San Diego Day Trip Ideas That Will Have You Loading the Kids in the Car

San Diego is a great place for families. The sunny, warm climate means they can be outside all the time. The whole city basically sits on an endless string of beaches. There are fun museums and parks and SeaWorld.

It is full of fun kid friendly things to do. So many we have a whole huge list.

But sometimes you still want to get out of town. You want a change of scenery. You have that urge to hop in the car and go somewhere new.

Or maybe that’s just me? I get that urge.

A lot.

Luckily, there are also some super fun day trips just a reasonable drive away from San Diego. Here are our favorites:

1. Carlsbad Flower Fields

This is super close…maybe even an afternoon trip and it’s only super fun in the Spring. But when the tulips bloom – head North on 5 just a little to adorable Carlsbad to walk in the flower gardens. (LEGOLAND is also a short drive away if you do have a full day).

Read More – 5 Things For Kids to Love at the Carlsbad Flower Fields

2. A New Beach

Sometimes you want a beach day, but you want to go somewhere different. You probably have to be a crazy beach person (that’s me!) to leave San Diego to go to another beach but we have done this several times. Between here and LA are all kinds of adorable towns with beautiful beaches.

Most recently, we went to Crystal Cove State Park just South of LA. The waves were way more intense than anything we’ve experienced down here but it made for good bogey boarding. There are also two restaurants (put your name on the list the moment you arrive!) on the beach.

3. Disneyland

This is kind of an obvious one probably, but a must for this list. Disneyland is easily a doable day trip from San Diego. Of course you can go up for the weekend or week or however long you enjoy Disney – but you can also leave early and get there when it opens and spend a day enjoying Disneyland and Disney California Adventure and then drive back home to your own dear bed.

4. Los Angeles

This is just slightly further – depending on what you want to do in LA – than Disneyland but still doable in a day. We have trekked up to LA for the day several times with our kids.

Our favorite day trip involved the Griffith Observatory, yummy food, and the La Brea Tar Pits. You can read all the details below!

Read More – Los Angeles Day Trip with Kids

5. Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park is one of my favorite places. It is otherworldly and so much fun to explore.

Yes, you absolutely can go for longer. We spent a weekend camping there and had a blast. BUT you can also get a good sample of Joshua Tree in a day.

Read More: Our Joshua Tree National Park Day Trip Itinerary

Don’t Have a Full Day?

Check out our 50+ Things To Do right here in San Diego with Kids

Want to go Even Further and Longer?

We HIGHLY recommend driving up to Mt Whitney and Death Valley for a long weekend!