How to have fun in San Diego in a couple of days and on a budget? First off, we drove to San Diego after 19 long hours from New Braunfels, Texas because flights can get expensive. And we wanted to explore more places for a week-long road trip. Now we only had two nights to spend here so we had to make the most of our time. When planning our trip, I found there was plenty to do. But how do we narrow it down for such a short trip. Right away I knew that Sea World and the Zoo were out. Because let’s face it I live near San Antonio, Texas and quite frankly we have both of those attractions.
La Jolla Cove
Fun friendly ideas on a budget
One place that I was excited to visit was La Jolla Cove, California. Once we made it to our hotel it was later in the day. So, this was a perfect place to visit for our first night. La Jolla is a beautiful beach town. It is filled with luxury homes, shopping, and the seals and sea lions sun bathing along the coast. The best part was it was free for us to walk on the La Jolla Coast Walk Trail. and it is only a 15-minute drive from San Diego’s downtown area. The views were amazing and we had such a great evening visiting this beautiful quaint town.
USS Midway Museum
Different museum for history lovers.
The next day, we opted to visit the USS Midway Museum located downtown San Diego, California at the Navy Pier. Their hours were 10am to 4pm. And four adult tickets were only $26 a piece, making our total $104 for the tour. This was the longest-serving aircraft carrier in the 20th century that was named after The Battle of Midway from June 1942. I love visiting this type of museum because when your able to walk back in history you appreciate it so much more than just seeing it in pictures or looking at relics.
Flagship Ferry
Fun in San Diego
The other reason I chose to visit the USS Midway Museum was because it was located right next to the Flagship Ferry. From here you can hop on the ferry for only $7 per person one way. So, if you want to come back the same way after visiting Coronado Island, make sure you purchase two one-way tickets per person. The ferry departs from Broadway Pier, the hours are starting at 4:50am and goes till the last ferry time at 10:30pm. It’s only a 15-minute ride on the oldest working wood ferry in the US. Once on Coronado Island, we ate lunch and rented a four-passenger surrey to ride around after some light shopping.
Hotel del Coronado
Fun in San Diego
One place I really wanted to see was the beautiful Hotel del Coronado and the Pacific Ocean. But since we were on the other side of the island, it was a 35-minute walk. We got lucky to be visiting in the summer time. Because in the summer time Coronado Island runs a free summer shuttle all around the island. So nice to know when visiting because this is another free transportation for anyone on a budget.
Fun in San Diego
Visiting on a budget.
I highly recommend if you get a chance to visit San Diego, that you really need to visit Coronado Island. The rich history behind it is amazing, from many presidents and kings to Hollywood movie stars visiting this unique place. In 1885, the island was purchased for only $110,000 dollars. It was acquired with a vision of being “the grandest hotel on the Pacific coast”. The Coronado Beaches are award winning but prepared for the chilly water. In South Texas, the beach water temperature is warm.
This was the end of our exploration of San Diego, the next morning we got on the Pacific Coast Highway to continue our road trip to Las Angeles, California. Then we drove to Las Vegas and back home. No matter how short or long your trip is, make the best of your time. Hope you found some fun great tips to save some time and money for your next trip to San Diego, CA.
Written by Karen Carifee