on and surprise him/her with a shot. Startling? Slightly. Amusing? Entirely!
The Shout! House – By far one of my favourite experiences of the trip and it was a last minute addition! Why Toronto doesn’t have a duelling piano bar is beyond me (I think we all discussed opening one at some point in the night … if you have the capital to help us gals out, please let us know!). They accept walk ins, however if you want reserved seating you’ll need to book ahead. $5 to be seated anywhere or $10 to get reserved front (ish) row. They also have event packages where you can pay $45/50 for reserved seating, table decorations and all you can drink (to note that this needs to be done 5 days in advance). Bring lots of singles because these talented folks take literally EVERY request and do it all so well. I could honestly have listened for days!
PSA. I finally figured out the whole video thing ... apologies it's not a better one, I'm not lying when I say I was having too much fun to care!
Other recommended bars in The Gaslamp Quarter: The Tipsy Crow, Parq (Vegas nightclub), Tin Roof (live music), Altitude (one of a few notable rooftop bars with incredible views), Side Bar (more of a Toronto style club).
Pacific Beach:
This definitely feels more like a ‘student’ vibe than Gas Lamp, but super fun nonetheless.
Moonshine Beach – One of the greatest bars of all time. You really don’t know what you’re going to get when you walk in … it seems like any other sports bar with some beer pong tables to your left and a bar with TVs to your right, but be warned when you walk through to the next part it is an entirely new experience. A full on show room/club/dance floor that rotates between incredible live bands and DJs blending country, top 40 and some of the best from the late 90s/early 00s. What they lacked in A/C they more than made up with in song choice. If we didn’t lose our voices from belting out Mr Brightside we surely did when we entered the next room. Moonshine Flats would not be complete with the front Karaoke Bar. Have to give credit to the guy working the table accepting $50 bribes to get a VIP front of the line pass … otherwise be prepared to hang around here until your name is called. We were surprised by a young 24 year old asking if anyone wants to sing a duet to Shallow with him. Naturally we made Meg (aka the talented one in our group). You would think that someone so bold to request a Shallow duet would be talented, alas he was not … but a great sport. The quote of the night might have been his friend saying “Holy Sh*t dude, she’s actually good”. Meg, you make us proud on the daily! We obviously ended the night with all 11 of us on stage belting Celine’s It’s All Coming Back. Whether or not anyone else knew the song … we didn’t care … we represented Canada on a whole other level. One other notable part of the bar has to be the spinning barber chairs. $10 gets your friend tossed on a barber chair, spun (rapidly) around in circles while a bartender hops on to dance and pour shots down your mouth. Mich, thank you for agreeing to hop on, even though you were entirely unsure what you were agreeing to. PS. They have a partner bar, Moonshine Flats in Gaslamp Quarter!
Other notable bars you can check in in PB
Firehouse PB: Amazing brunch (food period!) + turns into a bit of a club at night.
PB Alehouse: Chill beer scene
The Grass Skirt: Cute little tiki bar with amazing cocktails
710 Beach Club: Beach clooob!
I haven't spoken much outside of Gaslamp and Pacific Beach but Little Italy is also supposed to be a great area to both eat and drink in. From what I have heard the scene is a little bit more mature but super fun. One reco that came up again and again was Born & Raised in Little Italy. The Kettner Exchange also turns into a lounge after dinner.
Budget
I always try to budget as accurately as possible ahead of time to ensure that before people commit they feel good about the cost. I had estimated $1700-$1800 all in for San Diego and was in and around that $1800 give or take.
Travel: We found flights for $524 which was amazing for a round trip. I should also take this opportunity to shout out our flight attendants on Air Canada Rouge ... to say they were incredible would be an understatement. Seriously, they knew we were a part of a Bachelorette and made us feel so special the entire trip, which included making fresh Sangria (with first class fruit!) for us!
Hotel: $430 (each - to note we had hotel for 12 so the cost was a little bit higher)
Boat: $110
Meals: $300
Drinks: $200 (thanks to our clooob friends!)
Groceries (incl. booze): $60
Ubers: $120 (yikes! this cost was a lot higher than anticipated)
Bach Supplies: $20 (captains hats for the win!)
Misc: $50
Love you bestie! Cannot wait for the big day to celebrate you and Alex even more <3
xx
Nicole
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