Steal My San Diego Bachelorette Party Itinerary + Must-Knows
Once upon a time, I was married. And before getting married, I got to spend an amazing weekend with my closest friends on a sunny, San Diego bachelorette party!
San Diego had been on my radar for ages – I’d even considered moving there after my time living abroad in Spain. So when I had the chance to choose a destination for a friends’ trip (i.e., my bachelorette party) it was easy to land on San Diego.
And it did not disappoint. In this post I’m sharing our exact bachelorette party itinerary along with tips on where to stay, what to pack and even more ideas to help you plan a truly memorable bachelorette sendoff.
Where to stay for a San Diego Bachelorette Party
Where you choose to stay can really set the tone when it comes to a bachelorette weekend. I’ve been to bachelorette parties where we all stayed in a rental house together, and ones where we stayed in a hotel block together.
For this trip, we chose to stay in a hotel and here are some top recommendations:
🏨 Luxury: Tower 23 Hotel
Want to be right on the ocean? Stay at Tower 23 Hotel. You’ll be further out of the ‘city center’ but that’s nothing that a rental car or rides share won’t fix. In exchange, you’ll be right on the beach with stunning views, beach bars and restaurants.
👉 Check prices and availability for your dates
🏨 Mid-Range: Hotel Indigo
Part of the Intercontinental Hotels Group, Hotel Indigo turned out to be both beautiful and hospitable. It’s also dog-friendly. Staff were very pleasant, the central location was unbeatable and I would definitely stay here again.
👉 Check prices & availability at Hotel Indigo
🏨 Budget: Best Western Plus Bayside Inn
Located within walking distance of Little Italy, and not too far from the water or Gaslamp District, is Best Western Plus Bayside Inn. There’s a pool onsite, and rooms include balconies with city or pool views.
If you’d rather rent a San Diego bachelorette party house for the crew here are a couple great options to consider:
- This luxury Mission Bay Estate with its own resort-style pool
- This Architectural beauty with stunning views and jacuzzi
How to get around in San Diego
We opted to stay in a central location (Gaslamp – Hotel Indigo) and then took ride shares as needed.
Once you’re within different neighborhoods, San Diego feels pretty walkable. To traverse longer distances, ride share is convenient.
Of course, you could also rent a car or opt for public transportation if you prefer. San Diego has a trolley and bus system. If you want to be able to rely on that, make sure that whatever accommodations you choose to stay at puts you near a transit stop.
Popular San Diego bachelorette party ideas
I’m going to give you my exact San Diego bachelorette party itinerary next, promise. Or, you can scroll down to it now. BUT, first I want to be sure to give you some of the most popular things to do in San Diego on a bachelorette weekend.
If you really want to go all out or plan a more traditional bachelorette, you’ll want to include some or all of these items! My own itinerary (below) looks different because I more so wanted a low-key weekend of exploration with my friends.
Drag Show at Lips
Book a table here for brunch or dinner with a drag show! The place has been around for 25 years, so you know they’re doing something right. Be sure to reserve in advance.
Temecula: Wine Country Day Tour
If you’ve got a bunch of wine-lovers in your group, you can dedicated a whole day to wine tasting in Temecula! The best part is it cuts down on the planning you have to do, since there are great guided tours that will handle it all.
This highly rated Temecula day trip will take you to 2-3 different wineries as well as Old Town Temecula, and includes lunch. Note that this tour is for 15 people total, so you may have other guests with you!
If you’d prefer a private tour for your group only, look at this option instead. You may need to reach out to them separately about booking pickup from San Diego.
🍷 Explore prices & availability for your group
Spa Day
For a relaxing vibe, book some time at a spa so everyone can unwind. There are plenty of great options, and one to consider is Yu Spa, which offers a variety of packages to choose from.
Brunch Cruise w/Bottomless Mimosas
A bachelorette party in San Diego is a great excuse to get out on the water. This brunch cruise is a fun way to do it. Over the course of a couple hours you’ll enjoy a delicious buffet brunch spread, bottomless mimosas and great views of the city.
👉 Book the bottomless mimosas brunch cruise
Afternoon Tea at Brittania
Want to class it up and feel like royalty? Book an afternoon tea at The Britannia Tearooms for an authentic, British tea experience. They also offer themed teas throughout the year.
Note that they do book out far in advance, so this will definitely require planning ahead.
Steal my San Diego Bachelorette Party Itinerary
Or, you know, adapt it to your preferences. Take the best of what you love from the ideas above and my real life itinerary below to craft the ultimate San Diego bachelorette party itinerary for your group!
We had two days in San Diego, and here is how we spent them.
Day 1
This was arrival day. We lazily settled in, explored a bit and had a lovely dinner out:
Checking in
Everyone arrived and joined the fun at different times. I arrived Saturday morning with my sister and cousin and, having been up since around 4:30 AM let me tell you it was tempting to jump into bed!
Thankfully, we did not. I’m sure we would have slept most of the day away otherwise.
Instead, we checked in and dropped off our bags at the hotel, changed into beachwear and headed to lunch on the boardwalk. It was a great way to take in the sunny weather by the pacific beach right away.
Mission Beach
After a leisurely lunch, we hung out on Mission Beach for a while and wandered the short distance over to Belmont Park.
The main attraction at this seaside amusement park is the Giant Dipper — a wooden roller coaster that’s been running since 1925.
Of course, we had to ride it. It was a rickety ride, with incredible views of the water and palm treetops.
I wish I’d been brave enough to have my phone out to capture some shots like the kids in front of us! Still, we had the best time letting ourselves play at the amusement park like kids.
Sunset Cliffs in San Diego
We headed back to the hotel in the late afternoon, giving ourselves some time to put our feet up before getting ready for the night. About 30 minutes before sunset, we hopped in a car.
Destination: sunset cliffs – one of the top things to do in San Diego. This was definitely a highlight and one of my favorite things we did as an entire group.
On a different kind of trip, I would have come here in warm clothes, sensible shoes and with more time to hunker down for the evening.
On this night, I had one objective – ensure we saw the sunset, captured a few photos and didn’t twist our ankles in our heels.
The timing worked out perfectly. By the time we arrived, the sun was mid-set. We didn’t have to climb up or down any sandy cliffs to catch the show, either, meaning we were [mostly] safe in our heels (in case you worry about that kind of thing, too).
Dinner in Little Italy
About 20 minutes after we’d arrived, we were back in a car and en route to Little Italy for dinner. As an Italophile, spending some time in this neighborhood was important and we had a lovely dinner (details on everywhere we ate, below).
Afterwards, we headed back to Gaslamp Quarter for a night on the town.
Rooftop Bars for San Diego Bachelorette Party
Our first stop after dinner was our best of the “going out” portion of the evening. We waited in line for about 20 minutes in the Marriott lobby before making it to Altitude Sky Lounge, the rooftop bar.
It’s a little crammed up there, and the view at night isn’t great unless you like staring into empty ballparks (you can see all of PETCO Park from up there), but the DJ was superb.
It can get a bit chilly and there are massive fire pits to warm you up, as well as a bit of an indoor space.
Or, you can warm up on the dance floor! We hit up a few other places after Altitude, but that first stop was my favorite of the night. When you want to take in the vibrant nightlife of San Diego you don’t want to skip the Gaslamp district.
Day 2
This was a day for exploring some of San Diego’s highlights. The focus for me was less about ‘bachelorette party activities’ and more about seeing the sights of a new city together.
Balboa Park
We kicked off Sunday with a noon brunch before setting off to explore Balboa Park, which was beautiful! It’s a 1200-acre park with museums, gardens, cultural centers and more sprinkled throughout.
It was so fun to walk through and take photos of its gorgeousness.
To think, when I was first thinking about things to do the park wasn’t even much on my radar. Definitely glad we made the stop and if you visit, don’t leave without checking out the Spanish Village.
I would have missed this (and been very sad) were it not for my sister, who’d been before.
Especially if you enjoy outdoor activities, Balboa park is one of the best places to visit when you’re in San Diego for a bachelorette weekend. It’s even the perfect spot to get some beautiful photos.
La Jolla Bachelorette Party Adventure
We spent Sunday evening exploring La Jolla. I have very mixed feelings about La Jolla, or the part we were in at least.
First, one of the main draws is the gathering of seals along the coast.Yes, it’s cool to take in but as I got closer to them THE SMELL nearly knocked me over. I quickly backed away for fear of hurling.
What’s so smelly? The poop, people. The poop.
It’s very important, good-for-the-ecosystem poop. But it’s poop, and so I admired from afaaaaar.
Walking around some of the streets further in and away from the cove area, we found deserted high-end shops all around. It felt like a ghost town on Sunday around 5:30 PM.
Except for one place, a bookstore of all places. There was a long line out the front door, and everyone held a copy of the same book. A signing, then. Wonder what book.
All I will say about it is this: we looked at the crowd, we looked at the book they were waiting to get signed, we looked around at our otherwise deserted surroundings and at that moment I was strongly reminded of the movie, Get Out.
Anyways, I suppose that remains one of the mysteries of my La Jolla bachelorette party weekend segment!
We proceeded to dinner, then made our way back to Little Italy for dessert. Which brings me to the best part of this guide…
Where to Eat in San Diego
My favorite part of planning any trip is choosing where to eat, and we certainly hit up some gems on this trip. Here’s the breakdown of the best restaurants we visited.
Beach House Grill
The main goal after we landed Saturday morning was to get to the beach, maybe grabbing picnic fixings on the way. But then we came across Beach House Grill and decided it would do.
It was walking distance to the beach. Actually it was essentially right on the beach! And it had food, what more did we need?
Here’s the beauty of it, beach views, your toes in the sand, and actually decent grub. This was exactly what we needed to be able to relax on our terms without being holed away napping in hotel rooms. There’s plenty of people-watching, too.
If you go: get the chicken pesto sandwich, skip the cod sandwich (too bready and salty), get the fries, try the chips (they look like potato chips and taste like Funyuns). Kick back and relax.
Mimmo’s
There was no way we were not going to Little Italy for a meal on this trip. The question was, which one?
After obsessive Yelp-ing, we narrowed it down to three places and from there, whittled it down to one: Mimmo’s. Cute space for large groups, friendly service, great food. Mimmo’s was perfect for our Saturday night girls’ dinner in San Diego.
I got the Blackened Chicken Pasta and it was SO much better than what I was expecting. They also have a choose-your-own pasta and sauce combination concept on their menu, the type of thing I am too indecisive to partake in.
Of course, after learning how much I enjoy a good cannolo after our trip to Boston last year, I couldn’t leave without dessert. Their canoli hit the spot.
Great Maple
Write this down somewhere because you HAVE to go to Great Maple for brunch. I’m convinced there’s no better way to start your day.
A friend’s recommendation earned this delicious joint a spot on my San Diego bachelorette party itinerary and I’m so glad for it. Be sure to make a reservation here.
Here’s what to get, based on what everyone at our table enjoyed: Great Maple French Toast Logs, Egg Whites & California Toast (avo toast), Fresh Goat Cheese Squash Blossom, Johnny’s Lolliwaffles, Maple Bacon Doughnuts, House Smoked Beef Brisket Hash.
WHEW. Drooling.
George’s Ocean Terrace
Needless to say, that massive brunch kept us full until dinner. We had reservations for dinner in La Jolla and this was a stop I was really looking forward to. It did not disappoint.
George’s Ocean Terrace is on the top floor of George’s at the Cove. We were able to sit by the railing (upon request) and watch the sun set over the water as we ate. Of course, make reservations.
They had their heat lamps going and even offered us blankets! The service was…interesting. It sounded like they’d done some recent hiring so things weren’t tip top, but nothing we were too bothered by.
You should get: Ahi Tostadas to start. They recently added a braised beef sauce to their Spaghetti with Clams and it is everything. Other table favorites were the Braised Short Rib and the Skirt Steak.
Tip: If you have trouble getting sunset reservations on the rooftop terrace, a window-side table on either of the other floors will likely give you a very similar view.
iDessert
Okay, I succumbed to the novelty here. For dessert Sunday night we headed back to Little Italy to a place called iDessert simply because I was intrigued by the concept.
You create / order your dessert on an iPad, with the option to make it “Vegas style” which means, “with dry ice.”
Honestly…it wasn’t my favorite. The ordering process was a bit complicated, the dessert was pretty but not the most delicious thing I’d ever tasted. As it turns out, iDessert has since closed down anyway.
Other places on my list I’d like to try next time are: Extraordinary Desserts, Hammond’s Gourmet Ice Cream, Blush Desserts, Cookie Monster Ice Cream, The Good Stuff Cookie Co.
Can you tell I have a major sweet tooth?
What to wear in San Diego for a bachelorette party
If you’re wondering what to pack for San Diego, here’s some guidance on both outfits and party favors.
What to wear in San Diego
San Diego felt like a pretty casual city, but of course you’ll want to dress it up a bit since you’re in town to celebrate! Be prepared for it to feel cooler in the evenings than it does during the day.
Of course, you’ll want to adjust based on the weather depending on the time of year you’re going. When we went, I felt comfortable in dresses during the day. I brought a lightweight, leather jacket and some light cardigans for cooler temperatures.
And, nothing says casual like an everyday pair of jeans.
Packing light? Curate your own Bachelorette party favors
I want to put this section here as a reminder for you, the party planner, to not forget some party favors. This can be as simple or as over-the-top as you like. For my cousin’s bachelorette we got her a tiara, a sash and light up rings for the rest of us to wear. For mine in San Diego, we simply got sashes and color coordinated an outfit one night. For my sister’s, I bought all the girls a fanny pack and put fun goodies inside like lip balm, hair ties, mints, etc. If you have a theme in mind, get some party favors and decorations to go along with it. Ultimately, San Diego ended up being the perfect destination for my bachelorette party. If you’re looking for your next girls’ trip, this is it in my book! And, I hope our San Diego bachelorette party itinerary helps you with all the planning. I highly recommend
Final thoughts on a San Diego Bachelorette Party
