6-Day San Diego Travel Itinerary for Families
Travel Designer Review:
I recommend you to arrive early because the zoo is very big! In fact it is the largest zoo in the world, and I think the most outstanding attraction in San Diego.
The zoo opens at 9 am and they sometimes offer a fun opening ceremony to welcome the first guests to the zoo. They do this right at the opening, so I recommend you arrive around 8:15 am.
As soon as you arrive you can visit the gift shop, and the Sandwich Shop which opens at 8:30 am. If you are going to buy something, remember to return it to the car before entering the zoo so you don't carry it all day.
Parking is free and if you arrive early, you can park much closer to the main entrance. When you finish your visit, after a long day, you will be very happy not to have to walk far through the parking lot.
The zoo is huge so it's best to plan to spend most of the day in the zoo and do nothing else. Surely you will get tired of walking so much and you will not feel like doing another activity. Remember to wear sun protection, a hat, and constantly drink water. There are days when the sun is very hot.
Upon entering you will find out that there is a bus tour of the zoo. I suggest you do the bus tour first - it will allow you to see about 80% of the zoo and the drivers are always very informative about the zoo. You will see where the animals you like the most are so you can visit them later.
One thing to note is that the left of the zoo is only accessible on foot (or by wheelchair). This is where monkeys, tigers, apes, and hippos are found.
In the right wing of the zoo you can access the Kangaroo Bus to go from one place to another. This is where the lions, polar bears, elephants, meerkats and some other animals are. Pandas are some of the most popular animals in zoos and sometimes the line is long to see them.
Usually if people don't move quickly in front of an animal's cage, it's probably because the animals look good and are doing something. If the line moves fast it is because the animals are sleeping or hiding.
Animals are not usually very active if it is very hot, so if there is an animal you want to see active, see it as early as possible. Koalas tend to be most active during the first hour.
If you go with minors, do not forget to visit the Discovery Zone. It is an area with some very funny animals.
Seeing the zoo will easily take you 6 hours and you may be able to see everything in this time. The entrance fee is 59 usd per adult and 48 usd for minors at the time of writing this activity. Updated prices and schedules can be found at: https://zoo.sandiegozoo.org/
To see the description of the day activities clic on the videos or description button
The following suggested activities and notes are not included in the reservation of this itinerary. The Travel Designer included them so that you can optionally do them on your own during your trip.
San Diego is one of the most fun and interesting cities in the United States. In San Diego you can have fun at SeaWorld and see whales. Also visit the biggest zoo in the world and take the little ones with your family to Legoland.
The hotels suggested in this itinerary are of superior category and have excellent reviews. They are primarily found in the Gaslamp Quarter (https://www.gaslamp.org/) in the Heart of San Diego (they have a very reasonable price). Gaslamp Qurter is known as the Historic District of San Diego and is home to festivals and events throughout the year.
To get around San Diego it is highly recommended to rent a car because distances are very long. But if you want you can also use Uber.
The maps are automatically generated and an indicative and inaccurate representation of the route.
