While San Diego may be famous for its sunshine, the city also has a dark side lurking beneath the surface. Uncover the hidden history of gangsters, gunslingers, ghosts, and ladies of the night on an entertaining walking tour through the city's historic Gaslamp Quarter. It's the only haunted history tour in San Diego that actually goes inside buildings for a closer look at what goes bump in the night (pending COVID restrictions).

Explore a different side of San Diego on an evening walking tour
Hear chilling tales of true crime and hauntings right where it all happened
The only Gaslamp tour that goes inside the city's most haunted buildings
Locally owned company with deep roots in San Diego

What's Included

Haunted San Diego Downtown Gaslamp Walking Ghost Tour with True Crime
Visit Over 30 Locations & Enter 2
World-Class Storytellers and Trained Thespians
Historically Accurate Ghost Stories
An Experience You'll Remember - It's Dreadful

There Are No Clowns or Monsters Jumping Out At You - No Jump Scares
Not Wheelchair Accessible, Unless, You Have a Rugged Off Road Style Chair - Call if You Do

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

209 Fifth Ave, San Diego, CA 92101, USA
To meet up go to the Gaslamp Quarter Arch. Your host will be on the sidewalk between the Starbucks and Hard Rock entrances. They will be dressed in black or Victorian depending on how hot it is, you can't miss them. 209 Fifth Ave, San Diego, CA 92101 Show up 20 minutes early please!

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Gaslamp Quarter (Pass By)

Horton Grand Hotel

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Gaslamp Museum at the Davis-Horton House

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate

Have a Rugged Off Road Style Wheelchair? Those can work. They Won't Go in Locations Though
Brisk Walking Tour with Breaks at the Locations
Use the Bathroom Before. Public Bathrooms Are Extremely Scarce
Children under 10 are not recommended
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 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.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

5.0

105 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 105 reviews

Good walk, not so good stories

Carlos_R, Mar 2024

Aside from a couple of cool facts, you don't get much of history nor ghosts. Most stories told seem the same, when it would probably be better yo dive deeper into some others.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

Hi Carlos - you sure you are reviewing us? Our tour is a solid 2 hours with lots of history and ghost stories. You go to 20+ locations and enter 2. I am nost sure how you could come out of it not getting history (the ghost part, that happens but you do have to get really lucky, we don't fake anything). I feel like you might be reviewing someone else, at least I hope so. ;) Anyone reading this review know we have a satisfaction guarantee for any review under 4 stars for up to 4 people. Just reach out directly to me with constructive feedback please.

Fantastic Tour for San Diego’s History & Ghostly Stories

AbbyThomas_L, Feb 2024

This was a local tour group which is why it was more personal and entertaining. Dante was an excellent host. His explanation and story telling was fantastic. We were able to connect with the history of San Diego and the local haunting stories and sites. You would never stop to think the history behind each of the historical building if you didn’t have Dante. Our favorite site was the William Heath Davis house built in 1850. Walking inside a 174 year old building was breathtaking. Roughly recommend the tour.

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Thanks Abby - yep us and one other are the only locals left. I think we have almost 10 out of town competitors. I won't go into their integrity.. Scary!! ;) Thanks I will pass this on to Dante, he will be delighted.

Great time

Cecile_F, Jul 2023

Dante is a terrific story teller! So many stories of history, architecture, money and wealth, gambling and goings on in the Stingeree district. As well as ghosts and other paranormal activities! Lots of fun! He gave us a little extra time to finish the tour. We highly recommend this tour!

Response from Host, Sep 2023

Yes he sometimes does the directors cut ;) Thank you!

Very Enjoyable

Anna_D, Apr 2023

Kat was a great host. Very informative and a great tour of the Gaslamp area at night. Got to hear some great stories and history of the area

Response from Host, May 2023

Cool thanks Anna - appreciate the Kat callout :)

Looked for something fun...

Donya_H, Feb 2023

Looked for something fun to do for my 40th- it did not disappoint 🥰 loved all the history and the night life adventure.

Great time !

Cassandra_D, Nov 2022

Informative and friendly tour guide really brought the stories to life ! The instructions given online were crystal clear and easy to follow regarding meet up point and check in . Recommend this tour ! It is busy so I would avoid Friday’s or saturdays

Amazing night!

Christy_A, Nov 2022

Amazing halloween night tour. We are a family of five from Vancouver, Canada. Harland was an amazing guide! We had so much information and felt taps and smelt tobacco in the house. So scary!

Great Experience

Di_W, Oct 2022

Tour guide/story teller was amazing! It was a wonderful way to get history on the GasLamp Quarter while also being entertaining.

Cassius was an amazing...

Lashea_J, Sep 2022

Cassius was an amazing tour guide. The best part was definitely the the house we were able to enter inside of ! Definitely recommend if your in town.

No Tour

Carolyn_A, Sep 2022

The tour was canceled as there were not enough people looking to do the tour….disappointed! Hoping to see my credit card reimbursement.

Response from Host, Sep 2022

Good day Carolyn - I do see your information in our system. Full disclosure - unlike our competitors we pay 20% to enter our exclusive locations, plus Viator/TripAdvisor takes 30% of each ticket. This means 50% of each ticket is gone. Plus the cost of running the business, insurance, paying the host well, it adds up. I break even at 8 people and am happy to run it at that. I start seeing a profit at 9 people or more. I just simply can not survive if I lose money on the tours. Running these are more expensive then it looks. So I am sorry your tour didn't go. I looked up your number and did give you a 6 hour ahead of tour warning that the tour might not go (I was worried about it) with options. You decided to wait and see and unfortuantely it did not make the numbers. Your text messages are so kind and nice I am very surprised to see this review and that you have decided to hurt us. I've reached out to Viator to ask them how to make it more obvious we have a minimum. I'd rather keep the minimum and still go into places then get rid of those places. I request a refund via Viator though it can happen instantly or some days later, I don't control the Viator system. If you don't get it in 5 business days do reach out to me directly. - Brian

Cassius was awesome. Very...

Stephanie_P, Aug 2022

Cassius was awesome. Very entertaining. If you’re going to take this walking tour, I recommend you go with Cassius.

Very interesting. Being...

Leslie_C, Aug 2022

Very interesting. Being able to go in a few building was a plus. Dante was our guide. He was great. Very knowledgeable

Response from Host, Aug 2022

Pretty please when you leave a 4-star review let us know how we could have improved and gotten to 5 stars. We need the feedback we want to be the best! Thanks.

Very interesting date night

Linda_R, Jul 2022

Very interesting history of downtown San Diego. It's amazing all the buildings you walk by without noticing them until this tour. Bernice was very personable and informative. Excellent time whether you are a local or a tourist. Lots of walking and standing so wear comfortable shoes and travel light. If it is warm, bring a water. Otherwise bring a light jacket because it gets cool.

Response from Host, Jul 2022

Good call on the jacket - it can get brisk. Thanks Linda :)

It was a great tour...

Sean_K, Jul 2022

It was a great tour Bernice was very informative and learned a lot!! She was a tour guide had a lot of great emotion when telling the stories. I loved going in those two locations that was very different then any other tour. It was a good amount of locations that we stopped by and nice to see more of the city. Overall an great time

Response from Host, Jul 2022

Thanks Sean - appreciate the positivity and will pass this on :)

Great guide and a fun way...

Zara_L, Jun 2022

Great guide and a fun way to understand the history of San Diego's downtown. Good anecdotes and plenty of locations.

Response from Host, Jul 2022

Thanks Zara :)

Amazing!

April_S, Jun 2022

Our tour guide had the best attitude and was very informative. Her energy made the tour even more awesome. Loved hearing the history of San Diego and visiting the haunted buildings. I’d definitely recommend going.

Three H’s: History, Humor and ‘horror’

Lucy_T, Apr 2022

A brilliant couple of hours with a very knowledgeable and entertaining guide. The tour was a perfect blend of history and ‘horror’ delivered in a very busy part of San Diego. Would highly recommend to anyone wanting to learn more about the area in a fun way.

Response from Host, May 2022

Thanks Lucy, busy part of SD is kind, it's really crazy and for the adventurous. Appreciate you :)

Fun time for everyone.

Eric_S, Feb 2022

Where a comfortable pair a shoes because there is a lot to see. The Gaslamp district has an interesting history. Fun for everyone.

Response from Host, Apr 2022

Haha yes comfortable shoes for sure, the tour moves. Thanks Eric :)

Bernice was a great tour...

Jen_L, Jan 2022

Bernice was a great tour guide! She was very informative, and fun. We enjoyed all of it! We liked learning about the history of the Gaslamp district.

Response from Host, Apr 2022

Thanks Jen :)

Interesting tour but a bit too long

Jayne_J, Jan 2022

It was a good way to see the area on foot, some interesting history and fun facts, but wished they focused more on the historic buildings and less on tragic recent accidents and crime.. It was maybe a little too long, maybe could be condensed to 90minutes. Our guide was very good though she obviously really enjoys what she does.

Response from Host, Apr 2022

Sorry Jayne, I thought I already responded to this. It's hard to satisfy everyone. We have gotten so many request to add some true crime elements that we went for it. The tour is 70% ghost stories and 30% true crime is serial killers, murders and bizzare history. It hard to cut the length back further. Anyone reading this please know ghost, true crime and 2 hour give or take running time. I wish I had gotten a hold of you before you went. Also we do have a satisfaction guarantee and we will refund for this type of experience. Feel free to reach out and I will see if I can refund that far in the past.