Maritime Museum Of San Diego

The Maritime Museum of San Diego will spur your imagination for United States maritime history! You’ll definitely want to add the Maritime Museum Of San Diego to your must-visit list. Located on San Diego Bay, the Maritime Museum sustains one of the largest collections of notable sea vessels in the United States. You’ll see sailing ships, steam-powered boats, submarines, and more. The centerpiece of the museum’s collection is the famous 1863 Star of India. Its storied history includes collisions, mutinies, cyclones, and more than a quarter-century of hauling immigrants from England and Ireland to New Zealand to begin new lives.

The Museum’s latest addition to its fleet is the San Salvador. The ship is a full-sized, fully functional, and historically accurate replica of Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo’s 1542 flagship. The new San Salvador will function much more than just a static museum display. Residing in San Diego, she will also sail along the coast of California, visiting cities and towns as a floating education platform for California’s school children.

Maritime Museum of San Diego

4.7

Based on 3313 reviews

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Jay Baugh

05:13 19 Apr 22

My kids and I love to visit the Maritime Museum. The staff is friendly and passionate about the ships and their... history. We learned some interesting stories. One of the ships, the Star of India has been a fixture of the San Diego skyline since I was a kid and it still sails! In fact the goal is to have all the museums tall ships go out sailing together one day! What a great sight that will be!read more

Dan Auslander

23:30 28 Mar 22

What a great museum presenting the maritime history of this great seaport city. While the ships themselves are the key... exhibits, the large ferry Berkeley's main deck is filled with models and displays telling the story of the port and its naval history. The tall ship Star of India also is filled with exhibits telling its story across a long sailing career. I highly recommend the add-on boat tours and sailing adventures if you have the chance. They are so much fun and well presented by staff and volunteers who really care and want to share the history.read more

Vi San Diego

17:28 12 Mar 22

If you're visiting the San Diego Harbor I highly recommend the Maritime Museum with the addition of the PT Naval Swift... Boat. The Swift boat takes you further into the harbor for 90 minutes where the shipyards are and you get a history of each ship as you pass them. My BF and I had SO MUCH FUN, as the crew told their Vietnam stories and interacted with us. This tour is the best deal on the harbor as far as boat tours, in my opinion.Note: The Swift Boat only runs on weekends and sells out fast- buy in advance. You cannot purchase tickets separately- must buy museum ticket + the swift boat tour.read more

Sonia Sell

06:49 04 Mar 22

Just wrote a review for Star of India which is included in the Maritime Museum. So basically I'll just rewrite it. Cool... ships and boats to see. Explore at your own pace on unguided tour or take a guided tour, which is available only on certain days and times. Two ships were MIA so we didn't get to see them all. One in repairs and one out at sea (ocean?). Unguided tour could easily take an entire afternoon if exploring in depth. Lots of ship ladders going from level to level! Take this into consideration if you are challenged getting around, have babies or small children. These ladders are very steep and there are not always good handholds. Many need to be taken facing the steps like a regular ladder. Everything was interesting to see and money well spent for an afternoon.read more

H H cindy Todd

02:05 04 Feb 22

We literally spent one whole day in this museum. Visited all the ships including the USS Dolphin submarine and the... pilot boat ride in the harbor. The 45 minutes guided tour was excellent due to the knowledge of our guide. Thanks to the lady in the ticketing booth who said we should take the 12:45 tour. The afternoon did not take place because there were less than 4 passengers.The exhibits helped us to learn a lot about the voyages in the past.This is a must for visiting San Diego.read more

Matthew Bliven

02:02 30 Jan 22

Really cool museum. Great for families. You can go on the world's deepest diving submarine. It's really cool I highly... recommend it. If you missed the Oscar class Soviet submarine. Here's a good picture of the torpedo room.read more

Pete

01:12 14 Jan 22

Wonderful museum. Dedicated people. Harbor tour was worth it. Needs more funding and attention paid to it. Models were... awesome and made by a dedicated person. Ships were interactive. Staff was enthusiastic and welcoming. Gift shop was extremely cost affordable and not tourist trap pricing. (got a sweet coffee mug for $6? Heck yes!) This place deserves more attention and yeah, touring the ship from master and commander and pirates of the Caribbean was also a highlight. Must visit local.read more

jordan hamilton

04:25 20 Dec 21

We went for the parade of lights. The boats at the museum are incredibly well taken care of and the staff was more then... pleasant to be around. The parade or lights dinner was…okay. Great portions. Would recommend if you have the time. Submarine was incredible and my kids loved it.read more

Reyna Ortman

15:46 06 Oct 21

Loved it! Great experience, I didn't expect too much because the video on the website doesn't do it justice. The ship... is really cool, well maintained and the crew was totally down to earth. They were super friendly, you can tell they really like what they do. They engaged us in conversation and then let us work the sails. They gave us clear instructions, let us watch and then put us to work...it was awesome! My 2 teenage sons had a blast! One of them got to steer the ship... can't say enough, worth the money...read more

Ben P

01:40 08 Aug 21

Maritime museum is simply an awesome place to visit! Many ships here to see and experience, you can board them, walk... around, read about their history and get a feel for what life was like for the people that operated, lived, worked, or fought upon them was like. Very eye opening and worth the visit. The Russian nuclear submarine sadly was damaged and is currently closed and is one of my favorite attractions here so hopefully they'll be able to restore and reopen in the future but still very worth it.read more

Geoffrey Hockert

18:50 29 Jul 21

Amazing experience!!! Being able to walk onto the ships and into the sub really brought the experience of what it must... have been like to be at sea to life! The artifacts on board were well curated and the staff was extremely friendly and knowledgeable about the vessels and their history. We brought our 7 year old nephew and he loved it but so did we! And experience people of all ages can enjoy!read more

Joseph Stay

00:05 23 Jul 21

Very enjoyable place for all ages. There's so much to "sea" and learn from the general structure of the ships to the... living conditions of passengers and sailors. Between touring pirate ships, to common tour ships, to even a submarine! I was there for 3 hours and enjoyed the entire thing! Everyone was enthusiastic and ready to help out! So much fun to see and do! Would come again and again!read more

Amber Gopel

16:21 18 Jul 21

I have been coming here since I was a kid. I absolutely love this place and so does my husband. It is so awesome to... walk on such immaculately cared for sailing vessels. The Star of India is always the show stealer for me given her incredible history. It's cool to put in to perspective how our ancestors used to travel. They even have a movie ship used in Master Commander Far Side of the World. Both the pilot boat bay tour and the Vietnam boat tours are awesome, reasonably priced, and super informative.read more

Stephanie Elting

11:50 30 Apr 21

I haven't been on it in years but I just caught the Ghost Adventures episode and it brought back so many wonderful... memories for this daddy's girl. I lost my daddy 10 yrs ago and we used to go on the tour every summer. Ghosts or no ghosts, thank you for the memories. Anyone who has a chance to go on this beautiful piece of history, definitely needs to. It's the best! We always took the harbour tour. Loved every minute of it. I hope some day to bring my 2 sons to share in the memories.read more

Jimy Ruiz

23:33 16 Apr 21

This was an amazing visit, my wife and son had so much today 04/16/21 16:00. A big shout out to the gentleman working... the ticket booth, he was super friendly and ensured we had a great time, I didn’t get his name but he definitely deserves to be noticed. We will definitely be back! I highly recommend coming over and taking the tour. Thanks for the great memories.read more

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Contact Maritime Museum of San Diego

(619) 234-9153