San Diego Bay is the ideal vacation destination for families with children of all ages. Be sure to get up and at ‘em early. You’ve got a lot to see and do!

Let’s go to Seaport Village where we will find 57 one-of-a-kind shops, 4 award-winning restaurants, and 13 sidewalk eateries. Adults will love the ambiance; children will experience the magic of a turn-of-the-century port of call, especially when riding the hand-carved animals on Broadway Flying Horses Carousel.

Ready to sit down? Why not take a two-hour cruise of the Big Bay. San Diego Harbor Excursions and Hornblower Cruises and Events, located just to the north of Seaport Village, by the B Street Cruise Ship Terminal, offer one-hour narrated tours of the North Bay (Star of India, the Naval Air Station North Island, Harbor and Shelter Islands, the Naval Submarine Base and the Cabrillo National Monument) or the South Bay (the U.S. Navy surface fleet, Coronado Bay Bridge and busy shipyards). Or you can see it all in a two-hour tour that covers just about all of the Big Bay’s 34-mile shoreline.

Let’s go back in time at the Maritime Museum of San Diego, keepers of the Star of India, the Berkeley, and the Medea. You can tour the Star of India every day from 9:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. (9:00 p.m. in the summer). Guided tours are available.

Now, it’s back to the future and over the Coronado Bridge. The bridge starts at Cesar E. Chavez Park, home to outstanding contemporary Chicano murals. From mid-span, you can get a bird’s eye view of the 10th Avenue Marine Terminal to the north and 32nd Street Naval Base, National City Marine Terminal and Chula Vista parks and harbors to the south. The bridge ends at Tidelands Park in Coronado. You can also take the ferry across the Bay to Coronado. It runs from near the B Street Cruise Ship Terminal to the Coronado Ferry Landing.

In Coronado there are many choices for dining, and lots to see and do. Rent a bicycle and pedal along winding waterfront bike paths. You can fish, sail, shop or just relax, and enjoy spectacular city views.

That was a big day on the Big Bay. And there’s more to see and do tomorrow.

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