San Diego: Amphibious Seal Tour & Bay Cruise from Port

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Free cancellationExcellent quality

1/7

Duration1h 45m

GroupUp to 40

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

An Amphibious Vehicle Drops You Into San Diego Bay to Hunt for Seals

You board an amphibious vehicle at Seaport Village and spend 90 minutes traveling by land and water through San Diego Bay. The tour includes narrated history of early sailors and the military's role in the city, a cruise past the airport and Maritime Museum, and a water portion where you watch for seals, sea lions, and pelicans in Quivira Basin and Mission Bay. You return to your starting point and walk back to the cruise port on your own schedule.

1h 45m

Step-by-step itinerary

San Diego Seal Amphibious Tour

Depart from Seaport Village
Drive along San Diego Bay waterfront
Hear stories of early sailors and military
Pass San Diego International Airport
Splash into San Diego Bay
Travel through Mission Bay
View SeaWorld, Hospitality Point, Vacation Isle
Spot seals, sea lions, and pelicans
Return via Harbor Drive
Pass Maritime Museum and cruise terminal
End tour at Seaport Village

The Experience

The amphibious vehicle sits low and wide on the dock at Seaport Village, painted bright yellow, looking like something between a truck and a boat that made a choice and committed to it. You climb aboard, settle into an open-air seat, and the driver points the nose toward Harbor Drive. For the first stretch, you're on land—rolling past the Maritime Museum, the cruise ship terminal, and along the waterfront where the narration picks up the early history of the bay, the sailors who came through, the military presence that shaped San Diego into what it is today. San Diego International Airport slides past, named after Charles Lindbergh, and you hear the stories attached to the people and places that built this city.

Then the vehicle angles toward the water. There's a moment where you feel the transition—the engine note changes, the wheels stop gripping asphalt, and suddenly you're floating. The 90-minute San Diego Seal Tour splits itself between land and water, and this is the part people come for. You're cruising through San Diego Bay now, and the guide tells you to watch the water. Quivira Basin is where the seals and sea lions hang out, and they're not shy—you'll see them hauled out on the rocks, moving in and out of the water, doing exactly what they do. A California brown pelican might show up. Mission Bay opens up with views of SeaWorld, Hospitality Point, and Vacation Isle. The whole thing moves at a pace where you can actually see things instead of just hearing about them.

The route can shift depending on weather or traffic, so what you see isn't locked in stone, but the core stays the same: land, water, back to land, ending where you started. Because this tour departs from Seaport Village—which is a five-minute walk from the cruise port—you're not dependent on a fixed return time. You control when you head back to the ship, which matters when you're working with a port day and a departure schedule. Just give yourself enough buffer to get back without rushing.

What’s included

Your 90-minute tour includes the narrated amphibious vehicle journey through San Diego Bay and along the waterfront, all taxes, and the flexibility to return to your ship on your own schedule. The tour departs from Seaport Village and covers the waterfront landmarks, military history, San Diego International Airport, the Maritime Museum, and the water portion through Quivira Basin and Mission Bay where seals and sea lions gather.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Historic Tours Of America

Is this one for you?Book this if you're docked in San Diego and want to see the bay and wildlife without arranging separate transport back to the port—the five-minute walk from Seaport Village and self-timed return mean you're never stuck waiting for a shuttle or watching the clock.