I’ve been telling people for a long time that they’re experiencing San Diego all wrong.
If you pull into a beach lot and see nothing but Arizona and Nevada license plates, congrats, you’ve gone full tourist — we locals are chuckling behind your back.
There are pockets of San Diego that rarely see outsiders. Fitting in LA’s vast shadow, many don’t realize how big a city it is, let alone the county.
Vacationers tend to flock to Coronado, La Jolla, and Del Mar, but rarely do they ever head south to a region known as South Bay.
My hometown of Chula Vista has never been known as a hotspot, but it’s come a long way, especially as the city’s first-ever resort opened doors last year — much to locals’ chagrin.
But now it’s ready to pop off with even more new attractions, vibrant culture, and consistent rankings as one of America’s safest cities.
San Diego’s New Day Trip
For the first time in history, San Diegans and Chula Vistans can travel between each city by ferry instead of navigating the chaos of both the 5 and 805 freeways.
Like I said, Nevada and Arizona plates…need I say more?
After an exciting ribbon-cutting on June 1, the first jaunt across the San Diego Bay departed the Chula Vista Marina into Fifth Avenue Landing behind the world-renowned convention center in downtown San Diego, famously hosting Comic-Con.
But the most exciting aspect is vice-versa — tourists being able to hop aboard the ferry to Chula Vista to experience one of California’s most underrated cities.
It’s not your average small-town suburb; nearly 300,000 inhabitants live here (including yours truly).
Beholding the closest casino to downtown, Seven Mile Casino, aforementioned Gaylord Pacific Resort & Convention Center, and a thriving 3rd Avenue strip of trendy restaurants, breweries, food trucks, and cafes, you’re missing out if you don’t check out Chula Vista less than 10 minutes from the bustling Gaslamp.
You can book tickets here for the Flagship Ferry’s historic ride here. Prices are $15 one-way from San Diego.
Note: Ferries are not wheelchair accessible for this route.
Make sure you double check travel alerts and tourist fees before your trip too.
Gaylord Still Has Rooms To Fill
“Why Chula Vista?” was a common question when it was announced shovels would hit the dirt to build the gargantuan Gaylord Pacific Resort & Convention Center now towering over the bayfront.
I wish I had a better answer, but I was in the camp supporting it. There’s no such thing as bad press, and a boost to the local economy never hurts — especially if it means my taxes can finally stop disappearing into potholes that never get fixed.
Fast forward more than a year, and the Gaylord hasn’t taken off as expected. High prices don’t help, and neither does the location: unlike San Diego’s northern beach towns, there’s no real beach at the Gaylord.
And even if there were, knowing South Bay luck, it’d probably come with the same bacteria warnings plaguing parts of Coronado lately.
It can be busy, but not as busy as it should be, even once offering a cheap Resort Pass to entice visitors and locals for a staycation to fight off the lowly reviews.
I visited once — I thought it was a masterpiece. But I see why it’s off-radar for the usual San Diego tourists, being far removed from any other action, though the new ferry gives another reason to give it a shot, even if just to try one of its many restaurants.
A Buzzing Marina With Aquatic Thrills
Near the Gaylord, the most up-and-coming spot in Chula Vista, Bayside Park is now home to a towering resort and a newly reopened Kayak Cafe, tag-teaming with Chula Vista Watersports.
Formerly, Chula Vista was largely off-limits for thrill-seekers unless you charter a boat, but now you can rent kayaks, enjoy an eco-tour, or even a paddleboard lesson (see ya soon?).
Both Kayak Cafe and CV Watersports hold perfect Google reviews so far, as more visitors experience the delights of South Bay with so many gems hidden in plain sight, including their site on J Street’s Marina Pier starting June 20th.
Insider tip: order the nachos and thank me later.
As for another exciting glow-up, the long-vacant Vogue Theater has finally been sold and set to be revamped as an entertainment venue, surely to put downtown Chula on the map again, and that comes after the World Cup watch party expected to draw 25,000 people.
Chula Vista Couldn’t Feel Safer
I’m not just saying this because I live a stone’s throw from the police station; I’m saying it because it’s true.
At all hours, Chula Vista feels remarkably safe from the far corners of East Lake with some of the prettiest mountain views in the county to bar-hopping Third Ave after a taco run.
The numbers back it up too.
Our Safety Index reflects San Diego, which is seeing a score of 84/100:
Chula Vista was ranked the 23rd safest city fin the entire country for 2026 in an insightful WalletHub study and it’s long been the claim to fame that it’s the ‘second safest city’ statistically in California.
Stacie Harris is a local resident and reporter of the Maple Grove area. Stacie reports on medicine and science for the Maple Grove Report.
