Today I’m sharing a fun list of 7 things to do in San Diego with kids. Why, may you ask? Ok, so a few weeks ago I may or may not have turned 30 (alright, I did). For this huge milestone of a birthday (I mean, I’ve now been around for three decades, yikes), we decided to take a family trip to the beach. I’ve never been to San Diego before and it’s not that far–it only takes about 9 hours from where we are so we decided this was the place for our 2019 vacation/30th birthday trip.

While there, we obviously wanted to soak up some sun and hang on the beach, but we also wanted to get out and go do some stuff. I looked online a little and found the Go City Card which basically lets you visit several attractions in one city within 30 days of the first visit for a hugely discounted price. You can even customize your card and choose the exact attractions you want to see. On top of the discount, they were having a 20% off sale so we really got an amazing deal. It’s worth checking out if you’re planning on visiting San Diego or any other of the numerous cities affiliated with Go City. 

Disclaimer: I am no expert on San Diego and like I said, this was my first time, but I do have two kids and these are the things we did during our week-long stay in San Diego that I would totally either do again, or recommend to others with or without kids.

 

Here are 7 things to do in San Diego with kids:

 

1. SeaWorld

SeaWorld was a blast! Is it pricey? Yes. But they’ve got so many different attractions for all ages. The orca show is a must and I loved the flamingos and the water ride, Journey to Atlantis. Warning: you will get soaked on Shipwreck Rapids. We paid extra for the Quickque so we could get to the front of the lines faster. However, they didn’t have this option for kids’ rides and it was so busy we ended up skipping the kids’ rides altogether. It was a little bit of a letdown but there were lots of other things to do so my boys didn’t mind too much.

 

2. San Diego Zoo

The San Diego Zoo is one of the best in the country. After visiting, I can see why. They have almost every animal imaginable and I was really impressed with their cleanliness, staff, and attractions. We started our day on the guided bus tour for a 35 minute ride through the zoo. I really wanted to do this just in case we couldn’t see everything we wanted to see. The Zoo was built on a hill so it’s lots of uphill trekking. However, they do have the Skyfari aerial tram that gets you from one end of the zoo to the other. It’s an incredible view, but a quick ride. In between checking out the animals, you can stop at one of the three kids’ play areas (the Elephant Play Yard, Koala Klimber, and Polar Play Area) to let them burn off some energy. This is definitely one of the things to in San Diego with kids.

 

3. The Beach

Our hotel was right on Pacific Beach so we spent most of our time there as well as walking down to Mission and Ocean Beaches. But there are also some great beaches in La Jolla and surrounding areas. We rented double bikes at Bicycle Discovery on Pacific Beach and rode along the boardwalk, stopping for Ice Cream at The Baked Bear and taking in the salty breeze.

 

4. LEGOLAND

If you have small kids, and you’re in the San Diego area, you definitely want to make the drive up to Carlsbad to visit LEGOLAND. But FYI, the park is much, much bigger than we had anticipated and to really have had an amazing time, we would have needed to spend two days there. However, we still had a fun day seeing what we could…But, if your kids are older than 8, they might be a little bored as most of the attractions are more suited for younger kids. Our kids are four and seven and our seven year old was borderline-uninterested in a few of the attractions.

 

5. The Cave Store

The kids loved walking down the (145?) creepy and slimy steps to get to the cave. The stairway is narrow, dark, and steep. I don’t recommend it for anyone with panic disorder (me), claustrophobia, the elderly, or even those of us who are even mildly out of shape (again, me). While the history of the tunnel was cool, and the cave was awesome, to be honest, it was quite a hike climbing back up those stairs (I made it up without having to stop, but couldn’t really feel my legs once I got to the top). It’s definitely difficult for the average person, but I would still recommend it if you’re even a little adventurous. Our kids thought it was “super cool.”

 

6. USS Midway Museum

This museum is really cool and definitely worth seeing. We went on the 4th of July which made it extra special. You can tour nearly the entire ship, imagining what life at sea must have been like back then. The ship is huge and really fascinating. There’s a gift shop and the cleanest public restrooms I’ve ever been in (always a plus ;).

 

7. Belmont Park Boardwalk

We also visited the boardwalk on the 4th of July, after our trip to the USS Midway. I have to say, Independence Day is a great day to go to the boardwalk–there were practically no lines. We rode lots of kids’ rides, some of which included the Bumper cars, Crazy Submarine, Belmont Express, and Vertical Plunge, and had fun at some other attractions including the Sky Ropes, Zipline, and Skyline. The park wasn’t quite as big as I expected but it’s still a fun place to stop if you’re on your way to the beach anyway.

Well, those are my 7 things to do in San Diego with kids. Are you planning a trip to San Diego? What stops are on your list?

Since it’s summertime, make sure you check out the best natural sunscreens for kids!