Mostly known for its great beaches, awesome weather, friendly people and laid back atmosphere, San Diego, California offers many things that are family-oriented.  It isn’t hard not to find something to do with the family…and if you are someone who has experienced all that San Diego has to offer, luckily San Diego is located closely to the Mexico border and it’s also near the Orange County area.  In San Diego, there are plenty of areas highly recommended for first time visitors to the area, such as Seaport Village, Old Town, Balboa Park and if you want some good ol’ apple pie, a trip to Julian is a great place to stop.

San Diego Zoo – Buy with Go San Diego Card

More than 4,000 animals are at the World-renowned San Diego Zoo, which is home to a diverse collection of animals, of which many are rarely seen at other zoos. Meet Mei Sheng, the 2nd baby panda porn at the San Diego zoo or take a look at the zoo’s newest attraction, Absolutely Apes, which has an expansive rain forest habitat where orangutans and siamaungs live and play together as they do in the wild. Arrive at the park early to get in line to see the pandas. This line forms fairly quickly, and remember…shhhh, you have to be very quiet!

San Diego Wild Animal Park – Buy with Go San Diego Card

This is a magical place in San Diego, where the animals live very close to their natural habitat. At the Wild Animal Park, you can stretch out a hand to feed a gentle giraffe, rub noses with an endangered rhino or get very close to a California Condo. The San Diego Wild Animal Park is one of the few places to see rare and exotic species roam free. Check out the Heart of Africa, a 32-acre safari adventure into the dense forest and grassy savannas of Africa. There is even a kiddie area for your children to run and play in tunnels and much more. Many restaurants are available to dine at plus many shopping opportunities. If you’re lucky, each year around April you can see many beautiful breaking from their cocoons.

Sea World San Diego – Buy with Go San Diego Card

Sea World San Diego is a great place to take the kids to touch and feed dolphins or manta rays, come face-to-face with a polar bear and check out sharks up close and personal. Encounter a spine-tingling 4-D movie experience at R.L. Stine’s Haunted Lighthouse and check out Shamu.

With over 70 miles of Pacific Ocean coastline, San Diego County has many outdoor recreational choices, especially due to San Diego’s perfect weather. Where to go? What beaches to choose from? Here’s a short list of favorite beaches to do activities:

Best Snorkeling:

La Jolla Cove Snorkeling – Hands down, La Jolla Cove is the best location for snorkeling in San Diego. The water is calm, making it suitable for children and beginners. The undersea life is abundant and close to the shore. Arrive early for the best experience.

Best Tide Pool:

Cabrillo Mounment/Point Loma Tide Pool – Some of the best tidepools in California can found at Cabrillo National Monument. On the west side of Point Loma lies a rocky inter-tidal zone, that gives you a nice window into the ocean ecosystem. If you look closely you can see flowery sea anemones, spongy deadman’s fingers, an elusive octopus, starfish, sea urchins, sea cucumber and even more creatures.

Best Activity Selections:

Mission Beach – Over 2 miles of beach which include a boardwalk to jog, bicycle, kayak, sunbathe or roller blade. You even have easy access to check out Belmont Park to ride the Big Dipper rollercoaster, play at the arcade or ride in the bumper boats.

Most Child-Friendly:

Mission Bay - Mission Bay’s clam calm and protected water allow children to splash around without the danger of the ocean surf. There is plenty of places to have a picnic and fly a kite.

Best Surfing:

Black’s Beach – The waves break long and in organized lines. A submarine trench offshore comes within a half mile off the coast and raw ocean swells come fast and forceful. Black’s requires a long hike down the cliff and a lot of extra paddling effort to get into the lineup. It can hold rideable surf well into the 10′-12′ realm.

Most Relaxing:

Solana Beach – Head north to where there are quieter beaches in the more residential areas to get away from the crowds.

Best Unique Feature:

La Jolla Children’s Pool – The swimming area used to be a place for children to swim, is now used for seal and sea lion when they took over the beach. Now visitors can watch them sunbathe and get a free marine mammal show.

Museums:
San Diego Natural Museum
Casa Del Prado
Botanical Building
San Diego Museum of Art
San Diego Museum of Man
Old Globe Theatre
Mingei International Museum
Japanese Friendship Garden
Spreckels Organ Pavilion
Balboa Park Club
The Palisades Building
San Diego Automotive Museum
San Diego’s Aerospace Museum
San Diego Hall of Champions Sports Museum

The San Diego Natural History Museum has a giant-screen film called the Ocean Oasis, that takes visitors on a journey through Baja, California and the Sea of Cortes. There are also traveling exhibitions and regional displays of the museum’s 7.5 million specimen scientific collection of marine invertebrates, ornithology, mammalogy, herpetology, botany, mineralogy and paleontology. There are also educational programs that include lectures, nature walks, teacher workshops and a loan library.

Website: http://www.sdnhm.org/about/index.html

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The Casa Del Prado building is next door to the Natural History Museum and originally built for the 1915 Exposition and called the Varied Industries and Food Products Building. After many years and name revisions, the original building was torn down and rebuilt in 1971 and named the Casa Del Prado Theatre.

Website: http://www.sandiegohistory.org/bpbuildings/casaprad.htm

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The Botanical Building was built for the 1915 Panama California Exposition. A 193 by 43 foot reflecting pool south of the Botanical building contains water lilies, goldfish, koi and lotus.

During World War II, the reflecting pool was used as a swimming pool for sailors at the Naval Training Station, to learn to swim. When the Botanical Building was opened to the public in 1915, bird cages holding Linnets, thrushes and canaries had been placed among the palms, banana trees, bamboos, Aralia chabrierii and Aralia elegantissima. Some plants grew too tall, so were either removed or cut down.

Website: http://www.inetours.com/San_Diego/Botanical_Building.html

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The San Diego Museum of Art occupies the fine arts buildign for the 1915 Panama-California Internal Exposition in Balboa Park at 1450 El Prado. The museum was established in 1922 when a local business and civic leader, Appleton S. Bridges, agreed to fund the conservation of a permanent structure. The collections of the museum include Italian Renaissance, Asian art, south Asian paintings, American art, nineteenth-century European paintings, Dutch and Spanish Old Masters, twentieth-century paintings and sculpture and a contemporary California Art gallery.

Website: http://www.sdmart.org/

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The San Diego Museum of Man occupies the most recognized building in Balboa Park, the California State Building and Quadrangle, which marks the entrance into the Exposition from the West Gate.

Exhibits portray the chapters of mankind and display collections of artifacts, folklore and physical remains. The museum is the place to learn about ancient Egypt and native cultures of the Western Americas.

Live demonstrators make tortillas in the traditional Mexican manner and a Oaxacan weaver demonstrates spinning and floor loom on Wednesdays through Sundays.

Website: http://www.museumofman.org/

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The Old Globe Theatre is the oldest Californian professional theater organizatio nthat occupies the refurbished Old Globe Theatre building. Originally constructed for the 1915 Exposition for the presentation of Shakespeare Plays the building went through several remodels and was destroyed by a fire on March 8, 1978. The new Old Globe Theatre was dedicated on January 5, 1982.

Website: http://www.theoldglobe.org/

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The Mingei International Museum is dedicated to further the understanding of the world of folk art. The name “Mingei” is coined by the late Dr. Soetsu Yanagi by combining the Japanese words for all people (min) and art (gei).

The structure of the Mingei International Museum resides was built for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition and like several other buildings in Balboa Park, it had gone by other names. In 1935, the Building was renamed the House of Charm by which it is generally recognized today.

Website: http://www.mingei.org/

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The Japanese Friendship Garden began with a Japanese Tea House built in 1915. San Diego’s Sister City relationship with Yokohama in 1950 contributed to the desire for a Japanese Garden at the Balboa Park. The 1.5 acre garden includes an entry plaza with tea stand, outdoor seating, koi pond, fountain, trellised bonsai garden, 100 cherry trees and a learning center for children.

Website: http://www.niwa.org/

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Spreckels Organ Pavilion is home to one of the largest outdoor pipe organs in the world. THe organ was donated to the City of San Diego by John D. and Adolph Spreckels in 1914 for the Panama-California Exposition and contains over 4,500 pipes. The Spreckels Organ Pavilion can seat up to 2,400 people and is wheelchair accessible.

Website: http://www.sandiegohistory.org/bpbuildings/organ.htm

John D. Spreckels is a dedicated musician and pipe organist who added an enormous 41-rank Aeolian Pipe Organ to his home on Glorietta Bay. Spreckels owned the San Diego Street Railway System which he wanted to extend through Balboa Park to hasten development and San Diego’s economy on the other side. Spreckels funded daily concerts on the outdoor organ until his death in 1926.

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Balboa Park Club was built for the 1915-16 Exposition as the New Mexico Building. It’s an example of early mission architecture. In 1935-36, the Club became the Palace of Education when a dance floor was added. Another renovation of the building, included a new ballroom floor and kitchen was completed in 1995.

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Website: http://www.sandiegohistory.org/bpbuildings/newmex.htm

The Palisades Building was known as the Hollywood Motion Picture Hall of Fame when the motion picture industry exhibited there and was used as Navay Barracks during World War II, like most of Balboa Park. The 234-seat Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theatre is at the north end of the building. The Recital Hall can be rented for dance classes, meetings, conferences, exhibits, flower shows, aprties and rehearsals.

Website: http://www.balboaparkpuppets.com/

The San Diego Automotive Museum is home to many classic and antique cars, vintage motorcycles, racers, exotics and prototypes that illustrate the history of cars.

Website: http://www.sdautomuseum.org/ContentPage.asp?ContentID=105

San Diego Aerospace Museum has a collection of over sixty-five aircraft and spacecraft. The museum opened in the Ford Building in 1980, moving from the Balboa Park Electrical Building which suffered an arson fire in 1978. The Ford Motor Company provided the largest building and exhibit in the Palisades area of Balboa Park. The Ford Bowl, now called the Starlight Bowl, is built next to the Ford Building for Opera performances and now home to the Starlight Theatre. Ford has sponsored concerts by both the San Diego and Los Angeles Symphonies during the 2nd year of the Exposition.

Website: http://www.aerospacemuseum.org/

The Federal Building in the Palisades section of Balboa Park. The San Diego Hall of Sports Museum was opened in the renovated Federal Building in Balboa Park. The 70,000 square foot multi-sports museum showcases 40 difference sports and has an athlete’s Hall of Fame devoted to San Diego heroes. Kids are even invited to touch sports equipment used by the greats and test their own athletic abilities in the interactive exhibits.

Website: http://www.sdhoc.com/

Check out more museums:

Maritime Museum

The museum’s impressive feet includes the oldest active ship Start of India, HMS, the 1898 steam ferry Berkeley, the 1904 steam yacht Medea and the B-39 soviet-era Russian attack submarine.

The Start of India is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as being the worlds oldest active ship and was named a National Historic Landmark in 1966 and California State Historic Landmark in 1999.

On board the ships you will find fascinating exhibits on maritime history, warfare, exploration and an interactive children play area.

Website: http://www.sdmaritime.com/
1492 N. Harbor Dr.
San Diego, CA 92101
619-234-9153

Balboa was founded in 1868 on a 1,400 acre and was initially called ‘San Diego’s City Park. In 1910, the “City Park” was renamed “Balboa Park” after the Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa who crossed Panama to discover the Pacific Ocean.

A number of the buildings including the Quadrange and California Building, the Administration Building, the Botantical Building, the Spreckels Organ Pavilion and the New Mexico Building remain in the park from the 1915-1916 Panama-California Exposition.

A second exposition – the California Pacific Exposition San Diego 1935-1936 – celebrated the completion of the Metropolitan Water District Aqueduct from the Colorado River and other federal projects. Structures built during this time included the Federal, General Exhibits, California State Entertainment, Education, Christian Science and Ford Buildings.

The Balboa Park organizations offer free Tuesday admission on a rotating basis.

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