San Diego in May?

[dibs0901]

Hi, I'm new here and we're planning a trip from the UK to California next year. I've been advised early May is a great time to visit DL but we'll also be staying in SD for 4-5 days afterwards and I just wondered if early-mid May is usually warm enough for the beach?

Our options are really only May or June (or possibly late Oct) cos July/Aug flights are much much more expensive and our son will be starting a new school year in Sept.

Any advice would be great.
Thanks, Debbie

 

[dis-happy]

May is a nice time of year to visit Southern California, including San Diego. June tends to be more cloudy and gloomy, although it usually burns off after the morning hours. As far as the beach goes, what do you intend to do? IMO it's never warm enough to comfortably swim in the Pacific Ocean (it never gets into the 80's like the ocean in the Carolinas/Florida). But if you want to lay on the beach and sunbathe, play in the sand and run around in the surf, you'll be in good shape. Don't forget to visit La Jolla Shores. The beach in Del Mar is nice, with lots of good restaurants in the area. And if you go farther up the coast, Laguna Beach and Dana Point are great beaches as well. HTH

 

[dibs0901]

Thanks very much for the info, looks like May is the best choice for us. We're not bothered about swimming in the ocean but we would definitely want to relax in the sun, go paddling, make sandcastles, etc! Thanks for the tips on places to go too.

 

[ScooterL]

Unfortunately, San Diego in May also tends to be a bit cloudy and gloomy along the coast - we call it "May Gray, June Gloom". Some days the clouds burn off in the afternoon, and some days they don't. Even when they do the temperatures aren't that warm - low 70s, maybe. Though you never know when we're going to get a warm spell and it'll be clear and 80 degrees!

I wouldn't count on getting much sun at the beach...and as dis-happy said, the water is *cold*!!! Still, there's lots of other things to do in San Diego besides go to the beach - and overcast weather makes it more comfortable when you're walking around places like the Zoo and Balboa Park - Sea World can be a bit cool, though.

 

[dibs0901]

OK now I'm really having second thoughts! We get enough gloomy weather in England, we don't want it on holiday too!!

How about October - is there more chance of sunshine and warm weather then? It would have to be late October though.

Mind you, we'd probably brave the beach in the low 70's anyway. Decisions, decisions!!

Any opinions/advice/comments would all be appreciated!

Thanks, Debbie

 

[ScooterL]

October is probably a better choice for sun and warm weather than May. We usually have multiple days of over 80 temperatures in October - it's quite typical for us to get a weather condition called a "Santa Ana", where the hot dry winds blow in from the desert, in October. The ocean water will still be cold, though.

May certainly isn't *bad*, and it hardly ever rains then, but if you happen to be here during a time of particularly thick marine layer, you could go 4-5 days along the coast without seeing the sun.

 

[Stellargirl]

If I had to pick between May and Oct, I'd pick Oct. Just like everybody else said, it's May Gray in that month. It could be days before you see the sun on the coast, especially in north San Diego like Del Mar all the way up to Carlsbad or Oceanside.

October is a much better choice. Should be warmer and definitely sunnier!