San Diego for People on a Budget – Craft Beer and So Much More
When you long for the West Coast, San Diego is the place to go. Here you can hear the Pacific Ocean sing you to sleep after a day at the beach and after a night with the best this town has to offer: craft beer and authentic Mexican chow.
If you’re on a tight budget, take a break with a San Diego-crafted IPA and an online casino game on your phone. Visiting one of the ten 24/7 open land-based casinos can be expensive. If you prefer casinos with a $10 deposit or less, online gaming lets you join the action without blowing your budget.
Craft Beer and Good Wine
For beer lovers, this is a hotbed. From a powerful stout to a modern sour beer, San Diego has it all. California is the country’s leading brewery state, with more than 150 breweries in SD alone – the town is called the craft beer capital of America.
Try San Diego’s signature beer, the double IPA – intensely aromatic with lots of hops, which results in a very bitter beer that some people refer to as San Diego Pale Ale.
Beer tasting is common in bars and pubs. You can often get a beer-tasting flight for under $10. This gives you a sample of locally produced beers in small glasses – so you can find your favorite in a blink. Or time your trip with San Diego Beer Week, a ten-day-long festival with more than 100 craft breweries offering their best beers. More info at the San Diego Brewer’s Guild.
Curious about how to brew beer? Maybe you want to give it a go at home? If you’re interested and want to experience brewing behind the scenes, there are breweries that offer tours of their premises. Ballast Point, for example, offers free tours of their location in Little Italy with tasting and insights into the brewing process.
But there’s more to San Diego than beer. With its Mediterranean climate, the area is also a wine district. Home to some early viticulture in California, the area is well known for its wine-making. Districts like San Pasqual Valley and Ramona Valley are among the best in the state. Take a public transport bus and visit the area – you can enjoy a wine tasting for only $5.
Chilling in San Diego
If you just want to chill, San Diego is the perfect place to unwind. It’s not cheap to find a room here but you can stay at a hostel or a campground for a lower cost. Or try Couchsurfing and stay with one of the thousands of couch hosts in SD.
Restaurants can eat away at your budget, but there are places you don’t have to rob the bank to enjoy. San Diego’s authentic Mexican cuisine gives you a taste of the South, to be had with a Cerveza XTECA or some other Mexican lager-style beer. Try Las Cuatro Milpas if you want homestyle Mexican cooking. If you want to fix your tacos with your couch host, there are plenty of grocery stores where you can find the ingredients.
Maybe your budget has become a bit battered after a night on the town, and chilling in your lodgings may feel like a good idea. Have a go at some slots or a game of Blackjack on your phone. If this is your first time you can even play for free at some online casinos. But then, of course, you don’t get that jackpot you just nailed. On the other hand, you didn’t just lose the rest of your travel funds.
Beaches and Outings
For the next morning, there’s plenty to do in the area when you’re on a budget. Surf lovers will find this is nothing less than a perfect spot. Around La Jolla there are waves for beginners as well as for the seasoned surfer. If you want the real stuff head for Black’s Beach. It takes a while to get there, but it’s worth it – if you know what you’re doing on a board.
Around La Jolla, you can also find soft beach life, rent a SUP, go exploring a tide pool, snorkel your way around the coves, stay till after a fabulous sunset, and enjoy a bonfire in one of the prepared pits on the beaches.
Live music is played in so many places in San Diego, and you don’t always have to pay to listen to it. Check out free music events before you go and time your trip to the best bands. Or bring your guitar and let others enjoy your play!
With a hoppy San Diego IPA and a will to explore you’ll find that the San Diego vibe welcomes you almost anywhere you go.