12 Valentine's Date Night Ideas in San Diego...Where Kids Can Tag Along (Feb 2022)
Don’t have a sitter, don’t worry…bring the kids on your date night!
VALENTINE'S DATE NIGHT IN SAN DIEGO WHERE YOU CAN BRING THE KIDS
Bring the kids along on your modified romantic evening out. I'm sure they'll love the chance to stay up and stay out a little later. And they'll feel so loved to be included on some special family together time.
Both parents and kids alike will certainly enjoy twinkling lights, flying trapeze, horse-carriage rides or s'mores on the beach! But if you want to stay in, order up a special heart-shaped pizza and have a family game night. Either way, it will be a night to remember!
psst...you don't have to go out ON Valentine's Day. These fun places are available on other nights too so you can celebrate your love all month long.
Quick Links, click the name for details
Plants & Romance at SD Botanic Garden
🌺 PLANTS & ROMANCE AT THE SAN DIEGO BOTANIC GARDEN
Feb. 11 & 12 from 5:30-8p
Take the family out for a magical evening garden stroll under the lights. Even though "activities are designed for adults; children are welcome but must be supervised at all times...play areas will not be open." Kids will love the thousands of twinkle lights, outdoor fire pits, live music and enjoy chocolates while learning about cocoa and the process of making chocolate.
Splurge: Parents opt for the Sweet Package ($50 until 1/31 or $60 until 2/7) that includes 2 engraved SDBG champagne flutes, 2 glasses sparkling wine or juice, 1 box of local Chuao chocolates and 1 air plant to take home.
COST: $22/adult, $14/ages 3-17, Free for kids under 3, discounts for members, seniors & military. 💻 website
🎪 CIRCUS VARGAS
Feb. 5 - Mar. 28
Join the Circus! Or at least go watch them perform acrobats, daredevil tricks and the flying trapeze. 2 hrs of nonstop fun! (No animals are involved.) Click here for all the info, dates, locations and Tips & Tricks For Seeing Circus Vargas with Kids.
Found a 20% off entire purchase all seating sections from their Twitter feed: “20EB22” (thanks to @kornycox for finding this!) 👏👏👏👏 ➡️ (Only use my 15% off discount code: "15AD22" if the other one doesn't work). ;)
🏀 HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS
Feb. 20 at 1pm & 6pm
Your little sports fans will be mesmerized by all the tricks, spins and crazy shots these Harlem Globetrotters will make. My parents used to take me to these games when I was little, and I still remember how much these games are to watch, even for a non-sports fanatic parent. ;) One year I did the Magic Pass event, where I got to meet them, throw some shots with them pre-game and learn their tricks!
📍 Pechanga Arena: 3500 Sports Arena Blvd., San Diego 📞 619-224-4171 💻 website
🎳 BOWLING
Put the bumpers up (for the kids of course ;) and throw some strikes at your local bowling alley. They're usually open late and most have a cafe or diner on-site too. This is the perfect family date night outing.
To make sure your bowling outing goes smoothly, you may want to check out my Tips for Bowling with Toddlers.
Here's a list of some local bowling alleys in San Diego. Check directly with them for hours, shoe rental & other policies:
Aztec Lanes, SDSU campus
Punch Bowl Social, downtown
Mira Mesa Lanes
Parkway Bowl, El Cajon
Surf Bowl, Oceanside
Temecula Lanes
These bowling alleys have closed recently:
Kearny Mesa Bowl - closed approx. March 2021
Fun Bowl, Poway - closed approx. May 2021
🎥 MOVIE NIGHT
Catch a family flick at the movies! There's always at least 1-2 kid-friendly movies playing. You can even reserve and choose your seats online and order food ahead of time so it's waiting for you to pick up on your way to your seats.
🛶 GONDOLA TOURS
Relax and enjoy the sights from an Italian gondola as you glide along the water. One takes you through the Coronado Cays and the other takes you around Lake San Marcos. Both are suitable and welcome kids along for the ride.
I've taken mine on the Coronado one for Father's Day and we loved our experience. They have add-ons like roses, chocolates, violin or mandolin player, and wine, but they welcome you to BYO music, drinks & snacks. (Corkage fee applies in Coronado, not in Lake San Marcos if you BYO wine.) So pack up a cooler and enjoy the ride.
TIP: Book a sunset cruise for the perfect lighting
GONDOLA COMPANY, Coronado
🕰 Any Wed-Sun from 1pm-9pm
💵 $119-$144 for two people. $20/extra person.
(Special Dates: Feb. 11-14 from 1pm-11pm. Cost for two people: $194-$244.)
📍 Coronado Cays 📞 619-429-6317 💻 website
BLACK SWAN GONDOLAS, Lake San Marcos
🕰 Any day Mon-Sun from 12-6pm
💵 $99-$140 for two people. $25/extra person.
(Special Dates: Feb. 11-15 from 8am-8pm. Cost for four people: $175 by 1/31 or $225.)
📍 Lake San Marcos 📞 760-410-6820 💻 website
🏇 HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGE RIDE
You'll have the best time on this special horse-drawn carriage ride through the vineyards of Temecula. This family-owned company is very accommodating for children. In fact, they always have super cute kid's holiday rides with special characters and activities.
Believe me when I say this is one of my all-time favorite special events we've ever done, the price is a little steep but if you do it just once you'll have the most magical time.
🕰 Any day Mon-Sun from 9-5. BYO bottle of wine or juice.
💵 $185 for two people one-hour; $295 for two people two-hours includes charcuterie. Call for extra person pricing.
📍 Temecula Carriage Co.: Berenda Rd. + Anza Rd., Temecula 📞 844-369-1852 💻 website
🔥 S'MORES ON THE BEACH
Tuck your toes-in-the-sand, gather around a private beach bonfire and enjoy the sunset views over the ocean.
HOTEL DEL, Coronado
They'll set up the fire, the chairs and give you a bag of s'mores fixins to roast so all you have to do is show up. You can even order food & drinks from their restaurants to eat beside your fire pit. I highly recommend doing this at least once, you'll remember this forever.
🕰 5:30pm or 7:30pm for one hour
💵 $195 per fire pit, up to 10 chairs
📍 Hotel Del: 1500 Orange Ave., Coronado 📞 619-435-6611 💻 website
Beach Genie, Silver Strand-Oceanside
This is another local service that will set up your fire pit, chairs and s'mores. Cost for 6 people: $300. They have a Valentine's Special for Feb. 12-14 that includes 2 beach chairs, umbrella, table, 2 beach towels, cooler + charcuterie for 2, and 1 beach game for $200. Their regular beachside setup without s'mores is $125 for four people.
📍 They're permitted for Oceanside, Carlsbad, Cardiff, Torrey Pines & Silver Strand. 💻 website
🍕 HEART-SHAPED PIZZA
Nothing says "I Love You" to a kid better than a pizza night! Order these cute heart-shaped pizzas, cue up a fun movie or play some board games at home for a fun, very simple, but super fun day.
These local restaurants in San Diego are offering heart-shaped pizza: Mountain Mike's, Sammy's Wood Fired Pizza, CPK, The Vineyard 1924, Papa John's Pizza Hut & Round Table.
Some are for the entire month, for the week or just a few days only. You'll find all the details here: Where To Order Heart-Shaped Pizza in San Diego
🍦 LIMO RIDE + ICE CREAM
Rent a limousine for a couple of hours and ask the driver to take you through your kids' favorite drive-thru, to a special restaurant or just out for a sweet treat and a little fun at the playground. This will surely be one of the best drives of their life. If your kids are into cars, you can also rent a super fun car on Turo for the day. We rented a Maserati last year for my son's birthday and he felt like a king for the day!
🏺 POTTERY PAINTING
Get creative with some pottery painting with your kids, and the best part is that you get to leave the mess there. ;) There are lots of Pottery Painting shops all around so I'm sure you'll find one close by. Your kids will love getting messy and making their own creations with you. They'll remember this special time whenever they drink out of that special cup, eat off that special plate or pick you flowers for that special vase.
🏛 MUSEUM MONTH
Feb. 1-28
Explore a new museum together for 1/2 off! during museum month. You'll need to pick up a museum pass from Macy's or a local library and you'll use that to get 50% off admission at over 45 museums all month long! Click here for my Museum Month Guide
If you're at Balboa Park, try one of our favorite restaurants after your museum day. We love the outside patio at Panama 66 near the art museum, the Mingei recently opened up Artifact restaurant & bar and the splurge-worthy outdoor patio on the Prado is stunning.
🚘 DRIVE-IN MOVIES
Normally these would be super fun for the whole family, especially for Valentine's weekend. I checked the shows playing and unfortunately there aren't any "kid-friendly" shows playing the week of Valentine's. I'll link them here in case you want to check them out.
Santee Drive-In website
South Bay Drive-In website
Cinema Under The Stars website
This one isn't a drive-in, but it's a cool theater with a retractable roof. They usually play older films here, but it might worth something if you don't have the kids along. Click to this last instagram post that has more details.
HAVE FUN! 🤗
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