San Diego CityPASS

With its beautiful scenery, splendid weather, and host of diverse, appealing attractions, San Diego is a popular destination for visitors from all over the world. Whether you’re planning a trip to remember for the whole family, hoping to luxuriate in the great outdoors, or just interested in learning more about the rich history of this famous coastal city, San Diego has something just for you.

With so much to see and do in San Diego, plenty of visitors find themselves keeping a careful eye on their travel budget. That’s why many people opt to purchase a San Diego CityPASS. This handy attraction pass grants you admission to several of San Diego’s most popular attractions, and is an excellent way to save money and time when exploring the city.

Included San Diego Attractions

SeaWorld San Diego
 

PLUS Any 3 of the following:

San Diego Zoo or Safari Park
USS Midway Museum
One Hour Harbor Cruise
Old Town Trolley Tours

LEGOLAND California
 

PLUS Any 3 of the following:

San Diego Zoo or Safari Park
USS Midway Museum
One Hour Harbor Cruise
Old Town Trolley Tours

SeaWorld San Diego
LEGOLAND California

PLUS Any 3 of the following:

San Diego Zoo or Safari Park
USS Midway Museum
One Hour Harbor Cruise
Old Town Trolley Tours

How the San Diego CityPASS Works

The San Diego CityPASS is a multi-attraction pass that covers your admission to a number of San Diego’s most popular sites. You pay one flat price for the CityPASS in advance of your visit, as opposed to buying different tickets for different attractions, and in doing so, you can save yourself upwards of 40%.

There are three versions of the San Diego CityPASS available for purchase. You can opt to buy a pass that gets you into SeaWorld San Diego and three other attractions, LEGOLAND California and three other attractions, or SeaWorld, LEGOLAND California, and three other attractions.

No matter what attractions you choose to visit while using your San Diego CityPASS, you won’t need to pay anything out of pocket at the gate. Instead, simply present your CityPASS, have it scanned, and you’re off on your adventure without any hassle.

Your San Diego CityPASS is activated as soon as you scan it at the first attraction you visit. From that point on you have nine consecutive days (including the day you scan it) during which to use it.

Whats Good?

When you purchase your San Diego CityPASS online, it’s e-mailed to you instantly. This makes accessing your pass a piece of cake—there’s no waiting around for your tickets to arrive in the mail. Simply click buy and you’re ready to go.

However, if you prefer paper products over digital goods, you’re still in business. Once you receive your San Diego CityPASS in your e-mail, you may print out your ticket and go from there. This paper version of the CityPASS may also be scanned at each participating attraction.

Because the San Diego CityPASS is valid for nine days, you have plenty of time to use it at each one of the available attractions. This is true even if you only have the weekends free to explore San Diego. With nine days, you have the freedom to spread your pass usage out across two weekends.

The CityPASS website is a helpful resource at your trip-planning disposal. Not only can you purchase your passes straight from this site, but the site also contains a variety of useful pointers and assorted relevant details guaranteed to assist you in your pre-trip research.

What Could San Diego CityPASS do Better?

The San Diego Zoo, SeaWorld San Diego, LEGOLAND California—these are some of the absolute most popular attractions in San Diego, and your admission to them will be covered by your San Diego CityPASS. However, there’s a lot to see and do in a town like San Diego, and not nearly all of it is available to you as part of your San Diego CityPASS. If you’re interested in casting a wider net while you’re in San Diego, there are other San Diego tourist passes to choose from like the Go San Diego All inclusive Pass or the San Diego Explorer Pass.

Your San Diego CityPASS doesn’t cover admission to specially ticketed events or attractions, even within the gates of each attraction. If you’re interested in anything like that during your visit to each attraction, you’ll have to pay for it out of pocket.

Get Your Money’s Worth with a San Diego CityPASS

The most important thing you can do to maximize your savings with the San Diego CityPASS is make sure to use it to visit all the attractions available to you. If you end up skipping even just one attraction, it’s quite possible you’ll end up spending more on the CityPASS than you would have if you’d simply paid out of pocket to visit each individual attraction. Fortunately, the nine-day pass duration provides you plenty of time to see everything you want to see.

Families traveling with small children will want to pay close attention to each attraction’s admission policy. For example, children five years old and under can enter the USS Midway Museum for free. At the San Diego Zoo, entry is free for kids two years old and younger. As a result, it’s possible you might not even need to buy a ticket for the little ones.

If it becomes clear to you during your visit that you just can’t make it to each and every available CityPASS attraction, be certain to prioritize the most expensive attractions. That way you’ll be getting as much value as possible out of your CityPASS.

San Diego CityPASS Insider Tips

Some San Diego CityPASS attractions—like LEGOLAND California and City Cruises—require you to reserve a specific date in advance of your visit. Be sure to check the website of these attractions before you visit in order to ensure you book the time slot that works best for your plans.

In addition to covering your general admission at multiple attractions, the San Diego CityPASS also comes with an assortment of special offers and ticket upgrades. These vary from time to time, so you should consult the CityPASS website before your San Diego visit in order to be up to speed on the latest information. Most often, though, they take the form of deals that, for instance, allow you to upgrade your City Cruise to a 90-minute harbor cruise for just an additional five dollars.

The San Diego CityPASS advertises a 365-day, full-refund policy. This means that for up to one year from the time of purchase, you may return your unused pass for a full refund. However, it’s important to keep in mind that making an advance reservation—even if you end up cancelling said reservation—is likely to disqualify you from this refund offer. Only start making attraction reservations once you’re sure your plans are set.

Where to Buy a San Diego CityPASS

The San Diego CityPASS is available for purchase online at the CityPASS website.