are you’ll find it in
this world-famous zoo.
Conservation-minded
signs guide visitors
through multilevel
walkways, where face-
to-snout encounters
aren’t uncommon. Arrive
early, when the animal
denizens are most active.5 p290
The Drive » Exit Balboa Park
to the east via Zoo Pl, turning
right onto Florida Dr and right
again onto Pershing Dr. Merge
onto I-5 north for over a mile,
then take exit 17A. Drive almost
another mile west on Hawthorn
St toward the waterfront, then
turn left onto Harbor Dr.3 Embarcadero
The Coronado ferry and
cruise ships moor along
downtown San Diego’s
waterfront Embarcadero.
Well-manicured ocean-
promenades stretch
along Harbor Dr, where
a line-up of historicalsailing ships points the
way to the Maritime
Museum (%619-234-9153;
http://www.sdmaritime.org; 1492 N
Harbor Dr; adult/child $15/8;
h9am-8pm, to 9pm late May-
Aug; c). Climb aboard
the 1863 Star of India
and don’t miss seeing
the B-39 Soviet attack
submarine. More massive
is the USS Midway
Museum %619-544-9600;
http://midway.org; 910 N
Harbor Dr; adult/child $18/10;
h10am-5pm, last entry 4pm;
c). The Navy’s longest-
serving aircraft carrier
(1945–92), it saw action
in WWII, Vietnam and
the Gulf War. Though
Top Gun’s Goose and
Maverick may spring to
mind at the sight of this
floating city, a self-guided
tour is the best way to
experience history: crawl
into berthing spaces,
the galley and sick bay
and, of course, peer
over the flight deck withits restored aircraft,
including an F-14 Tomcat.54 p290
The Drive » Follow Harbor
Dr northwest for 3 miles as it
curves along the waterfront
past the airport. Turn right onto
Nimitz Blvd for another mile,
then left onto Chatsworth Blvd
and right on Narragansett Ave.
After a mile, you’ll intersect
Sunset Cliffs Blvd in Ocean
Beach.4 Ocean Beach
San Diego’s most
bohemian seaside
community, OB is a
place of seriously scruffy
haircuts and tattooed
and pierced body art.Start: 2 Balboa Park
Take a walk on the ‘wild’ side at San Diego Safari
Park (%760-747-8702; http://www.sandiegozoo.org; 15500 San
Pasqual Valley Rd, Escondido; adult/child incl Africa Tram tour
$42/32, combo ticket with San Diego Zoo $76/56; h9am-
5pm, extended summer & holiday hr; c), where giraffes
graze, lions lounge and rhinos romp more or less
freely inside giant outdoor enclosures. For that safari
feel, board the Africa Tram. The park is in Escondido,
30 miles north of Balboa Park via Hwy 163 and I-15
northbound; alternatively, it’s 25 miles east of coastal
Carlsbad (p289) via Hwy 78.SAN DIEGO
SAFARI PARKDETOUR:
WILCOX / CORBIS ©SOUTHERN.CALIFORNIA.27
(^) FUN ON THE SAN DIEGO COAST