7 Family-Friendly Mostly-Outdoor San Diego Day Trips Under $100

Just in time for Spring Break! Here are some suggestions for family-friendly day trips to San Diego. I love taking my kids to San Diego.

The hardest part is trying to decide what we should do while we’re there.

I recently came up with a list of 7 possibilities which I presented to the kids.

My criteria was that the whole day would cost us $100 or less, excluding lunch.

We could choose to eat out or pack a picnic. Prices are based on kids that are 9 and 5 so if your kids are younger, you might get to pay considerably less than what I listed.

The kids got to choose what they wanted. I told them any leftover cash would get put back into the pot for our next field trip.

These options will take most of your day, leaving enough time to drive there and back.

OPTION #1 ($50)
Japanese Friendship Garden – $11 (Looked like a great place to have lunch.)
San Diego Museum of Natural History – $39

OPTION #2 ($36)
San Diego Air and Space Museum – $36
Stroll the gardens and explore Botanical Building and Trails – FREE
We took the Palm Canyon Trail.

OPTION #3 ($30)
San Diego Botanic Garden

OPTION #4 ($53)
Stephen Birch Aquarium – $42
La Jolla Sea Cave – $11
Play at La Jolla Shores Beach – FREE

OPTION #5 ($118 – price raised since I first wrote this post)
San Diego Zoo

OPTION #6 ($72)
Maritime Museum of San Diego – $32
USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum – $40

OPTION #7
Point Loma and Cabrillo Monument (My friend, Sharlene, guest posted this soon after I made my list. This is great info.)

Courtney Blackwell

Wednesday 4th of April 2012

San Diego Model Railroad Museum - $8 for a mom and 2 kids Fleet Science Center - http://www.rhfleet.org/ - $31.25 (they also have great IMAX films that are extra, but I definitely recommend them!)

or:

See the seals at Children's Cove in La Jolla (FREE) Visit Old Town and see the historical museums about San Diego. Most are free. You can eat some great Mexican food at the various restaurants there for not very much money. After the Midway Museum, take a walk along the bay and watch all of the boats and go through the bay. You'll see everything from small dinghies to large aircraft carriers at work.

You can also go to the tide pools at Point Loma and go to the New Kids Museum!

Ok, that's all together more than a day trip, but at least you have a few more options.

Traci Lehman

Michele, the best fish tacos are at Mitch's seafood in Point Loma www.mitchsseafood.com Little hole-in-the-wall. Fresh fish. I recommend the grilled yellowtail fish tacos...sit outside and watch the fishing boats come and go. Beware the parking is terrible though.

Love all the options and have done them all except #6. The model railroad museum is really neat! Kids are free under 14 and adults are 8 bucks. It is near the museum of natural history. Cabrillo National Monument is probably my number 1 in SD for views and price. Don't forget about the tidepools there as well and then go have fish tacos for lunch!

Michele

Where do you get the fish tacos??? That sounds good.

AngieZim

To Camper Glamis,

All the museums in Balboa Park can be done in a day. The bigger things like the zoo, wild animal park (my fave) or sea world I would leave a day for and the others can be short trips depending on your time frame. I would get a map and mark them all and then you can plan to do things that are all near each other.

Wow! Angie -- I would not be able to do Balboa Park in one day. I've been many, many times and never have the time to see it all. We do something different every time. I guess I must like to take my time and not cram in too much. I guess that's the beauty of living relatively close by -- we can take our time and re-visit often.

I guess if I came on vacation, then I'd leave one full day to see Balboa Park and pick the places I'd most like to go. There are so many other things to see in SD.

Seaport Village is a fun place to walk around. Also, the drove to Coronado and the beaches there are beautiful. If you want to drive further you can take the 8east to sunrise highway. A lot of beautiful hikes and it is one giant loop to drive through the forest.

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