cheap things to do in San Diego?

[cedarparkgirl]

Other than Mission Beach or the other beaches and Balboa park.. are there any other must do things in San Diego I should add to our itinerary? Also has anyone gone to visit the Olympic Training Center there and is it worth going to look at? Thanks!

 

[spacemermaid]

Old Town San Diego is definitely worth a visit! There are many beautiful old buildings, some FABULOUS restaurants, and lots of unique gift shops...here's a link: http://www.oldtownsandiego.org

If you've not yet seen the San Diego Zoo, that is definitely a must-see if you're in the area!

Have fun on your trip!

 

[LavenderPeach]

I agree with SpaceMermaid that Old Town is a lot of fun with several things to do there. Also, we just recently went on the tour of the Midway Aircraft Carrier which was interesting.

 

[LavenderPeach]

Oops, i just re-read the title to your post. The Midway tour isn't that cheap but it's not as expensive as the zoo. I'm thinking it was $17 a person but I might be remembering it wrong. Plus you have to pay for parking. Anyway, not terribly cheap but it's something different to do.

 

[weslovesauntmeg]

Another suggestion is Seaport Village..they have a bunch of shops..may not be up for buying things..but if you wanted to relax and enjoy the weather..it's an outdoor shopping village..let me know if you have any other questions!!

Ohh..i just thought of another one..if you have a car..you can drive over the bridge to Coronado Island..or take the ferry..lots of fun things to do there!! Bike riding..walking around and looking at the shops...

 

[Kalamazoo Dutchman]

Torrey Pines Glider Port is a fun thing to do on a breezy day. You can watch hang gliders and paragliders fly out over the bluffs by the ocean. There is a snack bar/restaurant on site. There is an opportunity to para-glide for a fee but it is a little pricey. Way down below, there is a clothing-optional beach which from up on the bluff you can't see much. I took my family there with no concerns. Free parking. It is located over UCSD.

Torrey Pines Gliderport
2800 Torrey Pines Scenic Drive,
La Jolla, CA 92037

 

[cedarparkgirl]

Thanks for all the replies! I wrote them down in my planning book. Can anyone tell me if its worth paying for the Balboa park passport.. or is the free things in the park good enough??

 

[MomofM&M]

I live 1/2 mile away from the Olympic Training Center and it has a really great gift shop. They sell fun things like gold medals, pins for the different sports, etc. They offer free tours, I think at 1pm but I would call to confirm that. Where will you be staying? It is out in Chula Vista and is not terribly close to the major attractions downtown. If your family was very into the Olympics, it might be worth the trip. I have not done the tour though so I can't say that it wouldn't be. What I'm trying to say is it isn't in an area that is easily accessible. You would definitely have to drive out here. It looks pretty neat though from what I've seen. If you decided to come out, I would try to do it on a Tuesday as the mall down the street has a Farmer's Market Tuesday's from 4pm-8pm and you could get something cheap and yummy to eat and they have some neat stands too. There is also an area at the mall called Inflatable World which is bascially a bunch of jumpers and slides. I don't know how much that costs though. That way you would have more than one thing to do if you decided to drive out here.
We moved from the Cincinnati area 2 years ago and one of the things my kids love to do is go pier fishing. You can usually rent poles and buy bait at the pier. It's not too pricey and usually I have a hard time convincing my kids its time to leave. I find it's a cheap way to spend the afternoon. You don't need a license to fish too. HTH!

 

[Padrepride]

If you're going during baseball season, a Padres game is always fun and tickets are getting a lot cheaper next year. Exploring Coronado is always fun. Balboa Park is going to have a lot of free concerts and some of the museums don't charge outrageous prices. The zoo is pretty costly.

 

[Juliah]

We spent the day at Balboa Park on Memorial Day this year and didn't pay for anything except lunch (and we could easily have taken a picnic if we'd thought of it). We just enjoyed wandering around looking at the beautiful gardens and the artists' area, listening to street musicians, and soaking up the atmosphere. It was our first visit, and we really enjoyed it.

Another thing we did that was free was walk along the harbor and look at the tall ships. There's a maritime museum there, but we just looked at the ships from the sidewalk.

http://www.sdmaritime.com/contentpage.asp?ContentID=52

We got a coupon on zoo admission here:

http://www.visitcalifornia.com/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Fun_Spots#san_diego

We didn't get around to going here, but it looks interesting and is inexpensive:

http://www.nps.gov/cabr/

 

[Magix]

Another vote for the Maritime Museum (located very close to the USS Midway, so you can do both). I do recommend buying the ticket to go aboard the ships (one ticket gets you on all of them). It's inexpensive and very interesting, even for kids. The Star of India has some interactive items aboard. Also, the HMS Surprise (star of the movie "Master & Commander") is great and has a display below decks about the Royal Navy in the age of sail. The kids have fun running around on the ships and the adults can learn a few things.

 

[KCmike]

How much was the maritime museum?

 

[Zoemakes5]

Also, wanted to add, depending on your length of stay, every Tuesday at Balboa park there are a group of museums that are free or almost free. http://www.sandiego.gov/park-and-recreation/parks/balboa/free.shtml

If you're going in October, the zoo typically has kids enter for free all month, which is a good savings if you have kids.

I like going over to Coronado, paying to park at the Hotel del Coronado, and then you can go out to the beach and wander around the hotel grounds. They have a very good, but a bit spendy, snack bar out by the pool. And, an ice cream shoppe is there that's similar to Cold Stone.

There's a new Children's museum that I haven't been to yet. Once again, don't know if you have kids and what their ages are. http://www.thinkplaycreate.org/ncm_visit.html

If you have older kids, no kids, or even younger boys, the Midway museum is great. There's a combo ticket for a harbor cruise and midway ticket and it's a pretty good all day price. Surprisingly for us, the cruise was very much enjoyed by all.

Here's a link for free in san diego...
http://gocalifornia.about.com/cs/sandiego/a/sdfree.htm

As for the Padres game, they have a program called "Park at the Park", where for $5, you get inside Padres park, but not seats in the stadium. They have picnic seating and you can watch the big jumbotron.

During the summer months they have a movies in the park program. Look in all different communities, as they have them all over. The one in our area is sponsored by the cable company.

 

[wisegal]

I beleive that the 1st monday in Oct is free for everyone at the San Deigo Zoo. It is founders day or something like that. (at least it was when I was there in 2003)

 

[luckey-lasvegas]

We love spending a little time at the scripps aquarium in La Jolla. It doesn't cost very much and the view is worth the price of the admission!

http://aquarium.ucsd.edu/

 

[CookingMama]

Go to Cabrillo Point It is 5 bucks a car.
http://www.nps.gov/cabr/
You can pack a picnic lunch and see the light house. Then stop to walk down to the tidepools. Afterwards drive up to Rubios and eat fish tacos or hit Robertos and grab a bunch of taquitos That can be a day under $50.00

go to Old Town and hit the Whaley House for their Ghost tour and get churros, walk around and window shop

 

[LoveTheseKids]

If you are a museum person, can I suggest you look into getting a museum pass at a museum near you (or one like the Lied Children's Museum in Vegas) because if they offer reciprocity, it allows us entry into other museums for free. The Science Museum is pretty good in Balboa Park and so is the Taco bell Discovery Center near Disney. Also, the art museum and the botanical gardens are very good, and free at Balboa. The Japanese Gardens had a nomial charge.

 

[dis-happy]

Torrey Pines Glider Port is a fun thing to do on a breezy day. You can watch hang gliders and paragliders fly out over the bluffs by the ocean. There is a snack bar/restaurant on site. There is an opportunity to para-glide for a fee but it is a little pricey. Way down below, there is a clothing-optional beach which from up on the bluff you can't see much. I took my family there with no concerns. Free parking. It is located over UCSD.

Torrey Pines Gliderport
2800 Torrey Pines Scenic Drive,
La Jolla, CA 92037

You just brought back a memory!! I went to college at UCSD and had an English class on the top floor of a building at Muir. From the window you could see the hang-gliders over the cliffs. It made it hard to pay attention in class!!! Anyway, thanks for the happy reminder!

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

here is another place that has all kinds of resources for things to do:

http://www.sandiego.org/nav/Visitors/VisitorInformation

 

[Liverlips]

Torey Pines State Park would be a cheap place to spend the day. There is a beach and trails on top of the cliffs.