Balboa Park Small Group Tour: Discover Hidden Gems

Uncover the hidden gems of Balboa Park on a small group walking tour. Explore gardens, admire architecture, learn about the park’s history, and enjoy a beverage at a popular coffee cart.

Duration: 2 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Balboa Park - Balboa Park is the cultural jewel of San Diego with architecture, gardens and cultural organizations a-plenty. Keep a camera handy as there are Instagramable spots around every corner.
  • Cabrillo Bridge - We’ll pause on our walk across the bridge to admire the views of downtown, the San Diego Zoo and the historic highway below.
    -…
What's Included
  • Exclusive access to park resource list with recommendations on how to enjoy the park after the tour
  • One beverage at a local coffee cart
  • Professional and Fun Tour Guide
What's Not Included
  • Guide gratuity
Additional Information

Explore the hidden corners of splendid Balboa Park on this intimate group strolling tour of San Diego’s cultural masterpiece. You’ll encounter diverse gardens, impactful architecture, and gain insight into the park’s past as well as the cultural entities that reside in it today. Cap it all off with a drink from a popular coffee kiosk.

  • 2-hour…
Location
698 El Prado
El Prado
We meet at the Founders Statues near 698 El Prado between 6th Ave and Balboa Drive at the west entrance of Balboa Park. It's on the only corner with an incline. If using ride share services request SEFTON PLAZA as the drop off location. Otherwise you may get dropped off in the wrong place.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(155 Ratings)
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H3253gapauld
Aug 25, 2025
A great tour through Balboa Park! - Our tour with Jennifer was amazing! Thanks to an incorrect dropoff location by a carshare (Not Jennifer's or the tour's fault!), we were a few mins late getting to the tour and had to backtrack to meet the group, but Jennifer was in contact via text with us the whole time, and finding her was super easy. Once we caught up with the group, the tour was really in depth, fun and informative - Jennifer clearly knows and loves the park and the area, and we learned so much about Balboa Park and its history in the two hours we spent with her. And on a hot day, "coffee" can also mean a smoothie! A highly recommended tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lorenzo_y
Aug 1, 2025
Balboa Park - Jennifer was a great guide, she had an amazing personality and showcased her knowledge of Balboa Park
Review provided by Viator
Emily_h
Jul 27, 2025
Amazing!!! - Jennifer was absolutely amazing! We had trouble finding parking and were a couple minutes late but she was very understanding. We learned so much about the history and construction of Balboa Park and I even had one of the best coffees I’ve ever had! I had the peanut butter espresso frappe and my fiancé had the peach tea lemonade (which is also Jennifer’s favorite!). I couldn’t have asked for a better tour guide. She joked with us and gave us a decent amount of time to check out shops and different attractions. If I could give this a higher star rating, I would in an instant!
Review provided by Viator
Mikayla_b
Jul 22, 2025
Fun Morning in Balboa Park - Excellent tour! Length and pacing were perfect. It didn’t feel like a ton of walking. It’s quite a nice stroll through the park and our guide, Jennifer, was so friendly and knowledgeable. She made it a great experience for our group. You hit the coffee stand about half way through and it’s delicious! I would definitely recommend this tour!
Review provided by Viator
353jiaxinw
Jul 5, 2025
Insightful and relaxing experience in the park - Our local guide Jennifer was warm, friendly, and full of fascinating stories that gave us a deeper understanding of the park. The tour also includes a complimentary drink of your choice—I chose the coconut matcha and absolutely loved it!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Heatherlynn429
Jun 30, 2025
Fantastic Tour, Highly Recommend! - Balboa Park is a wonderful place to visit, but it can be overwhelming at first. I highly recommend taking a tour of the park with San Diego Walks. We now know the layout of the park - museums, architecture, places to stop for a restroom break or something to eat and drink. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable, friendly, and flexible. We can't wait to return to San Diego and take another tour with San Diego Walks and explore Balboa Park further now that we know the park's history and the lay of the land.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Daniel_c
Jun 22, 2025
Fantastic experience - Fantastic! No one else signed up, we basically had a private tour. Great experience, learned so much more then trying to do this on our own.
Review provided by Viator
Sightseer45671947280
May 3, 2025
Balboa Walking Tour - Jennifer was a knowledgeable and friendly guide. We enjoyed the walk and learning about the history of the park and its buildings. Highly recommend. Without a guide we'd have enjoyed a lovely walk, it was made so much richer knowing the origin story.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Glenn_v
Apr 9, 2025
Balboa Park - Jennifer guided us through Balboa Park and it was a wonderful introduction to a part of San Diego we knew almost nothing about. The stop for a drink and sitting down for a few minutes was a nice bonus.
Review provided by Viator
Eugene_e
Aug 2, 2025
Amazing place, not so amazing tour guide. Knowledge of the tour doesn’t trump rudeness or lack of respect for customers. - 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 being disagreeable with sarcasm and being upset at my asking questions. She really wasn’t suited to the position and seemed generally unhappy about being there. We were glad to cut the tour short and rid ourselves of her unpleasant demeanor.
Review provided by Viator
From $54
up to 15 guests
2 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).