Solana Beach Travel Guide

This Solana Beach travel guide will help you plan the perfect day or two in this cute little SoCal town. Solana Beach is less than four square miles, but don’t let its size fool you. 😉 It’s a place you go to just be–to slow down, drink good coffee and craft beer, take a scenic walk, hang at the beach. It’s a place I called home for 3 years, and it remains a little slice of happiness that I know I’ll keep returning to. All my friends and family that have visited love it, too. It’s not as recognized as nearby Encinitas or Del Mar, but it’s worth a stop for the day or a low key weekend. It actually packs a punch with how much there is to do, which I didn’t realize until I started writing this Solana Beach travel guide and putting it all in one place.

What To Do in Solana Beach

If you’re going to a beach town, you’re definitely allowed to spend the whole day at the beach (most people will set up at Fletcher Cove)! If you’re wanting to try something different, here are my recommendations:

Fletcher Cove (beach day)
North Coast Repertory Theatre (intimate, locally-run theatre productions. I saw “It’s a Wonderful Life” here one year at Christmas.)
Belly Up (music venue with popular acts, great atmosphere)
Annie’s Canyon Trail (hiking spot with lagoon and ocean views)
go on a walk (it’s so scenic everywhere near the ocean. I love wandering around the neighborhoods looking at houses, walking on the beach between Del Mar Dog Beach and Fletcher Cove, at low tide though, and walking along the 101. There’s a street called Solana Circle that has great views from higher up.)
Sunday Farmers Market (on Cedros Ave.)
Fiesta Del Sol (if you find yourself in Solana Beach at the end of May, you will get to enjoy this street festival with lots of shopping and music!)
Cedros Design District (explore this area on Cedros Ave. to see all the shops and art galleries)
rent electric bikes (one of my absolute favorite things to do in this whole Solana Beach travel guide. You can bike the 101, stop in at breweries, and check out all the beautiful homes all while enjoying the sunshine and ocean views.)
shop at Solo (This store on Cedros Ave is one of my faves. It’s full of trinkets that are actually cute and useful. They have books on design, travel, and food. They sell dish ware, jewelry, kids stuff, stationary, etc. But be warned, you’ll want to buy everything! It’s perfect if you need to pick up a nice gift or if you want to treat yourself to something special. You can easily spend an hour here because everything begs to be picked up and admired.)
Drink good coffee (there’s many cafes to choose from but I love Lofty and Barefoot the most!)
Favorite spots to drink alcohol: Pizza Port and Culture for local craft beer, Saddle Bar for late night debauchery. I like Pizza Port because they also have good food, and I love Culture because they brew right on site, always have a food truck, and show art from local artists.
eat authentic Mexican food from Rudy’s Taco Shop (you have to try a breakfast burrito!)
slow down, read a book, listen to the ocean, enjoy the sunshine, watch the sun set over a perfect day in Solana Beach 🙂

Solana Beach Travel Guide — Fletcher Cove, Solana Beach

the most amazing breakfast burrito from Rudy’s

a little peak inside my favorite shop on Cedros Ave: Solo.

What to Do in the Nearby Towns

I hope this Solana Beach travel guide showed you that there’s enough to do for a whole weekend, but I do love all the cute towns nearby! I wanted to add in some quick recommendations for Del Mar, Encinitas, and Cardiff since you will be so close during your time in Solana Beach. If you decide to rent e-bikes as mentioned above, you can easily get to all these spots. Well maybe not Torrey Pines, but everything else.

Del Mar: watch the horse races and place your bets at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, enjoy a few hours at Del Mar Dog Beach watching all the dogs have the best day of their lives playing in the water, have a drink at Viewpoint Brewing Co., hike the trails in Torrey Pines.
Cardiff: another great spot for a beach day but I do have two food recs. All the locals rave about a sandwich called the Cardiff Crack that you can get just outside Seaside Market. And then if you want good Mexican food and cocktails with ocean views, head to Las Olas.
Encinitas: Moonlight Beach, Encinitas Fish Shop (maybe my favorite spot to eat in all of CA), Better Buzz (maybe my favorite coffee shop in all of CA), Cali Cream Homemade Ice Cream (maybe my favorite ice cream shop in all of CA lol I love Encinitas if you can’t tell by now). Encinitas deserves a whole weekend of its own. There’s so many cute shops and restaurants, just wandering around is so lovely.