Kid-Friendly Travel Guide to San Diego, CA

I’ve been meaning to get this post up for a long time, but it’s finally here! After living in San Diego for a year, I can say we checked out most of the “main attractions” and figured out what we liked the most. Everything on this list is family-friendly, but will be enjoyed whether you have kids or not. Here’s my list of all the fun things to see and do in San Diego, CA with kids. Scroll down to get all the details and direct links.

San Diego Zoo and Safari Park
Coronado Beach
La Jolla Cove
Balboa Park
San Diego County Fair
Carlsbad Flower Fields
Bate’s Nut Farm – Pumpkin Patch
Julian, CA
Sea World
Legoland
Disneyland
Temecula Wine Country
Seaport Village
Little Italy Mercato – Farmers Market
Hiking
Oceanside, CA
USS Midway Museum
Mission Beach
Liberty Station

San Diego Zoo and Safari Park

The San Diego Zoo was rated the best zoo in the world by Trip Advisor. It’s huge and has more than 3,500 animals. You can easily spend an entire day there, so plan accordingly with attire and kid items. The Zoo is in Balboa Park, but the Safari Park is about 45 minutes north in Escondido. It’s not as big and flashy as the San Diego Zoo, but we actually preferred it. It was less crowded, and it feels like a more natural environment (as natural as a zoo can be, of course). We bought annual passes when we first moved there, and we went at least a dozen times.

Coronado Beach

There’s a lot of cool beaches in San Diego, but Coronado is my favorite. The area is nice and laid back, but has plenty to explore. The Hotel Del Coronado is a must see as well. Around the holidays, they even have an outdoor ice skating rink right on the beach, perfect for adults and kids. The Crown Room Brunch is supposed to be well worth the cost ($98 per person) with a huge buffet spread, carving stations, as well as bottomless drinks.

La Jolla Cove

If you’re in San Diego with kids, or without, the famous La Jolla seals are always a fun outing. You can walk down on the rocks to see the seals up close (you can get as close as you want, but they are wild animals, and you should respect their space). There’s a big park around the cove with stunning views of the Pacific, and plenty of grass to sit and have a picnic or for the kids to run around. You can always see people kayaking or swimming in the water, as well as seals swimming in the waves. There’s a small beach in the cove if you want to get your toes wet, and a lot of cute shops and restaurants to walk around, as well as the Sunny Jim Sea Cave that you can get to through the Cave Store.

Balboa Park

Balboa Park is huge and you can spend a whole day there if you want to. Aside from the Zoo, there’s several museums, gardens, walking paths, fountains, and more. It’s the perfect place to take the kids to run around and explore. I loved walking through the Rose Garden in full bloom.

San Diego County Fair

If you’re in San Diego in the summer, you should enjoy some rides and fried food at the County Fair. It runs from around the end of May through around July 4th.

Carlsbad Flower Fields

The Flower Fields are beautiful and bloom from March to May-ish. You can read more about the fields in my post here. Also in the area, is Carlsbad Village. You can get to the beach, and there’s plenty of shops and restaurants to walk around.

Bate’s Nut Farm Pumpkin Patch

If you’re in San Diego in the fall, a trip to the pumpkin patch at Bate’s Nut Farm is a must. There’s a huge patch where you can go pick out your own pumpkins. They even have wheel barrows if you get a giant one or several. Then you weigh the pumpkins at the checkout to find out the price. There’s also a hay ride, a maze, vendor tents with food and local products, the Bate’s store with a variety of products, and a bounce house and inflatable slides for the kids. They have a big parking lot, but it gets pretty crowded, and there’s a two-lane road to get in, so I recommend going early to avoid traffic. You can read more about our visit here.

Julian, CA

About an hour drive East of San Diego is the small town of Julian, CA. This is a fun day trip for the whole family. It used to be a gold mining town, but now it’s best known for their apple orchards. Of course they make some really good apple pie, too. Julian is a charming little (very little) town up with some historic buildings, small shops, and restaurants to walk around. In the fall, you can also pick your own apples in some of the orchards.

Julian is located on a mountain, so they get snow sometimes in the winter. If you’re going during a holiday or busy season (or for snow), definitely go early. It’s a slow, winding, two-lane road that gets very backed up. And since it’s a small little town to walk around, there’s not a ton of parking close to the shops when it’s busy.

Temecula Wine Country

Spend a day exploring the vineyards in Temecula. When most people think of California vineyards, they think of Napa in Northern California. But, SoCal has a great wine country too! Full of beautiful vineyards and delicious wine to try. Several vineyards are also family-friendly. Stop by Callaway Vineyard and Winery for stunning views and a grassy area for the kids to run around (in the summer they have lawn games and concerts too). Another family favorite is Wilson Creek Winery. You can bring your own picnic and eat while the kids play on the playground.

Seaport Village

Seaport Village is a cute little area right on the water in downtown. You can take a nice walk along the waterfront, grab ice cream, go shopping, and eat at one of the many restaurants along the water.

Little Italy Mercato – Farmer’s Market

Every Saturday from 8am-2pm there’s a big Farmer’s Market in Little Italy in downtown. Over 200 tents are setup with local vendors selling everything from clothing to desserts to flowers to fruits and vegetables. It’s a great time to pick up some fresh fruits and vegetables, and also find new local businesses to support. It gets pretty busy, so I’d recommend keeping smaller children in a stroller or baby carrier to avoid them running off into the crowd.

Hiking

There’s no shortage of hiking trails in San Diego. And the near-perfect weather year-round makes it a great outing, and good way to wear out the kids. Some of our favorite hikes are: Torrey Pines, Cabrillo National Monument, Sweetwater River Trail (I love the bridge here), Balboa Park is full of trails (and other sights, as mentioned above), and the trail behind the Birch Aquarium (the entrance to the trail is in the back corner of the parking lot, over a small wooden plank “bridge”). The Secret Swings are located on the trail behind the Aquarium, but they’re always moving. So, do some research online beforehand to make sure you know where to find them. You can look up recent posts under #secretswingslajolla on instagram.

Side note: Despite what everyone thinks about the weather always being perfect, it DOES get pretty hot for a couple months in the summer. Keep this in mind if you visit in July and August and plan on being outside for extended periods of time. Wear sunscreen and appropriate attire, and bring plenty of water.

Oceanside, CA

For the laid-back, Cali beach experience, take a drive up to Oceanside, CA. It’s about 45min from the airport. They have a big pier to walk down, playgrounds right on the beach, and lots of little beach shops and restaurants to walk around. The California Surf Museum is an interesting little museum to walk around and learn about the history of surfing. It’s only $5 for adults, and kids under 11 are free.

Mission Beach

Mission Beach has an awesome boardwalk right along the beach, and it’s also home toBelmont Park with carnival games and rides. It’s the perfect spot for kids to play and also get some beach time in.

Liberty Station

If you’re looking for a variety of food options in a kid-friendly area, check out Liberty Station, just to the west of the airport. There’s restaurants, breweries, and grassy areas for the kids to run around. We enjoyed the 50’s diner-themed Corvette Diner for our daughter’s birthday, but there’s plenty of options for everyone, and Breakfast Republic is in there too! (YUM) Since it’s literally right next to the airport, planes fly right overhead, which the kids love.

Theme Parks

If you’re in the mood for some theme-parks, SeaWorld is about 10min from the San Diego Airport, and Legoland is about 45min north in Carlsbad. If you feel like driving a little farther, you can get to Disneyland in about 1.5-2 hours, depending on traffic.

USS Midway Museum

There’s a large Naval presence in San Diego, as well as several bases, so of course a tour of a real Navy ship is a must do. The USS Midway Museum is located in downtown San Diego and is fun for the whole family. The USS Midway was America’s longest serving aircraft carrier in the 20th century. This is a great stop for kids and adults to explore and learn about our history.

One thing I loved about living in San Diego was that there was always something to do or somewhere to explore. We went to many places on this list several times and always had a great time. I’m sure there’s some places that I forgot to list, but these were a lot of our favorites, and will definitely keep you busy if you are visiting San Diego with kids.

I’d love to hear about your San Diego adventures here in the comments, or over on instagram! (Find me at @simplyotte)

Kirsten