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Alaska Airlines Flights from Chicago (ORD) to San Diego (SAN)
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on Alaska Airlines, which operates 3 regularly scheduled daily non-stop flights from Chicago (ORD) to San Diego (SAN), departing between 8:20am and 5:55pm, and one additional non-stop flight regularly scheduled to depart at 1:45pm and arrive at 4:05pm, everyday except Saturday. Usually a McDonnell Douglas MD80 is flown for this route. The average travel time from Chicago, IL to San Diego, CA is 4 hours and 22 minutes.
During your San Diego vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
San Diego Aerospace Museum
The other big kid-pleaser of the museums (along with the Fleet Science Center, above), this popular facility provides an overview of the nation's air-and-space history, from the days of hot-air balloons to the space age, with plenty of biplanes and military fighters in between. It emphasizes local aviation history, particularly the construction here of the Spirit of St. Louis. Highlights include the only GPS Satellite on display in a museum, and a World War I-era Spad. The museum is housed in a stunning cylindrical hall built by the Ford Motor Company in 1935 (for the park's 2nd international expo), and has an imaginative gift shop with items like old-fashioned leather flight hoods and new-fashioned freeze-dried astronaut ice cream. Allow at least an hour for your visit.
Giant Dipper Roller Coaster
A local landmark for almost 80 years, the Giant Dipper is one of two surviving fixtures from the original Belmont Amusement Park (the other is The Plunge swimming pool). After sitting dormant for 15 years, the vintage wooden roller coaster, with more than 2,600 feet of track and 13 hills, underwent extensive restoration and reopened in 1991. If you're in the neighborhood (especially with older kids), it's worth a stop, but adults may find the whole experience a bit too spine-rattling. You must be at least 50 inches tall to ride the roller coaster. You can also ride on the Giant Dipper's neighbor, the Liberty Carousel ($2), and other carny-style rides (unlimited ride wristband $17).
San Diego Natural History Museum
This museum focuses on the flora, fauna, and mineralogy of Southern and Baja California. Kids marvel at the animals they find here, including live snakes, tarantulas, and turtles. As a binational museum, research is done on both sides of the border and most exhibits are bilingual. You can see them all in about half an hour. Call or check the museum's website for a current schedule of special visiting exhibits. There's a 300-seat large-format movie theater, and two films are included in the price of admission.
Make your reservations for discount hotel rooms in the
San Diego area, including:
Crystal Pier Hotel
When historic charm is higher on your wish list than hotel-style service, head to this utterly unique cluster of cottages sitting literally over the surf on the vintage Crystal Pier at Pacific Beach. This place is like a self-contained hideaway -- you'll get a separate living room and bedroom, fully equipped kitchen, and private patio with breathtaking ocean views -- all within the whitewashed walls of sweet, blue-shuttered cottages that date from 1936 but have been carefully renovated. Each of the Cape Cod-style cottages has a deck -- the more expensive units farthest out have more privacy. Six units are not actually on the pier, but still offer sunset-facing sea views; these accommodations are cheaper. The sound of waves is soothing, yet the boardwalk action is only a few steps (and worlds) away, and the pier is a great place for watching sunsets and surfers. Guests drive right out and park beside their cottages, a real boon on crowded weekends. But this operation is strictly BYOBT (beach towels), and the office is only open from 8am to 8pm. The accommodations book up fast, especially with long-term repeat guests; reserve for summer and holiday weekends several months in advance.
The Sea Lodge
This three-story 1960s hotel in a mainly residential enclave is under the same management as the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club next door. It has an identical on-the-sand location, minus the country club ambience -- there are no reciprocal privileges. About half the rooms have some view of the ocean, and the rest look out on the pool or a tiled courtyard. The rooms are pretty basic, with perfunctory, outdated furnishings, priced by view and size. Bathrooms feature separate dressing areas with large closets; balconies or patios are standard, and some rooms have fully equipped kitchenettes. From the Sea Lodge's beach you can gaze toward the top of the cliffs, where La Jolla's village hums with activity (and relentless traffic). Like the "B&T," the Sea Lodge is popular with families but also attracts business travelers looking to balance meetings with time on the beach or the tennis court.
Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter
With a location at the foot of the Gaslamp Quarter and immediately across the street from the Convention Center, this hotel is ideally situated for business travelers. Yet unlike some of its competition, the Hilton doesn't overwhelm with size, making it a great place for guests who want to be close to the action (which includes loads of restaurants, nightlife, and the ballpark within a few blocks), but not get lost in the shuffle. The hotel opened in 2001 on the site of the old Bridgeworks building -- part of San Diego's original wharf a century ago; much of the brick façade was incorporated into the hotel's polished design.Standard rooms boast upmarket furniture, including an overstuffed chair and ottoman, down comforters, and pillow-top mattresses. There are suites and an executive floor, but the really snazzy picks are rooms in the intimate Enclave wing, a converted office space next to the main building which features 30 oversize guestrooms with towering ceilings, custom furnishings, Frette linens, and lavish bathrooms sporting whirlpool tubs. No two of the Enclave units have the same floor plan, but they are the handsomest hotel rooms downtown, resembling a swinging loft far more than any typical chain hotel.
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