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San Diego is a true playground by the Pacific. It promises both relaxation and adventure, and for families, it’s where you can let your child’s curiosity run as wild as the lions at the world-famous San Diego Zoo.
From hiking along the coastal cliffs to riding roller coasters to discovering that “tide pooling” really means treasure hunting, there are so many things to do in San Diego with kids besides hitting all the big ticket attractions.
San Diego has a knack for turning everyday moments into memory-making magic — whether it’s going for a bike ride, finding the perfect taco, or realizing your kids have just discovered a new favorite destination in the USA.
So if it’s your first visit to San Diego with your family, and you’re ready to start exploring, here is what to do in a city where the forecast is always sunny with a chance of memories.
If you plan on visiting several San Diego attractions, get yourself a San Diego Go Attraction Pass. You can build your own based on what you want to see and do. It will save you money!
1. Bike ride along the promenade at Pacific Beach
First on our list of things to do was to jump on a couple of bikes we rented from Action Sport Rentals at Bahia, and cycle the bike path behind the beach at Pacific Beach.
We had a stressful time flying to San Diego, and we found this an amazingly cathartic first activity to do in the city. The tension released a little more with each new peddle and breath of fresh salty air. It’s amazing how much nature and getting active with it can change your psyche, which is why we do so many outdoor activities with our kids and will choose it first over any museum or attraction.
We followed the bike path around to Mission Bay, which is the quieter area for water activities, boating, kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding. The bike path wasn’t as busy and filled with joggers and walkers as the beach path.
At the top of the bay, we cut west to hit the bike path and into the San Diego energetic vibe for our first taste of the beaches, Pacific Beach and Mission Beach.
This ride ended up being one of favorite things we did in San Diego with the kids. We enjoyed bike dodging between all the characters sharing the path with us. It also became my morning running path – a great way to start the San Diego day!
We cycled past Lahaina Beach House in Pacific Beach, which brought back memories of San Diego in 2006 before kids and having beers on the deck watching the incredible sunsets.
2. Eat nachos and drink craft beer at South Draft Mission
San Diego is known to have one of the best craft brewery scenes in the country. One of our favorite places to sample beer by local craft breweries we discovered was South Draft Mission, which has a front porch overlooking the ocean. They serve plenty of local brews, and a plate of ginormous shredded beef nachos. The nachos here are one to remember – full of flavor without being too heavy.
As for beer, we had the Coconut Contender from the local Duck Foot Brewery – the founder has celiac disease, so all beers are gluten-free, so we could indulge!
For the kids, order them a Mexican soda, which is all the rage in San Diego. Its soda made from pure cane sugar and nicer tasting than that other stuff. We tried Squirt, the grapefruit flavor, which became Kalyra’s favorite.
3. Stand up paddle boarding and kayaking on Mission Bay
You may know by now that one of our favorite family activities is stand-up paddle boarding. I love the stillness and serenity of just me being out there on the water with the salty breeze on my back. I slip into true Tao spirit on a SUP.
I’m balanced, strong, and focused, yet humble, relaxed, and in flow. I love to paddle with Kalyra and watch her perform handstands, jumps, and cartwheels.
I was immensely proud of her as we were paddling around Mission Bay. She stopped and fell behind me and when I turned to see what she was doing. I saw her maneuvering her board and paddle, so she could pick up a plastic water bottle she passed floating in the water. My heart swelled. These are the moments that make all the challenges and sacrifices of this full-time family travel life worthwhile.
Savannah is water cautious, so she doesn’t often embrace supping. However, she loves kayaking, so we jumped in the tandem kayak together to explore the bay.
You can hire paddle boards and kayak rentals from Action Sport Rentals near The Bahia Resort. They also have other locations in the Mission Bay area.
4. Get retro at the Corvette Diner
The Corvette Diner is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. It’s a diner that pays homage to every era time has gone by since diners were a thing.
From a brightly colored 50s retro diner with a milk bar and vintage care behind the hostess to the train room with a black and white film showing above each booth, to a modern red room dedicated to corvette car lovers.
A radio DJ booth pumps out Frank Sinatra, New York, New York, and other classic tunes like Wild Thing, which matches the 70s groove room we dined in.
The black walls are painted with Fluro signs reminding us to Make Love Not War; appreciate Peace, Love, and Music; and embrace Woodstock as our therapy. Look up and you’ll continue the messaging with psychedelic posters on the ceiling. How did they know this was my vibe?
Waitstaff wear rainbow-colored scrunchies and black dresses with Fluro trim. Our energetic waitress stops to decorate the girls’ hair with multi-colored popsicle sticks and gives the girls flashlights to draw on the table with.
They soon break into a Mashed Potato pom-pom dance and gather around those having a birthday to sing to them. The Corvette Diner is like a nightclub for families. I promise you before the night is through, you’ll be singing at the top of your lungs with the DJ – “Let’s hear it for the boys!”
When the kids are done with their hair, a bit of table art, and their dinner, they can head out to the arcade out back for some good old-fashioned games – more fun things to do with kids in San Diego! Be sure to high-five a few of the greats along the wall when you do. Hello Elvis, you fine thing you!
5. Watch the sunset at Pacific Beach Pier
Sunset in San Diego can’t be missed! You can enjoy the sunset from any of the beaches in San Diego. No matter where you stand you’ll see a giant orange orb dip below the ocean’s horizon. And because summer rarely sees rain in California, you’ve got great odds for a terrific nightly show.
Our girls were happy cartwheeling and playing on the sand on Pacific Beach next to the pier while we watched the sun go down. The sunsets are one of the most beautiful things to see in San Diego, and there’s only one thing to do after such a pretty close out to the day…celebrate with ice cream!
6. Grab an ice cream from Hammond’s Gourmet Ice Cream
Speaking of sunny weather, if you’re craving ice cream, head to Garnet Road, the main street leading to the pier at Pacific Beach. Tucked in between a lot of great restaurants and casual cafes is local ice cream favorite, Hammond’s Gourmet ice cream.
Not sure which flavor to buy? You can taste test. Or try one of their waffle cone flights. Ice cream is always a highlight for our girls! They had a mint choc chip and Craig had his usual favorite, butter pecan. Whilst we didn’t get it anywhere else, it would be hard to beat as the best ice cream in San Diego.
7. Experience the culture at Balboa Park
Balboa Park is a cultural playground for children and adults. Balboa Park is America’s largest urban cultural park, is ranked as one of the best parks in the world. You could spend a full day here! It has everything to suit all ages and your family’s preferences:
- art galleries
- historic buildings
- New Children’s Museum San Diego
- science centers
- performing arts centers
- Museum of man
- San Diego Botanic Garden
- and even one of America’s best zoos, the San Diego Zoo!
Even just wandering around and appreciating the stunning Spanish Renaissance and Southwest architecture and beautiful gardens is enjoyable. We only managed to spend a few hours at Balboa Park, and out of the 17 Balboa Park museums and endless lush and landscaped gardens, here is what we experienced.
You might want to consider this San Diego Walking Tour: Balboa Park with a Local Guide
8. Learn at the Spanish Village Art Center
Pop into the Spanish Village Art Center so your kids can get a look at a working artist’s studio in a charming Spanish town square. Small adobe studios painted with blue walls and yellow trims host a variety of artists and even offer art classes, glass-blowing lessons, and even more to explore your creative side.
From the studios to the flowers, this place bursts with color and reflective energy. Kids will love hopscotching and cartwheeling over the rainbow chalky colored stone tiles.
9. Get educated at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center
The Science Center is an interactive educational playground for the kids. These are the kind of places we look for to check off a few of our homeschooling boxes.
The girls learned more about the water cycle, energy and motion, and different knots. We had a blast in the special exhibit (extra fee), which at the time was all about Mythbusters. We didn’t even know it was a TV show until going inside the Science Center.
We had fun trying out the different myth-busting experiments like getting changed into a superhero costume in a phone booth as fast as you can and testing how wet we’d get walking and then running under a rain shower!
There are over 100 hands-on exhibits in the Fleet Science Center at Balboa Park. Admission also includes an IMAX film. Unfortunately, we just missed the film and didn’t have time to stay for the next showing.
10. Admire the Botanical Building
The Botanical Building houses more than 2,000 tropical plants. Capturing the wood structure with the lily pond in front is one of the most photographed sections of Balboa Park.
11. Relax in the Japanese Friendship Garden
There is an extra fee to enter the Japanese Friendship Garden, which is an expression of friendship between San Diego and its sister city, Yokohama.
There’s an upper and lower strolling path where you can see koi pond, landscaped gardens and a Zen garden viewing deck. It’s a very tranquil space. There’s also a tea pavilion overlooking the gardens. Some other museums and Balboa Park attractions that came highly recommended were:
- the Natural History Museum Center
- San Diego Air and Space Museum
- San Diego Zoo Safari Park and riding the Skyfari Aerial Tram
- and The San Diego Museum of Art
11. Explore Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
San Diego County is not just about the amazing beaches and delicious food, there is deep history here to experience. One of the best places to uncover that histotry, is Old Town San Diego, which was the first downtown San Diego and represents San Diego’s Hispanic heritage from 1821 to 1872.
There are plenty of beautiful old buildings to look at such as the one-room Mason Street School, the San Diego Courthouse, and the Colorado Hotel which features the original stagecoach.
There are plenty of museums you can look at to help tell the story. Many other buildings surround the La Plaza de Las Armas which was the place of religious processions, political activities, horse races, and bullfights. You can also interact with interpretive merchants who dress in period attire and chat about the activities in the pueblo.
The park is free, although some of the museums may have a small entry fee. Of course, we had to stop in to visit the most haunted home in America, or so they say. Whaley House Museum, whose haunted reputation dates back to the 1850s, is one of the top things to do in San Diego Old Town and was built on the land where Yankee Jim, a boat thief, was hanged!
Savannah clung to my left leg the entire time, which made it hard for me to run from any ghostly figures. Unfortunately, they did not want to come out to greet us. I did enjoy looking at the theater upstairs and imagining how 150 people once fit in the small room for village entertainment.
We enjoyed walking around the market area of Festa de Reyes. There are restaurants here as well as wine and chocolate tasting rooms. It inflamed our kid’s curiosity for Mexico and now wish to visit. I love how places like this can broaden their horizons. I hope they take me with them. If you’re looking for a place to eat in Old Town, Casa Guadalajara in Old Town has award-winning Mexican food.
Check out this Old Town San Diego: Hop-on Hop-off Narrated Tour!
12. Have a beach day at Ocean Beach, San Diego
Come as you are and do your thing in Ocean Beach, or OB as the locals call it. All visitors are welcome in this beach town just over the San Diego River estuary from Mission Beach.
Ocean Beach reminds me so much of Byron Bay in Australia before it became yuppified. There are a few tidy waves out front to the right of the Ocean Beach Pier and then further around are beach volleyball courts.
When we stayed in Ocean Beach in 2004, we loved spending our days playing beach volleyball and enjoying relaxed beach living. There’s a grassy strip out the front which is full of adults who haven’t lost the joy of unencumbered play with friends and strangers.
Groups of men and women support each other’s AcroYoga poses, another group encourages balance mastery on the slack lines, hula hoop wannabees wiggle those hips (my girls included) and others let their spirits free in drumming circles with bongo drums, acoustic guitars, and voices. It’s an experience. Be sure to throw a couple of dollars in the tip bucket for the use of the hoops if you decide to join in.
OB style is pure grit. You know what they say, we should all eat a little more dirt!
13. Eat lunch with amazing views at Wonderland Ocean Pub
Wonderland Ocean Pub in Ocean Beach is kid-friendly and the best spot to eat for ocean views and tasty food – think poke, surfer bowls, fresh spring rolls, and tacos, take your pick.
Grab a high table or window bench seat and enjoy watching the surfers and the carnival atmosphere of the grassy strip below. I grabbed guacamole for lunch, and it was delicious. It’s not your normal guacamole, this has the California twist to it. And of course, we enjoyed our fish tacos!
14. Visit Ocean Beach Farmers Market
We love visiting a good local farmers market with our kids and the Ocean Beach Farmers Market did not disappoint. How could you not be happy with live music, fresh produce, delicious local food, alternative stores, and clothes, and jewelry? They close off the main street on Wednesdays between 4pm and 8pm for it.
We wandered up one side, then stopped at Belching Beaver Brewery for a quick local craft IPA brew, and the kids enjoyed a game of Jenga, before wandering down the other side.
That was the side where we discovered an entire stall devoted to gluten-free, dairy-free desserts. Of course, we grabbed several things to try – we rarely get spoiled like that.
We also found Mystech where we spent some time learning about the natural healing energy of 7.83HZ and mother nature (duh) and bought a bracelet for all of us to counteract all the computer time we have and exposure to harmful EMFs.
We then listened to some live music, which had the street jammed and pumping, and then grabbed a healthy quinoa bowl from Fresh of the Bowls Street Food for dinner. Then, we took dinner with us to Sunset Cliffs for another one of those incredible Southern California sunsets.
15. Enjoy the sunset at Sunset Cliffs Natural Park
Many people recommended we take in one of the famous San Diego sunsets from Sunset Cliffs, which is just a couple of miles south of the Ocean Beach pier.
Sunset Cliffs Natural Park is a 68-acre City of San Diego regional park which extends 1½ miles along the Point Loma peninsula’s western shoreline.
You get expansive ocean views, dramatic cliff formations and caves, an intertidal area, and in some spaces plenty of space and rocks for the kids to run over way back from the edge.
Look out for the mermaid atop Ross Rock that juts out from the cliff face. We parked on Sunset Cliffs Blvd, then walked a bit to the large open nature cliffs area.
Watch your children walking along Sunset Cliffs Blvd to get to the nature cliffs area. There are steep drop offs from the cliff. There are pathways to get down to the beaches below for the adventurous and popular for surfers and those in their twenties. Although we had a cloudy sunset, we still enjoyed the experience – add it to your list of family things to do in San Diego!
16. See the seals at La Jolla Cove
Just up from the main Pacific Beach area of San Diego is the small beachside community of La Jolla. You’ll need at least half a day to explore here the La Jolla shores Beach area. La Jolla quickly became one of our favorite places to visit in San Diego County with kids, even though we didn’t have much time there.
One thing you cannot miss when you go to La Jolla is The Cove, a tiny beach tucked between sandstone cliffs and one of La Jolla’s best-known spots. La Jolla Cove is apparently a good spot for diving and snorkeling when surf conditions are calm.
Follow the smell to reach the resident sea lions playing and sleeping on the rocks. There were plenty of pups around when we visited. We had a great giggle at the baby seal that sounded like a lamb as he waddled over to get some milk from Mum. He could be a contender for the America’s Got Talent crown.
There are more seals near the Children’s Pool at Casa Beach. All ages love the La Jolla seals and sea lions at Children’s Pool Beach and La Jolla Cove. Around from the Cove are the La Jolla Caves.
You can pay to go down into one of the caves or just stand on the point to admire the views, including the many kayakers in front of you looking back to the cave ridden coastline.
La Jolla’s Shores is a mile-long beach and great for families. The region is also well known for its seal life and sea creatures in the tide pools during low tide and the town is great for eating and shopping.
Thinking of visiting La Jolla? Here are some tours you should check out.
17. Go on a coastal hike at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve
We loved our visit to Torrey Pines State National Reserve. It’s a couple of miles north of La Jolla and is made up of 2,000 acres of coastal state park, and one of the most beautiful places to visit in California.
It has a collection of coastal hiking trails with ocean vistas and native vegetation, including the rare Torrey Pine, which is only found in Torrey Pines State Reserve and Santa Rosa Island. The Torrey Pines hiking trails are of various levels for all ages and run along the cliff faces or switch back down to the shores below.
We hiked the Guy Fleming trail, which is an easy 2/3-mile loop walk and one of the most popular Torrey Pines hikes. It offers a little diversity through shady pines, rugged orange cliffs, purple and white wildflowers and cactus with broad spiky leaves. Observing the Torrey Pines near the cliff face and further back gave the girls a great lesson on erosion. Thank you, life learning!
The walk quickly turned my girls from whining to giggling and feeling relaxed and grounded. Nature knows best. I wish we had more time to do the Razor Point Trail as you pass by beautiful red sandstone cliffs and get to climb the Red Butte which we gazed at from afar. Hiking in Torrey Pines State Park is one of the best San Diego activities for getting out in nature. We will be back!
READ MORE: Easy tips for hiking with kids
18. Eat fish tacos at Oscars Mexican Seafood, a local fav!
We asked our waiter at South Draft in Mission Beach, where is the best Mexican food in San Diego? He immediately recommended Oscars Mexican Seafood as a great local, hole-in-the-wall place to grab fish tacos in San Diego.
He warned us there may be lines, and we avoided them by visiting the shack near La Jolla at lunchtime. I can’t decide whether I liked the smoked fish taco or the spicy grilled shrimp tacos better. Get one of both and let me know!
Grab a squirt and a space on the stool in front of the graffiti wall and dig in. Not only tasty but one of the cheap places to eat in San Diego.
19. Splash around at the Waterfront Park
Perhaps one of the best free things to do with kids is splash around in the Waterfront Park in Little Italy. The park features fountains and a small paddling area, which toddlers will love running around in.
There’s also a grassy area to sit on and enjoy the sunshine. There’s also a walkway with picnic tables and benches, as well as lots of climbing frames and play equipment for the kids to play on.
20. Spend a day exploring San Diego’s Museums
San Diego has some fantastic museums, so it would be a shame to visit without exploring a few of them. The USS Midway Museum is located across from the Waterfront Park so it’s easy to combine these two attractions.
It’s a former naval aircraft carrier that’s been turned into a Navy museum. Located on Navy Pier, the museum houses an extensive collection of aircraft, naval memorabilia, and objects, and is one of the few places where you get an inside glimpse into what it is like onboard a navy ship.
Next to the USS Midway is the Maritime Museum of San Diego, which features one of the largest collections of historic sea vessels in the U.S. The highlight of the museum is the Star of India, an 1863 iron bark ship.
The San Diego Natural History Museum is also worth checking out. It’s located in Balboa Park and has been open since 1874, making it the second oldest scientific institution west of the Mississippi (and the oldest in Southern California). Kids will love gazing at the life-size dinosaur models that look freakishly lifelike!
21. Go whale watching
If you’re visiting San Diego from December until April, you have come at the prime time to see whales! It is estimated that up to 20,000 gray whales migrate off the coast of San Diego during these winter months.
If you want to see whales in their natural habitat, then you can opt for one of the boat tours to take you off the shores to see them from a close (but not too close) distance.
Check out whale-watching tours online before you visit!
22. Learn about marine life at Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Perched high above La Jolla’s rugged coastline, the Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography has been reeling in curious minds since 1905, when it first opened as a tiny public exhibit showcasing the pioneering marine research happening just down the hill.
Today it’s a bright, modern window into the Pacific, where families can gaze upon glowing jellyfish or explore hands-on tide pools. You can wander through vibrant reef tanks, learn how scientists track seahorses in the wild, or step outside to watch the ocean stretch endlessly beyond the Blue Penguins’ playful domain.
If you also like learning about marine life, then you might also like to visit the Living Coast Discovery Center.
23. Go tide pooling at Cabrillo National Monument
Cabrillo National Monument is San Diego’s only national park and a popular location for tide pooling. It was named after Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, the leader of the first European expedition to the West Coast of the US in 1542. The Old Point Loma Lighthouse is a highlight.
24. Visit the world-famous San Diego Zoo
We personally don’t visit zoos, but the most famous attraction in San Diego is SeaWorld San Diego and the San Diego Zoo, so we can’t miss it off this list.
A century-old icon, the San Diego Zoo opened in 1916, when Dr. Harry Wegeforth gathered a ragtag collection of animals left behind from the Panama-California Exposition and dreamed up a revolutionary open-air zoo.
It was pioneering at the time, and paved the way for open air enclosures around the world. Today, it’s a 100-acre safari of world habitats and wildlife play zones. Here, everyone can marvel at conservation in action.
25. Take a day trip to Legoland in Carlsbad
Just a breezy drive up the coast from San Diego in Carlsbad is LEGOLAND California, which opened its brightly bricked gates in 1999 — the first LEGO theme park in the U.S.
Built on the whimsy of those beloved plastic bricks, the park will ignite your child’s imagination. See Lego dragons swoop through medieval castles, pirate ships splash through sunlit lagoons, and entire city skylines rise in miniature form. It’s bricks load of fun!
26. Go to the beachfront amusement park, Belmont Park
And of course Belmont Park, the historic oceanfront amusement park is the place to go if you and your kids like a roller coaster.
Belmont Park is the seaside amusement park on Mission Beach. The park has so much for kids to do, such as ride the historic roller coaster, play games in an arcade, ride carnival rides, whizz on a zip line, play laser tag or miniature golf, and ride around on go-kart track.
27. Take the Old Town Trolley to Coronado Island
The Old Town trolley tour travels through Old Town San Diego and over the iconic San Diego-Coronado Bridge to Coronado Island on a continuous 25-mile loop.
Let its nostalgic clang carry you across San Diego’s story-soaked streets and drop you off on the sun-splashed shores of Coronado Island. The trolley line, inspired by San Diego’s historic streetcars of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, has been offering narrated adventures since the 1980s.
On Coronado Island, you can wander the manicured streets lined with Victorian homes, sip something cool along Orange Avenue, or sink your toes into the postcard-perfect sands of Coronado Beach, then let the trolley be your travel home.
And guess what? If you are visiting in October, the trolley tour is free! Yay for a free tram!
28. Go shopping in Seaport Village
For families who love to shop, head over to Seaport Village, a waterfront shopping and dining complex.
This waterfront maze of boutiques, unique shops, cafés and restaurants has been charming visitors since it opened in 1980 on land that once served as a bustling hub for maritime trade.
Today, its clapboard buildings and carousel music offer a storybook feel, perfect for an unhurried afternoons spent browsing for souvenirs or unique finds.
29. Watch a baseball game at Petco Park Baseball Stadium
Take me up to the ballpark… Catching a game at Petco Park is a bona fide rite of passage. Located in the heart of the Gaslamp Quarter, the Padres’ home field makes it easy to catch a game when visiting the city.
Famously the beautifully restored 1909 Western Metal Supply Co. warehouse sits right into the left-field line. Fans sprawl on the grassy Park at the Park, food stalls dish out snacks and craft beers, and the open-air stands offer a great spot to watch the fame from.
30. Hike the Annie’s Canyon Trail
One hidden gem in San Diego that’s perfect for kids is Annie’s Canyon Trail in Solana Beach. This short but magical hike takes you through a narrow sandstone slot canyon (think naturally carved walls, little ladders, and twists that spark a sense of adventure).
It’s like a mini treasure hunt with miles of coastline views at the top, and it’s peaceful enough that your kids can run, explore, and marvel without the huge crowds.
Where to stay in San Diego
We stayed at the Bahia Resort Hotel during our visit, and highly recommend it. We loved the location – it’s set back from the beach on Mission Bay, and while it sure is hard to beat beach views from a hotel, but I liked how Bahia was a couple of blocks back as it was much quieter.
The boardwalk running along Mission Beach to Pacific Beach can get very lively, so being right on the front might not be ideal with younger kids. In fact, you won’t find a lot of hotels along the boardwalk; it’s mostly beach rentals, and the odd backpacker hostel thrown in between.
With the Bahia Hotel, you are a 3-minute walk to the beach, but have complete serenity. And you get views anyway – Mission Bay views from your own private beach! We loved its laid-back look and having a cabin right on the beachfront was awesome. The resort has different events like movie nights for families and offers bike rental, as well as kayaks and paddle boards.
I loved walking out my cabin door and being just a short walk to the sand. I would spend my mornings on the beach chairs and meditating, and enjoy it with a glass of chardonnay in the evening.
When you first arrive at the Bahia, you’ll think it doesn’t look much like a resort, yet once you begin to explore San Diego, you realize it’s completely in keeping with the San Diego style.
There is a pool and tennis courts and a fitness center. And the food was also terrific. We don’t usually like hotel buffet breakfasts, but this one was one to rave about. Espresso coffees were included (with almond milk) and the food choices were fresh, diverse, and tasty.
Café Bahia
Another good reason to stay here is because the onsite restaurant is fantastic, and I don’t need to tell you how hard it is to find a place to eat with kids, especially when you’ve been exploring all day and they’re tired.
We had dinner one night at Café Bahia, the Bahia hotel’s signature restaurant. You do not have to be staying at the resort to eat here, so even if you choose not to stay at the Bahia, I recommend it for a dinner spot.
We were lucky enough to try the sea scallop specialty that was only coming out on the menu the week after we left. It was truly innovative and delicious, and the kids were kept full and happy with classic child-friendly dishes like burgers and chicken tenders! The service here is also friendly and exceptional.
Is San Diego a good, family-friendly beach destination?
We hadn’t been to San Diego before, so our trip was mostly about ticking off the main San Diego tourist attractions, but we also love to experience the cool local vibe and culture, and some adult stuff too. When we travel as a family, we like to strike a balance between kid and adult activities, so neither of us gets bored, which equals a happy family trip!
Our first impression of San Diego was seeing surfers race with boards under their arms to catch the breaks their friends are already cutting loose on.
We wanted to see guys and girls cruising by on bikes holding onto handlebars 5 feet high with stereo speakers, and young friends playing beach volleyball and falling over each other giggling, then walking towards the San Diego sunset with arms draped over each other.
With 70 miles of pristine coastline along the Pacific Ocean in San Diego County, you have endless opportunities for endless family fun at the beach. And of course, the beache is free to visit, so who doesn’t love that?
The boardwalk stretching from Pacific Beach to Mission Beach is a mixture of brightly painted two-story homes, smaller beach shacks, and white Adobe structures with cactus gardens of all shapes and sizes. Mixed in between Pacific and Mission Beach are taco corners, cafes, bars, and so much more.
San Diego’s close proximity to Mexico gives you a colorful and unique flavor. You can guarantee the fish tacos will be full of cilantro and the local beer light and citrusy.
Final thoughts
You know you’ve landed in a family-friendly destination when you see your children quickly slip into a relaxed and joyful state. Both our girls kept saying how much they loved San Diego, especially Kalyra, who kept saying how it reminded her so much of our former Australian beach home. She could not stop sharing her memories and started to feel homesick.
She really loved the San Diego activities we experienced and immersing herself in that beach lifestyle and energy. San Diego is not just a city packed full of things to do, it has a laid-back vibe, a safe and hospitable atmosphere, and a great foodie scene. For those reasons, we think it’s a great place to vacation to with kids.
When you visit San Diego as a family, you’ll discover so much to offer. It’s where fish tacos reign supreme and sunsets set the tone of the evening with a vibrant display of personalities.
And if you’re thinking San Diego attractions are all about Seaworld and San Diego Zoo, then hopefully by now you’ve discovered how much more there is for kids to do here than explore theme parks and zoos.
More California Travel Tips
More Road Trip Ideas
Are you adding San Diego onto your California road trip? Here are some other resources to help you plan your trip.
Are you planning to visit California? Still have questions about what to see in San Diego with kids or where to go in San Diego? We’d love to hear about them in the comments below!
