What To Do At Balboa Park

Listen, I’m not going to give you any bull crap and hype something up I don’t fully like. So, you can expect nothing but honesty from me about this. Balboa Park is so big, you really have no idea until you’re there, so tip number one brings comfortable shoes. I made the mistake of bringing 1.5-inch boots and I was basically in tears by the time we were at the last museum. So, don’t be like me and try to look “cute” you can still look great with sneakers. Also, I will not be writing about the Japanese Friendship Garden on this post just yet, I have to make one of its own just for that place. So, stay tuned for that. Anyways, there are multiple types of passes you can get online. We got the 5-museum pass for only $48.00 each which was a great deal in my opinion. We only visited 4 and that was probably because it was raining, and my feet were killing me. I think 4-5 museums is a good amount though because it takes a lot of time walking through and looking at everything. I calculated about 30 min-1 hours for a museum. If you have kids, it might take longer so plan accordingly. Find your ticket passes here.

Museum1. San Diego Natural History Museum

I believe this is the biggest one, it has 5 floors ranging from sharks, bats, rattlesnakes, bugs, dinosaurs, and fossils and so much more to see. There are no live animals but some live interesting looking insects. It was pretty cool we really enjoyed this one. I think you should really take your time here and learn something new. I highly recommend it. Lots of areas for cute photos. Side Note: You’re only allowed to drink on the first floor, so don’t buy a large cup of coffee and think you can roam around the whole building.

Museum 2. San Diego Air & Space Museum

Loved this one too!!! This is basically a place where you can walk up close and see historic aircraft and spacecraft from all over the world including a flight-worthy replica of Charles Lindbergh’s “Spirit of St. Louis,” the actual Apollo 9 Command Module, and the only real GPS satellite on display in the world. One of our favorites was the MaxFlight simulators, I mean it gave me a huge headache because Tyler was flying it like a maniac but still, lots of fun. I believe it was only $8 dollars a person.

Museum 3. San Diego Museum of Man

This one started off good then it got real weird real fast. The first floor is all about beer history and monsters which was interesting. As you go up to the second floor it got depressing. They have a section called Power of Secrets and at first, it was funny and interesting to read a bunch of random people’s secret but then…it got effing weird. Some of these secrets were very disturbing and depressing. I contemplated sharing some I read and I think to give you an idea I’ll share here. One read that this person was having cybersex with her dad and he doesn’t know it’s her. GROSS!!! Another one read they were raped multiple times by an uncle or friend and they actually enjoyed it. So many talked about suicide and just foul things. I honestly felt so depressed reading these and had to get TF out. Whatever studies have shown that letting these secrets out are “good” I don’t think that section of the museum was for me. Maybe you’ll enjoy it, so don’t take my word for it. I do have to say the way it was displayed was cool, so there’s that.

Cannibal Area.

So there are a Cannibals: Myth & Reality area and it kind of appeared the museum was praising cannibalism. It felt very strange and maybe the PostSecret just put a bad taste in my mouth, but I didn’t enjoy this section either. Very weird and like I said, just felt like it was siding with cannibalism.

Museum 4. The San Diego Museum of Art

Very beautiful inside and out but if you’re not really an art person, it might be boring. We walked throughout and some of the paintings were really nice and impressive but then you get over it…well we did at least. I would recommend going through because it does have really cool sections with old photographs, I think you’ll enjoy.

Side Note: Admission is always free if you’re 17 and under.

So, there you have it, my experience with all 4 museums at Balboa Park. I have to say it’s worth the visit. Like I mentioned it was raining the first day we were there so we couldn’t walk around everywhere, but if it was sunny, it would have been a much better day, minus the foot pain. I hope you enjoyed this post and helped you in any way decide which museums to visit or not visit on your next trip.

As always thank you for reading,
I appreciate you and your time.