What a trip to San Diego costs, worked out for your days and your party, with every price traced to where it comes from. And then the part most budgets skip: how to actually pay once you are there.
Food, getting around and sights in San Diego come to $120 – $170 per person per day. Accommodation, flights and the airport transfer are on top.Prices reviewed: November 2026.
Days, people and how you like to travel decide almost everything. Flights are left out: they depend on where you start.
You still need, flights aside
$1,700 – $2,400
$120 – $170 per person per day · 7 days and 2 people
Expected
$1,700 – $2,400
Most trips land in here
Set aside
$2,400
With this you are unlikely to run short
Cushion, kept apart
$210
10% of the trip
Food$700 – $1,100
Getting around$170 – $250
Airport, both ways$12
Sights and activities$570 – $1,100
Lodging tax and odds and ends$72 – $120
Of that, in cash: $24 – $240
The cash share is our reading of how each kind of place takes payment, not a measurement. Your own bank may charge on top; this page cannot know that.
Accommodation is not in this figure. Add your price per night to include it.
Flights are not included.
You probably will not spend the cushion. Having it to hand covers a night you had not planned, a taxi, or a changed ticket.
Styles
What a day in San Diego costs, by how you travel
Per person per day, two travelling, without accommodation, flights or the airport transfer. A style is not a figure: it is a way of eating, getting around and seeing things, and each one is spelled out below.
Budget
$80 – $100 per person per day
Local food, public transport, the odd paid sight.
FoodLocal and cheap
$37 – $46
Getting aroundPublic transport
$12 – $18
Sights and activitiesThe odd paid sight
$21 – $39
Sundries: luggage storage, laundry, water
$3.50 – $5.10
Mid-range
$120 – $170 per person per day
Set meals and the odd sit-down dinner, and one paid sight a day.
FoodMixed: set meals and one sit-down dinner
$50 – $79
Getting aroundPublic transport
$12 – $18
Sights and activitiesOne paid sight a day
$41 – $78
Sundries: luggage storage, laundry, water
$5.20 – $8.70
Comfort
$190 – $260 per person per day
The best food level we can price, public transport, two paid sights a day.
FoodRestaurants most of the time
$74 – $88
Getting aroundPublic transport
$12 – $18
Sights and activitiesTwo paid sights a day
$82 – $160
Sundries: luggage storage, laundry, water
$8.40 – $13.00
A style's total is not the sum of the extremes of its lines: nobody has a trip where everything comes out cheap, or everything dear. “Sundries” is an assumption of ours, 5% of food, transport and sights, not a measurement.
By length of trip
How much money for 3, 5, 7, 10 and 14 days in San Diego
Per person, two travelling together, without accommodation or flights. It is not the daily figure times the days: airport transfers are paid once, so they weigh less the longer you stay.
Days
Budget
Mid-range
Comfort
3
$250 – $310 $82 – $100 a day
$370 – $520 $120 – $170 a day
$570 – $800 $190 – $270 a day
5
$400 – $510 $81 – $100 a day
$620 – $850 $120 – $170 a day
$940 – $1,300 $190 – $260 a day
7
$560 – $710 $81 – $100 a day
$860 – $1,200 $120 – $170 a day
$1,300 – $1,800 $190 – $260 a day
10
$800 – $1,000 $80 – $100 a day
$1,200 – $1,700 $120 – $170 a day
$1,900 – $2,600 $190 – $260 a day
14
$1,100 – $1,400 $80 – $100 a day
$1,700 – $2,400 $120 – $170 a day
$2,600 – $3,700 $190 – $260 a day
Add your accommodation in the calculator above: it is the largest line and the one we cannot source yet.
Prices
What things cost in San Diego
Eating and drinking: no official statistic measures what eating out costs here, so these are prices from the menu each place publishes on its own website, and each row says where it comes from. It is a sample, not an average: there are cheaper and dearer places, and tourist areas cost more.
What
Price
Source
Eating and drinking
Coffee, The Mission
$5.00
From the sourceNov 2026
Breakfast burrito, Oscar's Mexican Seafood
$9.50
From the sourceNov 2026
Breakfast burritos, The Mission
$16.00
From the sourceNov 2026
Three pancakes, The Mission
$15.00
From the sourceNov 2026
Fish taco, Oscar's Mexican Seafood
$3.75
From the sourceNov 2026
Shrimp taco, Oscar's Mexican Seafood
$4.75
From the sourceNov 2026
Fish taco, Point Loma Seafoods (counter)
$9.05
From the sourceNov 2026
Fried fish sandwich, Point Loma Seafoods (counter)
$14.99
From the sourceNov 2026
Two-taco plate with beans, Point Loma Seafoods (counter)
$19.95
From the sourceNov 2026
Fried fish plate with fries, Point Loma Seafoods (counter)
$19.99
From the sourceNov 2026
Weekday lunch special, Shakespeare Pub & Grille
$15.95
From the sourceNov 2026
Fish and chips, Shakespeare Pub & Grille
$23.95
From the sourceNov 2026
Fish and chips, Karl Strauss
$23.95
From the sourceNov 2026
Getting around
MTS (bus and Trolley), single fare
$3.00
From the sourceNov 2026
MTS 1-day pass
$7.00
From the sourceNov 2026
Route 992 bus, airport–downtown
$3.00
From the sourceNov 2026
Sights
San Diego Zoo, adult
$78.00
From the sourceNov 2026
USS Midway Museum, adult, at the door
$41.00
From the sourceNov 2026
Menu prices here exclude tax and tip: the budget adds the 7.75% sales tax to everything, plus a 15%–20% tip on what you eat or drink sitting down, the range the tourism office gives. The tip is a custom, not a measured price.
From the source means we read it where it is set: the operator, the bank, the city or the statistics office. Reported means a guide or the press says so and we have not seen the original. Where sources disagree we show both figures and leave the price out of every sum.
What each food level is made of
A food level is not a number we chose. It is two lists of dishes from the table above, a cheap day and a dear one, and the price is the sum.
Local and cheap
From Breakfast burrito, Oscar's Mexican Seafood + Fish taco, Oscar's Mexican Seafood × 2 + Fried fish sandwich, Point Loma Seafoods (counter) ($31.99 on the menu; $37.02 with tax and tip) to Breakfast burrito, Oscar's Mexican Seafood + Shrimp taco, Oscar's Mexican Seafood × 2 + Fried fish plate with fries, Point Loma Seafoods (counter) ($38.99 on the menu; $45.81 with tax and tip).
Mixed: set meals and one sit-down dinner
From Breakfast burrito, Oscar's Mexican Seafood + Fish taco, Oscar's Mexican Seafood × 2 + Fish and chips, Shakespeare Pub & Grille ($40.95 on the menu; $50.27 with tax and tip) to Coffee, The Mission + Breakfast burritos, The Mission + Two-taco plate with beans, Point Loma Seafoods (counter) + Fish and chips, Karl Strauss ($64.90 on the menu; $78.92 with tax and tip).
Restaurants most of the time
From Coffee, The Mission + Three pancakes, The Mission + Weekday lunch special, Shakespeare Pub & Grille + Fish and chips, Shakespeare Pub & Grille ($59.90 on the menu; $73.53 with tax and tip) to Coffee, The Mission + Breakfast burritos, The Mission + Fish and chips, Shakespeare Pub & Grille + Fish and chips, Karl Strauss ($68.90 on the menu; $88.02 with tax and tip).
Getting around
Which ticket pays off
A pass is only cheaper past a certain number of rides. This is that number, worked out from the published fares.
1-day pass at $7.00: it pays off from 3 rides a day at $3.00 each.
A pass only counts on the lines it covers. Check which ones before you buy.
Accommodation
What the night costs, and the tax on top
There is no open source of hotel prices, and we have not sampled this city yet. So the calculator asks you for the price you have seen instead of printing one that looks plausible.
How much money do you need for a week in San Diego?
For seven days, $860 – $1,200 per person on the “Mid-range” style with two travelling. Accommodation and flights are not included. The airport transfer, there and back, is included.
How much money do you need for 3 days in San Diego?
For 3 days, $370 – $520 per person on the “Mid-range” style with two travelling. Accommodation and flights are not included. The airport transfer, there and back, is included.
What is a realistic daily budget in San Diego?
Per person per day, without accommodation or flights: $80 – $100 on the “Budget” style, $120 – $170 on the “Mid-range” style, and $190 – $260 on the “Comfort” style.
Can you travel to San Diego on a budget?
The cheapest style we work out is “Budget”: $80 – $100 per person per day, without accommodation or flights. Local food, public transport, the odd paid sight.
How much does food cost in San Diego?
From $37 per person per day (“Local and cheap”) to $88 (“Restaurants most of the time”). The price table has what each dish costs.
How much does transport cost in San Diego?
A ride on public transport costs $3.00. The 1-day pass costs $7.00 and pays off from 3 rides a day at $3.00 each.
Is there a lodging tax in San Diego?
Yes: 11.75% to 13.75% of the accommodation price, depending on the area of the city.
How much cash should you carry in San Diego?
For a week on the “Mid-range” style, about $12 – $120 per person, two travelling. It is our reading of how each kind of place takes payment, not a measurement.
Do you tip in San Diego?
Restaurants: customary. Bars and cafés: customary. Hotels: customary. Taxis: customary.
Sources
Where every figure comes from
Each price on this page carries its source. These are all of them. Prices reviewed: November 2026.
This page tells you how much to take. The app keeps count of what you spend.
Joru works out the budget of your itinerary day by day and sets it against what you actually spend, by category and with the exchange rate. On your phone, with no account.
