San Diego Trolley

Ultimate 3 Day San Diego Itinerary (2024)

Are you wondering how to spend 3 days in San Diego? If so, this article’s for you.

I just got back from a weekend getaway in San Diego, spending three full days exploring what the city has to offer. To my surprise, San Diego has endless attractions, from beaches to hikes, museums, zoos, historical landmarks, and so much more. 

With so many attractions, it’s important to plan your days ahead of time. For that reason, I’ve put together this 3 day San Diego itinerary to help you maximize your time on vacation. 

Here’s my suggested 3 day San Diego itinerary. For your convenience, I’ve included an itinerary map at the end of the article.

Day 1: Torrey Pines and La Jolla Cove

Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve

Torrey Pines Gliderport

Start your first day off with a morning hike through Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. This state park’s set along the ocean, and has amazing hiking trails, and a long stretch of sandy beach. One of the best hikes is the Guy Fleming Trail, a sandy 0.7 mile loop trail overlooking the ocean, where you’ll pass by wildflowers, cacti, and twisted Torrey pine trees.

Entrance to the park cost $10-$25/vehicle, and you can park by the visitor center for easy access to the hiking trails. If you want easy access to the beach, you can park at the North or South Beach lots. 

Just 15 minutes south of the reserve, you can watch people paraglide (or go paragliding yourself!) by the ocean at the Torrey Pines Gliderport. The gliderport has a large free dirt parking lot, and a steep trail that leads down the hill to Black’s Beach, a nude beach. 

Torrey Pines Gliderport
Torrey Pines Gliderport

La Jolla Cove

La Jolla Cove, San Diego

Head to La Jolla Cove to watch seals and sea lions play on the shore. La Jolla Cove is a picturesque bay in the heart of La Jolla surrounded by marine life that’s become a popular tourist attraction.

You can find 2 or 3 hour free street parking along Coast Blvd, and walk to it. I visited on a busy day, and was able to find a spot after circling around for a few minutes. 

La Jolla Cove
La Jolla Cove

At La Jolla Cove, there’s a viewing station with a lifeguard tower, and stairs that lead down to the beach. The beach is sandy, has turquoise blue waters, and many rock outcroppings where you can spot seals and sea lions basking in the sun.

Seals at La Jolla cove
Seals at La Jolla cove

When I visited, there were dozens of sea lions on the far right side of the bay, waddling around and barking at each other. If you see them on the shore, just remember to stay at a healthy viewing distance, as they can charge at people if they feel threatened. 

Right next to La Jolla Cove, the Ellen Browning Scripps Park is the perfect place to stop for a picnic. It’s a grassy park with picnic tables, and benches overlooking the ocean. 

If you want to spot even more seals, do a short 5 minute walk from La Jolla Cove to Children’s Pool.

Children’s Pool is a small, once kid-friendly beach that became overrun by seals in the mid-1990s. It’s protected by a seawall with railing, which you can walk onto to watch the seals.

It’s open to the public year-round, except during pupping season from Dec 15-May 15. 

Seals at La Jolla cove

La Jolla Sea Caves

Sunny Jims Sea Cave

Another fun attraction to visit in La Jolla are the 7 sea caves. You can visit one of the seven, Sunny Jim’s Sea Cave, by walking through a man made tunnel that connects the sea cave to a gift shop.

The Cave Store has an entrance fee of $10, and 144 damp wooden stairs that lead down to the cave.

The Cave Store, La Jolla
Sunny Jim's Sea Cave

At the bottom you can see the outline of “Sunny Jim”, kayakers pass by, and may spot a sea lion or two sitting on the rocks.

Sunny Jim's Sea Cave
Sunny Jim’s Sea Cave

To the left of the Cave Store, there’s a short trail out onto a cliff (Goldfish Point) where you can see the rest of the sea caves.

La Jolla Sea Caves
Goldfish Point

If you’re up for an adventure, you can go kayaking in La Jolla to explore the sea caves, and see everything from dolphins to leopard sharks. 

Restaurants In La Jolla 

Within walking distance to the cove, there’s many great cafes, seafood restaurants, taco shops, and bars. La Jolla Cove is also only around a 30 minute drive from Seaport Village, where you can dine out at a waterfront restaurant. 

Day 2: Point Loma, Old Town, Seaport Village

Cabrillo National Monument

Cabrillo Statue
Cabrillo Statue

Start the morning by visiting the Cabrillo National Monument on the Point Loma peninsula. This monument commemorates Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, one of the first European explorers to explore the west coast of the United States. 

The park has a visitor center with a museum, the Cabrillo statue, Point Loma lighthouses, and tide pools.

Old Point Loma Lighthouse
Old Point Loma Lighthouse

You can park by the visitor center, and walk to the museum, statue, and lighthouse, where you’ll have an unbeatable view of the San Diego harbor.

View from Cabrillo National Monument

After, you can drive down the hill to explore the tide pools, filled with anemones, barnacles, and hermit crabs.

Point Loma Tide Pools

Entrance to the park cost $20/vehicle, and the pass is valid for 7 days. 

Old Town State Historic Park

Old Town, San Diego

After getting a glimpse into San Diego’s history, head to Old Town to shop, eat, and see even more historical landmarks.

Old Town is a charming little neighborhood known for being the birthplace of California, since it marks the site where the first European settlement was built in 1769.

It has a variety of historic buildings, small shops, gift vendors, and amazing Mexican restaurants.

Old Town, San Diego
Fiesta de Reyes, Old Town San Diego
Fiesta de Reyes

You can shop for everything from chocolate to pottery, and small little trinkets and souvenirs. And if you visit during Friday-Sunday, you can enjoy live music in the middle of the plaza, on the Fiesta de Reyes stage.

Sunset Cliffs Natural Park

Sunset Cliffs Natural Park, San Diego

As the sun starts to go down, head to Sunset Cliffs Natural Park.

Sunset Cliffs Natural Park, San Diego
Sunset Cliffs

Sunset Cliffs is a gorgeous oceanfront park with rugged cliffs, hiking trails, and tide pools. It’s the best place to watch the sunset in San Diego, and one of the most beautiful areas to walk around.

Sunset Cliffs Natural Park, San Diego
Sunset Cliffs

If you want to explore the tide pools, park on Ladera St., and walk down the steep set of stairs. You’ll have an amazing view of the coast from the stairs. 

Seaport Village

Seaport Village, San Diego
Seaport Village

To end the day, head to Seaport Village to dine by the water. Seaport Village is a large waterfront shopping center with seafood restaurants, ice cream shops, and a bunch of little gift shops.

Coronado Bridge, Seaport Village

You’ll have a nice view of San Diego bay and the Coronado bridge as you stroll around, and it’s open until 9pm. 

Day 3 –  Balboa Park, USS Midway Museum, Coronado Island

Balboa Park

Balboa Park, San Diego

No trip to San Diego would be complete without visiting Balboa Park. It’s home to the San Diego Zoo, art galleries, botanical gardens, and over a dozen museums.

If you don’t plan on spending the day at the zoo, you can visit the Japanese Friendship Garden, Spanish Village Art Center, or one of the following museums: 

  • San Diego Museum of Art (SDMA): Fine arts museum, $5 after 5pm on Fridays
  • San Diego Natural History Museum: Natural world museum 
  • Timken Museum of Art: FREE arts museum right next to the SDMA
  • San Diego Air & Space Museum: Aviation and space museum
  • Museum of US: Anthropology museum 

USS Midway Museum

USS Midway Museum
USS Midway Museum (Photo by: Joseph Fuller)

Nestled in the harbor, the USS Midway museum is a must-see attraction for anyone visiting San Diego. It’s a floating museum on the longest serving aircraft carrier that served the Navy for 47 years. You can tour inside of the museum to see restored aircrafts, flight simulators, and many interesting exhibits.

Whether or not you tour the museum, it’s worth visiting to see it’s sheer size in person. Right in front of the museum, you can see the iconic “Unconditional Surrender” statue of a sailor kissing a nurse from WWII. 

Coronado Island

Coronado Beach
Coronado Beach

Head to Coronado Island to spend the day at the beach. Coronado Beach is one of the best San Diego beaches, with soft white sand, and plenty of areas to relax away from crowds. You can rent out sun loungers and an umbrella on the beach, or bikes/golf carts to explore around the island.

To get to Coronado Island, you can either take the Coronado ferry ($18/person roundtrip) from the harbor, or drive across the Coronado bridge. Once you land at the Coronado ferry terminal, it’s just a short 10 minute walk to the beach, on the opposite side of the island. 

Little Italy

Little Italy, San Diego
Little Italy

End the trip by savoring authentic Italian dishes and dessert in San Diego’s Little Italy. Little Italy is a little neighborhood with patio cafes, amazing Italian restaurants, and an outdoor piazza with water fountains.

This is one of the best places to eat in San Diego, and there’s everything from fine-dining Italian restaurants to pizza and gelato shops. If you’re a foodie, you can also go on a walking food tour through Little Italy to sample the best restaurants with a local guide. 

San Diego 3 Day Itinerary Map

Summary

Three days is the perfect amount of time to spend in San Diego. If you want to explore all of the top attractions without having to worry about parking, you can ride the Old Town Trolley.

San Diego Trolley
Old Town Trolley

The trolley makes 11 stops, and arrives at each location every 30 minutes, so you can easily customize your itinerary. They offer 1 or 2 day tours, and the trolley operates from 9am-5pm. 

If you plan on taking the trolley, here’s another possible itinerary:

  • Day 1: La Jolla Cove/Torrey Pines
  • Day 2: Old Town Trolley (Balboa Park, Old Town, USS Midway Museum, Coronado Beach)
  • Day 3: Cabrillo National Monument/Sunset Cliffs

Although the trolley doesn’t stop at La Jolla Cove or the Cabrillo National Monument, I highly recommend driving to both, as they were the highlights of my trip.

La Jolla Cove is around a 15-20 minute drive from downtown San Diego, whereas the Cabrillo National Monument is a very scenic 20-30 minute drive to the edge of the peninsula. 

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