Best Places for School Trips in San Diego

By Katie Sagal

San Diego is a prime cultural destination for families, students, and school groups from across the country. With its wealth of cultural attractions ranging from art museums to historic naval vessels to one of the best zoos in the country, San Diego boasts an appropriate attraction for every type of trip. If you're looking for some ideas while planning your school trip San Diego, check out our favorites, including:

  • San Diego Zoo
  • USS Midway Museum
  • San Diego Natural History Museum
  • San Diego Air & Space Museum
  • Birch Aquarium

Save on Field Trip Admission in San Diego

For those of you planning a school trip for your children or students, you're sure to be looking for ways to save. With budgets as tight as they are these days, the all-inclusive Go San Diego Card is a smart choice. Save up to 55% on combined admission prices vs. paying at the gate. See all available, passes, and prices -- learn more.

San Diego Zoo

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Arguably the best field trip attraction in the entire city is the San Diego Zoo. It's a perfect educational destination, offering plenty of informative content alongside the excitement of meeting new exotic critters from around the globe. Don't miss the world-famous Giant Pandas, or their newest exhibit area, Africa Rocks, which features African flora and fauna like penguins, lemurs, and more. Insider tip: Use the free Guided Bus Tour ticket to get your group around, because this zoo is very sizable and little feet will get tired quickly. Getting In: San Diego Zoo tickets are included with the Go San Diego Card.

USS Midway Museum

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For groups emphasizing American history in general, or even military history in particular, the USS Midway Museum is an ideal attraction. Groups can tour the fascinating collection of painstakingly restored historical aircraft and 60 different educational exhibits. There's also an audio tour which explains each component along the way, like the sleeping quarters and flight control deck. Getting In: USS Midway Museum tickets are included with the Go San Diego Card.

San Diego Natural History Museum

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Also known as theNAT, this fascinating museum is an attractive destination for field trips for its exemplary exhibits and interactive components. School groups can explore a wide variety of exhibits, from dinosaur bones to rare books to live cacti. Accompanying instructional panels are also ideal for school children looking to learn about the exhibits in accessible ways. Some of their featured exhibitions also specifically explore the natural history of the region, so it's a good option for local groups looking to learn more about Southern California. Getting In: San Diego Natural History Museum tickets are included with the Go San Diego Card.

San Diego Air & Space Museum

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This popular Balboa Park museum has plenty to offer school groups that are learning about the history of flight across time. Exhibits include everything from the first hot air balloon (from the eighteenth century!) to military aircraft hailing from WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. They also educational films in the Zable Theater, including "Fly Me to the Moon" and "Space Chase." Don't forget to show the kids the Apollo XI Space Pen! Getting In: San Diego Air & Space Museum tickets are included with the Go San Diego Card.

Birch Aquarium

birch-aquarium-scripps-institution

Aquariums are reliable field trip destinations for a reason. They're filled with interactive exhibits, fascinating collections of marine species, and plenty of informative tours, talks, and guides. The Birch Aquarium is particularly notable for its wealth of diverse exhibits that span the gamut from photographs of Mexican marine environments to a showcase of new innovations in renewable energy. School groups especially love the "Tide Pool Plaza," where little guests can actually touch sea stars, hermit crabs, and more. Getting In: Birch Aquarium tickets are included with the Go San Diego Card.

Don't Forget to Save on Field Trip Admission

So remember, if you're planning a field trip to San Diego don't forget to look into the all-inclusive Go San Diego Cards. You can save up to 55% for your whole group on attraction admission vs. paying at the gate, which can be a boon for tight budgets. We also offer discounts for large groups, too, to help you save even more.

Katie Sagal

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Things to Do in San Diego in Summer 2019 - Attractions, Activities & More

Due to the stellar weather, summer is probably the best time of the year to visit one of America’s prettiest cities, San Diego. The weather is always great in Southern California. But summer in San Diego certainly takes things up a level (or two). Planning a visit and looking for things to do in San Diego in the summer 2019? Check out our list of the top attractions and activities going on this year, including... San Diego Zoo San Diego Harbor Tour or Whale Watch Museums at Balboa Park PETCO Park Tour and more... Heading to the area to celebrate Independence Day? Then check out our post on things to do in San Diego 4th of July Weekend. Vacation during the tail end of summer? Here are a few fun things to do in San Diego Labor Day Weekend. Save on Summertime Activities Regular admission to a number of these attractions are available on the Go San Diego pass. Choose as you go from popular attractions and save up to 55% on combined admission vs paying at the gate. Check out all San Diego tourist passes, attractions and prices. Please note, some of these special Summer events may be separately ticketed and not available on the Go San Diego pass. Living Coast Discovery Center Explore San Diego’s wildlife at the Living Coast Discovery Center. There are only so many sea specimens you’re likely to see on your snorkeling adventures. So pay a visit to the Living Coast Discovery Center to learn about creatures big and small that populate the coastal region around San Diego. The Center is also deeply invested in its conservation work, so it’s a great attraction for anyone interested in working with animals or the environment. Getting In: Living Coast Discovery Center tickets are included with the Go San Diego pass. San Diego County Fair Del Mar Fairgrounds May 31 - July 4, 2018 (closed Mondays and Tuesdays in June but open July 2&3) Beginning May 31, North America’s fourth-largest fair will get underway at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. With over 1 million visitors anticipated each year, this festival only gets bigger and better as times goes on. This year's theme is "Oz-some." Visitors will experience kid-in-a-candy store excitement from chocolate sampling to some of San Diego area's hottest headlining bands. Plus thrilling carnival rides! Meet farm animals, enjoy dozens of live entertainment acts, let the kids explore educational exhibits. Enjoy a number of other amazing mini festivals throughout the duration of the fair. Getting In: The San Diego County Fair is separately ticketed and is not included with the Go San Diego Card. San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Convention Center July 18 - 21, 2019 For fans of Superman, Spiderman, Spawn, and the Simpsons, there’s no better San Diego Attraction than the Comic-Con. Comic-Con International: San Diego has quickly become the largest comics and pop culture event in the United States. During Comic-Con San Diego, more than 130,000 artists, celebrities and comic book fans will pack the San Diego Convention Center. That's a huge transformation from when about 100 people attended the first “minicon” in 1970. Tickets are pricey and sell out quickly, but for the big geeks out there, this is basically the event of the year. Getting In: San Diego Comic Con is separately ticketed and is not included with the Go San Diego Card. Let's Recap So there you have it. Our picks for some of the top things to do in San Diego in the summer. Please note, the summer events taking place at some of these attractions may be separately ticketed and not included with the Go San Diego Card. Plan to visit some of these top attractions during your trip. Whether you are traveling with your family or a couple of friends, we're sure you will have a great time.
Katie Sagal
A beach at sunset in La Jolla, San Diego
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Where To Stay in San Diego

Sunny San Diego is made up of a series of neighborhood villages, each with its own distinct personality and stacks of different things to see and do. But where to stay in this often bewildering landscape of canyons, mesas and golden California sands? Surfers and divers could do worse than La Jolla, with its easy access to rolling waves and underwater kelp forests. Bringing the kids? You’ll love the laid back family vibe of Ocean Beach and Coronado. If you’re just looking for some of that legendary San Diego nightlife, that’d be the Gaslamp Quarter and hip nearby neighborhoods of Hillcrest and North Park. Still not sure? Read on for our mini guide to where to stay in San Diego. Best for First Timers San Diego’s atmospheric Old Town is an intoxicating hybrid of Mexican, Spanish and American culture. Here, in the birthplace of California, first timers can truly immerse themselves in the city’s heritage. It’s a place where palm-lined streets are crammed with colorful shops and restaurants inside restored adobe buildings and there are more fab museums, galleries and – gulp – haunted houses than you can shake a very large stick at. Visit the notorious Whaley House Museum, once described by LIFE magazine as ‘the most haunted house in America’ and scare yourself silly on one of their spooky evening tours – if you dare. The nearby Old Town San Diego State National Park contains many more original and reconstructed 19th-century buildings including the old courthouse and restored Cosmopolitan Hotel. It’s a real slice of the Old West, with regular living history demonstrations and a colorful Mexican market housing independent boutiques, artisan souvenirs and, of course, plenty of lip-smackingly authentic taquerias. All of which makes the Old Town a fantastic choice for first-time visitors to San Diego. Couple that with easy access to Downtown, Mission Bay and historic Mission Valley, home to the Insta-perfect Mission San Diego de Alcalá (the sugar-white 18th-century church that gives the region its name), and you have all the ingredients for the perfect introduction to America’s Finest City. Best for Seeing it All Perched on the San Diego Bay, the Downtown neighborhood is the location for you if it’s fine restaurants, the best nightlife and easy access to the city’s bucket-list attractions that float your boat. Head to the waterfront Embarcadero for sport fishing, seal-spotting, sensational seafood and sweeping sunset views of Coronado, and get your fix of pizza and pasta in Little Italy, with its cobbled piazza, ornate tiled fountain and traditional trattorias. Sample some of San Diego’s famously excellent craft beers in the Gaslamp Quarter’s atmospheric dive bars or shake it up with rooftop cocktails and live music here in the city’s nightlife mecca. If you’re planning on seeing the Padres in action or spending a lot of time in Balboa Park (and let’s face it, why wouldn’t you?) Downtown is the place to stay. The Padres’ huge home stadium also puts on major concerts and has hosted such household names as Taylor Swift and Paul McCartney in recent years. Balboa Park is San Diego’s vast green lung. Walkable from Downtown, it also happens to contain some of the city’s biggest attractions, including – deep breath – San Diego Zoo, the Fleet Museum of Science, a Japanese Friendship Garden, the San Diego Museum of Art and an old-fashioned carousel. And that barely scratches the surface. Sun worshippers take note: while San Diego Bay is renowned for its views across the water it is less esteemed for its beaches. Because, well, there aren’t any. Fear not though: Ocean Beach, La Jolla and Pacific Beach are within your grasp thanks to Downtown’s proliferation of cabs and other easy transport links. Best for Families and Beach Lovers Sunny days that number well above the national average, a laid back SoCal vibe and some of the best beaches on the West Coast make San Diego a great choice for family vacations. South of the San Diego River, hippy-dippy Ocean Beach has a lovely community vibe. It’s packed with cute taquerias and boho boutiques and there’s a weekly market with live music and great street food. Not to mention that all-important stretch of sun-kissed California sand, where surfers ride the gently rolling waves, pelicans dive-bomb the herring-rich waters for their dinner and kids hunt for crabs and anemones in exposed tide pools beneath the epic, 600-meter Ocean Beach Pier. There’s even a dedicated dog beach here where your four-legged friends can frolic happily in the surf and sand with their doggo pals. Head over the river to Mission Bay for SeaWorld San Diego, where there are enough thrill rides and sea creatures to keep even the most jaded teen entertained for a day or more. Across the bay, Coronado’s landmark hotel is a tourist attraction in itself. The Hotel del Coronado is a San Diego institution (haunted, of course) that has been hosting US presidents, household-name celebs (you’ve heard of Marilyn Monroe and Sly Stallone, right?) and royalty since the 19th Century. Its turrets are even said to have inspired resident writer L. Frank Baum’s Emerald City in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Families build sandcastles along the fine stretch of golden sand in front of ‘The Del’, go paddle-boarding in the lagoon and gorge on firepit s’mores at sunset. Around 12 miles north of Downtown San Diego, La Jolla is an absolute playground for outdoor types. Set in pine-scented hills along seven miles of coastline, it scratches your surfing, sunbathing, sea-swimming and seal-spotting itches all in one go. Here’s where you can find native harbor seals basking in their dozens at Children’s Pool; spot dolphins and migrating whales from high in the bluffs of wildflower-rich Torrey Pines Nature Reserve; and scuba-dive among the green tendrils of La Jolla Cove’s vast kelp forests. Or get your sea-critter fix at the Scripps Aquarium where you can meet leopard sharks, loggerhead sea turtles and a giant Pacific octopus without even getting wet! La Jolla also boasts fine dining and boutique shopping galore in its village, a world-class clifftop golf course and some of the best outdoor art in the city. It’s also well-placed for day trips to family favorites just north of the city, including LEGOLAND California and the sprawling 1,800-acre San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Best for Hip Young Things Hip with a dollop of history might be the best way of describing Hillcrest and North Park, the alluring uptown neighborhoods that hug the north end of Balboa Park. Hillcrest is the heart of San Diego’s thriving LGBTQ+ community, its streets brimming with lively gay bars and cool brunch spots. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Hillcrest also provides the hub for the annual Pride festival. Each July, thousands of revelers from around the globe descend on its leafy avenues, here for the legendary Parade, huge music festival in Balboa Park and – in some cases at least – the 5k fun run. Like its neighbor North Park, Hillcrest is famed for its fine 1920s Crafstmen’s houses – simple dwellings that date to the 1920s Arts and Crafts movement – as well as being one of the jewels in San Diego’s craft ale crown thanks to the likes of the Hillcrest Brewing Company, self-styled ‘first gay brewery in the world’. North Park’s charming jumble of colorful street art, microbreweries and 1920s style earned it a place in Forbes’ 2012 list of America’s finest hipster ‘hoods, in which it was praised for its creativity and cultural diversity. And you don’t have to wander far in this art lovin’ beer drinkers’ paradise to see what they mean. There’s around a dozen local microbreweries within two or three blocks around University Avenue and 30th. Look out for the Belching Beaver Brewery, right next to the famously Instagrammable Greetings from San Diego mural, and the Fall Brewing Company, with their excellent hazy IPAs and beloved Humpty Dumpty mascot. Save on things to do in San Diego Save on admission to San Diego attractions with Go City. Check out @GoCity on Instagram and Facebook for the latest top tips and attraction info.
Stuart Bak
Stuart Bak
Mission San Diego de Alcalá in Mission Valley
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Things to do in Mission Valley San Diego

Split along its length by the San Diego River, Mission Valley lies just east of downtown and around eight miles from the golden California coast. This vibrant neighborhood is a shoppers’ paradise, with some of the city’s biggest malls as well as plenty of lovely parks to stroll and relax in. It’s great for hikers too, with easy access to Tecolote Canyon National Park and the rugged hills and canyons of the Mission Trails Regional Park to the east. Read on to discover our favorite things to do in Mission Valley San Diego. Immerse Yourself in Mission Valley History Just east of Interstate 15 lies the Mission San Diego de Alcalá, a beautiful sugar-white church that has stood on this site since the 18th Century, and from which the valley takes its name. Tours of this working church – the oldest building in California – are available Monday through Friday, allowing you a glimpse into its long history. Visit the remains of the friars’ lodgings at the southern end of the compound and pause among vibrant purple bougainvillea, spiny yucca plants and fragrant pine trees to admire the mission’s gleaming white facade, with its Insta-perfect tower containing five bells and topped with a wooden cross. In the gift shop, pick up a free guide to the church’s artworks then step inside to admire the grand wooden altar as well as paintings and statues that date from the 15th Century to the present day. There are also many museum artifacts relating to the mission’s past, including clothing, tools, pottery and weapons plus photos of local photos of Kumeyaay elders. At the other end of the valley, Presidio Park allows you to walk in the footsteps of the first European settlers on the site where the Mission San Diego de Alcalá was first established by Junípero Serra and Gaspar de Portolá in 1769. And it’s from Serra that the park’s museum takes its name. Step inside to immerse yourself in San Diego’s heritage, from the indiginous Kumeyaay people through Spanish explorers to Mexican settlers. Then climb the Junípero Serra Museum’s famous tower, from where the sweeping views across the park’s manicured lawns to the Old Town and Pacific beyond are really quite something. Shopping and Entertainment If your idea of a good time is shops, shops and more shops, then Mission Valley is likely to be right up your alley. It boasts not one, not two but three mega-malls: Fashion Valley, Westfield Mission Valley and the Hazard Center. Fashion Valley is a huge – and we mean biggest-in-San-Diego huge – open-air mall that cover some 40 acres. So you might want to make a shoe store your first port of call, in order to slip into something a little more comfortable. Good news: there are plenty to choose from. This is the place for budding fashionistas, where luxury brands including Cartier, Fendi and Louis Vuitton rub shoulders with major department stores like Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s. There are also plenty of cafés and restaurants for punctuating your shopping odyssey with well-earned breaks, and a cinema showing all the latest blockbusters. Golfers can get in the swing of things at the Riverwalk Golf Club, an 18-hole championship course that’s just a hop and a skip from Fashion Valley. Here, mature oak, palm and eucalyptus trees catch the coastal breezes as players face-off against gently rolling fairways with close to 70 hazardous bunkers. And all against a beautiful backdrop of picturesque wetlands and water features, including three lakes and the San Diego River. Bliss. Into the Valley Follow Mission Valley east and you’ll soon reach the ruggedly handsome Mission Trails Regional Park. At over 7,000 acres it’s one of the largest urban parks in the United States, with dozens of excellent walking trails to choose from. The most popular of these takes you 1,593 feet up to the summit of Cowles Mountain where, here at the highest point in San Diego, you can take in dizzying 360-degree panoramas of the city and beyond. And, if you want to get a little more off the beaten track, fear not: there are over 60 miles of trails available throughout the park, meaning it’s not difficult to achieve a sense of near-isolation, with just the colorful wildflowers and maybe the odd hummingbird or rattlesnake for company. A little north of Mission Valley, Tecolote Canyon National Park also makes for a fine day out. Grab a picnic and take the six-mile Tecolote Canyon Trail, which weaves a fairly flat and unchallenging route through the valley, keeping your eyes peeled for the elusive creatures that lend the canyon their name (tecolote is the Spanish word for owl). Mission Bay Mission Valley also provides great access to the 4,600 acres of waterways, beaches and islets that make up the huge aquatic playground that is Mission Bay. Explore the shoreline by bike or live a little and get a drenching on the water. There are sports galore to try here, from the high-octane to the positively sedate: go jet skiing and surfing, or cruise elegantly across the bay on a paddleboard. Child-friendly beaches here are also great for sandcastle-building and picnic-eating, though perhaps not at the same time. Speaking of activities that will keep the kids entertained, Mission Bay also just so happens to be the location of SeaWorld San Diego. Go for the incalculable multitude of sea creatures great and small, and stay for high-energy thrills from the likes of the river-rapid log ride and – if you’re game – the fastest and highest roller coaster in San Diego. Kids will love meeting great beasts of the sea, including loggerhead turtles, killer whales, reef sharks and the elusive Giant Pacific Octopus in the 19 aquariums here, and there are touch pools where you can get up close to some of the ocean’s friendlier critters, such as rays, crabs, cleaner fish and (harmless!) bamboo sharks. Save on things to do in Mission Valley San Diego Save on admission to San Diego attractions with Go City. Check out @GoCity on Instagram and Facebook for the latest top tips and attraction info.
Stuart Bak
Stuart Bak

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