A Guide To Planning a Family-Friendly Trip to San Diego

Legoland in San Diego CA is one of the Featured Destinations when Looking for Family Friendly Activities

One of the best lessons available to homeschoolers is the ability to learn in-person and go on extended field trips to see exactly what he or she is learning. When planning a homeschool trip you must organize and plan out the trip in advance to reduce stress and be able to enjoy your vacation time. Organize by budget, accommodations, adventures, and restaurants.

One of the places we want to visit this year with our daughters is San Diego, CA. Right now I am organizing to find the best vacation rentals in San Diego so my girls and I can have the time of our lives. My goal is to have a family-friendly trip to San Diego that will be remembered forever. San Diego, CA is a beautiful oceanfront city that has tons of family-friendly activities for us to enjoy together.

ORGANIZE YOUR FAMILY-FRIENDLY TRIP TO SAN DIEGO BY: 

BUDGET

When organizing your budget remember to allot line items for lodging, food, gas, parking, Admission fees, etc. Going on vacation is a great time to enjoy yourself with your family so in order to have peace of mind, why not arrange to stay in a luxury retreat with amenities that the entire family can enjoy. 

Luxury Serenity By The Seashore stay in San Diego, CA

Luxury Serenity By The Seashore stay in San Diego, CA

Luxury Serenity By The Seashore stay in San Diego, CA

ACCOMMODATIONS

The best part of going on vacation is being able to explore new places and live an active and entertaining lifestyle. While also taking the kids to educational facilities in the day like Legoland or on a hydro bike ride, at night you can enjoy adulting while attending a concert or seeing a theatrical show. As long as you know exactly what you’re budgeting for,  you and your family can enjoy making memories together throughout the entire vacation.

When narrowing down lodging keep the nonnegotiable amenities in mind and make a list such as 

  • Ocean Views
  • Fully equipped kitchen with breakfast bar
  • Dishwasher
  • Ice maker
  • Formal dining area 
  • Television
  • Wi-Fi
  • Washer/Dryer
  • Pool
  • gym/fitness center

ATTRACTIONS

When looking into attractions, explore places and activities that are unique in the area. San Diego offers a lot of ocean-related attractions like whale watching, boat ride adventures, and maritime museums.

SDCCU Stadium

The stadium is host to San Diego State University’s Aztecs football team, but in March of 2018  (Sat, 03/03/18 – Sun, 03/04/18) they’re hosting American Ninja Warrior which I’d love to be able to see in person.

San Diego Speed Boat Adventures

Watch sea lions or the San Diego skyline, both are spectacular to view while boat riding on the ocean. The speedboat experience is one of the most thrilling to me, and the ocean views are priceless. One thing about homeschooling is while teaching your kids you often learn too. For me, I have learned how to face my fears head-on. Which is why the thought of challenging myself to drive a speed boast is one activity I look forward to the most.

The Maritime Museum in San Diego, CA

Maritime Museum of San Diego

I love that this museum has long hours, and are open from 9-8pm so there is plenty of time to enjoy yourself and go sailing on one of their boats. This museum gives adults and kids the chance to visit historic sailing ships, steam-powered boats, and submarines, each offering entertaining and educational exhibits.

As a generous incentive, they offer combo tickets for multiple San Diego attractions which includes the museum! The museum also provides firsthand up-close views of their historic sailing ships, steam-powered boats, and submarines, and educational guided tours.

The museum has 6 permanent exhibits and a few visiting ones.

Permanent Exhibits

Japanese Friendship Garden (JFG)

The gardens celebrate their annual Cherry Blossom festival in March, you can observe the beautiful pink flowery trees in full bloom and attend related festivals. Educational tours are also provided. JFG really caught my attention because Cherry Blossom Festivals are huge events in the DC area each year. I’d love to see how they differ in CA.

A Guide To Planning a Family-Friendly Trip to San Diego 7 featured destinations like Legoland

Legoland

If you’re a regular CleverlyChanging reader than you know that my daughters love Lego bricks. They are fascinated with building and want everything to be Lego related in some way. On our homeschool vision boards, my kids were so excited to add Legoland as one of the places they wanted to go this year. So I’d love for them to be able to enjoy a day at this theme park to fulfill one of their goals.

Click here to find more family-friendly activities to enjoy in San Diego, CA.

FAMILY-FRIENDLY TRIP TO Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

Frankly, It wouldn’t be a family trip for us, if we didn’t venture out into the natural plains and see what state parks in California are like. We love the rich history of the parks and all the beauty they possess. Anza-Borrego State Park is no exception; especially with more than 5,000 miles of road in this park. Visitors can view one of the largest state parks on the west coast. The most important aspect to remember when traveling to a desert is the importance of planning, drinking loads of water, and keeping layers with you. The temperature soar high in the day and can plummet at night.

For children, the park provides a self-guided education experience.

(Also, if state parks intrigue you, check out Visit Shenandoah Valley’s Skyline Drive)

Vegetarian Restaurants 

San Diego has a variety of different vegetarian restaurants. Plumeria is one restaurant that really caught my eye. The cuisine is Tai food inspired and everything on the menu is meatless. It’s a vegan and vegetarian foodie’s delight. You can find more vegetarian restaurants here: SAN DIEGO’S LEGITIMATELY GREAT VEGETARIAN- AND VEGAN-FRIENDLY RESTAURANTS.

Featured in this post is a week’s worth of fantastic things to do while visiting the San Diego, CA area. This trip guide is family friendly and offers events that can be enjoyed by both adults and kids on all seven days.

*images from the respective organizations

Reader Question:

If you were to visit one of these places in San Diego, which one would you like to visit the most?

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