San Diego Scenic Tour
Recommended by 92% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
San Diego, USA
- 4 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Explore our promoted experiences
Overview
In just four hours, experience the scenic highlights of San Diego and its neighboring areas. Watch sea lions and pelicans on the beaches of La Jolla and capture fantastic views from the top of Mt Soledad. Soak up the Old World elegance of the mansions and Hotel Del on Coronado Island, and find peace in the urban oasis of Balboa Park. Wind through downtown and Old Town San Diego, learning about the city’s history along the way. Enjoy personalized attention on this small-group tour limited to just 14 people.
- See San Diego’s Little Italy, Gaslamp Quarter, Balboa Park and the Midway aircraft carrier
- Learn about Old Town San Diego, considered the birthplace of California
- Admire the beautiful beaches of La Jolla
- Gaze at the historic Hotel del Coronado
What's Included
- Bottled water
- Driver/guide
- Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- 500 W Broadway, San Diego, CA 92101, USA
9.30AM: In front of The Guild Hotel (500 W. Broadway, 92101) . It's at the corner of Broadway & India street. There is a US Bank right next to it
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Operating hours.9:30 am
Itinerary
Your tour starts and ends on W Broadway at an easy-to-find meeting spot. From here you’ll be on your way to see some of the best spots in San Diego, hear about the city’s history, and learn some insider tips, too.
You’ll pass through Little Italy and hear about its history, and maybe a few culinary hotspots, too. Next you’ll visit the sea lions and pelicans who call La Jolla Cove their home. After around 20 minutes here, you’ll head out to see some awesome views at Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial.
You’ll also stop in Old Town to hear about Hispanic culture in the area, and then head to Balboa Park to check out the architecture. Each of these stops is around 25 minutes. Following this, you’ll head to the quaint Coronado Island to walk the beach. On the way back to your meeting spot, you’ll pass through the Gaslamp Quarter- a lively part of the city.
You’ll pass through Little Italy and hear about its history, and maybe a few culinary hotspots, too. Next you’ll visit the sea lions and pelicans who call La Jolla Cove their home. After around 20 minutes here, you’ll head out to see some awesome views at Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial.
You’ll also stop in Old Town to hear about Hispanic culture in the area, and then head to Balboa Park to check out the architecture. Each of these stops is around 25 minutes. Following this, you’ll head to the quaint Coronado Island to walk the beach. On the way back to your meeting spot, you’ll pass through the Gaslamp Quarter- a lively part of the city.
Little Italy (Pass By)
1
La Jolla Cove
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
25 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
4
Balboa Park
25 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
5
Coronado Island
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Gaslamp Quarter (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Infant meals not included
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.6
based on 577 reviews
Pier_M, Apr 2026
Great overview of San Diego made totally amazing by our tour guide, Jim. Not only was he welcoming, friendly, funny, but he’s a very intelligent, well-traveled and knowledgeable historian and storyteller about San Diego, from its inception to today. Though Old Town and Balboa Park felt a little rushed, you see enough that if you have the time to go back you can. Great tour! Thank you so much, Jim!
Debby_S, Apr 2026
Great tour! Jim was very informative,friendly and knew a lot about San Diego and several other cities too. Perfectly timed out. The bus was clean. A lot of info jammed into 4 hours. I highly recommend this tour.
Yevgeniya_B, Apr 2026
Great tour!!! Jim (from Scranton 😁) was our guide and he absolutely blew us away with his knowledge and different fun facts!!! We visited many different spots throughout San Diego such as La Jolla, Coronado Island, Balboa Park, Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial, Old Town, etc. Would definitely recommend!
Sharon_P, Feb 2026
We enjoyed our tour very much. Jim ,our guide was very informative and knowledgeable. We stopped for approximately 30 minutes at 4 sites. Highly recommend.
Cheryl_P, Feb 2026
Very disappointing. dropped off at five places with 30 minutes to go look at it. Not what we expected at all. there were some expectation of some nice San Diego history but not what we really got
Amanda_R, Feb 2026
This tour hits a bunch of the major landmarks and gives you a taste for different neighborhoods. I’m surprised by how much we were able to see! Jim was an awesome tour guide- very knowledgeable, personable, and funny! Highly recommend this- especially as a first day activity on vacation so you know where you’d like to spend more time.
Paul_C, Feb 2026
An excellent way to spend 4hrs, visiting the key sights and sites of San Diego in a large, comfortable minibus. Our driver and tour guide, Jim, was an absolute mine of information - historical, cultural, geographical, demographical...you name it. His attention to detail even included a free bottle of water and a snack for everyone. We can thoroughly recommend doing this tour.
wayne_g, Feb 2026
Roxane was a fun tour guide. Her enthusiasm toward her adopted town of San Diego was on proud display as she took us around the selected city sights. Balboa Park, ocean-side to enjoy the sea lions, a Veterans' War Memorial, Coronado Island, Old Town were all stops along the way. It was a good way to help us decide how to spend our remaining, limited time in the city. One thing that impressed me was Roxane's comfort in driving around the city with ease. No nervousness, no trepidation with merging.
The smallest drawback might have been out of Roxane's control. The vehicle's air conditioning didn't keep the interior comfortable for many of us in the van. Maybe it was the fact that the weather that day was unseasonably warm, or the AC needed service, but it certainly should be fixable and not be an issue in the future. We would definitely use Viator again.
Jennifer_S, Feb 2026
Beautiful views, lots of great information to plan my week. Roxanne was wonderful, with tons of history, restaurant recommendations and more.
This is a great way to get an overview of the area, so you can spend your time where you really want.
Thomas_C, Jan 2026
Jim was a great tour guide. Knowledgable energetic enjoys his work. Interesting stops. I wish we had more time for museums at Balboa park.
Madlyn_D, Jan 2026
We had a fun day with enough time to explore the highlights of the city with a knowledgeable and awesome guide!
Amy_S, Dec 2025
This was such a great tour to introduce you to the city and beautiful surrounding places. Jim was engaging, knowledgeable, and thoughtful. Spend the money on day one of your trip, and you’ll have 1) the lay of the land, 2) lots of recommendations and places to circle back to, and 3) awesome pictures to capture your experience in SD. Highly recommended!
Karen_F, Dec 2025
Our driver Jim was amazing. He is so knowledgeable. It was a wonderful trip. I have knee problems. He always made sure I was safe getting in and out of the van
sdlankenbruck, Dec 2025
We booked this tour months in advance and only to have them cancel on us. We unfortunately could not rebook due to our limited time in San Diego.
Camille_M, Nov 2025
Nice tour group of 6 people. Jim the tour guide was knowledgeable, personable, and accommodating! Would recommend when visiting San Diego. We were visiting from Las Vegas!
Julie_S, Oct 2025
Don’t miss it! Driver Jim did an Amazing job of telling us about Every place we went and sprinkled in stories about his other experience experiences, which made it even more enjoyable!
Doreen_R, Oct 2025
Took us to all the top spots in San Diego and allowed us to walk around. Our driver Jim was very informative.
Shawn_M, Sep 2025
Our tour guide, Jim Houliston, was fantastic throughout our entire San Diego tour. Jim is very knowledgeable and he shared information about all of our stops during the tour. You will not be disappointed if you take a tour with Jim.
Chris_K, Sep 2025
Tour is the perfect length and timing to get a small glimpse of the sights you HAVE to see in San Diego. Recommend highly for first time San Diego visitors!
SimonS, Sep 2025
Roxane contacted us as unforeseen circumstances on their behalf meant our tour couldn't happen. So why a 5 star review? I feel it's equally as important to grade someone's ability to communicate effectively and go the extra mile to try and accommodate when things don't go as planned. All too often this is overlooked and under-delivered. Roxane provided efficient and timely communication / explanations and made it very easy for me to recommend you all to go on one of her tours even though I wasn't able to. Thank you Roxane, catch you next time I'm in town!
Edel_P, Sep 2025
amazing overview tour of San Diego. Roxanne was very knowledgeable and added interesting information on each place that we visited.
Stephen_L, Aug 2025
Great guide and great way to see the city to orient you for both places to visit and to eat. Lots of great recommendations for
Dinner
And to see a lot of SD
Siddharth_P, Aug 2025
Struggled to find them the location of meet and they were never answering phone when I was trying to reach out coordinate.
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Hello Siddarth,
We regret to learn that you encountered difficulties in locating the meeting point. We had sent you a detailed text message the day prior, providing comprehensive information on the meeting location with the driver. Additionally, we had forwarded your tour guide’s contact information, ensuring that you could reach them at any time.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if there is anything we can do to enhance your experience with us.
Thank you for your understanding.
Candace_E, Aug 2025
Excellent overview of San Diego and all its neighborhoods. You make several stops so you can walk around, take pictures and enjoy the experience. Our tour guide was Jay and he was very friendly and super knowledgeable. Great way to start your trip especially if you are a first time visitor. Now I have to come back to hit the places I don’t have time for on this trip.
Claude_M, Aug 2025
Great overview tour of San Diego. Knowledgeable tour guide. Toured the beach, Balboa Park and Coronado.
Ashley_M, Jul 2025
We had a great time! Our guide was so knowledgeable and we used this tour to tuck ideas away for our week in San Diego! We loved our stops, and the tips on getting to/from places was so valuable for us.
Loved it!;
Darlene_R, Jul 2025
The crew was excellent, came around offering snacks twice and could help yourself to non-alcoholic drinks. It was a gorgeous day to be out on the water and we saw a lot of dolphins and sea lions closer to shore. We didn’t see a whale, but they said migration was about 2 months behind. They also provide a voucher to return as many times as you are able until you see whales-no expiration date. The seats provided are hard wood so get very hard but you’re free to stand and move about except for leaving & returning at the dock.
Flor_B, Jul 2025
Roxanne was amazing and super informative. She is one of the best drivers I have ever had the pleasure of being driven by, safe but savvy! Great Tour perfect amount of time!
Kate_I, Jul 2025
This tour brought me to many SD locations I wanted to see! Wish there was more time at each spot, but overall it was wonderful!
James_G, Jun 2025
Great way to learn about San Diego and see key areas. Excellent prelude to your vacation. Roxanne provided a great sample of what San Diego has to offer allowing you to identify areas to explore deeper. She is a knowledgeable tour guide and very customer friendly. Highly recommend this tour.
From $89.00
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
Compare Similar Experiences
Current
San Diego Scenic Tour
577
4 hours
Free Cancellation
From
$89.00
Customers Who Bought This Tour Also Bought
Explore Similar Things to Do
- Water Tours
- Whale Watching
- Nature and Wildlife Tours
- Day Cruises
- Sunset Cruises
- Cruises & Sailing
- Outdoor Activities
- Private and Luxury
- San Diego
- Water Tours - La Jolla
- Whale Watching - La Jolla
- Nature and Wildlife Tours - La Jolla
- Sunset Cruises - La Jolla
- Nature and Wildlife Tours - Tijuana
- Nature and Wildlife Tours - Rosarito
Attractions in San Diego, USA
- Heritage County Park Tours & Tickets
- Gaslamp Museum at the Davis-Horton House Tours & Tickets
- Downtown San Diego Tours & Tickets
- Japanese Friendship Garden and Museum Tours & Tickets
- Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Tours & Tickets
- Coronado Tours & Tickets
- Point Loma Tours & Tickets
- USS Midway Museum Tours & Tickets
- San Diego Convention Center Tours & Tickets
- Gaslamp Quarter Tours & Tickets
- Embarcadero Tours & Tickets
- San Diego Air & Space Museum Tours & Tickets
- Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial Tours & Tickets
- Spanish Village Art Center Tours & Tickets
- Old Town San Diego Tours & Tickets
- Museum of Us Tours & Tickets