14 Affordable Things to do in San Diego with Kids!
San Diego is one of our favorite cities in the United States to visit with our kids. We don’t often visit the same place multiple times, but San Diego is one of the places that we love to visit again and again. There is so much to see from awesome wildlife (Hello La Jolla!), fun hiking (Hi Torrey Pines!), and some of the best food in the USA. Here are our favorite affordable things to do in San Diego with kids!
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1. See the Sea Lions at La Jolla
La Jolla is an absolute MUST for things to do in San Diego with kids! The La Jolla Beach Trail is a 2.3 mile, stroller friendly trail that leads along the water front. Along the trail, you’ll see a huge variety of coastal birds, beautiful coastlines, interesting plants, and BEST OF ALL? The La Jolla Sea Lions!
There are a couple places that you’re likely to see sea lions, one being the Children’s Pool and the other being Ellen Browning Scripps Park. Near the park, you’ll find a bathroom as well. You definitely don’t need to walk the entire 2.3 miles to see the sea lions or incredible birds, but you may want to!
La Jolla was one of our favorite things to do in San Diego on our last trip. We visited early morning and it was so peaceful with hardly anyone around! Make sure to give the sea lions space, and DO NOT try and approach the wildlife. Keep wildlife wild, and respect the areas you are visiting.
2. Have Fun at Belmont Park
If you’re looking for a more affordable alternative to the big parks like Sea World or Legoland, Belmont Park is a great spot that you won’t have to go far to find. This beachfront amusement park has no admission fee. You’ll only have to pay for the number of tickets you want. We bought 70 ride tickets for $60 (that can be used for the whole family). We ended up giving away a few tickets to another family because we didn’t use them all!
There are bigger rides like a roller coaster, but a bunch of rides for little kids too! Our 18 month old and 3 year old could both do several rides that they loved. Parking can be a bit of a challenge since there is a fairly small parking lot.
3. Hike at Torrey Pines
Torrey Pines is an iconic San Diego hiking spot! There are several family friendly trails in Torrey Pines. Since it’s a State Natural Reserve, there is a small fee to park. I think we paid $7 to park our car. The Guy Fleming Loop was a great hike with kids. It’s only 0.7 miles and other than a few spots with some steep drop offs, it’s very family friendly with epic views.
When we visited, the parking lot at near the top was under construction, so we did have about another 0.5 mile each way to get to the trailhead, but it was well worth the views and birds we got to enjoy.
4. Watch Sunset at the Sunset Bluffs
The Sunset Bluffs are another great family friendly hiking spot in San Diego. Here we got to watch a beautiful sunset from the trail. Head to Sunset Cliffs Natural Park. There are a few parking places, but also a lot of street parking if you can’t find a spot.
Many of the trails here connect and wind around. We didn’t follow a specific one, just kept to the area that felt family friend without steep drop offs.
5. Enjoy the Dogs at Dog Beach
Dog Beach is an iconic San Diego Beach. It’s an off leash dog park and in my opinion one of the happiest places on Earth! We’ve visited Dog Beach a couple times and love watching all the happy dogs frolick in the ocean and play fetch.
As a warning, when you walk into Dog Beach it can have a VERY strong pee smell in the parking lot. If you can make it past that, the beach is great for dog watching.
6. Look at Sea Creatures While Tide Pooling
Tide pooling is one of my favorite ocean activities ever. There are so many interesting and unique creatures to be found in the tide pool and it’s a great affordable thing to do in San Diego! You’ll want to pay close attention to the tide schedules and try to visit at low tide for the best experience.
Some of the sea life you’re going to want to look for while tidepooling in San Diego include mussels, anenomes, sea stars, octopuses, crabs, and more. And here is an article that will tell you some of the best spots to tide pool in San Diego.
You should not take anything or touch anything in the tide pools! Just look at the interesting sea life, but leave it as it is for all to enjoy.
7. Explore Balboa Park
Balboa Park can be an absolutely free thing to do in San Diego or you can choose to visit some of the paid museums. You can also find free parking at all the lots! If you’re looking for the free parts – you can walk around and explore the stunning architecture. You can also do the following things for free in Balboa Park:
- Find a Playground – Bird Park or Sixth Avenue or Pepper Grove
- Timken Museum of Art
- Mingei Museum
- See the Gardens – Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden, Desert Garden, Kate O. Sessions Cactus Garden
- Pack a picnic to enjoy in the park!
- Spreckels Organ Pavillion – free concerts every Sunday at 2PM year round!
8. See the Sunset at Crystal Pier
Mission Beach is an awesome family friendly beach in San Diego. We had the best evening watching the sunset at Crystal Pier. The kids loved playing under the pier and we loved watching the birds and the waves crash. You can choose to walk along the beach (our choice), or walk along the paved path all along Mission Beach. If you wanted to really have a fun adventure, you could rent bikes and do a sunset bike ride.
9. Stroll Along Coronado Beach
Coronado Beach is consistently ranked as one of the best beaches in America, and after visiting, we totally agree! One of our favorite affordable things to do in San Diego is visit Coronado Beach. This amazing beach had a ton of space and was so clean. It was an awesome place for watching aircrafts fly overhead, finding shells, and playing in the sand.
The Historic Hotel del Coronado is definitely worth visiting too. The lobby of the hotel (built in 1888) is luxurious and will feel like you’re stepping back in time! There are several shops and restaurants on site as well. Just be warned that you might pay extra if you choose to eat here. We had some of the most expensive ice cream we’ve ever eaten at “Sundaes at the Del”. But it was a fun experience regardless!
10. Eat the Best Burritos & Tacos of Your Life!
You can’t visit San Diego and not eat some delicious Mexican food! Every time I leave San Diego, I find myself dreaming most about the massive burritos and mouth watering fish tacos. Our favorite spot in San Diego is Mike’s Taco Club. We’ve eaten here several times over the last decade and it’s just as good as it was before!
11. Get Some Tasty Ice Cream at Frosties
Frosties is an OG San Diego spot (as we were told by the locals we met there) that originally opened in this location in 1949. It’s a no frills soft serve ice cream spot in Pacific Beach where you can get the most affordable ice cream around. We have little toddlers, so the “extra small” cone is an awesome way for us to get ice cream for our kids without spending too much or getting too much of a sugar rush!
12. Visit Cabrillo National Monument
Cabrillo National Monument is located in the Point Loma area. This National Monument has a ton of kid friendly trails, whale watching, epic views of downtown San Diego, an old lighthouse and even some of the best tide pooling in the area. If you love National Parks like we do, you’ll want to check this National Monument out!
You will need to pay an entrance fee, but if you already have an America the Beautiful pass, it’s free! And if you’re interested in visiting more California National Parks find our guide to them here:
13. Enjoy a Homemade Ice Cream Sandwich
If you want some especially tasty ice cream with a unique twist, you need to check out Baked Bear. They have a fun concept where you can choose from a selection of homemade cookies (you can even mix or match), and then choose a homemade ice cream flavor to be sandwiched between your cookies. This place was SO tasty and we would highly recommend making a stop here!
14. Find Treasures Beach Combing
San Diego has some awesome beach combing, a totally free and fun activity. We found a ton of cool small shells, sand dollars, seaweed, and even some big sea shells. Finding shells is a great way to explore the ocean and keep your kids occupied for a long time.
I hope you enjoy your family vacation to one of our favorite US cities! Let me know in the comments what other affordable things to do in San Diego are your favorite. And if you’re looking for other California adventures, we have you covered with some EPIC National Park trip planning resources below!
