Balboa Park in San Diego... one day enough??

[ten6mom]

Hi all.... planning my first ever trip to San Diego with my boys ages 6 and 9. Looking at the website for Balboa Park it seems like there is so much to do! Does anyone know whether there is enough time to take in all the sights in one day? I know we will want to do the model railroad museum but I have no idea what else is a must see... any assistance appreciated!

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

With kids those ages, I would recommend the Reuben H Fleet Science Center and the San Diego Natural History Museum. The San Diego Air and Space Museum was really neat too, and I enjoyed the Museum of Man, but I think those museums might be a bit too much work for a 6 and 9 year old. We went to the Aviation museum last year when my boys were 10 and 12, and the 10 year old got tired of it long before the rest of us.

You could do the two science museums I suggested and the model railroad museum in a day and still have time to eat lunch and walk around the grounds a bit. I would recommend getting to Balboa Park before 10 AM so you can get a full day out of the experience (plus parking will be a breeze). The museums will open at 10 AM, and most close at 5 PM.

I really like Balboa Park. The first time we went, my boys were 3 and 5 and loved the Fleet Science Center. We spent at least half a day at the museum then had our picnic lunch and strolled around the grounds. We finally made it back to San Diego last year (boys 10 and 12) and did 1 1/2 days at Balboa. We saw the science museum, natural history museum, and Museum of Man on the first day. Then we did the aviation museum on the second day, spending nearly 3 hours there before going off to explore other parts of the city. This year we did one big day at Balboa Park and decided to get a little bit of everything. We visited the Fleet Science Center, natural history museum, Museum of Man, International Museum, San Diego Art Museum, model railroad museum, and San Diego History Center, staying 30-75 minutes at each depending on our interest level. It was a full day! What was nice about that experience is that we got to see a variety of exhibits and learn lots of little tidbits about an assortment of topics, but we never stayed in any one museum long enough for my 11 year old to start complaining.

 

[Purrkins]

The zoo is also in the park and a full-day event, so no, you'd need at least two days unless you have the zoo down for it's own day.

Model train museum is great, my son spends hours there. Ruben H Fleet is great for hands-on exhibits but can be done in two hours if you skip the IMAX movie. Natural History Museum can be seen in two hours if you skip the 3D movie. I'd skip Museum of Man. The Air and Space Museum is great but has very little on "space" and more focused on aircraft. There's also a very nice Automotive Museum.

Botanical Gardens is a great stop as is the succulent garden across the street between the Ruben H Fleet and The Nat is worth a visit.

Plus there are all the musicians and pop-up events that might be going on when you're there.

Don't forget to spend some time just sitting in the grass and taking in beautiful San Diego. It's what the locals do.

Bring a picnic - very few places to eat in the Park, none of them that good.

Have fun!

 

[ten6mom]

Thank you! I am super excited! This will pretty much be the first time we have gone anywhere by ourselves and it will be a new experience!

 

[Purrkins]

You chose well.

Across the park, in an area called Morley Field (about 3 minutes away) is a great frisbee golf course that your kids might like. You use frisbees and throw them into baskets. You can rent discs there and it's $3 per person to play. It's a nice 90-minute diversion and tons of fun.

Have a blast!

 

[Skippydoo]

We loved Balboa Park. It would be easy to spend a couple of days there, but there's so much to do in San Diego.

The Botanical Gardens and the Art Museum were my favorites, but really there is something there to interest everyone.