San Diego has just scored a hat trick of fresh accolades as a top 2024 travel destination — and you might want to hold onto your own hat as you catch up on these latest honors from Tripadvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Awards.
A Top 15 Overall Destination
Tripadvisor has named San Diego one of the “Best of the Best” U.S. destinations in its prestigious Travelers’ Choice Awards, which are based on reviews and ratings from real travelers. In announcing the destination’s pick as No. 15 on its list for 2024, Tripadvisor said: “San Diego embodies laid-back California culture, complete with a boardwalk, surfing communities and outstanding Mexican food. Breathe in the fresh ocean air at Sunset Cliffs Natural Park, then gobble down a fresh fish taco at a La Jolla seafood joint. The naval aircraft at the USS Midway Museum will have you standing at attention. (And) a free Sunday concert at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion is the perfect way to unwind after a Saturday night bar-hop in the thumping Gaslamp Quarter.”
The Best of the Best designation is a particularly big honor for San Diego because it’s awarded only to those receiving a high volume of above-and-beyond reviews and opinions from the Tripadvisor community. Out of Tripadvisor’s 8 million-plus listings, says the company, fewer than 1% achieve this milestone.
The accolade comes just a few months after the readers of Condé Nast Traveler chose San Diego as the No. 2 big city in America in the magazine’s annual Readers’ Choice Awards. That was the destination’s highest-ever ranking in the much-watched Condé Nast survey, and placed San Diego ahead of such perennially popular cities as San Francisco, Honolulu and New York.
San Diego Dining in the Top 10 Spotlight
Tripadvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Awards also have embraced the region’s growing renown as a world-class culinary hotspot, naming San Diego the No. 10 food destination in the United States. It’s easy to see why: San Diego now boasts five restaurants that have been awarded Michelin stars, the most coveted dining honor worldwide, and numerous other local restaurants also have achieved Michelin’s Bib Gourmand distinction for great food at a good value.
Beyond the awards, San Diego offers an amazing range of great dining and places to enjoy it — from fabled neighborhood taco joints to great food with a waterfront view to creative outdoor and beachside cuisine to new dining finds. Even our ballpark and stadium grub is the best of the best!
And restaurant accolades are a rising trend for San Diego, which also was named among the Top 10 U.S. cities for dining by Food & Wine Magazine in its 2023 Global Tastemakers Awards.
La Jolla Cove Makes a Splash (Again) as No. 5 Best Beach
And the Travelers’ Choice Awards for San Diego just keep on coming: Our city’s beautiful La Jolla Cove has once again landed on Tripadvisor’s Best of the Best U.S. Beaches list — this year at No. 5! That’s up a full five spots from the 2023 rankings, and a worthy tribute to this stunning beach, which is set like a rare jewel into the soaring seaside bluffs of La Jolla.
Tripadvisor calls La Jolla Cove “a scenic beach where blue-green waters meet dramatic cliffs. It’s a popular surfing spot, and home to seals, sea lions and tidepools. Take a stroll on the promenade or go swimming, kayaking or paddleboarding, then catch the colorful sunset. Bonus: It’s easy get to, has free parking, restrooms, and is stroller-friendly.”
As gorgeous as the Cove is, it has great company in the many other inviting beaches up and down San Diego’s 70 miles of sparkling coastline. From secluded pockets of sand to family-friendly beaches with all the amenities, San Diego has the ideal sunny spot for every beach-lover. So grab a towel and some sunscreen and come see for yourself!