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California

Signature City San Diego

Program No. 16955RJ
Walk Torrey Pines State Reserve, explore the San Diego Zoo, savor the cuisine of Little Italy and sail San Diego’s harbor as you explore the best this seaside city has to offer.

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Select your type of room
Price will update based on selection
Prices displayed below are based on per person,doubleoccupancy.
DATES & starting prices
PRICES
Jan 21 - Jan 26, 2024
Starting at
1,949
Filling Fast!
Feb 18 - Feb 23, 2024
Starting at
1,949
Apr 14 - Apr 19, 2024
Starting at
1,949
May 12 - May 17, 2024
Starting at
1,949
Sep 1 - Sep 6, 2024
Starting at
1,949
Oct 27 - Nov 1, 2024
Starting at
1,949
Nov 17 - Nov 22, 2024
Starting at
1,949
DATES & starting prices
PRICES
Jan 21 - Jan 26, 2024
Starting at
2,469
Feb 18 - Feb 23, 2024
Starting at
2,469
Apr 14 - Apr 19, 2024
Starting at
2,469
May 12 - May 17, 2024
Starting at
2,469
Sep 1 - Sep 6, 2024
Starting at
2,469
Oct 27 - Nov 1, 2024
Starting at
2,469
Filling Fast!
Nov 17 - Nov 22, 2024
Starting at
2,469

At a Glance

From the world-renowned San Diego Zoo to sparkling beaches, bustling boardwalks and a picturesque harbor, San Diego is a city where life is lived outdoors. Experience the best of this sun-kissed California jewel, as you sample San Diego’s rich Genoese and Sicilian culture on an exclusive expert-led walk through Little Italy, marvel at the architectural masterpieces and manicured landscapes of Balboa Park and discover one of the wildest stretches of land on the Southern California coast — Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve.
Activity Level
Keep the Pace
Walking up to one mile, stairs, some hills, standing indoors and out, getting on and off a motor coach without assistance.

Best of all, you’ll…

  • Explore San Diego’s harbor on a study cruise and learn about the city’s fascinating maritime heritage and how it came to be home to the largest Navy and Marine Corps complex in the U.S.
  • See San Diego’s natural side with a walk at Torrey Pines State Reserve and a visit to Cabrillo National Monument.
  • Experience the historic Hotel del Coronado and explore Balboa Park with a local.

General Notes

Select dates are designated for small groups and are limited to 24 participants or less.
Featured Expert
All Experts
Profile Image
Anthony Davi
Anthony Davi is a New Yorker of Sicilian descent who has lived in San Diego for several decades. In 1997, he formed Little Italy Tours to share his love of his ancestor’s for visitors to experience Italy in San Diego. As a documentary producer, Davi created a mini-documentary for the San Diego Symphony about the music of Italy and stories of Little Italy. Davi speaks a bit of the old Sicilian dialect and his passion for all things Italian resonates throughout his programs.

Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.

Profile Image of Anthony Davi
Anthony Davi View biography
Anthony Davi is a New Yorker of Sicilian descent who has lived in San Diego for several decades. In 1997, he formed Little Italy Tours to share his love of his ancestor’s for visitors to experience Italy in San Diego. As a documentary producer, Davi created a mini-documentary for the San Diego Symphony about the music of Italy and stories of Little Italy. Davi speaks a bit of the old Sicilian dialect and his passion for all things Italian resonates throughout his programs.
Profile Image of Jackie Mlekoday
Jackie Mlekoday View biography
Jackie Mlekoday grew up in Bloomington, Minnesota, and later lived and worked in downtown Minneapolis. After taking several trips to San Diego and falling in love with the city, she and her husband moved there in 2000. They currently live in Mission Valley. Jackie has been a nurse for more than 30 years with leadership positions in emergency and critical care. She currently volunteers as a member of the Rose Corp in Balboa Park. Her interests include hiking, golfing, and travel.
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
San Diego Legends: Events, People and Places that Made History
by Innis, Jack Scheffler
As the title suggests, this is a compendium of the history makers of San Diego and the places and events that have contributed greatly to making San Diego what it is today. This book gives a nice nice background of the city for curious visitors.
Moon San Diego
by Ian Anderson
A practical guide in the Moon series, packed not only with travel necessities (hotels, restaurants, sights), but also with a good overview of history and destinations throughout San Diego.
San Diego Then and Now
by Nancy Hendrickson
Charting San Diego’s growth from a small village to a gorgeous beach city, this heavily illustrated regional portrait pairs 100 archival photographs with full-color shots of the same scene today.
National Audubon Society Field Guide to California
by Peter Alden
A compact, easy-to-use guide to 1,000 California trees, wildflowers, mammals, insects, birds and other flora and fauna.
I Cover the Waterfront: Stories from the San Diego Shore
by Max Miller
Special reporter for the San Diego Sun Max Miller set down his impressions of the San Diego waterfront -- from the departure of the Sardine Fleet to the hunt for elephant seals for the zoo to the sailing of the California fruit liners -- capturing the romantic spirit of the harbor and deep-sea life.
San Diego's Navy: An Illustrated History
by Bruce R. Linder
The generously illustrated book tells the intriguing story of how a reluctant Navy department slowly realized San Diego's attributes and then took bold action to consolidate its position. This discerning history provides a sweeping and long overdue view of the city and base that has influenced the lives of countless thousands of American Navy men and women and their families.
A Natural History of California
by Allan A. Schoenherr
Abundantly illustrated, this natural history takes California apart, region by region, telling about its variety of landforms, habitats and wildlife. This updated second edition features new species, park details, information on the impacts of a changing climate on the state and new stories about people's interactions with the wild.
San Diego: An Introduction to the Region
by Pryde, Philip R.
This accessible, comprehensive history covers the geology, agriculture and natural features as well as the social and urban development of San Diego and surrounding areas. Includes maps and illustrations.
Empire Builder: John D. Spreckels and the Making of San Diego
by Dr. Sandra E. Bonura
John D. Spreckels transformed San Diego from a bankrupt village to a flourishing city. He built empires in sugar, shipping, transportation, gas and electricity, real estate, newspapers, banks, breweries, and building development up and down the coast of California and across the Pacific. He acquired control of Coronado Beach Company, the Hotel Del Coronado and Coronado Tent City. He purchased the San Diego street railway system converting it from horse power to electricity, the newspapers: San Francisco Call, San Diego Union and the Tribune. He owned all of North Island, the San Diego-Coronado Ferry System, Union-Tribune Publishing Co., San Diego Electric Railway, San Diego & Arizona Railway, and Belmont Park in Mission Beach. Deep dive into the history and impact that John D. Spreckles had on creating the thriving city of San Diego.
California: A History (Modern Library Chronicles)
by Kevin Starr
Arguing that America’s most populous state has always been blessed with both spectacular natural beauty and astonishing human diversity, Starr unfolds a rapid-fire epic of discovery, innovation, catastrophe, and triumph. For generations, California’s native peoples basked in the abundance of a climate and topography eminently suited to human habitation. By the time the Spanish arrived in the early sixteenth century, there were scores of autonomous tribes were thriving in the region. Though conquest was rapid, nearly two centuries passed before Spain exerted control over upper California through the chain of missions that stand to this day. The discovery of gold in January 1848 changed everything. With population increasing exponentially as get-rich-quick dreamers converged from all over the world, California reinvented itself overnight. Starr deftly traces the successive waves of innovation and calamity that have broken over the state since then–the incredible wealth of the Big Four railroad tycoons and the devastating San Francisco earthquake of 1906; the emergence of Hollywood as the world’s entertainment capital and of Silicon Valley as the center of high-tech research and development; the heroic irrigation and transportation projects that have altered the face of the region; the role of labor, both organized and migrant, in key industries from agriculture to aerospace.





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