Things to Do with Families in San Diego, CA

San Diego, CA has lots of things for families to do while visiting there. The catch is that you need to plan carefully for a trip there because while there is plenty to do most of those attractions cost quite a bit of money. We recently went on a trip to San Diego with our 3 kids and our activities far exceeded our budget expectations and I was literally shocked at some of the admission prices we ended up paying. Here are some of the things you can do in San Diego with your family and a general idea of what you will have to pay.

The San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park

San Diego has two different places to view animals and both are well known and highly reputable. The San Diego zoo is said to be one of the most amazing zoos in the United States. There is however also the Wild Animal Park which is actually located in Escondido, CA. We had to make a decision which one we wanted to visit and we decided that we would visit the Wild Animal Park because we don’t have anything like that where we live and this would be a unique experience for us. The admission for both parks is about the same a child ticket for kids 12 and under is $24.00 at both, and an adult ticket is $34, add to that parking fees as well.

The cost doesn’t really stop there at least at the Wild Animal Park, well it can if you want it to but if you want to go on one of the Safaris and get up close and personal with some of the animals then you will have to pay more. On these tours you will ride in open air buses and exactly how close and personal you are able to get really depends on how much you are willing to pay. The highest fee will get you right there with them and you are even able to feed some of the animals we did not pay for that tour however but we did get to ride in a path around some of the animals and see them living like they would be in the wild. Of course the more dangerous animals like the lions and tigers were in more typical zoo settings and there is no up close and personal with them, which is fine with me. They had some of the most massive and impressive looking lions I have ever seen there. The bird exhibit there is really fun if you are not afraid of birds. The birds will fly right up to you and sit on your hands or shoulders. One bird pooped on my 7 year olds head and although it was just a little bit and we were able to get it all off he talked about it all day long, and was not happy about it at all.

If you are traveling with young kids you will want to bring a stroller or rent one at the park. If you are bringing one bring a light umbrella stroller that can easily be folded up. There is a lot of walking involved and if you are willing to pay there is riding involved as well but even if you pay extra for the tours you will still be doing a lot of walking.

Sea World

An animal experience of a different kind can be found at Sea World. The Sea World in San Diego is quite large 189 Acres to be exact. At Sea World you get to see aquatic animals and land and water loving animals such as Polar Bears, Walruses, and Seals, and of course penguins. There are lots of shows at Sea World some amazing rides as well. It is a nice place to go on a hot summer day because they have splash zones where you will get really wet which on a hot day is quite welcome. Of course on a not so hot day you might want to plan accordingly. Also keep in mind that even during some of the shows there is a high probability you are going to get wet. I mention this because if you are brining your camera along you may want to bring something to keep it in so it won’t get wet unless of course it is a water proof camera.

Sea World is a lot of fun and there is a ton of things to see and do there. This of course comes at a hefty price. Any one 10 and older will pay a whopping $65 per ticket, kids under 10 cost $55, kids 2 and under are free. I am recommending umbrella strollers for this park as well. You don’t want to bring your big fancy stroller to this park as it will likely get wet and possibly ruined. You can rent strollers there but it will cost you $10 for a single stroller and $15 for a double. Parking is an additional $12.00 per vehicle.

Lego Land

Lego Land is another place for adventure near San Diego in a town called Carlsbad. I am glad we had the Lego Adventure but the price of admission nearly made me want to turn around and walk away. Lego Land has three different parts to it, there is a water park, an aquarium called Sea Life and of course the Lego Land Amusement park. If you just want to go to Lego Land alone it will cost you $72 for anyone over the age of 13 and $63 for kids between 3 and 12 and Seniors. For $87/$77 you can also do either the water park or the aquarium and for $95/$85 you can do all three. We did Lego Land and the Aquarium. My youngest was 6 at the time, my middle child was 13, and my oldest was 14 at the time. Just to get in it cost my family $415.00. The food there was actually kind of reasonable and I thought the pizza was very good.

There are lots of rides there a lot of them cater to younger kids and there are rides that families can all go on together. This was a nice change for my younger son as he was able to go on nearly every ride there. There is one big roller coaster that was pretty cool as well for those who like something a little more exciting. Throughout the park there are amazing things made from Legos which were quite impressive. For the price however I though Lego Land was a little on the small side. The aquarium was quite nice there are points where the sea life actually swims all around you which was pretty cool.

If you are planning on going to Lego Land buy your tickets on line as they usually have online specials right now you can get tickets for Lego Land and the aquarium for $55.00 that is a great deal. Go to: http://california.legoland.com/en/tickets/Admission-Tickets/ this is a current promotion and could change at any time but be sure to check out the web site before heading there to see what specials they have. We also found out after we went that could have bought discount coupons at the Costco across the street. Also check with your hotel to see if they have any discount options for you.

Pretty much any stroller is fine at Lego Land it is a very child friendly park. Parking for cars is an additional $12.00.

More Reasonable Choices

If you are on a tight budget there are some reasonable places to visit with your family in San Diego. There are of course wonderful beaches. Balboa Park is a place that has a combination of things to do there including museums and botanical gardens. There are different fees for different things there but most of them are very reasonable and under $10 per person.

The California Surf Museum is an interesting place to visit and admission is free. If you are looking for that Sea Life experience at a way lower price than Sea World The Stephen Birch Museum offers 3000 different fish, a 13,000 gallon fish tank, a giant octopus, as well as other sea animals such as Stingrays. Kids even get to touch some of the Sea Life. The price for adults is just $11.00 and kids 3 to 17 are just $7.50 and kids under 3 are free. Of course you will have to do without the rides but for the price it is a wonderful way to spend the day. The Stephen Birch Museum is actually located at in LaJolla, CA.

We encountered an unexpected surprise as we stopped at a lookout point just as we were entering San Diego. Not only were we treated to an amazing view but there were hundreds of squirrels there that were not afraid of people at all and came right up to us. That was a very cool experience and we didn’t pay a dime for it. I highly recommend stopping at any lookout points you may encounter it is free and you will see some amazing views.


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