Anyone taken the Old Town Trolley Tour in San Diego?? About This Page:

[Vellamint]

I have already gotten our vouchers for this and was hoping someone with experience can tell me what to see on each of the stops. We have 4 kids and although my husband and I would love to see it all - I dont want to end up with 4 CRANKY kids because we are touring things that wont interest them.

So please help...........I have no idea what is on each stop.

Thanks.

[stretch2864]

A friend of mine and I did this tour several years ago. If you have never taken an Old Town Trolley Tour before (they are offered in several cities around the country), it is set up so that you can get on and off the trolley throughout the day. So if there is something that you really want to go to, you can just get off the trolley and then get back on another one later. I think though that you can only ride it through one entire loop of the tour as they punch your ticket at each stop. We really enjoyed it as the driver gave a lot of history about the city as well as some fun trivia as we went along. We found out much more about San Diego than if we had just tried driving around ourselves. The stops along the way are: Old Town, Cruise Ship Terminal, Seaport Village, Marriot Marina/Convention Center, Horton Plaza/Gaslamp Quarter, Coronado Island, San Diego Zoo, and Balboa Park. When my friend and I went, we got off at Old Town which has some historic buildings as well as some shops. I would say it was ok, but not extremely exciting. I enjoyed browsing at Horton Plaza which is an architecturally interesting shopping center. We didn't have enough time to explore the Gaslamp District which is a part of downtown which has been renovated with lots of shops and restaurants. Coronado is a neat place and it is fun to explore the nearby world-famous Hotel Del Coronado. I'm sure your kids would love the San Diego Zoo although I think I would save that for a separate day as it is an all day outing in itself. In Balboa Park, there are a lot of museums and attractions. You could probably find things here that your kids would enjoy. Balboa Park If you have a car, other fun places to visit in San Diego are SeaWorld, Point Loma, Mount Soledad (which offers great panoramic views of San Diego and the Pacific ocean), LaJolla and the coves where the sea lions reside, and the Birch Aquarium in LaJolla. I hope you and your family have a great time!

[Vellamint]

Thanks for your reply...

We are doing the zoo another day so will not get off that stop. Do you think kids will enjoy this tour???? Sounds like a lot of museums and shopping lol.

Thank you.

[DopeyGirl]

I grew up in San Diego and I think that the tour is definitely something you might like to do to get a feel for what is available to see in the city, then you can decide what you might like to do from there. If you stay on the entire tour, without getting off the trolley, it is 2 hours long.



I love Old Town, personally . . . you could very easily make a late afternoon and evening out of just walking around exploring!!! There is so much of San Diego's Mexican history wrapped up in that little patch of land (and there are a few FABULOUS mexican eateries as well -- my faves are Casa de Bandini and Old Town Mexican Cafe!!!) One of the most haunted houses in the country is also in Old Town, the Whaley House. Here is the California state parks page for Old Town.



I could probably spend an entire week in Balboa Park and not see everything -- and I grew up there going on school field trips there frequently!!! There are SO MANY museums; my favorites are the San Diego Museum of Art, Reuben H. Fleet Science Center and San Diego Aerospace Museum, just to name a few!!! I love the Japanese Friendship Garden and The Old Globe Theater ----- and, of course, there is the Zoo!!! Here is a link to a website that will tell you everything you might like to know about exploring Balboa Park. I think I would base my visit in Balboa Park on any museums you might like to see and NOT include the zoo!!! (I take an entire day at the zoo alone!!!) If you decide to take a look around Balboa Park, I strongly recommend using your own car!!! It encompasses a very large area and it's much easier to drive yourself as you can see things at your own pace!!!



Seaport Village is a shopping area on the bay and they have a beautiful carousel in the center of the area. Some good restaurants and shops. It's a nice little stop if you need a break and something to eat and drink. Right on the bay!!!



Hotel del Coronado is near the Coronado "Island" stop on the tour (about 1/4 mile away) and it is what Disney's Grand Floridian was modelled after!!! It is beautiful (built in the 1880's) and worth taking a few photos of!!! (BTW, Coronado is not really an island!!! It is called that, but is actually attached to the "mainland" (South San Diego/Imperial Beach) by a skinny stretch of beach called the Silver Strand!!!)



I have never been in San Diego with kids, but there is SO much for them to do in the city. Maybe by pointing out interesting things along the tour route, they won't get so cranky and if you take a break at Seaport Village and maybe a spin or two on the carousel, they won't be so bad!!! I know as a kid that always worked for me!!! (Plus, there is a Ben & Jerry's booth near the carousel as well --- PURE EVIL!!! )



If you haven't already seen this website, here is the link to the San Diego Convention and Visitor's Bureau. You can order a free vacation planning kit which will tell you all types of things about the city and the tours and such, as well as what special goings-on happen throughout the year!!! I always have one, as my DH has never been to San Diego and we are hoping to make it out next summer!!!



Hope this wasn't too much of an overload of information!!! I just love that city so much, I like to be able to share my favorite things with others who are planning on visiting!!!