San Diego's Top Smartphone Apps Help Visitors Stay Connected

With these useful smartphone apps, visitors can plan a perfect trip and get the most out of their San Diego vacation.

Visitors planning the perfect San Diego vacation are often amazed by the region's multitude and diversity of offerings. With user-friendly features like personalized travel guides and insider tips from locals, these useful smartphone apps can help visitors plan their perfect San Diego trip and get the most out of their vacation.

Developed by native San Diegan and award-winning travel journalist Allison DaRosa, the San Diego Essential Guide invites travelers to discover what locals love most about the city. The app presents users with an alphabetical listing of the region's major and lesser-known attractions, which can be sorted by category, neighborhood, cost and distance from the user's current location. Ranging from family friendly attractions to pet-friendly beaches to exciting nightlife venues, each listing is presented with a detailed description, photos, hours and insider tips. $2.99 for Apple and Android
The Balboa Park on Meridian app offers a feature-rich guide to the nation's largest urban cultural park. The app uses an interactive map with turn-by-turn directions to guide users to events, museums, landmarks and attractions throughout the 1,200-acre Balboa Park. Other comprehensive elements of the app include restaurant listings sorted by budget and taste, event listings by category and venue and attraction guides for more than 80 points of interest. Free for Apple and Android
Visit Coronado is the official app and all-inclusive guide to San Diego's enchanted island, located a bridge away from downtown San Diego. The app offers listings for Coronado attractions, shops, restaurants, walking tours and local events. Users can also find visitor information, browse thousands of photos and pinpoint their location on the island through a GPS navigation feature. Free for Apple and Android
For visitors planning a trip to the "jewel" of San Diego, La Jolla Blue Book makes information more accessible to users and easy to navigate. The app's directory is sorted into a variety of categories including La Jolla beach information, hotels, restaurants, boutiques, art galleries and more. The app's "Visitor Info" category also gives users the option to launch a La Jolla Visitors Guide that details events, activities and suggested itineraries for travelers to the area. Free for Apple. Android users can visit a mobile optimized site at lajollabluebook.com
The official app of the world-renowned San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park provides users with information to plan their visits, learn about the zoo's wildlife and the ability to purchase tickets right from their phones. Sections of the app include an overview of the zoo's exhibits, visitor information and FAQs, an animal directory, photos and videos, a schedule of daily events and live animal cams. Once at the zoo, users can also use the app's detailed map and GPS to pinpoint their location and navigate the grounds. Free for Apple and Android
The interactive travel guide from San Diego Citybot allows visitors to personalize their San Diego experience with custom itineraries. Users simply select from lists of interests or sights to visit, specify their time span and method of travel and receive in seconds a tailored itinerary plotted out on the app's interactive map. The app also pulls together user suggestions of restaurants, museums and more based on Yelp reviews and ratings from locals and visitors. Free for Apple and Android
The Dining Joint app is a comprehensive guide to San Diego restaurants, bars, cafes, clubs and more. Visitors can use the app's advanced search feature to browse venues by cuisine, meal type and occasion or find venues with specialty offerings like karaoke and ocean views. Each listing detail displays the venue's location, hours, menu, cost and happy hour offerings and enables one-touch calling for reservations. Other fun features include restaurant coupons, a tip calculator and a fortune cookie application with daily epithets. Free for Apple and Android
Developed by San Diego locals, TapHunter is the ultimate app for enjoying San Diego's dynamic craft beer scene. Users can easily search for local venues where great craft beer is served and see listings of beer-centric events taking place throughout San Diego County. Users can also check out what's on tap at San Diego's beer bars and restaurants, keep track of their favorite brews and share recommendations with friends. Free for Apple and Android
Visitors can explore San Diego's vibrant LGBT community with the Out Right Now app from LGBT Weekly, San Diego’s weekly LGBT news magazine. Users can find local businesses, browse hundreds of events in the "What's Happening" section, share their favorite discoveries with friends on Facebook and Twitter and read the magazine's latest issue. Free for Apple. Android users can visit a mobile optimized site at outrightnow.com
Geared for travelers looking to avoid network usage charges, the Street Map Offline app allows users to browse a map and guide to San Diego without phone service or internet connection. Similar to a traditional map, the app displays streets, neighborhoods and freeways, but offers handheld convenience and zooming capabilities. The app's Travel Guide also allows users to browse diverse visitor information such as hotel options, transportation methods, attractions, restaurants and beach guides. Free for Apple

Happiness is calling in San Diego. For more information on San Diego's offerings, including exciting vacation packages and valuable coupons for attractions, restaurants and more, visit the San Diego Tourism Authority's website at www.sandiego.org or call 619-236-1212.

# # #

Top April Events

San Diego shines this Spring.

Experience exciting baseball action, global cuisine and a variety of fun local activities this April in San Diego.

Discover Golf

San Diego's Golf Legends

Casper, Littler, Mickelson, Rodgers and Simpson

The San Diego region has cultivated many world-famous, award-winning athletes in a variety of different sports including baseball, football and basketball, and golf is no exception.

Discover History & Heritage

Air Shows, Aviation Museums and "Top Gun"

Explore and Celebrate San Diego's Aviation Heritage

San Diego has a long history regarding aviation. In 1911, Glenn Curtiss, the Father of Naval Aviation, demonstrated his Model D-III from San Diego Bay for the US Navy and a year later the Navy established the first aviation squadron on the northeast side of Coronado's North Island. A decade later, Ryan Airlines designed and built Charles Lindbergh's iconic Spirit of St. Louis in a factory located right next to the San Diego International Airport, known locally as Lindbergh Field.

Flying ahead to 1986, the region’s aviation recognition soared when the blockbuster film “Top Gun” starring Tom Cruise was released, and the US Navy’s Fighter Weapons School at San Diego’s Naval Air Station Miramar gained international fame.

Discover Sports

Petco Park is the place for great baseball — and so much more

Check out our essential guide to America’s best ballpark, home of the San Diego Padres

"It's really difficult to imagine any stadium topping Petco Park — it's simply the best."

Those could well be the words of any fan who's had the pleasure of taking in a Padres game — or a pop concert, or a fireworks show, or college football's Holiday Bowl — at San Diego's beautiful downtown ballpark. But the quote happens to be from a sportswriter with USA Today, which has named Petco Park the nation's best MLB ballpark more times than any other stadium.

It's easy to see why: With stunning skyline views, proximity to the city's sparkling waterfront, awesome food and beverage options, inviting event spaces and much more, Petco is (as USA Today describes it) "the perfect ballpark."

Whether you've made the pilgrimage to the home of the Padres many times or are looking forward to your first visit, here's your complete guide to the Petco Park experience.

Discover