Visiting San Diego with kids? You can experience half a dozen living history locations in San Diego for just $159 total for a family of four! Or, make a 3-stop trip for any size family for just $10 total! Mix and match these San Diego living history destinations to fit any family travel budget.
If you’re looking for things to do with kids in San Diego besides the San Diego Zoo and SeaWorld, read on!
[Note: This article was originally published to promote Kids Free San Diego October, but you can save all year long with the ideas here, including the $10 3-stop day trip!] All Day Mom proudly welcomes our partner San Diego Tourism to promote Kids Free San Diego October! Here’s everything you need to know about the 100+ offers during Kids Free San Diego October! Plus, get my whirlwind 1-day, 6-stop family travel tour of historic attractions in San Diego!
Affiliate links provided for your convenience.
Kids go free to over 100 San Diego attractions and destinations this October! See the full list of participating San Diego locations offering free admission for kids October 1-31 here!
What I love about the Kids Free San Diego October program:
Kids 12 and under go free to over 100 San Diego attractions! 12 and under is important to me because I have a 12-year-old! Many of the attractions on the Kids Free San Diego October list normally offer kid pricing for kids under 12, but during October, 12-year-olds get the kids’ price: FREE!
Explore Living History in San Diego for FREE in October!
Our family looks for historic sites and memorials to visit everywhere we travel. We homeschool, and we’ve found that exploring living history sites is the best way to learn history! Living history sticks with kids and inspires them to learn more! San Diego offers so many great locations to explore living history, and we really love the San Diego museums and monuments dedicated to the history of the United States Armed Forces!
[Tweet “Free Living History for Kids in San Diego! 6 #SanDiego attractions with hands-on history! #familytravel”]
This October is the perfect time to teach your kids all about US history as we move toward our presidential election. Make history fun for kids! Bonus for parents: Explore these 6 San Diego historic sites this October, when all kids get free admission!
San Diego Daytrip with Kids: Living History in San Diego!
I’ve created a 1-day itinerary that includes 6 amazing San Diego historic sites and museums that will cost a family of 4 just $109 in October, including parking! Any other time of year, this amazing San Diego daytrip would cost $159!
Mix and and match your San Diego daytrip experiences to fit any budget:
Completely FREE Daytrip in San Diego with Kids!
- Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum (this will probably be your kids’ favorite stop, and it’s totally free!)
- Fort Rosecrans Cemetery
Got a 4th Grader? Here’s a 3-stop FREE Daytrip in San Diego with Kids!
- Cabrillo National Monument is FREE for 4th graders and their families—just print off the Every Kid in a Park pass!
- Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum
- Fort Rosecrans Cemetery
$10 Daytrip in San Diego with Kids!
- Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum (free!)
- Cabrillo National Monument: $10 per vehicle
- Fort Rosecrans Cemetery (free!)
[Tweet “How to take a 3-stop San Diego family daytrip for $10! #familytravel #sandiego #roadtrip”]
Visit all 6 San Diego Living History Attractions for $109 this October!
Top 6 Historic Places to Visit with Kids in San Diego
If you start at the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum (visit 6 attractions), you’ll drive a total of 29 miles/60 minutes.
If you start at the Veterans Museum at Balboa Park (visit 5 attractions), you’ll drive a total of 14 miles/48 minutes.
Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum
- Kids Free San Diego October price: Free for everyone!
- Always free for everyone; donations appreciated. Free parking. Closed Mondays.
- Time to explore: 1 hour
What to do at Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum with Kids:
Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum is the largest museum devoted to Marine aircraft! See 49 planes up close and personal!
Climb into the cockpit of many US Military planes during Open Cockpit Days, every other weekend in summer!
Veterans Museum and Memorial Center at Balboa Park
- Kids Free San Diego October price: $10 total for 2 adults and 2 kids.
- Regular Prices: $5 adults, kids under 12 always free. Free parking. Closed Mondays.
- Time to explore: 30 minutes
What to do at the Veterans Museum at Balboa Park with Kids:
The Veterans Museum at Balboa Park is a great spot for kids who are interested in US history; skip it if you have small kids (or just take a picture outside with the cool plane statue and move on to the next spot).
Check Groupon before you visit! Start at Ebates to get cash back on your Groupon purchase, and get a $10 gift card with a new Ebates account with my referral!
San Diego Air and Space Museum
- Kids Free San Diego October price: $39.50 total for 2 adults and 2 kids!
- Regular Prices: $19.50 adults, kids under 12 $10.50. Free parking.
- Time to explore: 1 hour for little kids, 2 hours for big kids who are interested in aviation and history, who will take the time to read about and study each exhibit.
What to do at the San Diego Air and Space Museum with Kids:
See replicas of famous aircraft that take you through aviation history from the Wright Brothers’ glider, to the Apollo IX Command Module, and everything in between.
Don’t miss the Spirit of St. Louis replica—the original was built in San Diego!
USS Midway Museum
- Kids Free San Diego October price: $50
- Includes 2 adult admissions ($20 each), 2 free kid admissions for kids 12 and under, and the $10 parking fee.
- Regular Prices: $20 adults, $15 teens 13-17, $10 kids 6-12. All day parking $10.
- Time to explore: At least 4 hours.
- Tickets are good for two consecutive days! So if your kids love it and you’re in San Diego for one more day, go back and explore some more!
Note: Parking is limited. If you visit on a weekend, start your day at the USS Midway Museum first thing in the morning so you can get into the $10 all day parking lot. Otherwise, you may get stuck in metered parking that limits you to 3 hours before you have to return to feed the meter, or a very expensive day use lot.
Check Groupon before you visit! Start at Ebates to get cash back on your Groupon purchase, and get a $10 gift card with a new Ebates account with my referral!
What to Do at USS Midway Museum with Kids
The museum is an aircraft carrier! It doesn’t get much cooler than that.
Cabrillo National Monument
[Tweet “#findyourpark Cabrillo National Monument #SanDiego #familytravel”]
- Kids Free San Diego October price: $10 (if you don’t have an America the Beautiful or Every Kid in a Park pass).
- Regular Prices: $10 per vehicle, $5 for pedestrian age 16 and up. Free with America the Beautiful pass, or Every Kid in a Park pass (for fourth graders and their families). Free parking, and make sure you ONLY park in designated parking spots or risk a $145 federal parking ticket!
- Time to explore: At least 2 hours.
What to do at Cabrillo National Monument with Kids
The history here dates back to 1542, when Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo landed at San Diego Bay (hence the statue of Cabrillo!). Explore this historic site, including a visitor center, lighthouse (only open to climb up 3 days a year), and World War II bunkers (open 2nd and 4th Saturdays).
Kids will love to discover sea life in the tide pools! Make sure to time your visit around low tide!
Fort Rosecrans Cemetery
- Regular Prices: Always free; free parking.
What to Do at Fort Rosecrans Cemetery with Kids
This stop is near Cabrillo National Monument, and while it’s not exactly fun for kids, it’s a stop worth making. Fort Rosecrans Cemetery is a great place to visit with kids who are very interested in US military history, and for parents who want to show their kids the cost of freedom. Fort Rosecrans Cemetery is awe inspiring, both for its natural beauty and the representation of the ultimate sacrifice made by Americans, from the Spanish American War to the present.
More Family Travel Fun!
USS Midway Museum Groupon Deal! How to get a Family Membership for just $25!
San Diego Zoo Centennial: Roaring Forward Into the Next 100 Years!
Disneyland Freebies! How To Unlock Free Disney PhotoPass Downloads!
Ultimate Visual Guide to Disneyland’s Jedi Training Academy: Trials of the Temple!
Disneyland on a Budget: Build Your Vacation Fund from $0 to Disney!
What will you see when you visit San Diego with your kids?
