We took a family vacation to San Diego, California with our kids this summer in mid-July. Oh my gosh, we had the best time! The weather alone is reason enough to visit. This summer in Kansas City has been so hot, so 75 degree temps felt amazing. We took the kids to San Francisco last fall, and we’ve been to LA, so we thought we also needed to check out So Cal! Here’s how to spend a family vacation in San Diego, California.
Where We Stayed
We arrived on a Friday night, checked into our hotel, and went for a night swim. The Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina is where we stayed. It’s a quick Uber ride from the airport and it’s right on the water, so it’s the perfect location!
USS Midway Museum
On Saturday morning we walked from our hotel to the USS Midway Museum. This is a naval aircraft carrier that was in use for 47 years, that has since been retired and docked. It was turned into a massive museum and we all LOVED it! Highly recommend!
There are volunteers on the ship that used to be in the navy and who spent time on the carrier. Such great info and so educational. Drew, our history and war buff, was in heaven!
Marina District
After the museum tour, we walked around near our hotel in the Marina District. There is a boardwalk area with shops and restaurants. It’s busy, but a pretty view and good people watching! We stopped for some food and a beer along the boardwalk.
Then we met up with Steve’s brother, who lives nearby in Newport Beach, for an afternoon swim at our hotel. It was fun seeing him in his neck of the woods. The pool at our hotel was so pretty, full of lush landscaping! Love the vibe here!
Baseball Game at Petco Park
And finally that night, we had tickets to a Cubs/Padres game. We are Cubs fans! Steve and I are born and raised, and our kids are now too. We also cheer for the Royals because they are our home town team, but the Cubs have our heart! You would have thought we were at Wrigley Field with the amount of Cubs fans in the stadium and walking around San Diego. Crazy fun!
We walked to a CVS for poster board and markers to make this sign. It was spontaneous and fun for the kids and Kate even got a ball from the Cubs bullpen!
San Diego Zoo
Sunday morning we took an Uber to the San Diego Zoo. It is huge! It takes hours to get through and it was fun! And the landscape was gorgeous. My plant/cactus loving heart was happy to just take in the views.
Cactus goals! I wish I could have a brought a few of these back in my suitcase!
A sweet moment with my boy.
This was a favorite of our kids…a cheetah and dog companions!
La Jolla Beach
Monday was our last full day in SD. We took an Uber to La Jolla. It was so gorgeous! The kids had a blast in the waves even though the water was cold. They could have done this for hours and hours and days and days. Such a special day! Love these memories!
There were sea lions everywhere! Cool sight, not smells, ha. This guy was camped out right by us on the beach when we were snorkeling. He would bark if he sensed something was getting too close.
So, so cold and I almost chocked to death, but I did it for the kids!
The final morning, we walked to have breakfast and the kids went for a final swim. We had gorgeous weather and no rain! I would say mid-July is a good time to go to San Diego. For food, we walked to nearby neighborhoods (Marina, Gaslamp) and just popped into places we found on Yelp or that looked cute. And we ate outside as much as possible!
Final Thoughts About San Diego
We probably could have spent two more days here, but we crammed in a lot on few days we had! We’re a family who likes to walk and pound the pavement and people watch and walk the streets. Comic-Con was getting ready to happen the following weekend right next door to the hotel, so that was fun to see them getting set up with all the sets and banners and posters and props. Everyone wanted to stay for it! Avoid it if you are not going there for Comic-Con though. Hotel prices the weekend after left were CRAZY EXPENSIVE!
We did not go to Sea World or Lego Land or the Safari Park. Our kids are too old for Lego Land, but the Safari Park and Sea World would have been a nice add on if we had more time. One last bit of advice…we purchased City Passes for the San Diego Zoo and the USS Midway Museum. City passes are customizable. We just added these two places and were able to get cheaper entrance prices. You buy them online and tickets go straight your phone. Super easy and worth it to save a few bucks! San Diego is expensive!! 🙂
I hope this was helpful in how to spend a family vacation in San Diego, California. Don’t forget to follow along on Instagram! It’s where I am every day sharing photos of home, life, style, and travel! XO
Love it. Sounds like you made the most of a few days. I grew up in San Diego and lived there for years. Such a great city. I still have family there. July is perfect weather, so you did choose the right time to go.