San Diego is one of the nicest cities in the country. It’s a major tourist destination and they know how to treat visitors right.

Mission and Pacific Beach are your best bet for fun in the sun. Belmont Park has a vintage wooden roller coaster (one of two remaining seaside coasters on the west coast) as well as other rides. There is a boardwalk that runs the entire 3 mile length of both beaches. It’s a great place to rent a bike or skates.
http://www.missionbeachonline.com/
http://www.belmontpark.com/

La Jolla offers great views, great surfing, great food, and great shopping.
Check out the surfers at historic Windansea Beach. At low tide you can walk out onto the tide pools. Walk along the Cove and check out the caves. Visit the Museum of Contemporary Art. Take a stroll on Prospect St and check out the shops, galleries, and have some authentic Mexican food at Alfonso’s. Then head to the Birch Aquarium at The Scripps Institution of Oceanography. It has a spectacular view of the bluffs over the Pacific Ocean.
http://www.dreamlajolla.com/
http://www.beachcalifornia.com/windn.html
http://www.mcasd.org/
http://www.alfonsosoflajolla.com/
http://aquarium.ucsd.edu/
http://www.a-zsandiegobeaches.com/windansea.htm

Pacific Beach also has some great nightlife.
http://www.pubclub.com/sandiego/pacificbeach.htm

There are several beach communities along the north county coast.
http://www.beachcalifornia.com/encinit.html

Newport Beach, Coronado Beach in San Diego, Malibu,

California is an entire state of beaches… way too many to list. I would advice you to travel from Santa Barbara to San Francisco using the California State Route 1. It’s really fantastic and it will give you a good idea of what California really is. It’s long , so I would split it in two day, just to make sure you don’t rush it too much.

Michael

PS: Bring your cameras!