36 Hours in San Diego | Best Locals Travel Guide

What's up everybody? I'm Alex.

I'm Marko.

You're watching Vagabrothers, and in this video we'll be exploring San Diego, California.

We're from here.

We love it here, and in this video we're going to show you how to spend an epic weekend in our hometown.

This video is sponsored by the Google Pixel 3 phone, the perfect travel companion to help you plan your trip and capture your adventure.

We're going to be taking you to all of our favorite spots around town and the places where we can't quite decide between our favorites, you're going to pick through Instagram polls.

We're starting things off up in North County.

Let's go We grew up near downtown San Diego, so choosing a hotel, we chose North County in Leucadia.

It's a mellow beach town that's all about surf, yoga, and lifestyle goals.

We're staying at the Surf House Encinitas, a recently remodeled motel with stylish rooms right next to the beach.

Speaking of beaches.

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it's time to check out the results from our first poll.

Which beach should we go to? Option A is La Jolla Cove.

It's beautiful.

It's historic.

It's also an underwater natural park where you can go swimming with Garibaldi, the California State fish.

Option two is Sunset Cliffs, tons of epic cliffs perfect for watching a sunset.

Let's find out which beach we're going to.

And the winner is.

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Okay, Google get me directions to Sunset Cliffs Beach.

“The best way to get to Sunset Cliffs natural park by car is via I-5 south.

It will take about forty three minutes in moderate traffic.

” Well, the votes are in and you have chosen Sunset Cliffs, and we would have to agree with you.

It is definitely one of our favorite places here in San Diego.

It's natural.

It's beautiful, and it's relatively undeveloped.

It's a great place to come chill, to watch a sunset, to have a picnic.

But it's also a great place to surf.

There's a reef out here, and there's a kelp bed, which keeps the waves nice and mellow.

So we're going to go wax our boards up and hop in the water.

Let's go That was super fun hopping in the water, and there is nothing that goes as well with San Diego's beaches as a California burrito.

But we can never decide which restaurant has the best burrito, so we're going to let Google do it for us.

Okay, Google.

Where is San Diego's best burrito? “I found several top-rated burrito places.

Lucha Libre Taco Shop.

” Welcome to Lucha Libre.

This is the best Mexican restaurant in San Diego, easily one of the quirkiest.

The owners are huge fans of Lucha Libre, the Mexican wrestling league, and as you can see, it's a pretty interesting place.

But even within the same burrito establishment, we cannot agree on which burrito to order.

There's only one way to handle this, and that's the Battle of the Burrito.

May the best burrito win.

And tonight, prepare yourselves for a Battle of Burritos.

In corner A we have the Surfing California grilled steak, grilled shrimp, French fries, meatballs.

Jack cheese, avocado slices, and the secret chipotle sauce.

I'm hungry for a burrito.

In corner B we have the Adobado Pina California adobado pork, grilled pineapple, French fries, sour cream, Jack cheese, Pico de Gallo and a pineapple- habanero sauce.

Who will win?” Unbelievable.

And the winner of the Battle of the Burrito by unanimous consent is the Adobado Pina California, No burritos or wrestlers were harmed in the filming of the project.

Thank you very much, Lucha Libre.

Adios Welcome to Balboa Park.

This is the heart of central San Diego.

It was built in 1915 for the Panama California Exposition, and locals loved all the unique buildings so much that they kept it as a permanent park.

Nowadays, it's the perfect spot to spend an afternoon.

There's a ton of museums, a theater, not to mention beautiful botanical gardens.

Let's go check it out.

Ok Google.

Tell me about the history of Balboa Park.

“According to House of Pacific Relations, in 1911 groundbreaking ceremonies in construction began with a military mass in a Balboa Park canyon to hold an exposition for the opening of the Panama Canal.

On August 23, 1912 the Spreckels Theater opened with 1915 seats.

” Balboa Park is a place that, to be honest, I haven't visited properly in years.

I think when you're from a city, sometimes you ignore the stuff that's right in front of you.

Balboa Park is 100% that for me.

I don't think I've visited since maybe elementary school during a field trip.

But coming back here, it's easy to see why it's so important for the city.

And now as an adult, you can see that this is really the birthplace of Spanish Revival architecture, which is pioneered by an architect named Requa in the World Fair in 1915.

It kind of drew on combinations of styles from Mexico and Spain, and we're using the Google lens to learn more about these different buildings and see its impact not just on the city, but on the whole state.

It's also really become the center culturally of the whole city, East, West, North, South of here all the neighborhoods North Park, South Park.

They all have a lot of cool things going on.

So it's a great place to explore.

Let's go.

A trip to San Diego would not be complete without going sailing.

San Diego has one of the best natural harbors in the entire country.

It's a beautiful afternoon.

So we're hopping on a boat and watching the sunset from the water.

We're actually joined today by our dad, Captain Robbo.

G'Day.

He's from New Zealand, and we're both Kiwi citizens.

And so for dinner we're going to eat at one of two of San Diego's best Kiwi restaurants.

So you choose via a poll on Instagram.

Do we eat at Raglan Public House in Ocean Beach or Queenstown Public House in Little Italy? And the winner is.

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We'd like to thank you all a lot because you've sent us to one of our favorite dining establishments in San Diego.

We gave you guys the option on the poll, and you chose Queenstown Public House.

It is an incredible restaurant right here in Little Italy, and it's a perfect evening for a night of dining alfresco.

Little Italy is historically an Italian and Portuguese fishing village It's right here on the waterfront.

But these days it's a really trendy place to go out.

You've got a lot of restaurants and bars in walking distance.

So this is a great place to start your evening.

It's got Kiwi food that reminds us of growing up with our dad.

Lots of lamb.

It's in this beautiful craftsman home, very typical of San Diego, and it's a beautiful evening to be outside.

Plus, we've got a little fire pit right here.

We're chilling.

We have a beet salad on the way, and beet is very prominent in New Zealand cuisine as well as a lamb burger with mint jelly and a whole rack of lamb, not to mention some other appetizers.

So we are in for a feast.

It's time to eat.

All right, it's day two exploring San Diego, and we are at one of our favorite breakfast spots in the whole city, The Mission here in the East Village.

It's a beautiful historic home.

They've got great breakfast.

We have the French toast, very beautiful and the chilaquiles a classic Mexican dish that they do really, really well.

Got the Mexican mocha latte, dirty chai.

We're starting off the day right.

I am a huge fan of The Mission.

Every time I come home, I try to make it down here for brunch.

They do it really, really well, not to mention in this old craftsman house that's been remodeled.

It's just a good vibe.

Well, we've just finished a delicious brunch at The Mission, but it's time to figure out what we're going to do with the rest of our day.

So we're throwing it back to you guys with another Instagram poll.

Option A is to go paragliding over Torrey Pines Beach, which is gorgeous, or riding the historic roller coaster at Belmont Park in Mission Beach.

So you guys voted for paragliding, but we just got here to the Torrey Pines glide report and found out that the conditions are not right to fly.

So paragliding is not an option, which means we're heading back down to Mission Beach for Plan B, Belmont Park, a classic amusement park right on the beach.

Let's go Welcome to Belmont Park.

Built in 1925, this roller coaster is one of the oldest on the West Coast.

This is a classic Californian amusement park.

It's also just right in the heart of Mission Beach.

You've got the bay on one side, the Pacific Ocean on the other, the boardwalk running straight past it.

It really is quintessential San Diego summer, and we haven't been here since we were kids.

Kind of a family joint, but then again, we're family.

I want cotton candy, and you won't get any.

Let's go.

Well that was super fun, but it's time to step things up and go on to an even larger, even more intense ride.

Let's do it.

Well, that was pretty wild.

I mean it's around since 1925 for a reason.

it's still super fun.

But unfortunately, it's time to say goodbye to Mission Beach and head off for our last destination.

Let's go We're going to wrap up our trip in San Diego at an iconic destination, the classic, historical, Victorian style, Hotel del Coronado.

You might recognize it from films like Some Like It Hot.

Or if you stayed here in 2005, you might recognize me, your former bellboy.

I used to work here, and we're going to come here and try the new Restaurants Saraya, which does fish to table, food right from the ocean served at your table.

I can't wait.

It's time for some dinner.

Let's go.

All right everyone, well those are our tips on how to have a great weekend in San Diego.

What are yours? Share them down there in the comment section.

Big thanks to Google Pixel for making this whole video possible.

We had a lot of fun using the phone, exploring San Diego.

If you want more information about the features of this phone, there's a link down in the info box.

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As always stay curious, keep exploring, and we'll see you on the road.

Peace.