PIN ME!
We'd spent our first evening in San Diego wandering through the city and the morning after on a boat, cruising the San Diego Bay.
With only an afternoon left before we had to go back to Los Angeles and still a whole lot to see, we decided to take a San Diego hop on hop off trolley tour with Old Town Trolley Tours.
San Diego hop on hop off trolley tour with Old Town Trolley Tours
Old Town Trolley Tours was founded by three friends in Key West, Florida, in the early 1970s. They wanted to preserve historic Old Town Key West by introducing visitors to it and raise awareness. Their business took off and is now based in six cities, among which San Diego.
Old Town Trolley Tours works with a hop-on/hop-off system. You buy a ticket once and with that ticket you can hop on and off the trolleys driving through San Diego for an entire day (or two, if you get the two-day tour).
Of course, you can't get on/off just anywhere. You have to use the trolley stops located throughout San Diego and Coronado Island.
Coronado Island
Because we’d already covered part of the center and Seaport Village we decided to mount a trolley at the Hilton Bayfront stop. We immediately noticed what a great storyteller our driver, Brian, was. He continually shared interesting and fun facts with us, both about important historical events and about everyday life.
Crossing the San Diego / Coronado Bay Bridge we got some great views over Seaport Village and Coronado Island. It’s actually a bit scary driving over this bridge as the side edge to keep you from falling is only like 20 cm highs and there's no glass in the windows of the trolleys.
Coronado Island isn’t part of San Diego. It’s a separate city and one that upholds strict rules for those living there. McDonald’s and other chains aren’t allowed as the island wants to preserve it’s ‘authentic’ feel.
There was nothing on Coronado when Elisha Babcock and Hampton story decided to buy it for $110,000 (price then) in 1886 to turn it into a resort community. They constructed roads, built a water and power system and attracted buyers for the lots they’d laid out.
Crown on top of their work was and still is the Hotel del Coronado, built in just one year for $1 million dollars (price then).
Balboa Park, San Diego
After having seen the Hotel del Coronado we drove back over the bridge, this time getting a view on the Naval Station, toward Balboa Park.
Balboa Park is huge. There are 15 museums, among which the Air and Space Museum and the Museum of Art, but also performing arts venues, gardens and the San Diego Zoo. The park even has its own free tram service to take you around.
But even by tram, we knew we wouldn't be able to explore the full 1,200 acres of this place with the amount of time we had. We had to make a choice between visiting a museum or two and wandering around to see more but then from the outside.
We chose to wander, but it didn't go so smoothly. Temperatures had been around 40°C during the day for most of our trip and although I love the heat, I was struggling with it that day. I felt tired and just wanted to go hang somewhere, but because I knew we didn't have much time in San Diego I decided to make the most of it.
After about two hours, I had to give in. I wasn't enjoying Balboa as much as I should have and so we decided to take the trolley back to Little Italy and head back to the hotel.
That meant we'd skip Old Town San Diego. I'm bummed I didn't see it now, but at the time I just wanted to get to our hostel and rest for a moment. Even the thought of driving back to LA in our comfortable air-conditioned car seemed appealing.
I did still enjoy our last part on the San Diego Trolley Tour, though, as our new driver told us about some beautiful houses we drove by and their past owners.
Summing up our experience with the trolley tour in San Diego
I'm not someone who easily goes on tours, but I really enjoyed our ride on the trolley. Both drivers we had seemed to love their job and had tons of interesting stories to tell. I regret that we weren't able to make it to Old Town San Diego, but sometimes you just have to accept that it's not your day, even when traveling.
Practical information
A one-day ticket for the trolleys costs $32,4 for adults and $16,2 for children aged 4-12. Children younger than 4 get to ride for free.
Old Town Trolley Tours also offers a 2-day tour, a San Diego Beach Tour and a Seal Tour. Check out their website for more information on those.
We stayed at Lucky D's Hostel in a private room. This place was perfectly located near the Gaslamp Quarter and the bay area.
And if you're traveling to the USA from Europe, don't forget to apply for your ESTA to enter without a visa.
We received two free one-day tickets for the Old Town Trolley Tour from the San Diego Tourism Board and a one-night hostel stay from Hostelbookers.com. Partnerships like these will never affect how I express my opinion.
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Roberta Loufek says
Back in 2000 I moved to San Diego for a few years, and one of the first things I did was take the Old Town Trolley Tour to learn about my new home and get a feel for the area. It was so fun and informative! Thanks for the re-tour. I’m in Arizona now – up in the mountains, but your wonderful photos remind me of my time in San Diego near the ocean.
Sofie says
My pleasure Roberta!
May I ask why you left San Diego again?
Do you like Arizona better?
Tim | UrbanDuniya says
I’ve seen these in some cities before and went on one in Perth, Australia when I was a child – too long ago for me to remember much of it. What a great way to see San Diego!
Sofie says
Yes it was! Especially as it was so warm that day and we got to sit a bit in the shade and were driven around to see a lot of things :-)
anne says
Thanks for the memories – Made 2nd trip to SD in December and hope to be back in July – love it and love the trolley.
Sofie says
You seem to be a true SD fan:)
NZ Muse says
We took a quick tram ride around Balboa Park but didn’t really go into any museums (they are surprisingly pricey). As for Old Town we sorta cruised through at night but didn’t really stop – my favourite part about SD was really just chilling on the beach (we went in November and it was still really warm so cannot imagine what it’s like in summer).
Sofie says
We actually didn’t go to the beach when we were in SD. As we had so little time we wanted to see as much of the city as possible.
Heather says
I love the idea of hop-on/hop-off tours, but they are always so pricey and make me feel rushed. San Diego looks beautiful, though, and I’d love to visit!
Sofie says
They are often pricey, that’s true, but this one didn’t make me feel rushed at all as you could get on and off whenever you wanted to. First pick-up was somewhere in the morning and the last one around 5 pm. How many times you got on and off in between was entirely up to you.
Of course if you plan on spending a lot of time in each part of the city than a tour like this is probably too expensive, but if you want to see as much as possible in one day or get a good first impression of the city then this is definitely interesting.
Lauren Meshkin says
I live just two hours from San Diego and don’t visit nearly enough. Coronado Island looks and sounds awesome! I’d definitely be interested in taking this tour. That house is stunning as well, wow. Not something you’d usually see in California. Thanks for sharing!
Happy travels :)
Sofie says
Hey Lauren!
Do you live north, south or east of San Diego?
Not that I’m curious:D Just interested in exploring the region more as well!
Lauren Meshkin says
Hi Sofie!
I live very close to LAX airport in the south bay, about 2 hours from San Diego. I write about LA and the surrounding area a bit on my blog. Sometimes I have to remind myself to explore my own backyard a bit more, if you know what I mean. California really has so much to offer. Message me anytime you’re in the area and I’ll point you in the right direction! Take care.
Happy travels :)
Sofie says
I definitely know what you mean! There’s so much in Belgium I haven’t seen yet. When I’m at home I lock myself up to work too often.
Which gets me thinking: maybe I should plan a monthly day trip in Belgium or something:)
Have been to California three times and I absolutely love it. The diversity of the area and of course the weather.
I’ll definitely let you know when I plan another trip there, thanks!
Victoria says
Nice post! I like the phrase “but sometimes you just have to accept that it’s not your day, even when traveling.” I agree and have been in such situation. I always say that you just get a reason to come back again some time:)
Sofie says
That’s a great way of thinking!
I have to say I felt a bit negative about San Diego at first, but now I feel like I can’t fully judge as I definitely wasn’t at my best during my visit.
Indeed, a reason to go back:)