FAMILY TIME If your spouse and kids want a break from golf, drop them off at Legoland California in Carlsbad. It caters to young families, making it easy for one parent to manage the children solo. Then you can head three miles away to Aviara Golf Club. Perpetually one of the best-maintained and prettiest courses in the county, it’ s a worthy stop regardless of your skill level. Being close to the ocean and playing along a lagoon, it graces golfers with beautiful scenery through the front and back nines. An LPGA Tour event was played here until a few years ago, which speaks to the high-caliber layout.
You can also drive one extra mile south, to play the world-renowned Omni La Costa North Course. Home to the men’ s and women’ s NCAA Championships, it was renovated and slightly redesigned three years ago by Gil Hanse. Depending on if your drives hit the fairway, your round can either be very enjoyable or quite difficult. Either way, it’ s a great test of golf. It’ s walkable— but hey, you’ re on vacation, so enjoy a cart. Despite this being a resort, the course is open to the public.
The best time of year to play golf here is late February through Thanksgiving, but know that summertime gets busy because Arizonans flock to escape the heat. December and January are typically wet and cold. Because San Diego’ s on the southern tip of the coast, it tends to get dark out earlier than you’ d think. So plan morning rounds, whenever possible.
Now your golf jaunt to San Diego is complete.
Aviara Golf Club above and this page
PLACES TO EAT
When you visit, make sure to grab the best Mexican food in America. Your choices are plenty, but be like a local and drop by one of the many walk-up stands around town. Roberto’ s Taco Shop is the original, while Aliberto’ s is a close second favorite. Both have multiple locations. Order a ' California ' at the counter— it ' s a carne asada burrito with fries inside. The crunch is a game changer. And if you’ re craving a breakfast burrito when you wake up, try either Pipes Cafe in Cardiff or the mega-popular Buccaneer Cafe just steps from the beach in Oceanside.
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