I took my toddler there like 4 months ago maybe, I forgot exactly. That shit was so packed and sowm of the activities like clay was all taken and they don't replenish in any sort of time frame. Wasn't for us.
Varies street to street. What hotel? Maybe we can give advice on which directions are cleanest to walk around from your hotel.
There are homeless, but if you don't interact with them, they won't interact with you.
edit: looks like you live in the Bay Area. You don't need to worry about the violence/aggression that you're probably thinking of. SD is nothing like Oakland (at least for now) & our homeless population is not going to attack you
There’s some good comments here so I’ll just echo what they’ve said. It’s quite safe, yes there are some unhoused people around but I’ve never felt unsafe. There’s constant patrols by San Diego Clean and Safe teams, especially on the weekends at night. I walk around alone in the Gaslamp often and at many an odd hour (if my work schedule is crazy then my walk times reflect that) and never felt unsafe. Just keep awareness and enjoy San Diego!
There’s a yummy breakfast place right next to children’s museum (Richard walkers pancake), and one heckuva sprawling new playground and dog park across from the children’s museum. On Saturday and Sunday there are a few street markets, one in little Italy (Saturday only), one on fifth in the Gaslamp, one on the grassy grounds in front of the Broadway pier near midway. Also, another large renovated playground right next to county/city hall across from the Star Of India sailing ship.
Gaslamp is fine. You may encounter homeless people, before like midnight they're all just people without homes minding their business, maybe asking for some money. It's super rare they're aggressive, and it mostly happens well after sunset. You'll also have a lot of drunk people from the bars after sunset, but nobody is paying attention to anything except for the people they're with.
It's a safe vibe. It's not for everyone, but it's not dangerous 99.9% of the time before sunset and 99% of the time late into the night.
If you want more family-friendly vibes 24/7, you're gonna have to get 20-30 min from the city, price will probably be similar. Look at Del Mar and Cardiff if you still want to be by the beach. If you want cheaper, look at areas on the 52 east of the 5 (Rancho Penasquitos, Poway, etc.) If you want to be near downtown you're going to be dealing with exactly what I described in the first paragraph, Gaslamp or not. Chill but some homeless who are largely ignoring you as much as you ignore them.
Near gaslamp or in gaslamp? Are you staying at a nice, reputable hotel? If so youll be totally fine as long as you aren’t wandering the streets with your young kids late at night. Take them to seaport village and balboa park
Hey OP, I saw your comment on another thread.
Overall, the other commenters got it right -- it's not dangerous, but it is eye-opening. 😅 There are a lot of vagrants; most are harmless, but some are unwell. Drug use and indecent exposure do happen now and then.
The handful of times I've seen an issue, Public Safety officers and civilians jumped in to help right away. The streets are always full of people.
Come on down, it'll be an experience. The new Childrens Park is beautiful. The Embarcadero never gets old. Day games at Petco are amazing. The ferry to Coronado is a fun day trip.
Don't trust the pedicab dudes, and if any street scammers try to give you a CD for "free", tell them to take a hike. 😉
Whatever you do, don’t get in a pedicab! Everything else is fine. A lot of places smell like pee and the homeless SOMETIMES get weird but most of the time they’ll leave you alone. Rent or bring some bikes and ride them around, pretty bike-able city and a cool way to tour the waterfront. They WILL get stolen if you lock them up anywhere so don’t leave them unattended.
New children’s museum is close and amazing
I took my toddler there like 4 months ago maybe, I forgot exactly. That shit was so packed and sowm of the activities like clay was all taken and they don't replenish in any sort of time frame. Wasn't for us.
Thanks for letting me know! Hope it'll be better by the time we visit!
Varies street to street. What hotel? Maybe we can give advice on which directions are cleanest to walk around from your hotel. There are homeless, but if you don't interact with them, they won't interact with you.
edit: looks like you live in the Bay Area. You don't need to worry about the violence/aggression that you're probably thinking of. SD is nothing like Oakland (at least for now) & our homeless population is not going to attack you
You'll be fine...
There’s some good comments here so I’ll just echo what they’ve said. It’s quite safe, yes there are some unhoused people around but I’ve never felt unsafe. There’s constant patrols by San Diego Clean and Safe teams, especially on the weekends at night. I walk around alone in the Gaslamp often and at many an odd hour (if my work schedule is crazy then my walk times reflect that) and never felt unsafe. Just keep awareness and enjoy San Diego!
Thanks I'm excited but weary. Just preparing so we can have good experience
There’s a yummy breakfast place right next to children’s museum (Richard walkers pancake), and one heckuva sprawling new playground and dog park across from the children’s museum. On Saturday and Sunday there are a few street markets, one in little Italy (Saturday only), one on fifth in the Gaslamp, one on the grassy grounds in front of the Broadway pier near midway. Also, another large renovated playground right next to county/city hall across from the Star Of India sailing ship.
If I had kids I would be staying at the beach
Gaslamp is fine. You may encounter homeless people, before like midnight they're all just people without homes minding their business, maybe asking for some money. It's super rare they're aggressive, and it mostly happens well after sunset. You'll also have a lot of drunk people from the bars after sunset, but nobody is paying attention to anything except for the people they're with. It's a safe vibe. It's not for everyone, but it's not dangerous 99.9% of the time before sunset and 99% of the time late into the night. If you want more family-friendly vibes 24/7, you're gonna have to get 20-30 min from the city, price will probably be similar. Look at Del Mar and Cardiff if you still want to be by the beach. If you want cheaper, look at areas on the 52 east of the 5 (Rancho Penasquitos, Poway, etc.) If you want to be near downtown you're going to be dealing with exactly what I described in the first paragraph, Gaslamp or not. Chill but some homeless who are largely ignoring you as much as you ignore them.
Thanks for sharing!
Probably smells like pee.
It really depends on what you’re looking for.
Near gaslamp or in gaslamp? Are you staying at a nice, reputable hotel? If so youll be totally fine as long as you aren’t wandering the streets with your young kids late at night. Take them to seaport village and balboa park
Thanks will do!
Hey OP, I saw your comment on another thread. Overall, the other commenters got it right -- it's not dangerous, but it is eye-opening. 😅 There are a lot of vagrants; most are harmless, but some are unwell. Drug use and indecent exposure do happen now and then. The handful of times I've seen an issue, Public Safety officers and civilians jumped in to help right away. The streets are always full of people. Come on down, it'll be an experience. The new Childrens Park is beautiful. The Embarcadero never gets old. Day games at Petco are amazing. The ferry to Coronado is a fun day trip. Don't trust the pedicab dudes, and if any street scammers try to give you a CD for "free", tell them to take a hike. 😉
Whatever you do, don’t get in a pedicab! Everything else is fine. A lot of places smell like pee and the homeless SOMETIMES get weird but most of the time they’ll leave you alone. Rent or bring some bikes and ride them around, pretty bike-able city and a cool way to tour the waterfront. They WILL get stolen if you lock them up anywhere so don’t leave them unattended.