Pacific Beach is the beach neighbourhood north of Mission Beach, with a character that splits cleanly between the daytime beach scene and the nighttime bar scene along Garnet Avenue. The beach itself is wide and well-maintained, with a paved boardwalk connecting south to Mission Beach and north toward Crystal Pier. The surf is consistent; the crowd is young.
Garnet Avenue is the commercial spine, lined with casual restaurants, surf shops, tattoo parlors, and a concentration of bars that are loud on Friday and Saturday nights. Crystal Pier at the foot of Garnet is a 1927 wooden pier with bungalows built on the pilings — guests sleep over the Pacific, and the pier itself is a good vantage point at sunset. The farmer's market runs Tuesday afternoons.
Pacific Beach draws a younger crowd than La Jolla to the north and is more festive and less polished than Ocean Beach to the south. It is a neighborhood for people who want a beach vacation with nightlife attached.