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USS Midway Museum Admission: Valid Any Date

Recommended by 98% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
San Diego, USA
Very popular!
5+ bookings in the past 6 hours.
  • 2 to 5 hours (approx.)
  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

4.9
·
· Katie_R ·
Apr 2026
Highly suggest visiting the museum! My boys 6 and 3 couldn’t get enough, we all really enjoyed it. The bathrooms are the nicest you will find in California 😂 the gift shop is reasonably priced as well. The flight simulator was so fun! All the workers are fantastic and super informative! Just an all around great experience!
· Timothy_V ·
Apr 2026
Excellent tour guides, especially for the command tower. Also, the “Yellow Hats” (veterans) were great to talk to, with many having served on the USS Midway. Excellent self guided tour as well, and I was amazed by the Battle of Midway. Lots of walking and stairs.

Overview

Take a trip through American naval history when you go for a self-led tour of the USS Midway Museum in San Diego, with the benefit of prebooked admission tickets. This enormous ship, the longest-serving aircraft carrier of the 20th century, now offers a range of interactive exhibits, an audio tour, and numerous restored aircraft across its 4 acres (1.6 hectares). It’s an essential piece of the country's military history.
  • Skip the line: Proceed directly to the front gate for admission
  • Check off one of San Diego's top tourist attractions at the USS Midway
  • Arrive whenever suits you best, and explore at your own pace
  • Learn more from the audio tour, included in the admission price

What's Included

  • Audio Tour
  • All taxes, fees and handling charges
  • Embarcadero Adventure Offers including discounts for other nearby attractions
  • World famous Midway volunteers will bring the flight deck alive
  • Ability to skip the ticketing line - does not apply to lines within the attraction.
  • Gratuities
  • Hotel pickup and drop off
  • Parking: please note that during the summer, parking is limited and early arrival is encouraged.

Meeting and Pickup

Operating hours

  • 03/01/2023 - 13/05/2027

    Monday - Sunday : 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Departure Point

  • USS Midway Museum, 910 N Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92101-5811

What To Expect

Begin your USS Midway visit on downtown San Diego’s Embarcadero, boarding the ship any time during its regular hours of operation. This marvel of engineering once housed more than 4,500 crew members across its various decks, and served in the US Navy between 1945 and 1992, making it the longest-serving aircraft carrier of the 20th century. Over the years more than 225,000 sailors have walked its sturdy decks.

Once on board the ship, you have a range of options to explore. For more than a decade this famous carrier was the largest ship in the world (too large to fit through the Panama Canal, in fact), so there’s no shortage of things to do. Continue on a self-guided audio tour, told through the stories of the ship’s former officers and sailors.

Or, visit some of the 65 highlighted locations throughout the vessel, covering its bridge to its engine room. There are also 25 restored aircraft lining its deck, and a range of interactive exhibits to suit visitors of all ages. You can also get a better sense for life at sea as you explore the ship’s restored living quarters, including the galleys, sleeping quarters and officer’s country.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the flight simulator, and make sure to stop by the gift shop and café to cap off your visit.
1

USS Midway Museum

Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Complimentary, loaner wheelchairs are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Elevator access from Navy Pier onto the ship, from the hangar deck down to the second deck and up to the flight deck
  • Approximately 60 percent of the museum’s exhibits are wheelchair accessible.
  • Stroller accessible
  • Narrated video tour of all museum exhibits is shown continuously in the hangar deck
  • Service animals allowed
  • Near public transportation
  • Parking is available adjacent to Midway for an additional fee through Ace parking.
  • Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
  • HOURS ARE 10AM TO 5PM HOWEVER LAST ADMISSION IS 4PM.

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.9
based on 2,239 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

Life on a floating city!

Rosanne_C, Apr 2026
Great experience! Ships are very interesting and I learned a lot. You can see as much or as little as you choose. It was very meaningful for me since my Dad was a sailor.

Everyone aboard the ship...

Tricia_D, Apr 2026
Everyone aboard the ship was friendly and very knowledgeable. Make sure you allow plenty of time to get through the exhibit, there’s a lot to see.

Birthday getaway

Delfin_A, Apr 2026
Love the city tours and it’s Perfectly done and my wife loves I will definitely comeback with friends and families . I would hi

What an unexpected treat

Matt_P, Apr 2026
The USS Midway experience exceeded all expectations by offering a wealth of dynamic exhibits. We felt like we were actually “there”, transported to what life is truly like these brave heroes.

Fantastic!

Timothy_V, Apr 2026
Excellent tour guides, especially for the command tower. Also, the “Yellow Hats” (veterans) were great to talk to, with many having served on the USS Midway. Excellent self guided tour as well, and I was amazed by the Battle of Midway. Lots of walking and stairs.

Great ship!

Michael_E, Apr 2026
Wonderful, clean historic military ship. Great food on board. Clean restrooms. Well educated staff and tour guide guides with lots of military history.

Loved this tour, so...

Elizabeth_T, Apr 2026
Loved this tour, so interesting! We learned so much. Be prepared for alot of climbing stairs but well worth it!

Lots of stairs fyi, but...

Tanya_M, Apr 2026
Lots of stairs fyi, but totally worth it! You start with a 10-minute movie and then free to roam. Flight deck is amazing. Actual retired flight pilot talking about how planes landed (or didn’t quite).

Midway tour

Carol_A, Apr 2026
This was an awesome tour of an aircraft carrier. Very informative and interesting. My husband loves this type of tour and said he could of stayed 2 more hours looking at everything beyond the 5 hours we were already there

Very nice historical site to visit

Beverly_C, Apr 2026
A lot of walking and narrow stairs ways, overall a very good experience and information about the ship.

B. T at the Midway

WILLIAM_T, Apr 2026
Seems expensive, but worth it. Volunteers were terrific. Live presentations were extremely informative.

Incredible and very...

Stacey_S, Apr 2026
Incredible and very interesting . Audio guide is definitely the way to go. Volunteers make the experience even better .

A great experience

Kathleen_P, Apr 2026
I loved that all the volunteers had served. They were all so open, outgoing, friendly and helpful. They really made the experience 10x better.

10/10 experience!

Katie_R, Apr 2026
Highly suggest visiting the museum! My boys 6 and 3 couldn’t get enough, we all really enjoyed it. The bathrooms are the nicest you will find in California 😂 the gift shop is reasonably priced as well. The flight simulator was so fun! All the workers are fantastic and super informative! Just an all around great experience!

My daughter is still...

Shana_R, Apr 2026
My daughter is still talking about it! Recommend using the listening device they offer for free and seeing the film!

USS Midway is a MUST

Maria_V, Apr 2026
USS Midway Museum is a must when visiting San Diego ✨️ My husband and I spent easily over 3 hours exploring all of it! History and courage were displayed all throughout tge ship. A lot of the volunteers served aboard and had great stories! Thank you for service!!

Anchors away fly boys

Evalyn_M, Apr 2026
A lot of stairs and closed quarters but very well ventilated and AC in parts. Loved the audio platforms and the narrator’s perspective

Amazed

Kevin_L, Apr 2026
We really enjoyed the USS Midway tour. As a retired Navy veteran, the tour brought back a lot of memories. My wife was amazed by the exhibits and depiction of Navy life on the USS Midway.

Blast from the past

Ron_H, Apr 2026
A lot of walking low ceilings if over 6 foot a lot of picture options a lot of food stands bring water pretty pricey on board

I wouldn’t recommend if...

Mabel_J, Mar 2026
I wouldn’t recommend if you feel anxious on small rooms , I did feel trap when your inside where they have the matinee rooms and showers

Great docents and...

William_O, Mar 2026
Great docents and beautiful restoration. Too much info for one visit!! Well managed lines and marked tour.

USS Midway

Sabine_H, Mar 2026
Very cool experience on the USS Midway! The audio was very informative as well as the folks there explaining how things operate and their past experiences on the ship or others like it.

It’s a must see! Very...

Steven_S, Mar 2026
It’s a must see! Very interesting and amazing to see and learn what life was on this ship! The veterans, workers and support group were engaged and made the tour extra special!

Very informative and lots...

tina_p, Mar 2026
Very informative and lots of history. Can take as long as you like to go through all the exhibits. Recommend packing drinks and snacks.

It's a wonderful...

Pamela_M, Mar 2026
It's a wonderful experience with lots of retired veterans around to answer questions. It takes quite awhile to see it all, though, so plan on spending at least several hours.

A Great Day!

Marcia_T, Mar 2026
This was such a great learning experience, and it was fascinating! We speny almost the whole day there and could have easily stayed the entire time they were open. I highly recommend taking to each of the docents in the yellow hats. They have fascinating personal information about their time serving onboard this carrier as well as others. My appreciation of the men and women in our armed services was greatly increased through this experience.

Awesome and informative tour!

Craig_T, Mar 2026
Obviously there is a lot of walking - sometimes in tight spaces. If you’re good with that, I HIGHLY recommend the tour. So fascinating to see how these guys lived and did their jobs on an aircraft carrier. One of my favorite museum tours I’ve ever taken!

Midway

Kathleen_R, Mar 2026
Great day filled with history! The ship was magnificent and well worth the price to explore iit. Def recommend!

History of US warship comes alive.

Richard_S, Mar 2026
Great exposure to (a) Battle of Midway after which the carrier was named, and (b) exceptional first hand look at life on a US carrier with 4,500 of your closet friends. Also, the dozens of docents —many of whom Served on carriers— added to the story.

Awesome experience

Karla_K, Mar 2026
Good tour guides knowledgeable about the ship and the experience was well rounded. Be sure to watch the videos to help understand the information. Grab an audio device to listen to each display. Be sure to take time to sit in the different cockpits of the different planes. You will need over 2 hours to complete the main highlights.

From $41.00

per person

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

Book ahead!
On average, this is booked 8 days in advance.

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