Aside from the comfortable elegance and outstanding location guests at the Sofia Hotel enjoy, there are many added perks—not least the option of hopping on a loaner bicycle and weaving through the streets and paths of San Diego.

We provide the bikes free to our guests on a first-come, first-served basis—so there’s no excuse! With San Diego’s impeccable weather and varied scenery, a self-guided two-wheeled excursion is about the finest way to appreciate the city and the region.

San Diego County boasts better than 1,700 miles of bike routes. Embarking from the Sofia, you’re near at hand to some of the best. One premier trip is the 25-mile-long Bayshore Bikeway, which gives you a rich exposure to San Diego’s bustling waterfront and the peninsula of Coronado. Most of the bikeway is along designated bike paths or established bike lanes.

It’s easy to connect to the Bayshore Bikeway from the Sofia: You can begin the route in the Embarcadero just blocks away, then roll southward through National City, Chula Vista, and Imperial Beach. There you swing along the southern arm of San Diego Bay—soaking up views all the way—and cruise the stunning Silver Strand isthmus to the Coronado Peninsula.

From the Coronado, you can either reverse your route back to the mainland or catch the Coronado Ferry across the bay to close your loop and return to downtown.

For shorter pedaling jaunts, the Embarcadero Marina Park North and Embarcadero Marina Park South are both excellent, vista-rich sites—offering the rider grand views of the city and the sparkling bay, both.

There are plenty of other wonderful bicycling routes in the city near the Sofia, including the many miles of trails through beautiful Balboa Park to the north. Riders of all abilities and inclinations have corridors galore to fill up a sun-splashed afternoon.

Loaner bikes and endless (and endlessly beautiful) bikeways at our doorstep—just a few more incentives to stay with us at the grand Sofia!

Photo credit: Floris M. Oosterveld