About Encinitas

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The Northern most section of Encinitas bordering Batiquitos Lagoon, South Carlsbad State Beach and home to the beautiful Alila Marea Hotel & Resort perched on the bluff overlooking the Pacific.

The name Leucadia is of Greek origin as its namesake, Lefkada (Leucadia), is one of the Ionian Islands. 

Early in the community's history, a development company based in San Diego gave Leucadia and its streets their Roman-Greco names which include Hymettus, Neptune, Phoebe, and Daphne.

Leucadia faces the Pacific Ocean and the community is set on a series of bluffs along Neptune Avenue. Its beaches are located below steep vertical cliffs lending them a relative seclusion.

Meander the neighborhood of Leucadia along the one way Neptune Avenue from Moonlight to Grandview for some of the most spectacular vista points Encinitas has to offer.

Or coast down 101 and stop at one of the local coffee shops, restaurants, shops or art galleries!

Notable businesses include:

• Pannikin Coffee & Tea, housed in the historic Santa Fe Railroad Station of 1888, is a “long-time popular hangout, as much for the lack of wireless internet as the coffee, tea and cafe
• Our neighbor, Haggo's Organic Taco, featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives television show.
• Shatto & Sons—which has been in Leucadia since 1975, a custom t-shirt shop known for their "Keep Leucadia Funky" t-shirts.
• Weekly Farmers Market every Sunday.
• And many more local favorites like Fourtillfour, Juanitas Taco Shop, Corner Pizza, Seaweed & Gravel, to name a few. 

While we are  working away to gather more detailed area information and complete our guidebooks, we invite you to visit the Mainstreet Leucadia 101 website and the Visit Encinitas website

The Southernmost region of Encinitas, Cardiff stretches from Swami's beach south to the mouth of San Elijo Lagoon.  Travel on the East side of the railroad tracks along San Elijo Ave for amazing ocean views before arriving in the quaint village of Cardiff with shops, restaurants and home to San Elijo Lagoon Nature Center.

The first inhabitants were the Native Kumeyaay Indians, referred to as the Diegueño by the Spanish. In 1769 the Spanish started colonizing this area with the construction of the Spanish Missions. 

The First Settlement outside the natives and Spanish was by the MacKinnon family in 1875. In 1909 this farming community began to be developed when Boston developer J. Frank Cullen purchased land from the MacKinnons. For $30 a lot, one could buy land and build new homes. 

Frank Cullen's wife, Esther, a native of Cardiff, Wales, persuaded him to name the community "Cardiff-by-the Sea", as well as naming many streets after other cities in Britain, such as the English "Birmingham", "Oxford", "Chesterfield" and "Manchester", despite heavy Spanish influence in the area. 

In 1986, "Cardiff" joined with the nearby communities of Leucadia, Olivenhain, and Encinitas to form the incorporated city of Encinitas, but you can still feel the independence of Cardiff immortilized in the beloved by some, loathed by others, Cardiff Kook.

While we are  working away to gather more detailed area information and complete our guidebooks, we invite you to visit the Visit Encinitas and the San Elijo Ecological Reserve for more information. 

But before you go.... Don't forget to follow us on Instagram and sign up for our Newsletter, and checkout Moke & Sun recommendations for where to go and what to do!