From international food festivals to a top music festival and the world’s leading pop culture celebration, the following are just a few reasons why San Diego looks like a perfect vacation destination in 2020.

1. New Hotels Galore: This year welcomed The Guild, a boutique hotel located in a historic YMCA building, and Carté Hotel, part of Hilton’s Curio Collection, to downtown San Diego. Along with 2018’s openings of Moxy San Diego and InterContinental San Diego, visitors in 2020 will have more top-notch hotel choices than ever.
2. Everything on the Water: From the Super Girl Surf Pro in July and the World Bodysurfing Championships in August to the San Diego Bayfair, featuring high speed action from hydroplane boats in September, competition to be the best on the water will be fierce in San Diego. Of course, visitors can still surf, paddleboard, kayak, jet ski, and more without the pressure of competition any time of the year.
3. Everything Avocado: Loving avocados never goes out of style in San Diego. Visitors can dine on them in the ever-popular toast form at Son of a Toast in North Park, or attend the annual Avocado Festival in San Diego’s North County, where thousands of avocado lovers convene every April.
4. Celebrations of Latino and Chicano Heritage: April 2020 will mark 50 years since the founding of Chicano Park, a site of protests and community activism that today is home to the world’s largest collection of Chicano murals. Held on April 25, Chicano Park Day is a free annual event celebrating the art and culture of San Diego’s Mexican/Chicano residents with traditional music, dance, a lowrider car show, vendor booths, kids’ arts workshops and more. In the fall, festive Dia de Los Muertos celebrations abound in this border city.
5. 50 years of Comic-Con: Others will come and go, but the original Comic-Con started and remains in San Diego. The largest comics and pop culture event in the United States, Comic-Con International attracts thousands of artists, celebrities and fans of comic books, movie memorabilia and all things related to pop culture during July 23-26 to the San Diego Convention Center in downtown.
6. Surfing Dogs: They’re not just adorable—they’re serious athletes in San Diego thanks to the annual Imperial Beach Surf Dog competition occurring every August.
7. Tiki Oasis: That’s what visitors to San Diego will find thanks to newer bars like False Idol and Miss B’s Coconut Club and the iconic Bali Hai restaurant, but it also happens to be the name of the country’s largest convention for tiki lovers, which takes place every summer in San Diego and celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2020.
8. Food Without Borders: The influence of living and working along the border can be found in San Diego’s Cali-Baja cuisine, and this cross-border spirit permeates local food festivals. Whether attending the San Diego Bay Wine + Food Festival in November or Baja’s Valle Food & Wine Fest in October, visitors will find chefs from both sides of the border eagerly serving up amazing food and bi-national culture.
9. KAABOO, Version 2.0: Held every September, the popular music and arts festival that has featured past performances by the Foo Fighters, Imagine Dragons, Katy Perry, Billy Idol, Tom Petty and more moves from its original location in Del Mar to downtown’s Petco Park ballpark, Sept. 18-20, 2020.
10. Endless Attraction Action: 2020 will see the opening of The LEGO® Movie™ World, a new attraction area based on the blockbuster film The LEGO Movie at the LEGOLAND® California Resort in Carlsbad. The newest attraction at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, however, comes on four legs—Edward, the first southern white rhino calf to be born at the Safari Park following hormone-induced ovulation and artificial insemination. Edward can be seen on a special behind-the-scenes tour or may be seen on any given day from the Africa Tram, as keepers rotate his rhino crash from the back area to the front Rhino Rescue Center exhibit yard.
11. New Performing Arts Venues: The renowned San Diego Symphony will open its highly anticipated permanent bayside concert venue located along San Diego Bay at Embarcadero Marina Park South, with its first concerts scheduled for summer 2020. Away from the coast, the new Magnolia performing arts center already has performances by Art Garfunkel and Colin Hay scheduled for 2020.