The Dana For Kids
Let the Little Ones Have a Blast
The Dana on Mission Bay is a perfect choice for kids! Our San Diego hotel has a wide range of San Diego attractions for kids available including bike rentals, paddle boat & aquacycle rentals, ping pong, two heated pools and Jacuzzis, and a great sand play area. Dining is perfectly tailored to kids, with an array of choices available at the Firefly.
No matter what season you choose to visit, there's something for everyone: the Dana offers nightly Dive-In Movies at the Tropical Pool as well as seasonal pastimes like Ping Pong, Bocce Ball & Lawn Bowling.
The on-site Adventure Watersports facility offers summer youth classes. They are a great way for kids to be introduced to fun on the water. With a low student to teacher ratio, the kids will learn the basics of water sports and water safety with an hour in a skiboat, where each student has a choice of waterskiing, wakeboarding, or tubing, followed by two hours of a variety of fun. Activities include: Stand Up Paddle Boarding, Kayaking, Riding Aqua Cycles and/or Paddle Boats. Additionally, guests can enroll in the 3-hour class for the price of the 2-hour class!
Top Things to do in San Diego for kids
- Rent bikes and ride down to the beach and up the boardwalk
- See how many different sea creatures you can find at the Point Loma Tide Pools
- Ride the carousel in Balboa Park or Seaport Village
- Get your Fun Town driver's license at the Volvo Driving School in Legoland
- Learn to surf on Mission Beach
- Dine with Shamu at SeaWorld
- Learn to snorkel and explore the La Jolla Sea Caves
- Feed Giraffes on a Safari Caravan in the San Diego Zoo Safari Park
- Meet, Touch and Feed Dolphins in SeaWorld's Dolphin Interaction Program
Kid's Favorite Local Amusement Parks
SeaWorld
Kids Tip: Dine with Shamu, try the Dolphin Interaction Program, Ride Journey to Atlantis & Shipwreck Rapids- and don't forget to make time to watch the Shamu, Sea Lion & Otter, Pets Rule & Dolphin show!
Sesame Place
Kids Tip: Bring your swimsuits, sunscreen, and cameras! Meet your favorite Sesame Street characters and splash around on the water rides.
The World Famous San Diego Zoo
Kids Tip: Visit the Children's Zoo during your visit, complete with a petting zoo and animal nursery. You may be able to feel a hedgehog's quills, listen to horned owls and watch zany science shows with Dr. Zoolittle.
San Diego Zoo Safari Park
Kids Tip: Take a photo caravan tour and you'll be able to feed giraffes & rhinos. If you don't feel like walking, take their segway tour!
Legoland
Kids Tip: Bring your swimsuits! Pirate Shores in Legoland is an awesome place to get wet!
Sea Life Aquarium
Kids Tip: Watch the feedings! They feed the shark pups Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30pm and the giant octopus every Tuesday & Thursday at 10:15am.
Birch Aquarium at Scripps
Kids Tip: Visit Sea Horse babies in Birch Aquarium's Sea Horse exhibit & nursery.
Belmont Park
Kids Tip: Buy a wristband and you'll be able to ride the Giant Dipper Roller Coaster & all of their other fun rides like the spinning Chaos and bumper cars. They also have an arcade!
Kid's Favorite Local Museums
The New Children's Museum
Kids Tip: Don't depart without leaving your mark on Penelope, a large metal whale that everyone paints on!
Rueben H. Fleet Science Center
Kids Tip: After getting hands on with science in all of their interactive exhibits, watch one of their great films in their giant dome IMAX Theater.
San Diego Air + Space Museum
Kids Tip: Check out the Kids Aviation Action Hangar, a special play area for kids of all ages!
Hall of Champions Sports Museum
Kids Tip: Don't miss the history of baseball and football exhibit!
San Diego Model Railroad Museum
Kids Tip: Mac's Kids Corner is open at the museum every Tuesday & Friday from 11am to 3pm. This is a great place to have fun, play games, listen to railroad stories and do railroad crafts.
Museum of Man
Kids Tip: The Children's Discovery Center in the Museum of Man has an interactive ancient Egypt exhibit that teaches kids the importance of archeology.
San Diego Natural History Museum
Kids Tip: Every Sunday is Wacky Science Sunday with Ms. Frizzle & The Magic School Bus. 2 free performances every Sunday!
San Diego Maritime Museum
Kids Tip: Don't forget to board the Star of India, the world's oldest active sailing ship!
Midway Museum
Kids Tip: Try their flight simulators! The Strike Fighter 360 allows you to make rolls, loops and spin like a real fighter pilot!
Other Kid's Favorites
- Surf Lessons! What better way to experience San Diego!
- Snorkeling and Scuba diving in the waters off La Jolla
- Exploring the Point Loma Tide Pools
- Getting up close to some of San Diego's most majestic creatures on a Whale Watching Tour
- Riding the Balboa Park Train & Carousel. They are classics!
- Visiting Seaport Village and riding their Bayfront Carousel
- Taking the Old Town Trolley Tour
- Visiting the Sea Lions at the La Jolla Children's Pool