Our One Week San Diego Trip (Itinerary, Where We Stayed, + What I'd Change Next Time)

We spent a full week in the San Diego area, and we had such a great time! Originally we had planned to spend school break in Florida, but the flight prices got wildly expensive (I think we waited too long to book). It was much cheaper to head West, so that’s exactly what we did. If you’re looking for tips on what to do in San Diego with kids, this post will be helpful. In this post I’m sharing our full itinerary, where we stayed, and what we would do differently the next time.

Things to do in San Diego with kids

We planned our itinerary based on the weather. We knew there was one day of clouds and cooler temps and one day with rain in the forecast, so we planned around that. Typically, San Diego and Southern California are warm and dry, but not during our vacation week! We had two days of clouds and rain, so we planned our itinerary around those days.

We made our home base in Oceanside and borrowed a gorgeous Mazda CX-90 to drive around for the week. It would have been impossible to do this trip without a car!

PS I priced out all of the attractions and shared some ways to save money in San Diego with kids doing multiple attractions- but short story if you use CityPASS you’ll save the most money! More details are below.

USS Midway

On the first cloudy day we did the USS Midway, which is a massive aircraft carrier docked in San Diego and now used as a museum. There are so many planes the kids can climb into, and interactive exhibits for everyone. My kids loved walking through the ship to see where people would have slept, worked, eaten, etc. We spent 4 hours here!

Our tips for your visit:

There is a scavenger hunt for the kids where they can earn “wings” at the end of your visit. It’s cute, and the kids loved it.
There is a cafe that serves basic lodge-style food (think chicken fingers, chili, and hamburgers). The mac and cheese was delightful – similar to what Panera or Chick-fil-a serve. (My 2 year old was a fan!) The cafe has a nice outdoor eating area if you go through the cafeteria to the back.

LEGOLand

On the next day where rain was in the forecast, we headed to LEGOLand. The kids had a great time, going on rides, walking around the Mini area, and playing in the DUPLO playground. Our kids love to build LEGO, so it was fun for them to see it on a larger scale.

I bought the tickets that included the Sea Life Aquarium, just in case we got rained out of the park. And it’s a good thing I did, because all of a sudden the sky opened up and it was absolutely pouring.

We spent a little bit of time in a LEGO building area and then decided to head into the aquarium, where we spent about 90 minutes. I loved all of the thoughtful details in the aquarium that let the kids really experience the sea life in different ways. There was a touch pool, but more importantly there were features like a fish tunnel you could walk under, a discussion about sharks (my 5 year old’s favorite thing right now), and different small spots they could pop their heads into to feel like they were actually in the fish tank with the sea life.

Our tips for your visit:

The park is geared toward 2-12 year olds, but I think it’s best for 4-10 year olds. There are height requirements on some rides, which isn’t an issue if you have enough adults per young children but could be problematic if you’re traveling with multiple children under 40″ and not enough adults to sit with them on rides.
Our kids loved the Duplo area, which isn’t huge but has some fun play structures and play houses. We spent a good chunk of time there!
Adults especially will appreciate the little LEGO “museum” where they show you how LEGOs are made and packaged.
Everyone who has seen The LEGO Movie will enjoy going into the actual movie set!
Don’t forget to add the Sea Life Aquarium onto your ticket

San Diego Zoo Safari Park

We picked a sunny but cool day for the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, which is located about 40 minutes from the San Diego Zoo in Escondido, CA. I didn’t realize this has been in the area since the 1970s (I had never heard of it!) and I’m so glad we went.

There are many animals living in gorgeous and spread out terrain, and to see the animals farthest away you can take a tram ride (included in your ticket). The crowds were mostly spread out and it didn’t feel like many people were there until we got in line for the tram ride. That line took about an hour, which was hard for the little ones. Fortunately we had lots of snacks to keep them busy! If you plan to do the tram, I’d suggest going early (which is a little tough because it’s across the park) or just knowing you may have to wait in line – and preparing for that.

There is a fair amount of walking here, including up and down hills, so bring a stroller for little ones. Our 2 year old mostly rode in the stroller, our 8 year old walked, and our 5 year old alternated between walking and being carried sometimes.

San Diego Zoo Safari Park tiger — *I couldn’t get over how gorgeous the tigers are!*

We definitely would head back there again, as it’s great for all ages (from babies to seniors and everyone in between). I was also so impressed at the friendliness of the volunteers around the park, as well as how helpful they were! One woman near the cheetah enclosure spoke to us for about 20 minutes about their cheetahs (my daughter’s favorite animal): a cheetah’s different behaviors, and the differences between their life at the park vs. out in the wild.

Our tips for your visit:

Bring a stroller for little kids, as there’s lots of walking up and down hills
See your favorite animals earliest
Ask questions of the volunteers! They’re more than happy to answer them

San Diego Zoo

We visited the San Diego Zoo on the warmest day, where it reached 75 degrees and was sunny and gorgeous. I’ve been to the San Diego Zoo a couple of times in the past, but it has expanded since I last visited. They have more expansions, too, with a brand new Elephant Valley that opened March 2026!

We were there at just the right time to see two baby koalas (SO CUTE) and a baby giraffe.

One of my favorite things about the San Diego Zoo is how much of an emphasis they place on animal welfare. The animals never look bored or stressed, which we see often at the zoo near home. The zoo works on various programs to help endangered or threatened species, such as breeding programs to help those species survive.

Our tips for your visit:

If you want to see the most animals, head there first thing in the morning. By the afternoon many are taking naps and aren’t as active.
Bring a stroller for little ones, as it’s a lot of uphill and downhill walking. And just a lot of walking in general. Wear good sneakers!
Bring water bottles, as there are refill stations available.

How to save money on attraction tickets in San Diego

Taking a family of 5 to all of these activities can get expensive, but luckily there are a few ways to save money on attractions! I priced everything out while we were there, and you can save yourself a bunch (at least the amount of a meal!) just by doing a little bit of research (or just clicking below!).

For ease I priced out exactly what we did: USS Midway, LEGOLand, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and San Diego Zoo for a family of 4 (since our youngest was free at all places).

Buying direct on site	USS Midway: $144	LEGOLand: $326	San Diego Zoo Safari Park: $292	San Diego Zoo: $292	Total: $1,054
CityPASS LEGOLand +3 option	included	included	included	included	Total: $712
Go City	included	included	included	included	Total: $1,116
Groupon	USS Midway: $144 (same price as on site)	LEGOLand: $178 *includes Sea Life Aquarium	Safari Park: $292 (same price as on site)	San Diego Zoo: $292 (same price as on site but includes a bus tour)	Total: $906
Other Notes			If you plan to do the Zoo and Safari Park, buy a 2-visit pass for $500 and save $84 on tickets for those 2 places	San Diego Zoo has discounted rates (Value Days) for certain days (mostly weekdays, non-holidays) to save $5 per ticket

Go City can save you money IF you can fit more than one attraction into one day. It’s probably best for adult travelers who can do 2 museums in one day, but it’s difficult with kids if you’re trying to fit the USS Midway and the San Diego Zoo into the same day. But buying a pass with more days on it will cost you more.

CityPASS can save you hundreds or more if you’re planning to do a few different attractions!

Where we stayed in San Diego

We decided not to stay right IN San Diego, but instead went about 40 minutes north to Oceanside, an up-and-coming beachside town. We rented a condo (this is the condo we rented) to have as our “home base” for the entire week we were there. The condo had 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, 2 balconies, a small kitchen, a living room area, a pool, hot tub, and laundry facilities.

While we were based in Oceanside, we checked out the pier area, as well as Carlsbad. Having a “home” further from the city meant we spent less on lodging, could make our own dinners and breakfasts, and had more space to spread out than we would have had in a hotel. That worked well for this trip, as we were out for very long days and knew that after a long day, the kids were just too tired to go out to dinner.

The kids loved the heated pool and the hot tub, so we ended up spending the majority of one day just outside in the pool! It was nice to just be hanging out doing nothing, though I would not have hated having some service by the pool.