|In the San Diego Area
Local Attractions
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Enjoy surfing and sailing, biking and running, swimming and diving along San Diego's many coastal beaches and bays or watch a mid-summer sunset melting into the Pacific Ocean. Open public beaches abound from the San Diego area south to the Mexican border. Click the link above to the San Diego Beach Guide - San Diego's Best Beaches for everything you need to plan your San Diego beach adventure, including hours and directions. Please don't get lost – get the GPS. -
The world-famous San Diego Zoo houses over 4,000 animals of more than 800 species. Almost all major exhibits are open-air and designed around a particular habitat with many different animals side-by-side along with native plant life. Exhibits range from an African rain forest (featuring gorillas) to the Arctic taiga and tundra (featuring polar bears). Some of the largest free-flight aviaries in existence are here. It is also one of the few zoos in the world with the gentle giant panda. Click here 
to see a giant panda attack a tourist. -
The 213 acre San Diego Zoo Safari Park with its huge open enclosures with herds of African and Asian animals brings people thrillingly close to wild animals including white rhinoceroses, giraffes, Cape buffalo, Roosevelt's gazelles, African crowned cranes and more. Get up close and personal on the Park's Journey into Africa tour, an open-air, soft-wheeled vehicle inspired by the legendary safari trains of Africa. Get even closer on a Segway X2 during a Rolling Safari tour, or soar over the Park like a condor on a zip line. Sneak off and see if you can run faster than a lion. -
SeaWorld's main attractions are its killer whales, six of which are housed in 7 million gallon habitats known as Shamu Stadium. The Penguin Encounter exhibit has over 300 penguins representing seven different species: Emperors, Kings, Gentoos, Macaroni's, Adelies, Magellanics, and Humboldts. It is only one of two places in the world where Emperor penguins are kept in captivity. SeaWorld also features walruses, beluga whales, polar bears, sea turtles, and polar bears. In addition to sealife shows and exhibits, SeaWorld has a number of thrilling water rides inspired by the force and power of the sea. Very few people have been eaten by the killer whales at SeaWorld. -
Barnstorming Adventures - Biplane, Air Combat & Warbird Flights
In helmet and headset, one or two passengers sit in the front cockpit of a meticulously restored 1920's airplane while the pilot flies from the back cockpit while simultaneously counting the money you just paid him. Not just for passengers, pilots can relive the glory days doing loops and rolls in a WWII Warbird, or enjoy the pulse pounding excitement of You-Fly-It Air Combat under the watchful eye of real fighter pilots. Not for the faint of heart or working poor, but surprisingly affordable for two. BYO parachure. -
The Maritime Museum of San Diego has one of the world's finest collections of historic ships, including the world's oldest active ship the Star of India. The Museum displays permanent and temporary exhibits on maritime history, commerce and exploration. The schooner Californian takes passengers sailing on San Diego Bay and weekend adventure sails to Catalina. Also at the Maritime Museum when it is not out sailing is the first Chamorro Flying Proa built in 250 years – a 47 foot Micronesian sailing proa capable of speeds over 20 knots. Pictured here next to a European ship of the same era, it isn't hard to understand how it is that Europeans colonized Oceania and not the other way around. -
San Diego History Center is located in the heart of Balboa Park. Here you will not only find a collection of intriguing exhibitions that chronicle San Diego's diverse history, but also a library that is home to over 45 million pieces of paper and 2.5 million images that document the people, places and events of San Diego's past. Organize a for-money trival pursuit game on Southern California history with your neighbors you get back home. -
San Diego Air and Space Museum
Aviation history is truly a remarkable story, and it all unfolds at the San Diego Air & Space Museum. Stand beneath a model of the Montgolfier brothers' hot air balloon of 1783. Rare specimens of aircraft suggest the excitement of air combat in the World War I Gallery. Marvel at the entertaining and dangerous antics of the barnstormers of the 1920s in the Golden Age of Flight Gallery. Mint condition aircraft in a mint condition museum - a Spitfire Mk. XVI, a Navy F6F Hellcat and an A-4 Skyhawk jet - these beautifully restored airplanes help you appreciate the increasingly complex technology represented in the classic military aircraft of World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Have your picture taken in front of a Skyhawk jet and tell your friends that you served in Vietnam. -
San Diego Natural History Museum
The San Diego Natural History located in Balboa Park focuses on the unique and biodiverse southern California region. Big on fossils and geology, highly interactive exhibitions, models, murals, and dioramas explore evolution, extinction, ecology, and Earth process. 3-D films on a giant screen are shown shown alternately with the award-winning Ocean Oasis — a fascinating journey into two remarkably different, but inextricably linked worlds — Mexico's Sea of Cortes and the Baja California desert. Be sure to leave before dark.
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Balboa Park is the nation's largest urban cultural park. Home to 15 major museums, renowned performing arts venues, beautiful gardens and the San Diego Zoo, the Park has an ever-changing calendar of museum exhibitions, plays, musicals, concerts, and classes. Consider a Park Pass for one-time admission to the 15 museums in Balboa Park or get a Passport/Zoo combo at the Visitors Center. Or go for a record expense report by buying one ticket at a time. -
San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau Website
Additional information on what you can do legally in San Diego when not attending the conference.
