San Diego

San Diego City Lights Night Tour

San Diego, USA

1 hour 30 minutes
Offered in: English

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Overview

Explore San Diego at night under the moonlight with this 1.5-hour city lights tour. Travel from the city’s Gaslamp Quarter to Balboa Park and the Embarcadero. Catch sights of the historic San Diego County Administration Center, the USS Midway Museum, and the Star of India. Plus ride to the top of the Coronado Bridge and see sights lit up all over the city, as well as some from Tijuana.

1.5-hour night lights tour of San Diego
Travel through the Gaslamp Quarter, Balboa Park, and the Embarcadero
Ride to the top of the Coronado Bridge, and see sights lit up all over the city
Catch sight of the USS Midway Museum and the Star of India

What's Included

Guided tour of San Diego at night

Food and drinks
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

825 W Harbor Dr, San Diego, CA 92101, USA
The tour meets the Seaport Village boarding location (825 W. Harbor Drive) next to the Bay Company store. Guests are required to check in 30 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time. PLEASE READ!!!! May 6-15th the departure location will be 1004 North Harbor Dr. due to event at Seaport Village

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Meet for your 1.5-hour night tour of San Diego at 470 Kettner Boulevard in the city’s Seaport Village. Make sure to arrive 30 minutes before your departure time.

Once you meet your guide and group for the evening, set out through the Gaslamp Quarter. This area is well known for its nightlife and Victorian architecture. Your first stop is at Balboa Park, which is one of the largest urban parks in the US. Its statues, fountains, and buildings are lit up at night and look even more spectacular at night than during the day.

Next up, your guide drives you up to the Coronado Bridge and over to the Coronado Ferry Landing. Stop at the there for about 20 minutes, and take in stunning views of the city lights.

Your last part of this tour happens at the Embarcadero. See the San Diego County Administration Center, the USS Midway Museum, the Star of India, and Navy aircraft carriers.

Your tour ends back at your original meeting point.

Seaport Village (Pass By)

Gaslamp Quarter (Pass By)

Balboa Park (Pass By)

Coronado Bridge (Pass By)

The Coronado Ferry Landing

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Little Italy (Pass By)

Star of India (Pass By)

USS Midway Museum (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Infants must sit on laps
Transportation is wheelchair accessible

Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Most travelers can participate
Check in 30 minutes prior to tour time required. Late check-in may result in forfeited reserved seat. To change or cancel reservation, you must do so 24 hours in advance by calling
Please dress appropriately as there may be cool temperatures at night. Part of the tour involves walking, so wear comfortable shoes.
**ATTENTION MAY 6-15 departure location will be 1004 N. Harbor drive due to event at Seaport Village
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 38 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

Frequently Asked Questions

The answers provided below are based on answers previously given by the tour provider to customers’ questions.

Filter by:

Q:Where is the departure point for the San Diego City Lights Night Tour?

A:The tour departs from 500 Kettner Blvd. in the Seaport Village, next to the Harbor House Restaurant

Mar 2021

Q:Is there parking available for the San Diego City Lights Night Tour?

A:The downtown area has numerous parking opportunities in paid lots. There is no designated free parking to board the tour.

Mar 2021

Q:How early should I arrive for the San Diego City Lights Night Tour?

A:You must check in at least 15 minutes prior to your tour. Of course, you are welcome to check in even earlier than that.

Mar 2021

Q:Do you pick up in the Old Town area?

A:Yes, we offer a free shuttle from Old Town departing from 4010 Twiggs St. It leaves 1.5 hours before the start of your tour. Please allow at least 30 mins prior to shuttle departure for parking. The shuttle will bring you back at the end of the tour.

Mar 2021

Q:How should I dress for the San Diego City Lights Night Tour?

A:Please dress appropriately as there may be cool temperatures at night. Part of the tour involves walking, so wear comfortable shoes.

Mar 2021

Q:Is the San Diego City Lights Night Tour handicap accessible?

A:Yes, some of our trolleys are wheelchair accessible, If you require accommodations, please notate in the "Special Requirements" box at checkout so we can assist.

Mar 2021

Q:Are pets allowed on the San Diego City Lights Night Tour?

A:Service animals are the only animals that are allowed on board the trolleys. Animal species other than dogs, emotional support animals, comfort animals, companion animals, and service animals in training are not permitted.

Mar 2021

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.0

98 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 98 reviews

Amazing!

Margaret_G, Apr 2024

Our experience was wonderful! Our tour guide, Matt, was knowledgeable and entertaining! Would highly recommend this tour!

Response from Host, Apr 2024

We're glad to hear that you enjoyed Matt and had a great time! We hope you'll come back for more next time you're in one of our other destinations. You’ll also find our tours in Savannah, Nashville, Saint Augustine, Key West, Boston, San Diego, and Washington DC.

No ear plugs to hear...

kaye, Apr 2024

No ear plugs to hear guide. Bus was old and need repair . They never came back to pick us up. We had to catch an uber.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We would like to hear more about your experience, please contact us directly at guestrelations@historictours.com.

Matt was a very...

emily_g, Apr 2024

Matt was a very knowledgeable and fun tour guide. We really enjoyed seeing and learning about San Diego.

Meh. Not much to see at night.

DebbieAnn_S, Apr 2024

The tour guide and driver, Tiger did his best to show us good time. He was polite, funny and accommodating, along with being very knowledgeable. The problem is that there aren't that many lights to see and San Diego in the evening is not that interesting. The best part of ths tour is the 15 minute stop in Coronado. There you have beautiful views of the skyline. I think this is a tour for the day time.

Tiger was Awesome!

Shauntee_B, Mar 2024

Beautiful way to see San Diego at night!!!! Our driver Tiger is an awesome guy who kept everyone entertained. Lots of lights and great views of the city.

Response from Host, Mar 2024

We love reading about our guests' experiences, and our CAST also enjoys knowing that they made your trip memorable. Thank you for taking the time to write this. We hope to see you again next time you visit one of our destinations.

Lizz was a wonderful tour...

Christie_A, Jan 2024

Lizz was a wonderful tour guide and kept us entertained with her pun-filled educational information. The ride was smooth and comfortable as well.

Great Tour!

Tiffany_H, Jan 2024

The tour of Little Italy was great! The area has lots of festive lights and plenty of restaurants to dine. We also especially enjoyed the view of downtown San DIego from the Coronado Bridge. I would recommend this tour to anyone visiting the city for the first time.

SD city lights night tour

EmyRoseChua, Dec 2023

The experience itself was amazing together with the pretty lights on display for the holiday. The only issue we have is that there were 5 noisy kids behind us during the tour, their parents were talking super loud too, so more than half of the tour we didnt hear the driver's narration. It's kinda frustrating and annoying. They also keeps on kicking our seats from behind. Overall the tour was great and our driver 'tiger' was super funny (we heard him talking during the introduction and when the kids fell asleep after the coronado stop point), i recommend this activity to older people as they are the most people to appreciate this (not that appealing to kids though)

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We are glad to know the tour was enjoyable and our staff was courteous. We would like to hear more about your experience, please contact us directly at guestrelations@historictours.com.

Beautiful city!

Stanley_W, Nov 2023

Wonderful guide (Vince)! Would have liked more photo stops, particularly in Balboa Park, and longer at the Coronado ferry landing. But overall a beautiful and informative trip. Great introduction to the San Diego area.

Beautiful scenery

Monica_C, Nov 2023

Great experience of the city and next cities over also, driver was very receptive to crowd and vocal on their knowledge of the city great wisdom overall

We all had a great tour

Tina_M, Sep 2023

Looking over the city with the night lights. The driver were great very informative the family had a nice time

Great way to learn the neighborhoods

Jen_D, Sep 2023

Belle was an absolutely amazing guide. She drove us around San Diego and provided great insights and info. The open air trolley was great for catching the views along the way. We stopped briefly to get a great nighttime skyline shot of the city

Chicago visits San Diego

Misty_D, Sep 2023

Great decision to do the night version, we really enjoyed our tour. Traveling to Coronado was an experience that allowed an amazing view of the skyline.

I was somewhat disappointed

Latricea_R, Aug 2023

For me, the tour was an ok tour. The drive through Balboa Park was so fast that you barely get a glimpse of anything. The bus is an open bus so it was hard to hear what the driver was saying when she was pointing out the different things. The city lights were pretty once you cross over the Coronado bridge. We were there for about 20 minutes to take pictures of the city skyline. My boat tour was cheaper and so much better.

I'd definitely do it again

Debbie_B, Aug 2023

Excellent tour....very knowledgeable tour guide. Highly recommend 👌. Loved the history of San Diego.

City Tour

Edmond_H, Jul 2023

My ride was with Belle she was very good driver and operator thank you! She was introducing everything about San Diego culture and about city.

The night tour

Mildred_W, Jul 2023

Everything was nice and the lights at night made it very special and nice and going cross the bridge to Coronado was great but didn’t feel the excitement like we thought and want to bc everything was getting to close and plus y’all need to do a little better at night bc we was so cold on that bus the driver was nice and very knowledgeable but she forgot the heat when we went across the bridge!!

Tour

Tee_D, Jul 2023

Enjoyed the tour host and some sites. But your was kinda boring. Too dark and far away to see most things. The park and museums was nice.

Night lights

Corey_S, Jul 2023

Our guide Liz was AMAZING! She interactive with us and funny! It was great to see the City at night. This is my 3 rd time to San Diego and it was cool to see it like I haven’t before!!! Thanks Liz!!!

Loved this trolley tour

Afrian_Z, Jul 2023

We had a great time on this tour, Rico our tour operator was super personable and super informative. Learned so much and found many more things I want to do in the area and saw so many mor places I want to go from taking this tour. Highly recommend. They do one stop on coranado where you can get a bit to eat or go to the restroom.

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