Maritime Museum of San Diego On the Water Adventures
Along with the USS Midway Museum, the Maritime Museum of San Diego is on our list of San Diego’s top attractions. Visiting the museum is great fun because you can climb aboard a wide variety of ships. For those that want to take it to the next level, there are several at-sea excursions the museum offers. This is our guide to the Maritime Museum of San Diego On the Water Adventures.
Of course, you should check out our general guide to the museum. The fascinating thing about the Maritime Museum is many of the ships are still seaworthy. There are a variety of on the water adventures you can book.
Jump Ahead To
Pilot Harbor Cruise
- Duration: 45-minutes
- Cost: $10 plus museum admission
Starting daily at 11:15, the Maritime Museum of San Diego offers 45-minute tours of San Diego harbor on a first come, first-served basis. These tours are only $10 in addition to the museum admission.
The Pilot is a small ship that helped guide larger vessels in-and-out of San Diego Harbor. It was in service from 1914 to 1996.
Swift Boat Tour
- Duration: 75-minutes
- Cost: $28 adults, $18 children age 3-12, $23 age 62+ and ages 13-17, $10 members
Swift boats were used extensively in the Vietnam War. These are small fast ships. The Swift Boat at the museum is 50-feet long. Most tours are conducted by Vietnam Vets and focus on Naval History. Generally, the 75-minute tours of the San Diego Bay are offered on weekends. There have been special tours up the coast of California to Santa Barbara.
Tall Ship Adventure: Californian
- Duration: 4 hours
- Cost: $79 adults, $52 children age 3-12, $74 age 62+ and ages 13-17, $61 members
The Californian is a large sail ship built for the 1984 Olympics. Tours generally start at 10:30 am on Sunday. This tour leaves the harbor and goes into the Pacific Ocean. Participants are actively encouraged to help with sailing the vessel. Tour guides focus on San Diego commercial and military maritime history. There is a cannon salute near the end.
San Salvador Sailing Adventure
- Duration: 4 hours
- Cost: $99 adults, $59 children age 3-12, $94 age 62+ and ages 13-17, $89 members
The San Salvador is a replica of the ship Cabrillo used to land in San Diego harbor in 1542. R=These tours generally go out on Saturday at 11:30. Like the Californian tour, they ask for volunteers to help with operating the ship.
The Maritime Museum of San Diego is looking to do long sea tours on the San Salvador of 4 to 5 days.
If you are interested you can fill out a survey here.
Whale Watching on the America
- Duration: 4 hours
- Cost: $75 adults 18+, $37.50 children age 3-17
The America is a 138-foot replica of the first America’s Cup winner. You can actually only go on the America by booking a specific excursion. These tours pretty much run daily at around 11 AM. Beer and wine are available for sale, but you can also bring your own. The tour includes snacks and non-alcoholic beverages. The price includes museum admission and a no seasickness guarantee. If you get seasick you get a $25 credit.
The America is known as the green whale watching option. While most commercial whale watching vehicles consume 100 gallons of gas an hour, the America used only 1,000 gallons during an entire season.
San Diego whale watching is at its best during the winter and spring months. However, the Maritime Museum boasts about a 100% recent success rate.
For more attractions in San Diego check out our top 10 list of both paid attractions and free attractions.
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