San Diego, California’s beach city, welcomes Canadian visitors this summer with warm sunny weather – averaging 24°C during June through August – 112 km of sparkling beaches, world-famous attractions, one-of-a-kind festivals and events, hot new restaurants and more.
The following are the newest offerings around San Diego, sure to appeal to Canadians from British Columbia to the Maritimes, and all provinces in between.
The San Diego Zoo’s new eight-acre exhibit called Africa Rocks is scheduled to open in early summer 2017. The largest in the 100-year-old zoo’s history, the $68 million expansion transforms 1930s-era grottos and enclosures into new habitats for African plant and animal species that range from savanna to shore. A gently winding, ADA-accessible pathway will transport visitors through a West African forest, acacia woodlands, Ethiopian highlands, kopje gardens and a Madagascar habitat, featuring distinctive wildlife that call these areas home including rock hyrax, klipspringers, baboons, leopards, vervet monkeys, lemurs and African penguins.
In May 2017, SeaWorld San Diego opens Ocean Explorer, a new multi-million dollar realm of deep-sea discovery featuring new rides and marine life encounters, including multiple aquariums and interactive activities displaying unique and elusive ocean animals; a Submarine Quest ride aboard mini subs that brings guest up close to some of the ocean’s most fascinating creatures; an exhilarating wave swing ride suspended from the tentacles of a giant sea jelly, and a few other family-friendly rides inspired by the sea. The final phase of Ocean Explorer is the 2018 debut of the Electric Eel Coaster.
San Diego Comic-Con International recently announced plans to open a museum of popular culture, the Comic-Con Center for Popular Culture inside the San Diego Hall of Champions sports museum’s Breitbard Hall of Fame in Balboa Park. The Hall of Fame, which commemorates San Diego sports heroes, will move to Petco Park and many of the Hall of Champions’ historical items will move to the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park. Potentially opening in 2018, the Comic-Con Center for Popular Culture will host a program of rotating exhibitions on comics and movies sourced from collectors, museums and galleries, providing a year-round interactive celebration of the innumerable aspects of popular art.
Balboa Park museums will come alive at night during Balboa Park After Dark with numerous institutions offering extended hours on select evenings from May 26–Sept. 1, 2017. The following organizations will stay open until 8 p.m. on Fridays: Fleet Science Center, Japanese Friendship Garden, Mingei International Museum, Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego Art Institute, San Diego Museum of Man, San Diego Natural History Museum, Spanish Village Art Center and the San Diego Museum of Art. Special programming and entertainment during these evening hours will be announced, and Food Truck Friday returns to the park on June 2-Sept. 29, 2017.
From April 7–Dec. 31, 2017, Birch Aquarium at Scripps in La Jolla showcases the Infinity Cube, a new immersive installation that explores bioluminescence. The exhibit combines glowing creatures with world-class science, high-tech projection and an original soundscape. London-based artist Iyvone Khoo worked alongside Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientist Michael Latz, filming more than six hours of footage of single-celled marine organisms reacting to various stimulants. Those videos became the basis of the Infinity Cube, an 8-foot cube that surrounds guests in projected and reflected larger-than-life images of bioluminescence.
Mission Bay Sports Center announces new outdoor recreation activities on Mission Bay, including Malarkey, a luxurious new 47-foot Catamaran style yacht available for group outings, equipped with a BBQ, comfortable outdoor deck seating, four beds and a kitchenette. The sports center also rents new NightSUP stand-up paddle board, equipped with waterproof LED lights designed to illuminate up to a 40-foot circumference around the board. Also available is the new Hot Tub Cruisin’rental, a fun and unique way to experience the bay while hot tubbing on a boat.
Beginning weekends May 26–Sept. 2, 2017, Hornblower Cruises and Events hosts a new 21-and-up party cruise called “Rock the Yacht, departing at 8:30 p.m. and returning at 11 p.m. The nightclub-like cruise features a dance floor and DJ playing the latest hits and throwbacks.
The San Diego County Fair, the largest county fair in the United States, takes place June 2–July 4, 2017, at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego’s North County. This year’s theme, “Where the West is Fun,” celebrates the Wild Wild West and will be fused with influences from cowboys to gold miners. The fair features top performing artists and popular attractions like the International Beer Festival, deep-fried food novelties, livestock exhibits, home and hobby displays, woodworking and a flower show.
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) heads to San Diego on July 9 for the opening round double-header of the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the official national team soccer championship of the region, taking place at SDCCU Stadium and featuring the Mexican national team as the seeded nation of Group C.
The annual San Diego LGBT Pride Parade and Festival, the second largest Pride event on the West Coast, takes place on July 14-16, 2017. Festivities include a mile-long parade through Hillcrest and two-day festival with live music in Balboa Park.
Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, “where the turf meets the surf,” kicks off the summer season with a traditional hat contest on opening day of the season, July 19 and runs through Sept. 4. The summer meet will offer racing Wed.-Sun. with an additional race day on Labor Day.
During July 19-23, 2017, San Diego becomes the center of the pop culture universe during Comic-Con International, the largest comics and pop culture event in the United States, attracting thousands of artists, celebrities and fans of comic books, movie memorabilia and all things related to pop culture.
On July 29, 2017, dozens of dogs take to the waves during the annual Surf Dog Competition in Imperial Beach. Visitors can take in the fun as more than 70 dogs compete in small dog, medium dog, large dog, extra-large dog and tandem surfing challenges.
On Aug. 10-13, 2017, the largest and longest-running tiki gathering in the world, Tiki Oasis, returns to Mission Valley. Each year, about 3,500 attendees enjoy a tiki-tastic art and fashion marketplace, live tropical-jazz music, go-go dancers, a classic car show, pool parties and more. This year’s theme is “International Espionage.”
During Sept. 1-4, 2017, more than 300 tons of sand will be carved and molded into beautiful sculptures for the annual U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge and 3D Art Exposition, held at the B Street Cruise Ship Terminal on San Diego Bay.
Projected to open in late 2018, The Barracks Hotel, a $20 million, 90-plus room specialty hotel located in the heart of Liberty Station’s ARTS DISTRICT in Point Loma, will open on the site of the 100-year-old, former Naval Training Center barracks. Art will be the primary focus of the hotel, with curated and site-specific works throughout.
Carté Hotel & Suites San Diego, a new 14-story hotel in San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood, will include 240 upscale guest rooms and suites along with a restaurant, wine shop, full-service athletic club and outdoor pool with a spa. Expected to open in June 2018, the hotel will also feature a 2,000-square-foot plaza.
AquaVie, a state-of-the-art wellness center, recently opened at the Westgate Hotel in downtown San Diego. The new $14 million, four-level, 40,000-square-foot facility is dedicated to cardio training, instructional classes and strength coaching, offering the latest fitness equipment including IronGrip and Technogym. AquaVie spa members and hotel guests also have access to the full-service Spa at AquaVie with five spacious treatment rooms. The fourth level is the hotel’s 15,000-square-foot rooftop oasis featuring a junior Olympic-sized lap pool, hot tub, relaxing lounge area with city views, three private studios and fitness equipment along with a 1/10th mile running track.
The San Diego Padres added several local favorites to the Petco Park food and beverage lineup for the 2017 baseball season, including Carnitas Snack Shack, Wonderland Ocean Pub, Resident Brewing Co., Iron Fist Brewing Co., AleSmith Brewing Co. and Cutwater Spirits. Petco Park was named the “Undisputed Best Ballpark in Baseball” by USA Today Sports and makes offering guests San Diego's best local food and beverage options a priority.
Anticipated to open in May 2017 in uptown’s Hillcrest neighborhood are three new Cohn Restaurant Group eateries: the bohemian Cal-French-inspired BO-beau Kitchen; Libertad, San Diego’s first for-charity gourmet taqueria, donating 100% of the profits to a local charity that will change monthly, and caché, a romantic 19th century-inspired Parisian craft cocktail bar that will be hidden behind the Libertad taco shop.
Officine Buona Forchetta recently opened in San Diego’s Liberty Station. Serving up Neapolitan pizzas alongside a menu of chef-driven Italian entrees and a new cocktail program, Officine is family-friendly at its core, with a dedicated patio and playground for kids to roam freely while guests dine in the Italian-warehouse inspired space.
You & Yours Distilling Co. recently opened in the East Village, joining the growing number of distilleries in San Diego County. Founder Laura Johnson is one of just a handful of female head distillers in the United States. The 2,300-square-foot distillery and tasting bar offers vodka and gin, and plans to offer aged gin and Italian-styled aperitifs including vermouth and a Campari-like liqueur in addition to weekend tours and distiller-led education and tastings.
From June 2–July 30, 2017, Wonderspaces: A Pop-Up Arts Celebration shows in Civita Park in Mission Valley. Visitors of all ages will enjoy more than a dozen extraordinary art experiences that play on all the senses, ranging from room-sized installations to virtual reality films and including works previously seen at Burning Man, Sundance Film Festival and SXSW.
The San Diego Symphony announces an impressive lineup of artists for its 2017 Bayside Summer Nights, including legendary crooner Tony Bennett; star of Hamilton and Tony Award-winner Leslie Odom Jr.; internationally acclaimed Brazilian artist Sergio Mendes; country songstress Wynonna Judd, and films accompanied by live orchestra including Academy Award®-winning La La Land, Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets and E.T. – The Extra Terrestrial.
The Mainly Mozart Festival will run June 2-25, 2017 at the Balboa Theatre in downtown San Diego and other regional venues. Music Director Michael Francis declared the 2017 season the year of “Beauty through Adversity” and has programmed signature works by Mozart and other classical composers who triumphed over adversity by producing breakthrough musical compositions of beauty and power.
The San Diego International Fringe Festival returns Jun. 22–July 2, 2017, to venues in San Diego and Tijuana. The festival brings 500 performances by more than 90 different local, national and international artists ranging from the beautiful to the bizarre and the unexpected. The festival is one of more than 200 Fringe Festivals produced worldwide and provides 100 percent of the tickets sales to artists.
The La Jolla Playhouse announced two world premiere productions for its 2017 summer season: Escape to Margaritaville, featuring the songs of legendary singer-songwriter-author Jimmy Buffett and an original story by Greg Garcia and Mike O’Malley, May 9-Jun. 25, 2017 (debuting on Broadway in New York in spring 2018), and At the Old Place by Rachel Bonds, July–August 2017, an intimate new play about the search for the roads not taken.
The Old Globe theater in Balboa Park will open its 2017 summer season with the American musical classic, Guys and Dolls, July 2–Aug. 13, 2017.
In April 2017, Air Canada doubled non-stop service from Vancouver to San Diego, now flying twice daily from Vancouver. Additionally, WestJet has confirmed it will once again offer seasonal Vancouver non-stop service three times weekly (Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday) from April 30–Oct. 28, 2017.
2017 marks the 150th Anniversary of the founding of the Gaslamp Quarter. The Gaslamp Quarter Association will offer a number of special events tied to the anniversary throughout the year.
The Canadian Garden Council and American Public Gardens Association recently named the San Diego Botanic Garden a recipient of the 2017 “Top 10 North American Gardens Worth Traveling For” Garden Tourism Award.
