Solo Trip to San Diego: 15 of the Best Things To Do Alone in San Diego
Planning a solo trip to San Diego? Don’t miss out on these fun things to do alone in San Diego, California.
From wildlife watching to beach hopping to museums and historic villages, San Diego has so much to do. The Pacific Coast city in Southern California is known for its sun-soaked beaches and amusement attractions that travelers from all over the world. The city is also perfect for a solo getaway, which I got to experience on a recent trip.
With so many fun things to do in San Diego alone, it can be hard to know where to start. You could spend your entire vacation relaxing at the beaches in La Jolla, bike around Coronado Island, go museum hopping in Balboa Park, or hike out to the tip of Point Loma.
The list below of the best things to do in San Diego alone has a little bit of everything, so you should be able to find several ideas that fit your interests. If you want to do ALL of them, you’ll probably need to be in the city for at least four or five days, but you can pick just a few to fill a weekend in San Diego.
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Things To Do in San Diego Alone
If you’re looking for the best things to do alone in San Diego, you can’t go wrong with these museums, historic sites, tours, and outdoor activities.
Board a City Cruise
A cruise in the bay is such a great introduction to the city on a solo trip to San Diego. Narrated tours introduce you to the wildlife, landmarks, and history of the area, and you really can’t beat the views of the skyline from the water.
You can book either route as a one-hour tour or combine them for a longer trip. The boat docks briefly in between each one to load and unload passengers. There are also snacks and beverages to order on the boat.
Wander Old Town San Diego
The Old Town San Diego State Historic Park is one of the best free things to do in San Diego alone. Part living history museum and part shopping and dining district, the park is laid out like a village in Old Town San Diego.
History buffs will want to pop into the preserved buildings that date as far back as 1820. You can watch live demonstrations at the Blacksmith Shop, see old carriages at the Seeley Stable, visit the first San Diego Courthouse, and tour the period-furnished rooms at La Casa de Estudillo. If you really want to get immersed in the 19th century, you can even stay at the onsite Cosmopolitan Hotel, which has served as a restaurant, stagecoach office, and olive cannery over its nearly 200 years of history.
The state historic park attractions are only open during the day, but there are shops and restaurants that have more extended hours and the site is pretty open to walk around, explore, and take photos. Most of the shops here are also housed in old-timey buildings, like the Rust General Store where you can grab coffee and snacks, the Cousin’s Candy Shops with handmade taffy, and the Johnson House for vintage jewelry and fashion.
You also don’t want to miss the Fiesta del Reyes shopping center, which houses a popular Mexican restaurant and live music. It’s easy to spend at least a couple of hours in this area during a San Diego solo trip, or longer if you want to tour all the available museums and houses.
Spend a Day at Balboa Park
Balboa Park is one of the best places to go in San Diego alone. There is so much to do here that you can devote at least a full day (or more) to the many attractions. The San Diego Zoo is perhaps the most famous landmark in the park, but don’t skip out on the trails, gardens, and museums.
I spent a very full day here visiting the San Diego Museum of Art, Mingei International Museum, San Diego Natural History Museum, Spanish Village Art Center, and Japanese Friendship Garden. And that was barely scratching the surface of the available activities!
Some of the other 18 museums here include the San Diego Air and Space Museum, the Comic-Con Museum, the Fleet Science Center, and the Museum of Us for anthropology exhibits. There are also performance venues like The Old Globe theater and the Spreckles Organ Pavilion, which hosts outdoor concerts.
A few of my favorite things to do in Balboa Park are further down this list!
Stroll the Japanese Friendship Garden
The Japanese Friendship Garden at Balboa Park is such a peaceful setting to start or end the day. I visited in the late afternoon to enjoy the soft lighting on the koi ponds and flowers during my solo trip to San Diego.
The garden has a network of gentle walking paths around the bonsai trees and water features, plus spots to sit and reflect. The plants here are native to either San Diego or Japan, and the facility also runs special programs and exhibits to educate visitors on Japanese culture.
A small garden cafe just outside the entrance gate serves Japanese teas, rice bowls, miso soup, sushi, and other small bites.
Visit the San Diego Museum of Art
The San Diego Museum of Art is one of the best things to do in San Diego alone for art aficionados. The permanent collection here includes art from Iran, Southeast Asia, and Germany, as well as displays on Impressionism, Expressionism, and Realism. There are also beautiful landscape paintings of California scenery that I wanted to take home with me!
Keep an eye on the museum’s website for changing featured exhibits, I got to tour one on modern female artists which highlighted some very creative mediums.
See the Mingei International Museum Collection
The Mingei International Museum has displays of folk arts and crafts from around the world. It’s the perfect art museum to visit if you’re short on time, as the gallery here is much smaller than the San Diego Museum of Art.
Located in a historic building in Balboa Park, the museum has some free displays on the ground level and a ticketed gallery with changing exhibits on the second level. There’s also an art library with over 12,000 books and journals and upper-level terraces with views over Balboa Park.
When I visited, I got to see the 25 Million Stitches Show, a powerful display on the global refugee crisis. It’s touring, so I recommend looking up where else you may be able to see it after it leaves the Mingei.
Explore the House of Pacific Relations
Travel lovers will have fun wandering around the country-themed cottages at the House of Pacific Relations in Balboa Park. The free attraction has 31 small houses in a village setting, each representing a different culture with interior displays about the traditions and history.
The project began at the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition as an effort to promote peaceful cooperation between the member groups. It has grown to include more cultures over the years.
The open houses and cultural programs take place on Saturdays and Sundays when you can try global cuisine, catch traditional music and dance performances, and join in arts and crafts demos. It’s worth stopping by if you’re only around on a weekday to see if any of the cottages are staffed. I was able to pop into a few during the week even though most were closed.
Tour the USS Midway Museum
The USS Midway Museum is one of the city’s top attractions and a great thing to do in San Diego alone if you’re interested in naval history. Located at Navy Pier downtown, the museum is housed on a former aircraft carrier and has a collection of more than 30 restored planes and helicopters.
In addition to seeing all the historic aircraft up close, you can also tour the different ship quarters to see where the crew bunked, worked, and ate on board.
Admission includes an audio tour you can use to explore the flight deck, hangar deck, and the below-deck galleys and engine room. The museum recommends spending at least two to four hours on the self-guided audio tour.
Sightsee in the San Diego Gaslamp Quarter
The Gaslamp Quarter is in the heart of downtown San Diego, stretching inland for a few blocks from the harbor. Full of cocktail lounges, dive bars, and entertainment venues, it’s a great spot to meet up with friends or go out solo to enjoy the nightlife.
During the day, you can come here to sightsee and eat; global cuisine infuses the district in a mix of both chain eateries and locally owned spots. If you’re into the performing arts, check the schedules at Spreckels Theatre and Balboa Theatre — both venues date to the early 1900s and host live plays, concerts, ballets, and other shows. Exploring the Gaslamp Quarter is one of the top things to do in San Diego alone.
Check out Cabrillo National Monument
The only National Park Service site in San Diego County, Cabrillo National Monument sits at the scenic tip of Point Loma, a peninsula that juts into the Pacific. Established to commemorate the 1542 landing of explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo in San Diego, the park is notable for its statue and lighthouse that overlooks the bay.
You also don’t want to miss the tide pools on the west side of the park. If you want to hike, the park has two main trails — the 2.5-mile Bayside Trail that follows an old military road down to the water, and the steep 1-mile Coastal Trail with access to the tide pools and an old searchlight shelter from World War II along the way.
Hang Out in Ocean Beach
Ocean Beach is a fun spot to hang out on the coast with a fishing pier, sandy beachfront, and a historic business district packed with shops and eateries. The neighborhood has a boho vibe, drawing surfers and the young at heart.
For a classic experience, head straight for Drum Circle Beach, where free spirits gather to read tarot cards, slackline, hula hoop, and make music. If you want to fully immerse in the atmosphere, the crowd is welcoming. I just picked up a pizza from Pizza Port Ocean Beach to eat on the sand around sunset with the buzz of the atmosphere in the background.
Hike in Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve
If you’re looking for outdoorsy things to do alone in San Diego, you don’t want to miss Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. Located on the coast, the park has trails that lead to overlooks atop ridges with views of the jagged coastline. You can also hike down to the waterfront at low tide, though it can be dangerous to get too close to the bluffs as collapses and rockslides occur without warning. Pay close attention to signs and warnings in the park.
There are lots of short hikes in the park that lead to different viewpoints and you can combine some for a longer loop. I did a route of nearly 2.5 miles on the Razor Point and Beach trails to the Razor Point and Yucca Point lookouts and down to the oceanfront.
The park is almost 20 miles north of downtown and definitely worth the day trip.
Bike or Kayak on Coronado Island
Across the bay from downtown San Diego, Coronado Island was only accessible by ferry until the Coronado Bridge was opened in 1969. The island is still a bit of an enclave, thanks to its separation from the mainland, and makes a fun day trip to check out the beautiful beaches and historic downtown.
Check out the Beaches in La Jolla
La Jolla is a beautiful area to visit or stay in on a solo trip to San Diego. Located along the rugged Pacific coastline just south of Torrey Pines, it offers stunning beaches, a pier, golf courses, and a cute seaside village for boutique shopping and dining.
Spending a day in La Jolla is one of the best things to do in San Diego alone.
Soak Up the View at Sunset Cliffs Natural Park
As the name implies, Sunset Cliffs Natural Park is the perfect spot to watch the sunset one evening on your solo trip to San Diego. The bluffs stretch along the western coast of Point Loma, with sea caves and rock arches adding to the scenery. You can sometimes even see migrating whales and other sea life.
The park consists of 68 acres stretching down the coast to link up with the Point Loma Ecological Reserve. The easiest section to visit is the northern 18 acres between Adair and Ladera streets along Sunset Cliffs Boulevard to the south of Ocean Beach. There are a few small parking lots and some street parking throughout the area, but it’s a crowded and popular spot. A larger lot is on the south end of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard.