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It’s very possible to have a perfect one day in San Diego without a car because San Diego is connected well by public transportation.
With one day in San Diego, you can go to Torrey Pines state park for a nice beach walk, La Jolla Cove to see the sea lions (SO FUN!), and go for an evening stroll at Balboa Park as you look at the architecture. These are things that I did for my day in San Diego from a cruise ship!
I was in San Diego without a car and was quite happy with the things I did! I relied on public transportation, which I’ll also talk about below.
I will give you ideas below about planning your trip to San Diego.
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Other popular things to do include whale watching (winter months into early spring) and the San Diego Zoo.
My most recent trip to San Diego was in October 2024 for a California coastal cruise.
See more things to do in California from a cruise ship!
These are the things I did with one day in San Diego cruise port!
1. Downtown San Diego
Cruise ships dock in downtown San Diego so it’s a very convenient starting location.
I used google maps to figure out public transportation in San Diego, which worked out very well. I downloaded the pronto card app and set that up before I arrived and it made it super easy to pay for the train fare and bus fare too. (So I highly recommend you do that!)
So my first destination within downtown was the Santa Fe train station to get to my first activity of the day!
👆 I saw a Ghosts and Gravestones trolley in downtown San Diego as I was walking away from the cruise ship. There are ghost tours that you can do to see haunted San Diego.
👆 I also saw a hop on hop off trolley.
👆 For one day in San Diego from a cruise ship, the Santa Fe train station was my first “destination” within downtown!
2. Torrey Pines State Natural Preserve
Torrey Pines state park is something you can do in San Diego without a car to do a classic California activity: hiking to see the California coast!
👆 Things to do in Torrey Pines state park includes hiking and the beach!
👆 You can spend part of your one day in San Diego hiking to the beach!
The Torrey Pines State Natural Preserve is a California state park that is located along the coast.
The hiking trails in the state park will allow you to see views of the coast line, and you can even hike down to the beach. (And you will be going DOWN!)
👆 The beach trail includes stairs.
👆 The final stairs to the beach.
It was foggy in the area on the day I went, but I still thought it was a good trip. I am sure the views are even better on a sunny day!
You can spend extra time walking along the beach and/or looking for fun rocks!
👆 It was foggy on the trail but it was still a good day!
👆 You can just follow the signs to the beach.
👆 You can go for a beach walk.
👆 Look for rocks on the beach at low tide!
You can also explore the area in a unique way by doing an adventure to see the slot canyons of Torrey Pines.
Coming from the cruise ship and downtown San Diego, it does take some time, but I was happy that it’s possible to get here without a car!
The Torrey Pines hiking trails can be seen on google maps. I started at the North Fork trailhead, and then followed the Broken Hill Trail to the beach. On the way back, I wanted to go to the bathroom so I took the Beach Trail back up to the West parking lot. This hiking was 1.8 miles. (map)
I went to Torrey Pines state park by bus. It was about a 15-20 minute walk from the bus stop near Torrey Pines to the trailhead.
To get from the cruise port and downtown San Diego to Torrey Pines, it will take around 1 hour 15 minutes by bus. (map)
👆 Hiking in Torrey Pines State Natural Preserve.
3. La Jolla Cove
One of the best places to visit in San Diego is La Jolla.
You can easily spend an hour or more walking the La Jolla coastal walking trail and going to the La Jolla Cove to see the sea lions.
It is so fun to watch the sea lions and seals!
If you start from the north end of the La Jolla coastal walking trail, the first spot you may see sea lions is near the La Jolla cave.
You can also go kayaking in the sea cave. People also go snorkeling.
For a lesser known snorkeling spot in San Diego, you can go snorkeling at Mission Bay!
As you walk further along the coastal trail with ocean views, you’ll end up at La Jolla Cove that is a beach that sea lions and seals are known to frequent.
For more to do when you’re in the area, it’s also fun to explore the La Jolla tide pools where you have a chance to see marine life at low tide.
After the sea lions, I had planned to go to Raymundo’s taco shop for food based on the reviews, but it’s closed on Sundays which is the day I was there.
👆 You can walk the coastal trail for amazing ocean views!
👆 The first area I saw sea lions was near the La Jolla caves!
👆 There were so many sea lions at La Jolla Cove!
Coming from the cruise ship and downtown San Diego, it does take some time to get to La Jolla.
I went to La Jolla by bus. I made my “destination” for google maps “coastal walk trail.” This is on the north end of the trail. There is a bus stop a few minutes walk from here. (map)
To get from the cruise port and downtown San Diego to La Jolla by bus, it will take around 1 hour 15 minutes. (map)
4. Old Town
Old Town is between La Jolla and downtown San Diego and that’s how I ended up with a quick visit in Old Town.
Coming from La Jolla on my way back to downtown, I had a train transfer at the Old Town station, so I decided to go for a short walk around.
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park is right next to the train station. (Here is the state park map.)
I didn’t go to the state park, but I walked 20 minutes to Junipero Serra Museum to see it from the outside. (map)
You can also do an Old Town food and drink tour.
👆 You can visit Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.
👆 I walked to Junipero Serra Museum from the Old Town train station.
It’s an easy train ride to get to Old Town from downtown San Diego. It’s a direct 10 minute train ride. (map)
5. Balboa Park
You can go to Balboa Park as a daytime activity, and it can also work as a nice evening stroll.
This is an urban park near downtown so it’s convenient to get to and something you can do if you want an easy activity in San Diego at night.
I went to Balboa Park at the end of the day right before returning to the cruise ship, so it was starting to get dark.
I got to the park just before it got dark so I was able to see the desert garden and rose garden while there was still some light out.
👆 You can visit a desert garden near downtown San Diego.
👆 There is a rose garden too.
During the day, you can do a scooter tour to get to know more around the park.
No matter the time of day, Balboa Park can make for a nice architecture walk.
👆 You can walk around Balboa Park at night.
👆 Walking around Balboa Park.
👆 Walking around the desert garden.
👆 The fountain at the rose garden.
You can get to Balboa Park from downtown San Diego by bus. From a bus stop near the cruise port, you can take a 15 minute bus ride to get to Balboa Park. (map)
I took a bus Balboa Park and got off at the bus stop near the desert garden. After seeing the desert garden and rose garden, I walked to the Lily Pond in front of the Botanical Building.
More for your travel to California:
HAPPY TRIP TO SAN DIEGO!
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