SAN is located on the north end of the beautiful San Diego Bay. It has only one short runway (about 9700 feet long), 9/27, and traffic almost always departs to the west. SAN has two terminals and a satellite commuter terminal devoted to prop-jobs. Terminal conditions are improving but poor: floors are dirty, phone booths sometimes have no phones, and the green-and-purple floor pattern doesn't do it for me. Traffic is usually 737's and MD-80's, but you'll also see lots of 757's and prop-jobs, a couple DC-10's and 767's, and a daily British Airways 777, which arrives at 2:20 and leaves at 4:40. One thing at SAN that's to-die-for is the final approach. I've never seen an airport where final approaches come closer to downtown buildings than at SAN, prompting some to nickname it "America's Kai Tak."

INDOORS:
-Terminal 2, between Gates 31 and 32. Indoor spotting at SAN can vary depending on how much runway the planes use. This spot gives a good view of post-rotation departures on 27. Right next to Starbucks coffee, too!
-Terminal 2, between Gate 20. Same story, just no Starbucks.
-Terminal 1, Gate 15. More post-rotation departures, this time the view is from behind the airplanes rather than beside them.
-Terminal 1, between Gates 7 and 8. If planes are using lots of runway, they will rotate directly in front of you from this spot. If not, they will be 100+ feet in the air by the time they get here.

OUTDOORS:
-East airport parking lots/garages.: On the eastern side of the airport there are several parking lots and garages which give you a great view. The Park Air Express garage and the Aladdin garage are located across the street from the airport but get you so close to arriving aircraft that you can almost touch them. Jimsair operates a parking lot directly behind the 27 end of the runway, and watching the final approach come in over your head at about 50 feet is breathtaking. But again, the drawback is that you'll pay about $8 a day to park in any of these spots.
-Pacific Hwy.: At various spots along the Pacific Hwy., which runs along the northern edge of the airport between Laurel St. and the USMC base, you can stop and watch the action. But again, you'll either have to pay for parking or you'll have to park across the street, well away from the action.
-Laurel St./N. Harbor Dr. parking lot.: Right where Laurel St. and N. Harbor Dr. meet on the way into the airport, there is a small lot off to the right with about 6 parking spots. It is free to park here, and views of arrivals are great, but the views of takeoffs are completely obscured by the terminals to the west.

PRE-9/11 SECURITY REPORT:
-There isn't usually a problem with security at SAN. I've heard that the USMC base on the northern edge of the airport will let you out onto the grounds for plane spotting if you ask politely (I've never actually tried to get on the base, I've only heard this from other sources, so I don't know if it is true). Obviously security at SAN must be pretty lax if civilians are allowed to peruse the tarmac.