Five Family Fun Days in San Diego
- marisacooksey
- Sep 20
- 3 min read
By Marisa Cooksey
An all time favorite family vacation for my crew has been to San Diego, California. This sunny, beachy SoCal city is packed full of activities for young children, teens, adults, and every age range in between.
When it comes to vacation styles, my spouse and I are cut from different cloths. When it comes to trips that involve the kids, he’s a rent a house and be spontaneous day by day type and I’m a plan everything ahead of time and stay at a fancy hotel type. Finding a good balance to fill everyone’s travel cup can be tricky, but with this trip, the goal was achieved. Here’s a breakdown of how we spent 4 days in San Diego with young kids:
Day 1
Travel day. We always keep our travel days flexible, as one never knows how the day will actually go. After a day of flying, we loaded into the rental car and checked into our AirBnB which was over in the Sunset Cliffs neighborhood. The kids were then ready to stretch their legs and burn some pent up energy after unpacking and a grocery run, so we headed to Balboa Park. We spent the remainder of the afternoon and early evening there before grabbing In N Out (when in Rome) for dinner.
Day 2
We spent the morning at the San Diego Zoo. As a parent who has been to more zoos than I can count, I can say hands down that the San Diego Zoo is by far one of the best zoos in the United States. You could easily spend the entire day here if your fellow travelers have the stamina, because there is so much to do. Our highlight of the day was taking in the sights on the zoo’s gondola. Having this bird’s eye view over the grounds and San Diego is a memory I’ll never forget.
Once we were back on the ground, we waved goodbye to the animals and headed to Baja Betty’s for lunch. After some quiet time spent at the AirBnB, we ventured out once more and spent the evening joyriding and then watched the sunset at Sunset Cliffs Natural Park.
Day 3
As the resident Disney lover in the family, I have a hard time going to Southern California without a stop at Disneyland. We woke up super early and took a day trip to Anaheim and spent the day at Disneyland. After dinner and fireworks, we drove the 2 hours back to the AirBnB. Though the day was long, being able to soak in some Disney magic was worth the traffic (and tiredness) for sure.
Day 4
After breakfast at the AirBnB, we packed up and checked out. We then headed to the USS Midway. This activity was my spouse’s highlight of the trip. He is the resident history buff in our group. Even while onboard the ship, it is near impossible to fully comprehend the size and scale of the Midway. I learned a great deal about the historical significance of this ship thanks to the audio tour, and my children loved exploring all of the different rooms and hallways, and of course, airplanes.
We then headed to the Seaport Village for a peruse and lunch at the Pier Cafe. This area is a stroll away from the Midway, and the waterfront views are nothing short of heavenly.
With full bellies, we headed to our next destination: Coronado! We checked into the Hotel del Coronado. Visiting this historic property has been on my travel bucket list for many years, and if you like the feeling of bygone days, Americana nostalgia, beautiful beaches, and a nod to quiet luxury, there is a high probability you’ll find this destination worth the splurge. We spent the rest of the day by the water, building sandcastles, strolling the beach, eating ice cream, and taking in the beauty of the day.
Day 5
We woke up early and headed to the beach to watch the sunrise. Wrapped tight in our jackets with coffee in hand, this was the perfect way to start the final day of our vacation. We spent our day by the water, exploring Coronado by car during our kids’ nap time, and hanging at the pool. In the evening, we watched the sun go down and danced under the stars to the live music on the resort grounds. It was the perfect finale to our vacation.
Day 6
Like every vacation, eventually it must come to an end. After checkout, we headed to the airport, ready for a day full of travel home, with a week full of memories tucked into our back pocket.
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