Maritime in San Diego

     Pack a lunch and plan on spending most of the day.  This is such a fun location, even for the kids.

     We take along Pirates of the Caribbean movies on the trips and make an attempt to watch just prior to heading to the ships.  This is just a fun way to get in the mood and enjoy the day more than ever.  After all, we are on our way to freely explore these old ships, including the ones formerly occupied by for real pirates.  With teen age girls, I think they had hopes of meeting a Johnny Depp look alike.  Alas, that never happened but we had fun trying.

The currents ships docked in this downtown San Diego area are
     The Star of India                             SD Harbor Pilot Boat
     San Salvador                                     Californian
     HMS Surprise                                   America
     Steam Ferry Berkeley                       Steam Yacht Medea
     B-39 Submarine                                 USS Dolphin Submarine

 and of course, right next to this collection of fun ships is the USS Midway aircraft carrier.

  Pricing for spending the day with the 'spirits' that remain on the old ships and enjoying the history on the more 'proper' ships, is very reasonable.  Especially since you can literally spend a majority of the day wondering.  Visit all the museum's historic ships, exhibits, and the San Salvador build-site Village at Spanish Landing for ONE low price.

Adults - $15.00

Senior (62 yrs +) and Military(w/ID) - $12.00

Students (17 yrs to 13 yrs) - $12.00

Children (12 yrs to 6 yrs) - $8.00

Children (5 and under) Free 

The USS Midway is priced separately -  

General Admission
$18 adults
$15 seniors (62+)
$15 students (with valid ID)
$10 retired military (with valid ID)
$10 youth (ages 6-17)
Online Price
$17 adults
$14 seniors (62+)
$14 students (with valid ID)
$9 retired military (with valid ID)
$9 youth (ages 6-17)

     There is a lot of freedom on the ships.   There are displays and exhibits; lots of hands on fun.  And yes - it is all about the fun when doing the Grandma vacation.

Like I said - it is a hands on sort of experience.

     Here's how the budget for the day worked out.  The girls were not interesting in going on the air craft carrier so we only had the purchase of Maritime Museum tickets.  Since we spent almost 5 hours there, it worked out just fine. We got discount coupons from the San Diegan Coupons site - for $3 off each ticket.  (currently the discount is $2 each, so keep checking because the discounts change on a regular basis).  Another site to keep an eye on is San Diego Coupons; there are lots of great bargains there also.  For one adult and 3 teens we spent $39.  The parking was free and right across the street; very convenient.  We took an ice chest with snacks and drinks so no food purchases while we were there. 

     At the end of our ship adventure, we hit the road and headed once again for the beach.  8 miles and 15 minutes later we are at Mission Beach Boardwalk.  The parking is free, we have our ice chest with food and drinks, the beach is free - our total day is still costing us less than $40; that is $10 per person.

Not too bad for a great vacation day. 

Hidden Bargins at Sea World San Diego

     There's just no trip to an amusement park that is easy on the bank account.  It is not something that is high on my list when it comes to the bargain vacation with this Grandma.  But, I did take two of my grandson's to Sea World San Diego a few years ago and we really got a bang for our buck.  Today some of the deals have changed and are not as good as the ones we took advantage of, but there are still some bargains to be had.

     We planned the trip late in the summer, just before school started so many of the families had gotten their vacations out of the way and were in the 'planning for school' stage of their summer.
This helped with the hotel more than anything.  We generally stay at the Days Hotel, park of the Wyndham group, but that will be another story.

     The park itself had the biggest savings options.  If you make your trip in the later half of the year, you can get a membership for the remainder of the year at a discount rate.  Watch for the extras, they are vitally important when it comes to parking and in park discounts.  Take a look at the description below - this is the chart for 2012.

 

No matter how many people are in your group, one person should have a membership that includes the parking and gets you the discounts at stores and food.   Parking alone is $10 each time you enter.  Food discounts?  You are allowed to bring in sealed bottled water into the park.  If you call ahead, you may find that you can bring in small snacks.  The rule that says no food allowed seems to change periodically.  A 10% discount on food adds up pretty quick.  But, don't buy the more expensive membership when only one in the party needs that discounts.

     You can leave the park and re-enter with a stamped hand for no extra charge.  An ice chest in the car will make for a nice picnic in the grassy shade at the entrance area.  A meal in the park may be fun and entertaining but after the first, it is just down right expensive.  

      So here is your example for entrance - for a family of 2 adults and 2 children.

Regular admission for one day 

     2 adults @ $78                                  $ 156

     2 kids  @  $ 70                                     140

     parking                                                    10

total just to get in the park                    $ 306

Now for Grandma's budget plan

     first - buy on line for the best prices (they can change so check)

      2 Single day adult @ $63                 $ 126

      1 Single day child  @ $55                      55

      1 Silver Membership $130                   130

                                                               $ 311

Do you look at this and see that the amount is slightly more?  Well, by purchasing a child's silver membership, you get your unlimited parking and 10% off of all food and merchandise, plus discounts on tours.  Checking the web site is so important since FunCard prices drop as the end of the year approach.  

One more very important note -

If you are a little short on cash to start out here, you can purchase you Membership for $24.95 up front and a monthly amount of $9.94 will be taken from your account til the amount is paid off.  

This plan would make you initial entrance cost $ 205.95

This may sound confusing but when you get on the official Sea World site, it makes much more sense.  

 Shamu Show • Believe

 Blue Horizons Dolphin Show Sea World San Diego 

 Shamu Believe (Full Show) at SeaWorld San Diego