USS Midway Museum Admission: Valid Any Date

Recommended by 98% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

San Diego, USA

Trending

Booked 5+ times in 12 hours.

2 to 5 hours (approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

4.9

· 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.

· Karen_B ·

Jan 2026

This museum is more than educational information. It is an immersion into navy life on an aircraft carrier. The decents, yellow hats, are retired military who have served at times on the Midway ship. We spent 6 hours exploring the ship & listening to very interesting accounts on how a flight deck operates. I highly recommend this museum.

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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

01/03/2023 - 04/09/2027
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.

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.

Supplied by

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 2,201 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

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

Visiting the Carrier Midway in San Diego

Ron_A, Mar 2026

So very interesting if you care about American History. Wonderful collection of U S Navy carrier aircraft. Fighters and Dive Bomber from World War II, as well as navy aircraft from the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and Desert Storm.

seems to be run by authoritarian ex-military boomers

William_C, Mar 2026

I think they should make their policies against freedom of expression more clear on the Viator site before booking. If I would have known that this place was run by authoritarian ex-military boomers, I would have chosen another activity. I have toured other retired military vessels, and they were run by normal people. I value freedom of speech and freedom of expression, and I was extremely offended when some of the ex-military boomers, who obviously miss having unquestioned authority in the military, decided that they didn't like the t-shirt I was wearing and told me to turn it inside out. If I thought I had any chance of getting a refund, I would have just left right then and there to find something else to do, but I had to hold my nose and tolerate these people for a few hours to avoid wasting my money. I guess freedom of speech/expression wasn't one of the things they were fighting for when they were still active military.

A taste of military history- VERY well done!

Mary_S, Mar 2026

A must see when in San Diego! We spent a little over 3 hours touring the ship, speaking w veteran volunteers and checking out a multitude of military aircraft that has been used over the years. My husband and I loved it! We did a guided tour of the bridge and chart room…just know that there will be a lot of very steep and narrow ladder steps for that. Everything else has elevator or normal stair access.

Very Good

Mal_C, Mar 2026

Take your time and ask a lot of questions of the volunteers. They were so very helpful. Liked it alot

Very cool experience

Christie_R, Feb 2026

It was very interesting to learn about life on an aircraft carrier. Really awesome to hear about events from the actual men that lived through them. Also the food in the cafe was really good, better than expected!

USS Midway

Gene_H, Feb 2026

Very nice your own pace tour. The volunteers were really great. Full of information and very easy to talk to.

4 hours of fun

Rhea_C, Feb 2026

The veterans in the yellow hats were very informative and helpful. They were willing to answer most questions. I like that you can get in some of the aircraft. And found the intelligence exhibit to be very fun.

Good experience with our...

Harpreet_T, Feb 2026

Good experience with our kids. Recommend spending about 2-3 hours. A lot to see for both kids and adults

Don't forget the lower decks very interesting and the bridge.

gregory_A, Feb 2026

Give it sometime of course the flight decklist the Highlight but looking at all the below deck spaces was really interesting to see what the day in the life was like for the sailors

Na

Mary_P, Feb 2026

Very informative with interesting narration. Vets and volunteers were great. There was a lot to see and do.

Excellent! Worth the visit.

Brooke_B, Feb 2026

The USS Midway is so interesting! I learned a lot about aviation and I'm in the industry! We enjoyed hearing the volunteers stories.

An Exciting Immersive Museum

Karen_B, Jan 2026

Don't be in a rush. Plan...

John_M, Jan 2026

Don't be in a rush. Plan on spending 3-4 hours. Bring a snack and water bottle. They have done a great job making this carrier available to the public.

Unable to get tickets via app

Ryan_M, Jan 2026

The confirmation email never let me access my tickets. After multiple attempts following the instructions we were still unable to access the tickets.

Response from Host, Jan 2026

Hello. I am sorry to hear you had trouble getting our tickets. We work with many partners and unfortunately have no way of managing their apps, we can only hope that they work effectively. As you know Midway does not have an app and even though you left us an unfavorable rating because of an issue you had with another company, we hope you enjoyed the museum.

permission to come aboard!

Kip_L, Jan 2026

Great experience, the flight deck was amazing. Don’t rush through, there is soooo much to see. I will go back again!

Cool Museum

Kelly_B, Jan 2026

Really you need exhibits and Museum overall stuff. Definitely worth it just to be able to get on the ship.

Give yourself plenty of...

Ted_G, Jan 2026

Give yourself plenty of time. The dozens were very helpful and informative. I learned things about navigation that I have been curious about for a long time.