San Diego: USS Midway Museum

That Epic Road Trip that Starts in San Diego…

(Relaunch with video, practical tips and 2017 details of the museum’s admission details)

Day 2.  It’s our second day in California for our Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip.  We were in San Diego and on that day the first thing on our itinerary was a visit to the USS Midway Museum.

USS Midway is a naval aircraft carrier that served the United States from the end of WWII to mid-1990’s.  It has since been converted into a museum to honour America’s heroes and for visitors like us to know how it’s like living in a city floating at sea.

 From our accommodation at Hampton Inn Hilton in Mission Valley, we drove for less than 20 minutes to get to the venue.  The ship is docked at the Navy Pier in Downtown San Diego.  The pier had a relaxing vibe and the space was wide, perfect for families with children who love running around like ours.

There were two self-guided audio tours available during our visit.  We did the Family Audio Tour which was a 2.5-hour self-guided tour (shorter of the two tours) where we had to complete tasks on the ship.  At the end of the tour, they get to earn a Junior Pilot Wings badge each.

On the roof, you will see the planes and helicopters.  At the ground deck, there are more planes on display. And at the lower decks, you’ll find the mess room, laundry room, officers’ quarters, a chapel, post office and a lot more.

Our boys found the tour interesting especially since they like both history (hmm a bit geeky like mum and dad) and military stuff.  It was quite a dizzying activity for me though, because we had to climb up and down narrow staircases and duck at several doors and low-beamed corridors.

Overall, our family enjoyed the museum and I bet many other families with little and big boys would enjoy it, too.  We were at the museum from 10am to 12:30pm.  After that, we headed to SeaWorld… 🙂

What I think about this activity

• Do not miss this if you have boys in the family.  They will love this.  My kids loved the hangar most.
• Borrow the audio tour.  It comes free with your admission ticket and the trivia in the narration is what makes the tour more interesting.
• Do the Family Audio Tour, it’s designed for kids and they get to earn a pilot replica badge.
• You may buy tickets online but you don’t have to. The queue is not long.
• Click here for a brief review of our accommodation, Hampton Inn by Hilton.
• Click here for an overview of our road trip.

Hours of Operation
10am to 5pm
Closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day

General Admission
US$20 Adults (18+)
US$17 Seniors (62+)
US$15 Students (13-17 or w/ college ID)
US$10 Retired Military (with valid ID)
US$10 Youth (ages 6-12)
Children under 5 are free

Website: http://www.midway.org/
Address: 910 N. Harbor Drive, San Diego, California 92101