La Jolla

La Jolla cove has great ocean views, art collection and the sea-lions to entertain you.
Along the dramatic coastline lies Scripps Park, where families can picnic throughout the summer, while enjoying Fourth of July fireworks and concerts under the stars. Just south of the park is the Children’s Pool, where a seawall was originally built to protect kids from incoming waves, but has been long taken over by a local seal colony. People are no longer permitted to swim here, but you can walk out along the seawall for a close-up view of the wildlife.

Nearby Attractions

See all attractions in San Diego
Old Town San Diego
Old Town is the historic heart of San Diego. Created in 1769, Old Town San Diego was California’s first settlement with only a mission and a fort.
Ocean Beach
One of San Diego's bohemian neighborhoods, Ocean Beach is an idyllic beach for passing a day in the sand and wandering the pier for a bite.
La Jolla Seals and Sea Lions
No trip to La Jolla is complete without spotting some of the beach's famous wildlife. The area's marine mammals have made La Jolla their favorite place for birthing pups.
Little Italy neighbourhood
Known as a chic neighbourhood full of restaurants, shops and beautiful views of the bay.
Sunset Cliffs
Appropriately named, these cliffs stretch for two miles of San Diego coastline and lead to tiny, secluded beaches where travelers can find their own, private oases for a perfect Southern California sunset.
Pacific Beach
The favorite haunt of local surfers, a trip to Pacific Beach is like a snapshot from a 1950's California postcard.

Related Tours

San Diego in a Day: Private Full-Day Highlights Driving Tour

Explore the best of San Diego in a day, with its spectacular Spanish colonial architecture, rich Mexican heritage, and seventy miles of coastline with a private guide on this full-day driving tour where you will have the opportunity to see its most popular highlights and stop at your favourite spots.


On your private tour, you will:

  • Enjoy hotel pick-up to start your tour with your professional driver guide;
  • Cruise through some of the city's most iconic landmarks and natural wonders;
  • Visit stunning La Jolla Cove, marvel at the crystal-clear waters and stunning coastal cliffs, and appreciate marine life and the bay;
  • Snap a memorable photo at Soledad Mountain with breathtaking views of downtown San Diego, Tijuana, Mexico and Mission Bay;
  • Walk around San Diego Old Town, a historic neighbourhood that gives a glimpse into San Diego's rich past including the Spanish Mission;
  • Explore Balboa Park, San Diego’s World Fair location, and visit the Botanic Garden and see the several great museums and Rose Gardens;
  • See Cabrillo National Monument, stand at the westernmost point of the continental United States and enjoy stunning views of Downtown San Diego, Coronado Island and Tijuana Beach; 
  • Enjoy a walk around the waterfront, with a photo stop at the famous USS Midway, an iconic aircraft carrier that now serves as a museum;
  • Discover the Gaslamp Quarter and soak up the energy of this vibrant neighbourhood.


On this fascinating in-depth Private Full-Day San Diego Highlights tour, you will discover much about California’s second-largest city, from its ‘discovery’ by Rodriguez Cabrillo in 1542, to the indigenous Kumeyaay peoples who occupied the area 12,000 years prior to European arrival.

Learn about the settlement of San Dieguito and the cultural, socio-political and historical developments that powered it to a city of a population of 1.4 million. With a deeply embedded Mexican heritage, the legacy of San Diego’s place in the Mexican Empire from 1821 is a fascinating story.

An Italian community, established in Waterfront Park in the early 19th century, has also shaped the culture of the city. See for yourself why San Diego - or Sandie as the locals call it - is dubbed America’s Finest City.

On the San Diego Private Half-Day Highlights tour, you will visit several of the city’s major historical sites –including Cabrillo National Monument and Balboa Park, quaint neighbourhoods, and Coronado Island - a picturesque peninsula blessed by gorgeous beaches, tidal pools, and coves.

Soak up the buzz of the Gaslamp Quarter, the architecture of Old Town, and the sprawling green space of Balboa Park. San Diego offers plenty of mouth-watering options for lunch, from delicious fish tacos to homemade pasta, and your guide will happily direct you to their favourites in Old Town.

Visit a local beach, enjoy a laid-back hippy vibe and browse artisan trinkets before returning to explore the Gaslamp Quarter. At the end of the tour, your guide will drop you off back at your hotel or somewhere central of your choosing.

Please note that the Botanical Garden in Balboa Park is closed for major renovation until the end of 2024.


San Diego Private Driving Tour: Gaslamp Quarter, Balboa Park, and Old Town

Discover the compelling character of California’s second-largest city, renowned for its fascinating Mexican heritage, resplendent gardens, historic streets and fine stretch of Pacific Coast.

On your private half-day driving tour, you will:

  • Enjoy hotel pick-up and drop-off by your private driver-guide, who will escort you throughout the day.
  •  Visit stunning La Jolla Cove and enjoy marine life and the bay. Take a photo stop at Soledad Mountain with amazing views on downtown San Diego, Tijuana, MX and Mission Bay. 
  • Walk around San Diego Old Town and the Spanish Mission. If you book the morning tour, enjoy a great lunch at one of the authentic Mexican restaurants on San Diego Avenue.
  • Learn about Balboa Park, San Diego’s World Fair location. Visit the Botanic Garden and Rose Gardens.
  •  Visit Seaport Village, and stroll along the city’s waterfront, where you will be able to see the USS Midway.
  • Your tour finishes with a walking tour in San Diego’s nightlife area, the Gaslamp Quarter. You are welcome to stay here at the conclusion of your tour, or your guide will happily drive you back to your hotel. 

In 1867, when Alonzo Erastus Horton stepped ashore from a San Francisco steamer, he trod on land that would, one day, be the heart of San Diego. Awed by what he found, Horton declared it "the prettiest place for a city I ever saw." Since then millions of visitors have echoed the sentiments of this early explorer, the single most influential arrival in San Diego - although not the first to discover its beauty.

Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo claims to have discovered San Diego Bay in 1542, some 200 years before Europeans settled the area. In truth, however, the indigenous Kumeyaay peoples had been living in the area for as long as 12,000 years prior to any European ‘discovery’ with the Southern Californian coastal region’s first Americans, now called the San Dieguito, calling it home in around 9000 B.C. Today this once uncharted paradise belongs to an urban population of around 1.4 million people.

On your fascinating private San Diego half-day highlights tour, you will discover the city’s deeply embedded Mexican heritage and will explore the legacy of San Diego’s place in the Mexican Empire from 1821. You will understand what the American-Mexican war, 27 years later, meant for California and the USA. San Diego’s Italian community, established in Waterfront Park in the early 19th century, has also helped shape the culture of the city with its Little Italy Mercato Farmers’ Market, pizzerias, ice cream parlours and gourmet food stalls. Unsurprisingly, San Diego is gaining a reputation for its diverse and taste-rich food scene.

On the San Diego half-day highlights tour, you will visit many of the city’s major historical sites, neighbourhoods and parks, including Balboa Park, the elegant architecture of the Gaslamp Quarter, the Old Town’s rich culture and the beautiful coastal stretch of some of San Diego's beaches. Through the local insight of your private guide, you will be introduced to some of San Diego’s lesser-known corners with plenty of opportunities to grab some fabulous photographs of the city’s most picturesque landmarks, be it quaint Victorian streets, bloom-filled gardens, or the stunning cliff-strewn coastline that are home to seals, marine birds and rugged sea caves.

Please note that the Botanical Garden in Balboa Park is closed for major renovation until the end of 2024.

Discover San Diego's Beaches: Private Driving Tour

With 266 days of golden sunshine a year, San Diego has bright skies and a mild climate benefit with gentle ocean breezes mitigating the heat.

On your private driving tour of San Diego’s beaches, you will:

  • Enjoy hotel pick-up and drop-off from your private driver-guide at any centrally located San Diego hotel;
  • Begin your day at La Jolla Cove, where you will see active marine life;
  • Enjoy spectacular views from Soledad Mountain, from which you can see Mission Bay, downtown, and Tijuana Beach;
  • Visit Pacific and Ocean beaches, where you will begin to see how each beach town has its own communal vibe;
  • Enjoy breathtaking scenery at Sunset Cliffs Natural Park;
  • Venture to Coronado Island, where you will take a stroll, and even see the famed and haunted Hotel Del;
  • Enjoy a lunch stop at any number of local places recommended by your guide (price not included in the tour);
  • Finish your tour with a stroll around scenic Seaport Village, where you will be able to see the US Navy hard at work and see how large an aircraft carrier is from the port. 

Stretching from Oceanside to the Mexican border and from the beach east into Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and the Cleveland National Forest, San Diego’s 70 miles of picturesque coastline boasts 33 gorgeous sandy beaches. Rugged bays and tide pools teem with barnacles, crabs and sea urchins and are home to seals and sea lions, while dolphins, whales and turtles can be spotted in open water.

Each beach has its own distinct Southern California beach culture, from skaters on boardwalks to palm-hemmed secluded sands and laid-back hang-outs where surfers rule the waves. Your Private Tour of the San Diego Coast and Beaches takes you straight to the finest coastal stretches to discover the heart and soul of the city where, literally, life's a beach.

Your tour visits Ocean Beach, with its laid-back rhythm. It has a vintage SoCal hippy vibe with surf shops, taco stands, microbreweries and dog-friendly sands. Here, you can enjoy a pit stop at one of the many beachside eateries, or wait until you hit the crashing waves of the Pacific Beach. Serious surfers head to Pacific Beach - or “PB” as the locals call it - for an electric party atmosphere, glowing bonfires and excellent swells.

Your final stop is La Jolla, a scenic stretch dubbed ‘Paradise by the Sea’ sheltered by a 300-ft rocky bluff that is home to seals, sea lions, numerous seabirds, lush beach flora and a wide sweep of soft honey-coloured sand.

Along the Point Loma Peninsula’s western shoreline, the 68-acre Sunset Cliffs Natural Park encompasses native coastal scrub, dramatic cliff formations, craggy caves, intertidal lagoons and mesmerizing panoramic ocean views.

The alabaster-white sands of Coronado Island, home to the haunted Hotel Del Coronado, boasts quintessential San Diego seaside allure, running along Ocean Boulevard and evoking the era of Marilyn Monroe, who famously filmed Some Like It Hot here in 1958. Next Seaport Village where a picturesque century-old harbourside boasts numerous seafood bistros and waterfront cafés.

Please note: Your guide will be happy to drop you off at one of the last beaches on the tour, so feel free to bring your swimsuits and towels to soak up the glorious San Diego sun!

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