The 15 Best Balboa Park Tours in San Diego

1.San Diego Balboa Park Highlights Small Group Tour with Coffee

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 173 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $60Our pick

Explore Balboa Park with a local guide, historic architecture, gardens, hidden details, and a drink from a neighborhood coffee cart.

“We were a little late due to literally no parking within a fifteen min walk. But when my wife tried to explain that, she got a snarky, “I guess you’ll know to call next time.” We would have except the phone number wasn’t provided in the tour confirmation or ticket. Add to that, she was the only one waiting since we were the only ones on the tour. That wasn’t enough to give the guide pause in showing her displeasure with rudeness about waiting 15 min. That seemed like an overreaction since we had paid for the time and she didn’t have to do anything but wait. She began by…”

Check availability →Read our full review

2.Private Balboa Park Segway Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 153 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $65

Glide through Balboa Park on a private two-hour Segway tour with local history, gardens, landmarks, water, and personal guidance.

“Bridgette did a great job and provided us all kinds of interesting information. I highly recommend this tour with her.”

Check availability →Read our full review

3.2-Hour GoCar Tour of Downtown and Balboa Park

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 64 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $89

Review the 2-hour San Diego GoCar tour, with GPS narration, Balboa Park, Little Italy, the waterfront, driving tips, price, and safety advice.

“Fantastic!!!!! My husband and I absolutely love it .The tour of parts of San Diego were very informative. From the check in to checkout the staff was very friendly and informative I would highly recommend GO CARS TOURS!!!!!”

Check availability →Read our full review

4.Balboa Park Electric Scooter Tour with Pictures

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 59 reviews · 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.) · from $75

See Balboa Park by electric scooter, with photo stops, park history, and Jesse’s guidance in a fast, fun 90-minute tour.

“Jesse was educated and kind! We were a few mins late and he was graciously accommodating :) highly recommend if you want to see the park!”

Check availability →Read our full review

5.San Diego Walking Tour: Balboa Park with a Local Guide

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 50 reviews · 2 hours · from $60

Explore Balboa Park’s expositions, Spanish colonial architecture, gardens, art studios, and wartime stories on a friendly two-hour walk.

“Great tour! Just the right amount of time. Brooke was engaging and provided interesting information about the park. She even provided all of us with a follow-up email that answered our groups obscure questions. As locals with family visiting, we learned a great deal from her insights.”

Check availability →Read our full review

6.San Diego GPS Guided Scooter Tour: Downtown & Balboa Park Sights

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 27 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $81

Explore San Diego by GPS-guided scooter, from Balboa Park and Little Italy to the waterfront, Gaslamp Quarter, Old Town, and Petco Park.

“My husband & I booked this tour during an anniversary trip. We had such a blast that when we got back home, we bought two similar scooters!”

Check availability →Read our full review

7.San Diego Guided E-Bike Tour – Balboa Park & Gaslamp Quarter

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 25 reviews · 2h 30m · from $80

Ride San Diego by e-bike through the Gaslamp Quarter, waterfront, USS Midway area, and Balboa Park with a licensed local guide.

“We had a small group so we were able to add a couple sites off the beaten path making it an individualized tour! It was special!”

Check availability →Read our full review

8.The Private Balboa Park Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 24 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $199

See Balboa Park’s gardens, museums, Spanish architecture, and landmarks on a private two-hour tour with hotel pickup and snacks.

“Excellent walking tour. Guide was very knowledgable and friendly, and he came prepared with water and snacks! Thank you for a full education on Balboa Park!”

Check availability →Read our full review

9.2-Hour Downtown and Balboa Tour in GPS Guided Polaris GoCar

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 18 reviews · 2 hours (approx.)

Explore San Diego in a GPS-guided GoCar, from Little Italy and the harbor to Balboa Park, the Zoo, and Petco Park in two hours.

“This is a a unique way to see the city. The staff were super helpful. However the GPS instructions and commentary that was installed in the car rarely worked and would repeat itself. Thankfully we had been provided maps and an overview of the route. This made it fairly easy to find the right road to get back onto. As far as learning about the city- that part just wasn’t working at all.”

Check availability →Read our full review

10.E-Bike Tour in Balboa Park

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 14 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $169

Ride an e-bike through Balboa Park’s gardens, museums, theaters, and landmarks with a local guide, snacks, water, and a small group.

“This was the 2nd activity we scheduled with this company. It was a great e-bike tour around Balboa park. Jeff, our guide, was very entertaining, enjoyable and knowledgeable on all that is S.D. We will definitely schedule more future activities!”

Check availability →Read our full review

11.Balboa Park Botanical Exploration Game

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 12 reviews · 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.) · from $7Best value

Explore Balboa Park through a private puzzle game with gardens, art, theater, 12 clues, and a flexible 4.2-mile walking route.

“Loved that the game pauses to allow time at each place the game takes you. Loved the artist village, the gardens”

Check availability →Read our full review

12.Downtown & Balboa Park GPS Talking Car Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 8 reviews · 2 hours · from $86

Drive a GPS-guided GoCar through downtown San Diego, Balboa Park, Little Italy, and Hillcrest in two lively, flexible hours.

“I was given a damaged go cart. Soon as we pulled off and went a few blocks the Sideview mirror fell off. At closer inspection the mirror was merely taped onto the car. It was quite embarrassing. This should've been addressed before hand”

Check availability →Read our full review

13.2Hr GPS Self Guided Scooter Tour: Downtown & Balboa Park

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 6 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $81

See Little Italy, Balboa Park, Old Town, and the harbor on a GPS-guided electric scooter tour from $81.56 per person.

“Great way to tour the city. We were in the two person electrical car and we could stop and go as we like. The narration was interesting and easy to understand. The only problem we had was that the GPS had to be reset by phone midway through the tour.”

Check availability →Read our full review

14.Downtown to Balboa Park Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 6 reviews

Explore San Diego by private motorcycle sidecar, from downtown and Old Town to the waterfront and Balboa Park, with flexible stops.

“Being driven around on the motorcycle. My friend and I could not fit in the sidecar. If yo get another sidecar, you might want to add 10-15" to the seating. For hefty people like us. But i was glad I rode behind the driver. It was great. Relaxing anRead more”

Check availability →Read our full review

15.Viator Exclusive GoCar After Dark: Self-Guided Tour of Gaslamp and Balboa Park

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 6 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $115

Review of San Diego’s two-hour nighttime GoCar tour through Gaslamp, Seaport Village, Balboa Park, and waterfront sights.

“Excellent customer service had a really great time riding the car most fun I had in a while will definitely recommend this to everyone”

Check availability →Read our full review