During the summer months, San Diego's seaside enclave of La Jolla bustles with locals and visitors enjoying sparkling beaches, turquoise coves and a sunny Mediterranean climate with temperatures hovering comfortably in the 70s. Known as the "Jewel of San Diego," La Jolla offers something for every kind of traveler to enjoy in the summertime, from high-end shopping, fine dining, world-class art and Tony Award®-winning theater to natural wonders like La Jolla Underwater Park, Birch Aquarium and Torrey Pines State Natural Preserve. La Jolla is also home to the world-renowned Torrey Pines Golf Course and premier coastal hotels and resorts.
The following are some of the new experiences visitors can find during a getaway to La Jolla.
La Jolla is a shopper's dream destination, especially along Prospect St. and Girard Ave., its main thoroughfares.
- Located in the heart of La Jolla Village, the newly redesigned La Plaza La Jolla captures La Jolla's luxurious coastal lifestyle with an upscale selection of San Diego-based boutique retailers and dining options, including: La Scarpa Boutique, selling fashionable footwear and luxury designer apparel and accessories from around the world; Beaming, San Diego's original organic superfood café, and the European-style Elixir Espresso & Wine Bar, serving coffee, regional wines, cheese boards, house-made crepes and flatbreads. Strolling through the center, visitors can also enjoy ocean views and eye-catching Spanish and Moroccan design elements.
- The Surf Diva Boutique in La Jolla Shores, where visitors can rent standup paddleboards, surfboards, bodyboards and beach gear, as well as sign up for surf lessons, recently completed renovations. Additions include a new check-in area, new awnings and paint, an easy-access rack for rental gear and additional floor space to shop hip swimwear brands for both women and men.
Home to several landmark restaurants, La Jolla is known as one of San Diego's top dining destinations.
- Located on the top floor of La Plaza La Jolla, the new Catania serves authentic Italian coastal cuisine from Executive Chef Vince Schofield. With a dedication to from-scratch cooking using the freshest ingredients available, the menu features items such as yellowtail crudo, smoked duck liver mousse and housemade pastas like squid ink and octopus spaghetti. Catania also serves Neapolitan-style pizzas and handcrafted desserts overseen by Chef Jojo Rossi, a first generation Sicilian-American.
- The Hake Kitchen & Bar in La Jolla Village ushers in a new chapter with the addition of accomplished Chef Todd Bencivenni who oversees the restaurant's seafood-centric menu. A few of his new, artfully crafted dishes include burrata with roasted mushrooms, huitlacoche tapenade, baby heirloom tomato confit and frisée; olive oil poached albacore with frisée salad, pickled mustard seeds, tomato confit and salsify chips, and grilled octopus with angel hair pasta, squid ink, green onion and serrano chile.
- On track for a June grand opening, the new Galaxy Taco in La Jolla Shores is Executive Chef Trey Foshee's homage to Mexican culture and cuisine. Foshee also helms the famed George's at the Cove restaurant in La Jolla Village. Galaxy Taco's menu is rooted in the flavors and traditions of Mexico while celebrating San Diego's local seasonal ingredients. Adding authenticity to the restaurant's concept, handmade tortillas will be pressed on-site.
After a day at one of La Jolla's iconic beaches, guests can rest their heads for the night in a refurbished boutique inn or another popular hotel featuring new summer offerings.
- The pet-friendly Scripps Inn La Jolla Cove, a charming seaside bed and breakfast inn overlooking La Jolla's scenic coves, offers 14 newly-redesigned guestrooms featuring ocean views, custom furnishings, luxurious linens and coastal decor. Perched on Whale Watch Point, guests can spot whales, dolphins, seals and sea lions frolicking in the surf from the property.
- To celebrate their 11th anniversary in June, Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa announces an $11 Presidential Suite Giveaway. Any guest booking a minimum one-night stay directly through the hotel on June 1-30 is eligible. The hotel staff will pick one lucky guest per week throughout the month of June to enjoy a stay in the premier suite for one night for just $11.
Estancia's new Summerstancia Package, starting at $249 per night, includes a daily breakfast credit, complimentary valet parking and a waived hospitality services fee. Summer guests can also enjoy a recently launched activity guide with complimentary activities ranging from on-site wine tastings and educational walking garden tours to brow lifts and new product demonstrations at the Spa at Estancia.
For visitors pressed for time, the Spa at Estancia offers a new 25-minute spa service menu featuring five rejuvenating treatments for $65 each.
On July 30, Estancia La Jolla hosts a new Wild Game & Scotch Whiskey Pairing Dinner. Chef Kimberley Kramer will prepare dishes like lavender glazed elk with fennel and peach confit paired with Highland Park 12-year scotch. Cost is $105 per person. Another "spirited" affair, the 2nd Annual Herradura Family Tequila Dinner, takes place on August 27, featuring a Mexican beer-sponsored welcome reception, four-course dinner and tequila tastings. Ticket information will be available soon on Estancia's website.
- La Valencia Hotel, the Mediterranean-inspired classic pink hotel in La Jolla Village, presents a Full Moon Concert on the Green on July 2, featuring soulful live music by Krista Richards. Gather under the moonlight on La V's Wedding Garden Green and enjoy a tapas dinner, cocktails and live music. Concert cost is $50 per person; dinner and drinks are at additional cost. For tickets and more information, call 858-454-0771.
- For fun under the sun, The Lodge at Torrey Pines offers three new summer packages: a Wine Tour Package, featuring a four-hour chauffeured tour and wine tasting at Orfilia Vineyards & Winery, Bernardo Winery and Cordiano Winery; Kayak Tour Package, featuring a kayak adventure to La Jolla's famous seven sea caves and La Jolla Underwater Park, and a Shark Encounter Package, featuring an expert snorkeling tour to view harmless leopard sharks off of La Jolla Shores, including wetsuit and snorkeling gear which can be used for the rest of the day. Call The Lodge at 858-453-4420 for additional details and pricing.
For a full listing of accommodations in La Jolla, visit www.sandiego.org/lajolla.
La Jolla's arts and culture scene is one of the best in the region and will dazzle visitors this summer.
- A new summer tradition, La Jolla Village Art Walk takes place monthly every second Saturday in La Jolla Village along Girard Ave., between Torrey Pines Rd. and Kline St. From 5-8 p.m., visitors can enjoy art shows, live music and refreshments in various locations, including the new Monarch | Arredon Contemporary fine art gallery, Thumbprint Gallery, Trilogy Sanctuary and Finch's Bistro & Wine Bar.
- The Tony Award-winning La Jolla Playhouse presents the world-premiere musical Come From Away, running May 29-July 5. The original rock-infused musical is based on the true story of when the isolated town of Gander, Newfoundland played host to thousands of stranded travelers who were diverted to the town on September 11, 2001.
From July 28-Sept. 6, the Playhouse shows the world-premiere musical Up Here, written by Robert Lopez (The Book of Mormon, Avenue Q) and Kristen Anderson-Lopez (In Transit), Academy and Grammy Award winners for the song "Let It Go" from Disney's Frozen. Up Here goes where no musical has gone before, bringing to life a circus of judgmental, neurotic, ever-changing characters that rule an ordinary man's mind.
- Currently under construction on Fay Ave. in La Jolla Village, TheLOT/La Jolla is an intimate new, seven-screen luxury cinema complex slated for a late summer opening. Moviegoers will also be able to enjoy an on-site restaurant and bar.
