Airport
San Diego Lindbergh Field Airport
IATA Code: SANLocation: The airport is situated two miles (3km) northwest of San Diego.
Time: GMT -6 (GMT -5 from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November).
Contacts: Tel: +1 619 400 2404.
Transfer between terminals: A free Inter-Airport Red Bus operates between the three terminals.
Transfer to the city: A train service connects to the city centre as well as other parts of San Diego and neighbouring cities. (Tel: 800.262.7837). Flyer Service No. 992 leaves every 10 minutes for the city centre between 5:00 a.m. and 12:50 a.m. and costs about $2.50. Public buses connect to downtown as well as commuter trains and depart every ten minutes. A host of shuttle companies are available to share rides into downtown and are available from arrivals. Taxis take about 10 minutes to downtown San Diego and cost around $10 (Tel: 619-234-6161). Shared shuttle vans offer door-to-door services and are a cheaper alternative to taxis.
Car rental: Car rental companies include Advantage, Alamo, Avis, Budget, Enterprise and Hertz.
Facilities: Lifts, bathrooms and telephones cater for the disabled. Currency exchange and ATMs are available. Other facilities include bars and restaurants, postal services, shops, several airport club rooms, tourist information and hotel reservations.
Parking: Short and long-term parking is available outside terminals.
Departure tax: None.
Website: www.san.org
Visit worldtravels.com for the full guide to San Diego. Build a complete San Diego travel guide and email to your clients - sign up for a trial subscription of World Travels Pro.
San Diego
San Diego characterises a typical Southern Californian beach city: with year-round sunshine and surf, a superb coastline with miles of sandy-white beaches, easygoing inhabitants, and a wide variety of world-class family attractions tourists, long-time vacationers and would-be residents can't help but be drawn to 'America's finest city'.
Although California's third biggest city with an ever-increasing population of more than a million, San Diego prides itself on its conservative small-town ambience, with very little of the pollution, highway congestion and raciness of Los Angeles. In 1769 a Spanish missionary by the name of Father Junipero Serra established a Catholic mission and fortified settlement in what was later to become San Diego; it was the first permanent European settlement on the West Coast of the United States. It remained a village backwater until, with the bombing of Pearl Harbour during World War II, the US Naval Fleet Headquarters was relocated to San Diego Bay and the booming of wartime activity transformed it into a thriving city.
The city is a vibrant collection of colourful neighbourhoods and communities. It has award-winning restaurants, trendy shopping districts, attractions such as the world-renowned San Diego Zoo and SeaWorld, and a dynamic downtown district that includes the city's historic Gaslamp Quarter. There are numerous indications of its Mexican and Spanish heritage in the traditional architecture, typical Mexican cuisine, and strong links with the town of Tijuana just across the Mexican border.
San Diego is also rich in art and culture, and the city boasts the largest urban cultural park in the US, with beautiful gardens and Spanish architecture featuring 15 museums, art galleries and theatres to be found in Balboa Park. More than 70 miles (113km) of beaches around the city offer superb surfing and beach activities and provide the perfect introduction to this accessible and laid-back city.
