San Diego is a family friendly place. There are family friendly restaurants and family friendly beaches and family friendly parks and family friendly amusements scattered throughout this wonderful city. You probably don’t need a guide to suggest that Sea World is a family friendly place. Or Legoland.
But we are here to offer something a bit more nuanced. We have made a series of 24 hour itineraries that are family friendly in the sense that kids will be welcome and have a good time, but they are places where mom and dad and grandma and uncle Steve can have a drink and enjoy themselves too. Places where you would go even if you didn’t have kids, but the kids will have fun alongside you. Places where half the customers will be families, the other half will not.
Perhaps you live in San Diego and have kids, but your kid-free friends are coming to town and you want to take them out for a drink – this guide is for you. Or the opposite – you live here and have no kids, but your friends with kids are coming to visit and you’re not trying to go to Chuck-E-Cheese- this guide is for you. Or maybe mom and dad just need to unwind and you can’t find a babysitter… anyway, you get it
The Itinerary
1. Go to Belmont Park
2. Relax on Mission Beach
3. Get Dinner at Pizza Port in Ocean Beach
4. Map to this itinerary
Daytime
Go to Belmont Park
Belmont Park is an amusement park located right on the boardwalk in Mission Beach. It is small enough to be digestible in one afternoon, but big enough to keep kids (and adults) entertained for hours. There are rides for kids and adults of all ages, including a very old wooden roller coaster called The Giant Dipper. There is an arcade, a laser tag area, a mini-golf course, a rock climbing wall, a zip line, a rope course, and a 7D theater called Xanadu which we have yet to visit, but seven dimensions does sound intriguing. The whole park is well maintained, clean, and easy to navigate.
Importantly, Belmont Park has a few stalls serving beer, canned cocktails, and frozen margaritas among the rides. There are also a few food vendors within the park, including a Pizza Port, as well as three sit-down restaurants attached to the amusement park that serve drinks and full food menus right on the boardwalk with a view of the ocean. These are Cannonball, Draft House, and Beach House.
So spend the morning riding rides and discovering what the 7th dimension has in store for you (and the 6th, 5th and 4th), then get lunch at one of the restaurants.
Relax On Mission Beach
Mission Beach is one of the more accessible beaches in San Diego. It is wide and long (stop it) with lots of parking options. Parking next to Belmont Park or The Plunge swimming pool is a good option as there are two huge parking lots either side of the amusement park. Head out to the sand and set up an umbrella. Jump in the ocean. Build a sand castle. Fly a kite. Drink some beers (though note that drinking is illegal on all San Diego beaches). We probably don’t need to tell you how to enjoy the beach.
You could also cruise the boardwalk – either walk or rent bikes or skateboards from Hamel’s Castle and cruise the boardwalk that leads all the way up to Pacific Beach. Take a look at our guide here that is definitely geared more towards adults and drinking, but gives some good ideas on where to stop nonetheless.
Once you’ve worked up your courage, you can go ride the one hundred year old, wooden roller coaster at Belmont – The Giant Dipper.
Evening
Get Dinner At Pizza Port In Ocean Beach
Pizza Port is one of the first breweries in San Diego and remains one of the best. It has locations up and down San Diego County (including one in Belmont Park) that are all family-friendly and all serve quality pizza and beer. We suggest you leave Mission Beach and cap off your day by heading south to Ocean Beach for dinner. It is about a 10 minute drive from Belmont Park. You can’t go wrong with a Swami’s IPA or a Chronic Amber Ale to wash down a slice at the end of the day.
