No matter what time of year it is in San Diego, there are plenty of sunny days to go exploring. According to BestPlaces, San Diego has a Comfort Index of 9.2/10, making it one of California’s most pleasant climates, hence our motto, “Always sunny and 72.” With a climate like this, it’s no wonder San Diegans live life outdoors. Join us in the California sunshine on your next visit with these eight tours of San Diego.
5 San Diego Tours for Landlubbers
Whether docent led or self-guided, these tours give visitors a taste of San Diego. They range from far-reaching tours like Old Town Trolley tours and GoCar Tours to neighborhood tours like Gaslamp Quarter Tours to attraction tours like PETCO Park Tours. Here are our favorite on-land tours in San Diego.
PETCO Park Tour
Baseball fans will love this behind-the-scenes tour of the home stadium of the San Diego Padres. This state-of-the-art facility includes Padres Hall of Fame, a theater, a kids’ entertainment zone, a three-acre “park within a park”, and a 250-seat auditorium. Most tours include Padre’s dugout, the field, writers’ row, skyboxes, visiting teams’ clubhouse, batting cages, and more.
Old Town Trolley Tours
Old Town Trolley Tours are classic hop on, hop off tours with over 100 points of interest. The Day Tour has 11 stops from Old Town San Diego State Park to Coronado Island’s Orange Avenue. The San Diego, La Jolla, Mission Beach Tour showcases area beaches and Mount Soledad. There’s even a 90-minute Frightseeing Tour for the adventurous.
GoCar Tours
GoCar Tours have been dubbed, “The cure for the common tour.” These GPS-guided storytelling cars follow prescribed routes that describe everything from scenic overlooks to attractions. Tours come in one-, two-, three-, and five-hour options. You have to keep it moving to see everything on a tour, but you can discover your favorites for a later visit.
Gaslamp Quarter Tours
Gaslamp Quarter Tours are 90-minute tours that focus on the rich cultural heritage and architecture of this spectacular San Diego neighborhood. These docent-led walking tours are on Saturdays and leave from the William Heath Davis House. The historic neighborhood is dense with dining and shopping opportunities, so be sure to take advantage after your tour.
Hotel del Coronado Walking Tour
The Hotel Del Coronado was built in 1888 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977. Ninety-minute tours of this historic hotel, the second biggest wooden structure in the world, are led by docents from the Coronado Museum of History and Art. You’ll learn about the rich and storied past of this majestic Victorian beach resort that San Diegans adore.
3 San Diego Tours on the Water
There is a lot to explore along the 90-mile San Diego coastline, but two areas that are particularly popular are San Diego Bay and La Jolla Cove. San Diego Seal Tours and Flagship Cruises specialize in Bay tours, and Kayak and Bike La Jolla specializes in tours of La Jolla Cove.
San Diego Seal Tours
San Diego Seal Tours is actually a combination land and sea tour that begins at Seaport Village. The 90-minute tour travels the streets of San Diego pointing out facts about the Star of India, USS Midway, and Old Town, among others. It then plunges into San Diego Bay where you’ll see the mansions of Point Loma, the Marine Mammal Training Center, playful sea lions, and more.
Flagship Cruises
For those who want to get out on the water and explore the San Diego Bay and coastline, there are plenty of options with Flagship Cruises. They include Patriot Tours, North, South, and Full Harbor Tours, Whale Watching Tours, Patriot Jet Boat Tours, Dining Cruises and a variety of yacht and charter tours.
Kayak, Bike, or Snorkel La Jolla
Bike and Kayak Tours in La Jolla offers visitors two ocean experiences. Ninety-minute kayak tours leave from their La Jolla Shores beachfront office every hour from 9 a.m. to sunset. They cross La Jolla Ecological Reserve to the seven caves of La Jolla. The other tour is a Swim with the Sharks Tour, a 50-minute snorkel experience with La Jolla’s leopard sharks.
This is by no means a definitive list of all the tours available in America’s Finest City, but it’s a good place to start, especially if it’s your first time here. Save money on these and other tours, plus all of San Diego’s biggest attractions with a single, easy to use discount card from Go San Diego.