How to plan a trip to San Diego on a budget? Check out tips for accommodation, tours, travel insurance, car rental, cell phone chip and much more.
1) Avoid the high season months in San Diego
July and August, as well as December and January, are the most expensive months to travel because of the high demand. Therefore, a good way to save money on your trip is to avoid these months in order to get cheaper airline tickets and hotels.
Also pay attention to the American Spring Break weeks (usually falls in March, but varies every year) and the Easter holiday in April, which can attract more tourists.
2) Travel cheaply and safely with International Travel Insurance in San Diego
To ensure your safety and that of your family in San Diego, you need to take out travel insurance. It protects you and offers assistance in the event of unforeseen circumstances. Therefore, taking out quality insurance at the best price is essential for your family’s well-being.
By using an insurance comparison tool, you’ll be able to see the best options on the market. A tip: if you feel lost between insurances, our top recommendations are SulAmerica, Travel Ace, Assist Card, GTA, Green Card, Affinity and My Travel Assist. They are extremely reliable.
3) Save a lot on shopping in San Diego
If you like to take advantage of your trip to renew your closet, San Diego is the place to do it. There, you can find good, cheap clothes very easily. For this, a great tip is to visit the magnificent outlets scattered around the city. They have cheaper clothes than the city’s shopping malls and high street stores.
A good tip is that most of San Diego’s outlets have discount coupons for the main stores on their website, which can be up to 40% off. Just print them out or carry them on your cell phone and present them at the checkout.
Secondly, if you want to save even more, there are the famous department stores, such as Marshalls, Ross and T.J. Maxx. These are large stores that sell famous brands for a small price. However, they sell out of stock and only offer items that have already been discontinued.
4) Save money by using cheap Internet for your trip
One way to travel cheaply to San Diego is to buy an American prepaid SIM card. Many hotels there charge a daily fee to use the Wi-Fi, which is expensive and limits you to using the Internet only within the hotel. Internet roaming services don’t usually provide a good connection, and they are also expensive.
In our experience, we used this travel SIM card. It cost very little and offered a great connection in all the cities we visited in the United States. Best of all, the Internet is unlimited and at high speed.
5) Traveling cheaply by renting a car in San Diego
Another tip on how to travel to San Diego on a budget is to rent a car. Many tourists already do this to make the most of the sights and beaches without having to take the bus and risk getting lost. In addition, renting a car makes it possible to travel between all the neighboring cities, exploring San Diego, Monterey, Carmel, Oakland etc.
And to find the best car rental, we know a great car rental comparison service that will provide you with the best options. So take a look at the tips below and make the most of it.
Book your car in advance
Make your reservation online as soon as possible, because another tip on how to plan a trip to San Diego on a budget, and get a cheap car, is to book as far in advance as possible and online. The earlier you book, the cheaper you’ll pay. It’s well worth it and you’ll save a lot with promotions, paying much less than renting a car on the spot.
Don’t rent a GPS in San Diego
Another good tip is not to rent a car with a GPS, as it costs a lot per day. Instead, you can buy a good American chip, like the one we listed above, unblocked for international calls and with unlimited Internet. That way, you’ll be able to use the map and location apps with your own cell phone.
Use this incredible price comparator
There are some car rental price comparators in San Diego (and throughout California and the United States) that are sensational and search all the main car rental companies there, finding the best prices and excellent deals.
We recommend one that you can use by going to the website and entering the date of your trip. It then searches for all the best car rental companies in San Diego and California.
If you want to do the search, click here on Car Rental Comparator. In just a few seconds, you’ll have all the options for renting a car in San Diego from the best companies on your screen, and you can choose the cheapest one. You really will save a lot.
More tips: prefer larger and reliable rental companies, such as Alamo, Hertz, Dollar, Budget and Avis. Take out basic insurance when booking, which is super important and is usually included in the price. But don’t fall for the companies who, when you pick up the car, try to push extra insurance that isn’t worth it.
6) Save money on San Diego’s beaches
On the beaches, you can spend an incredible day for next to nothing. The stalls selling water, food and drinks on the beach are usually expensive, so our tip is that you stop by Target or Walmart before your trip and buy some snacks, crackers, juice and soda to take with you.
In addition, to rent an umbrella and a beach chair, they charge around 50 dollars. It’s also worth buying an umbrella and a large beach towel at Target to use every day. This will cost you less than 40 dollars, which is cheaper than renting for a single day. And you can use it for the whole trip.
7) Save on tickets to paid attractions in San Diego
There are many free tours in San Diego, but there are also some paid tours – such as museums, amusement parks etc. The good news is that you can buy tickets for all of San Diego’s attractions much more cheaply.
The best way is to buy your tickets online, always BEFORE you travel. Tickets are always cheaper than at the box office, and you can travel with them safely without running the risk of them being sold out. The cheapest place we’ve found so far is this website.
It’s the largest ticket and tour website in the world. In other words, it has all the amusement park tickets, tours, excursions and even transfers. It’s the cheapest and most reliable place we’ve found to date.
8) Saving money on MLB and NFL games in San Diego
You may already know that Americans love to watch NFL or NBA games. And there’s a reason for that: the games have a unique atmosphere and energy. If you can, it’s worth seeing a game of teams like the San Diego Padres (MLB) and San Diego Chargers (NFL).
The best way to buy your tickets for sports matches is online, always BEFORE you travel. The price of tickets varies a lot depending on where you’re going to sit, but even so, if you buy them in advance, they’ll cost a lot less.
9) Find the cheapest hotels in San Diego
In order to travel cheaply to San Diego, a good cost of accommodation is essential. That’s why
- Look for alternative areas. There are several cheap hotels that are further away from the tourist area, but which are located in very beautiful areas. As you’ll need a car in San Diego, it’s no problem to stay a few minutes away from the tourist attractions.
- San Diego has some great hostels, which are cheaper for those who are willing to stay in a less comfortable place and are more suitable for young people.
Use the hotel search engine: to find good hotels at incredible prices in the area you want and save a lot on accommodation, use this hotel search engine in San Diego. We always use it, as it’s the largest hotel booking site in the world, so it has unbeatable prices due to its strong negotiation. And there you can check out the opinions of tourists who have already stayed in the hotels, which helps a lot when evaluating each one.
Free cancellation: this search engine has a very strong partnership with the establishments and they offer free cancellation with almost all the hotels. This is wonderful, because the factor that will save you the most on accommodation is advance notice.
The earlier you book, the cheaper you’ll pay. So, you can already book your hotel to guarantee the lowest price, and if you later find a better one or don’t want to stay there, just cancel it.
10) Save money by using transfers in San Diego
Using a transfer service is an option for those who want to get from the airport to their hotel without the risk of suffering a financial scam – and another tip on how to travel cheaply to San Diego. Unfortunately, it’s very common for drivers at the airport exit to charge more to tourists who aren’t used to the local prices.
That’s why it’s best to buy a transfer in advance. You get security as well as great savings. You can find the best transfer deals on this transfer comparator. When you hire the service, the driver will meet you at the airport with a sign with your name on it and take you to your hotel.
