Plan Your Visit

I honestly didn’t expect much about this museum. I just went here simply because it was close to the USS Midway but it turned out to be one of the best museums I’ve ever visited! It was really amazing experience to get on old style boats and would definitely like to try their sailing experience next time I am in San Diego. But for this time visited, my favorite thing I had done here was seeing airplanes landing the San Diego Airport through a periscope of USS Dolphin!

While in town for a conference, I had a couple of hours free between sessions. This 45-minute tour on a historic pilot boat was an ideal way to see the highlights of the San Diego harbor and learn a bit about its history when I didn’t have a lot of time. Our guide was knowledgeable and engaging, and we saw great views of the city skyline, the Coronado Bridge, Coronado Island, and the aircraft carriers—including a better view of the USS Midway than you can get from land! The ticket price for the harbor cruise includes admission to the Maritime Museum, which is definitely worth exploring as well. Highly recommend this fun and informative tour, especially if you’re short on time but want to check out the San Diego harbor and enjoy the fabulous weather before you’re back inside the convention center for your next session!

What a spectacular collection of ships and maritime art. I’ve seen the Cutty Sark, the HMS Victory, and the USS Constitution, in different years and places, and this museum is on that level, plus the paintings/models/excursion options in the harbor, and more.

We came here to do the San Salvadore sailing adventure initially and got to see quite a bit of the museum before and after our trip. They have a real submarine, and several replica ships from different periods of time, (San Salvadore (A spanish gallion from the 1500s, H.M.S Surprise (very late 1700s), The Californian, (Gold rush era/late 1800s), and The Star of India. Almost all of the ships you can go onto and look around, which is really neat. They have lovely artwork and lots to look at. It's kind of a small museum but it packs a punch.

Really cool museum and experience. I would highly recommend for anyone interested in nautical history.

We just experienced Boarded! (The pirate show/experience at the Maritime Museum of San Diego.) It was a fun, interactive show onboard a sailing ship and my 5 year old had a great time pretending to be a pirate. The actors were great at interactions with both adults and children and getting people to participate in the fun.

You can feel, touch, and see the history of the boats & ships. Very educational. The volunteers are knowledgeable and happy to share information. Our group had a 4 year old and 70 year old. They both managed all the ladders and walking. It is a lot of walking to see it all at once. Worth the visit.

Well worth the admissions fee. Had a lot of fun & learning aboard the myriad of vessels they have. I can’t imagine how hard it is to up-keep old ships by the ocean in salt water. Keep these floating museums around is a treasure in itself.

We were going to catch a ferry as a way of seeing the bay, but are so glad that we went on the Swift Boat tour instead. We saw an awesome array of US Naval Boats- but best of all was the narration from the Veteran Swift Boat guides. Incredibly informative. A wonderful 2 hours on the water.

Excellent museum with lots of niche history. Also offering boat tours on the bay with excellent tour guides for local information. A cool look into the past of seafaring vessels.

We just experienced Boarded the new pirate adventure. It was a blast for all ages. If you are in the area I would highly recommend. The rest of the museum is also wicked cool. Lots of old timers who love to let kids push buttons and share their wisdom.

We have always walked by and admired the historic ships in the bay, but we decided to do more exploring and actually go on them. It was so much fun! The museum is very cool! There is a ton of history involved, and to learn where these ships have been throughout the world was incredible. Within the ships, there's even more on board to interact with and learn about. Definitely recommend the submarine - not very often do you get the chance to actually go inside one. It's awesome! We took the whole family and had a blast! So glad we finally went aboard. Also, they do have a safe area for strollers if you have one with you.

Highly recommend! The staff have such a passion for what they do here. They’re happy to talk to you about any ship and even take a group picture for you. You can go into each ship as well as a submarine. The submarine was my children’s favorite. If we make it back to San Diego we will definitely return since I didn’t get to read all of the signage with the limited time we had.

Had a great day visiting. For a nominal fee, a free entry for those in a wheelchair, we were able to see several ships. Started off with The Steam Ferry "The Berkely", an 1898 Steam Ferry, that was used as a hospital on the San Francisco Bay after the 1906 earthquake. Other shups that we saw were The 1542 San Salvador, which was under the command of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, who searched for sea travel routes from Mexico to Asia and Europe. Other ships in this port, were the Star of India, the world's oldest active sailing ship, dating back to 1863. My son is interested in the paranormal, and this ship has tales to be told (as seen on tv). Another interesting ship was the HMS Suprise, a replica of the 18th century Royal Navy frigate Rose and has a famous movie history, "Master and Commander". Lots more to see and it was nice to breathe in the ocean air. San Diego weather was as perfect as can be. Must see for us fellow Nevans, and only a State away!

We participated in the Family Overnight adventure aboard the Star of India. The first time since 2019, they offer the opportunity to learn about this large, still sail-worthy ship from the 1800s. It's a living history museum experience and the crew were phenomenal, acting/dressed for 1864. We learned all about a sailor's life, handling the rope lines, moving cargo aboard the ship, different crew positions (e.g., deck hands, line handlers, boatswain, etc.). You bring your sleeping bags and hunker down for the night on the "tween" deck. We learned knot tying and the crew shared song and stories. It was a lot of standing and walking about the ship, so you'll earn your keep and really appreciate the simple yet delicious meals of beef stew (dinner) and oatmeal (breakfast). It was truly an incredible, memorable experience and one we'd highly recommend.

Exciting sailing aboard a tall ship out of San Diego into the Pacific. The crew worked as a team and the two docents shared historical perspectives.

Came to San Diego for a week with my family. We went to the maritime museum. We took the reviewers advice and wrote the boat for the extra $10 per person and that was the best decision we made on our trip. Our tour guides name was Kiki and she was by far the best tour guide we've ever could've imagined and we had the best time, Kiki was very knowledgeable and gave us great tips and she was definitely the highlight of our trip to San Diego. Thank you, Kiki.

If you are into ships or into modeling, this is definitely a must see. There are some nice crafted models with related information, but the truly fun part is walking through actual ships, including a submarine, to get an idea as to what it was actually like working on these ships, and to understand how cramped living at sea could be. Among the ships you can tour is the one used in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Admission is relatively cheap compared to many museums these days, although some add-ons, like a tour of San Diego Bay by a Vietnam era "swift" boat are extra.