This is at the top of our list. The San Diego Seaworld was the first Seawold in the world. You can see first hand various types of animals such as beluga whales, orca whales, a pilot whale, polar bears, dolphins, penguins, manatees, and much more. When it comes to the rides they are short and slightly dissapointing. It should be noted that this is the most expensive attraction, at nearly $50 for an adult. We recommend you pay $10 more and get the 2 day pass. With this pass you get a behind the scenes tour. The tour is different each day, but we got a close up look at a pilot whale, and had the opportunity of petting various small sharks.

(Included in the Go San Diego Card)

Wild Animal Park: 

This is the Zoo of the future. Animals roam and interact with one another in over 2000 acres. The animals are all truly happy. There is a lot to see and do. Since this is 35 miles out of the city you will need to rent a car or take a tour to get there. We highly recommend this attraction. The must see exhibits include the all new lion habitat. We witnessed 5 lions cuddling within inches from us. You should also take some time to feed giraffes. The featured attraction is a 1 hour narrated train ride, that takes you through the various habitats, you should do this no matter what. Our favorite was dining at the restaurant in the Heart of Africa habitat. You can eat outside and have an amazing view of the habitat.

(Included in the Go San Diego Card)

World Famous San Diego Zoo: 

This is probably the most famous Zoo in the world, and placed San Diego on the map for many tourists. They have several exhibits that are not available at other zoos, such as being able to watch panda bears. You should also take some time to view the Mountain Gorilla habitat, as it's one of the best in any zoo. When we attended there was a baby gorilla entertaining the humans while annoying his siblings.

Other Attractions:

(Included in the Go San Diego Card)

Whale Watching

San Diego has Grey whales that pass through as they migrate annually from the end of December through the end of March. Unfortunately we stayed in San Diego in mid-December and therefore missed this opportunity. In the past I have seen Belugas, and Humpbacks in the wild, and there is nothing like whale watching. If you have never done this, I highly recommend you take a day to go out in the ocean and enjoy yourself.

(Included in the Go San Diego Card)

Birch Aquarium at Scripps

This is one of the most under recognized attractions. They are a research station with a nice public exhibit. This aquarium has various types of sharks such as nurse, leopard, horn, angel, and much more. They have an outside pool that enables you to touch tide-pool animals and to see them in their natural habitat. Once you're done with this you should enjoy the spectacular view, as it directly overlooks the ocean. What the aquarium specializes in is raising its own coral reefs, and these are spectacular. You'll see reefs from various parts of the world. They also do a lot of sea horse breeding, and it's amazing to see the various types of sea horses, some of them have adapted in unique and strange ways when it comes to camouflaging themselves. A must see for ocean and nature lovers.

Old Town

The pamphlets and website really don't do this place justice. You can walk around and enter themed shops, and visit museums. Everything is free, and it's a good way to spend several hours. The shops here are unique and sell some unusual objects. There's also a trolley tour that's offered, but you'll get much more out of the place if you walk.

(Included in the Go San Diego Card)

Balboa Park

This is the heart of the city. Balboa has 13 museums and the World Famous San Diego Zoo. The San Diego Museum of Man and the San Diego Natural history museum look very impressive. We tried the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center and are sorry to report that we were very disappointed. Many of the interactive exhibits were small, outdated, or simply non-functional. Unless you have kids you might consider skipping this museum. You should take some time to simply walk around Balboa Park to enjoy the fine architecture.

Sea Port Village

This is a nice little area that surrounds the harbor. Take some time to walk around and visit some of the stores. There are plenty of places to dine. Once you have enjoyed an hour or two strolling you can visit an old aircraft carrier turned museum. Visiting this museum should take a maximum of an hour and a half. You can also choose to do a 1 or 2 hour harbor tour. We took a tour offered by blowhorn, and were disappointed. This was advertised as being an educational narrated tour, but instead turned out to be narrated by someone who obviously had too much to drink and was making failed jokes. This turned out to be annoying, and made the entire 2 hour trip long and uninspiring. At $20 a person it's certainly not worth the money.