san diego submarine tours

Soviet B-39 Submarine

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1492 N Harbor Dr, San Diego, CA 92101, USA

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San Diego Museum Council

Maritime Museum of San Diego

A VISIT TO THE MARITIME MUSEUM IS A SEA AND SHIP LOVERS TREAT!

General Admission – Step Back In Time With 500 Years of Seafaring History! 

Visit the Maritime Museum of San Diego to tour our fleet of vessels listed on the National Register preserved and operated right here by the staff and volunteers. This is a must see popular waterfront attraction for locals and visitors alike!

Summertime Savings announced!

Start with a walk through the fleet and exhibits then set out on San Diego Bay for only $10.00 with purchase of general admission. This narrated 45-minute cruise takes place aboard the preserved and well-maintained 1914 Pilot boat. Book in advance at sdmaritime.org or check with Ticket Booth staff for availability. We offer four runs at 11:00 a.m., 12:45 p.m., 1:45 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. daily. On weekends, also a 3:45 Pilot boat tour to enjoy.

Are you a Naval History Buff and want to head out on the water? For a limited time for only $15.00 with purchase of general admission you can experience the 75-minute narrated Naval History Bay tour aboard the restored Vietnam-era PCF 816 Swift boat. Be a part of history, ride the only active passenger carrying Swift Boat in the country. Feel the power of the twin 12 cylinder 2-stroke Detroit Diesels as you take a behind the scenes tour of San Diego’s military history. Tours available Saturdays and Sundays at 12:45 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. Reserve online in advance or walk up to book at the Ticket Booth open 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily on the embarcadero in front of the Museum fleet.

Ready for more time on the water and true tall ship sailing adventures! Reserve your ticket for a 4-hour weekend sailing adventure aboard the topsail schooner Californian or Spanish galleon San Salvador . Tickets include general admission to tour the entire fleet of historic ships from sail to steam to submarine! All the fascinating exhibits below deck and your entry into the USS Dolphin sub included!

The Maritime Museum of San Diego’s visitor tour includes a walking self-guided exploration of our historic fleet, including below deck exhibits and galleries. This one-of-a-kind collection includes the  world’s oldest sailing ship, Star of India , the Navy frigate replica H.M.S. Surprise , featured in the award-winning film Master and Commander,  California’s official tall ship schooner Californian,  Spanish galleon replica San Salvador, Victorian – era steam ferry boat Berkeley, 1904 steam yacht Medea, and USS Dolphin submarine.

See the Museum like never before! Sign up for a Docent-led Guided Tour today to participate in a small group as one of our knowledgeable historians provides in depth study of the fleet’s history and exhibits. Tours are scheduled most Wednesdays at $35.00 per person. Advance registration is required.

Looking for an activity in the great outdoors and on-the-water that is educational and entertaining?

The Museum Gift Shop is open most days 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The Museum Ticket booth hours are daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. No guest admittance permitted after 4:00 p.m. daily. Credit/Debit cards may be used to purchase tickets at the Museum Ticket Booth machines located on the embarcadero. Cash will not be accepted at this time. Offer may not be combined with any other offer.

Love the museum and want to visit often? Become a member and enjoy unlimited annual visits, gift shop savings, member discounts, and much more! Visit https://sdmaritime.org/support-the-museum/membership/

Current & Upcoming Exhibitions

Move from ship to ship to discover these fascinating exhibits nested aboard the Museum’s historic fleet. All exhibits are included with general admission. Make sure to take enough time to visit them all!

NEW! Rising Tide: The Human Crisis of Rising Sea Levels  – located on the steam ferry Berkeley and Star of India

T he Model Gallery: Celebrating the Art Model Making  – located on the aft deck of the steam ferry Berkeley

San Diego’s Naval History – located on the steam ferry Berkeley

Harvesting the Ocean – located on the steam ferry Berkeley

Age of Steam – located on the steam ferry Berkeley

Age of Sail – located on the Star of India

Charting the Sea – located on the steam ferry Berkeley

Man-of-War – located on H.M.S. Surprise 

Upcoming Events

Jul 4   |   7:00 pm - 9:30 pm

July 4 BBQ Dinner and Firework Viewing

Hosted by: Maritime Museum of San Diego

Jul 13   |   10:30 am - 12:00 pm

Boarded! A New Pirate Adventure presented by San Diego Pirate Adventures

Jul 13   |   12:45 pm - 2:15 pm

BOARDED! A New Pirate Adventure presented by San Diego Pirate Adventures

Jul 26   |   2:00 pm - 9:00 am

Star of India Family Overnight Experience

Jul 27   |   9:00 am - 1:00 pm

5th Annual Oceanography Merit Badge Days

Aug 9   |   2:00 pm - 9:00 am

Aug 10   |   9:00 am - 1:00 pm

Sep 15   |   2:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Haydn Voyages: Music at the Maritime “Light and Shadow”

Sep 21   |   10:30 am - 12:00 pm

Sep 21   |   10:30 am - 12:45 pm

Oct 19   |   10:30 am - 12:00 pm

Oct 19   |   12:45 pm - 2:15 pm

Nov 24   |   2:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Haydn Voyages: Music at the Maritime “Revolution”

Nov 30   |   12:45 pm - 2:15 pm

Nov 30   |   10:30 am - 12:15 pm

Dec 28   |   12:45 pm - 2:15 pm

Dec 28   |   10:30 am - 12:00 pm

Visit Maritime Museum of San Diego

1492 North Harbor Drive San Diego, CA 92101-3309

(619) 234-9153

Open daily 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Last guest entry at 4pm and must exit by 5pm daily.) SUMMER EXPERIENCES FOR LESS! Take a 45-minute historic bay cruise FOR ONLY $10.00 when you purchase general admission. On weekends take a 75-minute PCF 816 Swift boat Naval History Bay tour for ONLY $15.00 with general admission. Check with Ticket Booth staff for availability on our narrated boat tours. On weekends, for only $24.00 when you purchase general admission. Check with Ticket Booth staff OR plan early and reserve your ticket online at sdmaritime.org for 12:15 and 2:15 Swift boat tours. For tall ship sailing schedules and reservations visit sdmaritime.org.

https://sdmaritime.org/

1492 North Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA

San Diego Museum Council PO Box 371322 San Diego CA, 92137 (619) 957-4660 Email Us

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After 15 years as a San Diego tourist draw, rusty Soviet sub is headed to the scrap yard

A retired Soviet attack submarine known as B-39 shown here in 2016. (San Diego Maritime Museum/Facebook)

SAN DIEGO (Tribune News Service) — For 15 years, visitors to the Maritime Museum on San Diego’s downtown waterfront could climb aboard a retired Soviet attack submarine known as B-39 and learn about the hidden world of undersea warfare.

Now the sub is destined for a place where it will disappear for all time — the scrap yard.

The outer skin of the 1970s-era Foxtrot-class vessel has been deteriorating for some time, its once sleek black profile disfigured by holes, rust and orange protective netting. Salt water and the occasional severe storm have not been kind.

Museum officials said the sub is not as bad as it looks — that the pressure hull remains stable, making B-39 as seaworthy as it was when it debuted at the Embarcadero in 2005.

“But that doesn’t make its condition cosmetically acceptable in so prominent a location,” said Raymond Ashley, president and CEO of the museum.

It detracts, he added, from the beauty of the other ships in the museum’s collection. They include the iron-hulled sailing ship Star of India, the steam ferry Berkeley, the replica frigate HMS Surprise, and another submarine, the USS Dolphin.

So B-39, closed to the public since the coronavirus pandemic started more than a year ago, is headed to Ensenada, where it will be scrapped and recycled, Ashley said. The museum is awaiting approval from the U.S. Coast Guard for a towing permit.

Although it was never the most celebrated of the museum’s holdings, the 300-foot-long sub proved popular with tourists — so popular that what had been planned initially as a two-year stay in San Diego got extended indefinitely.

Visitors immersed themselves in “To the Brink of War,” a dramatic exhibit based on events during the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, when other Foxtrot submarines armed with nuclear-tipped torpedoes got into a nervy cat-and-mouse game with U.S. Navy ships lobbing practice depth charges.

B-39 also had its moment in the Hollywood sun. In 2013, it was used to film large chunks of “Phantom,” a box-office dud starring Ed Harris and David Duchovny.

This was believed to be the first movie about a submarine actually filmed on one. Some of the cast and crew could attest to the realism — they suffered from claustrophobia during the three weeks they spent working in the cramped quarters.

“Phantom” was based loosely on another bit of history, this one involving the Soviet submarine K-129. It sank in deep waters off Hawaii in March of 1968, setting of a search that the Soviets eventually abandoned but the U.S. pursued with the clandestine help of reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes and a ship called Glomar Explorer. In 1974, it retrieved part of the sub.

To Maritime Museum visitors, the B-39 got some of its goose-bump appeal from the likelihood that the sub, when it was active, spent a fair amount of time stealthily stalking U.S. Navy ships homeported in San Diego.

Launched in 1967, the diesel-electric powered sub spent about 20 years in the Silent Service while assigned to the Soviet Pacific fleet and based in Vladivostok. It carried 78 crew members, 24 torpedoes, and could dive to 985 feet. The museum’s website describes it as “low-tech but lethal.”

After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, various pieces of military hardware wound up in private hands. B-39 was sold in the mid-1990s to a Canadian consortium, which brought it to Vancouver with plans to put it on display. It went from there to Seattle and then to San Diego, towed here on a 7-knot journey that took eight days.

Museum officials never expected it to be a permanent part of the collection. In 2010, plans were announced to add it to San Diego’s Wreck Alley, a group of vessels sunk off Mission Beach to form artificial reefs and attract recreational divers. But the popularity of B-39 among museum-goers scuttled the scuttling.

Now it awaits a tow date to Ensenada.

“We have determined not to shift scarce resources away from the historic vessels in the (museum’s) fleet that we intend to keep in perpetuity, in order to extend the life of the Foxtrot,” the museum says on its website.

Coast Guard officials did not respond to requests from the Union-Tribune for information about the removal permit.

Other Soviet submarines were given post-military reprieves as tourist attractions and have met a similar fate. The B-143, which spent 20 years at a maritime museum and theme park in Brussels, was scrapped in 2019.

In Long Beach, city officials are trying to dispose of the B-427, which was a dockside attraction next to the Queen Mary for almost two decades, drawing about 8,000 visitors a month. It closed to the public in 2015 after a hull ruptured and a ballast tank was flooded, causing the sub to list to the port side. Before long, raccoons moved in.

City officials say the vessel is now an environmental hazard, taking on water and threatening to roll over and damage the Queen Mary.

They’d like the owner to remove the submarine, according to recent media accounts, but years of lawsuits and bankruptcy proceedings have left them with a dilemma: It’s unclear who the owner is.

©2021 The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Visit  sandiegouniontribune.com .

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC .

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Celebrate your freedom in a thousand exciting ways

From immersive exhibits to exciting events, there are countless ways to explore America’s Living Symbol of Freedom – the USS Midway. This legendary aircraft carrier is hugely popular and has something for all ages. Come Aboard!

Freedom Park at Navy Pier , Opening 2028!

San Diego’s newest bayfront park will be at the footsteps of the USS Midway. This park will honor our veterans, celebrate our freedoms, and provide moments of engagement for all who visit.

USS Midway Celebrates 20th Anniversary

The USS Midway Museum proudly celebrates two decades in San Diego. The museum is looking forward to its next 20 years of excellence in history, education and fun!

How are you gonna Midway?

Midway calendar of events.

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Docent VIP Tours

Guided Island Tours

Real-Life Stories

Overnight Adventure

Midway's Currents Magazine

Private Events

School & Youth Discounted Admission

Bring the Midway to you

Community Outreach & Education

Did you know, 1945 commissioned as the largest ship in the world, 4,500 crewmembers, 212,000 horsepower, 1,001 feet long, 80,000 haircuts annually, 43,000 pounds of laundry weekly, 3.4m gallons of fuel, your adventure starts now.

Your email is the key to information that will open up all your possibilities for exploring the mighty Midway!

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Maritime Museum of San Diego

Boat museum, bay tours & tall ship sailing.

Maritime Museum of San Diego serves as the community memory of our seafaring experience by collecting, preserving, and presenting our rich maritime heritage and historic connections with the Pacific world.   Daily self-guided tour admission includes ALL of the fleet and exhibits!  Star of India , 16th-century galleon replica, San Salvador , H.M.S. Surprise , the navy frigate replca, Victorian - era steam ferry Berkeley , USS Dolphin submarine and more!

Summer offers!  $10 45-minute sightseeing Pilot boat trip when you book general admission.   On weekends, book the $15 Swift boat Veteran narrated 75-minute Naval History Bay tour with general admission.

Californian  and San Salvador  Tall Ship Sails available most weekends (each include general admission.)

We are open daily 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  (Last visitor admission is at 4:00 p.m.)

Plan ahead for our Wednesday two-hour Docent Historian Led group tour activity most Wednesdays for general public. Advance reservations required at sdmaritime.org.

Want the freedom to explore at your own pace? General admission self-guided tour tickets let you stay as long as you like. 

Visiting on the weekend!? Plan in advance to book your reservation at sdmaritime.org for a Tall Ship Adventure Sailing package on the state's official tall ship, the topsail schooner, Californian, or the 16th-century Spanish galleon replica San Salvador package ! (Includes general admission to tour all ships and exhibits before or after sailing.)

Tickets may be purchased online at sdmaritime.org or at the Museum ticket booth open daily 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Note: Visitors who arrive BEFORE 4:00 p.m. may tour the museum until 5:00 p.m.

The Museum Ticket Booth is located at 1492 N. Harbor Drive, Star of India Wharf, on the embarcadero between Grape and Ash Street, next to Portside Pier.

Top tip: Take the time for a bit of sightseeing on the Bay.

FOR ONLY $10.00 Add a 45-minute narrated Historic Bay Cruise to your general admission ticket purchase. 

Historic Bay Cruise check-ins offered daily Monday through Sunday. Weekdays tours are 11:00 a.m., 12:45 p.m., 1:45 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. Weekends, 11:00 a.m., 12:45 p.m., 1:45 p.m., 2:45 p.m. and 3:45 p.m.  Please check availability.

FOR ONLY $15.00 Add a 75-minute narrated Naval History Bay Tour aboard the historic restored US Naval PCF 816 Swift Boat to your general admission ticket purchase. 

These Naval History Bay boat tours are available weekends only at 12:15 and 2:15 p.m.

Come aboard and hear the stories from our Swift Boat Veteran sailors!

Neighborhood: Downtown

1492 N Harbor Drive San Diego, CA 92101

Contact Info

(619) 234-9153 [email protected]

Open daily 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Last guest entry and ticket sold at 4:00 p.m.

Deals just for you

$10 historic bay cruise with general admission*.

Purchase general admission to the Maritime Museum of San Diego and add a 45-minute narrated Historic Bay Cruise for only $10 more! MOST DAYS. SCHEDULE MAY VARY Daily tours at 11:00 a.m., 12:45 p.m.,...

75-minute Naval History Bay Tour Only $15***

Join us at the Maritime Museum of San Diego for a high-speed 75-minute narrated Naval History Tour! The US Naval Vietnam-era PCF 816 Swift Boat Listed In National Register Of Historic Places is...

Show Your Badge & Save at the Maritime Museum!

Come and explore our connection with the sea at the Maritime Museum of San Diego! Spanning 500 years of seafaring history, your visit to the Museum will give you a chance to step aboard an historic...

$10 off Tall Ship Sail Experiences

Join the Maritime Museum of San Diego Sail Crew for a 4-hour sail aboard the state tall ship Californian or the Spanish galleon San Salvador and save $10.00 with this promo code TALLSHIPSAILFUN24! ...

Events to check out

$10.00 historic bay cruise w/general admission.

This boat tour provides visitors with an educational tour of San Diego Bay. The 45-minute Bay sightseeing tour takes guests out on the water in a large loop first heading toward North Island and the...

Californian Tall Ship Adventure.

The Maritime Museum of San Diego invites you to join us for Tall Ship adventure sailing! This is a four-hour adventure history sail aboard the schooner Californian. The Californian is a...

San Salvador Sailing Adventure Package

The Maritime Museum of San Diego is the only attraction to offer this popular day sail adventure experience aboard San Salvador, a replica of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo’s ship that arrived at the...

Guided Docent-Led Tours

Guided Docent Led Tours at the Maritime Museum of San Diego is your opportunity to learn of the ships in-depth stories from our trained knowledgeable historians, and enjoy the waterfront sights...

$15 Swift Boat Naval History Bay Tour w/ Admission

Are you in town for the weekend? Or are you a local San Diegan and want to get out on the Bay to learn about Naval History? Be a part of history and ride the only active passenger carrying Swift...

July 4 BBQ Dinner and Fireworks Viewing

Enjoy a BBQ Dinner and spectacular fireworks viewing from the McKinney Deck of the 1898 Berkeley, a national and state historic landmark, or the waterfront barge to the rear of the Berkeley. ...

BOARDED! A New Pirate Adventure

These popular 90-minute Pirate-themed performances are staged aboard the Maritime Museum of San Diego’s 16th century Spanish galleon San Salvador. Guests will be fully engaged in pirate...

Star of India Family Overnight Experience

The Maritime Museum of San Diego is proud to offer this unique opportunity to spend a night aboard the 1863 bark Star of India. Although we will not technically leave the dock, we will be embarking on...

Oceanography Merit Badge Days

This special program is offered Saturdays, June 15, July 27, and August 10, 2024. We invite Scouts BSA youth to enroll and earn their Oceanography Merit Badge through attendance at one of three...

Spend the night on the world’s oldest active sailing ship! Come aboard an icon in San Diego docked along downtown San Diego's beautiful waterfront. The Maritime Museum of San Diego is proud to...

This special program is offered by the Maritime Museum Education Department Saturdays, June 15, July 27, and August 10, 2024. We invite Scouts BSA youth to enroll and earn their Oceanography Merit...

Haydn Voyages: Music at the Maritime

Hausmann Concerts at Maritime Museum of San Diego Offer a Unique Mix of Music on the Water. The Hausmann Quartet and Maritime Museum of San Diego partner to present the ninth season of Haydn...

Top of List: Things to Do In San Diego

• Tours available daily. Self-guided
• Come aboard and step back in time; 500 years of seafaring history
• Waterfront Museum Offering Boat Tours, Tall Ship Sailing and Private Charters
• Guided Tours led by Docent historians also available on select days
• Educational, Entertaining and Immersive

Explore the fleet & below deck exhibits

• Daily Historic Bay Cruise affordable treat w/ general admission ticket purchase
• Weekend Tall Ship Sailing Experiences with onboard historians
• Home to world's oldest active sailing ship Star of India
• Walking distance from Little Italy and downtown restaurants.
• Weekend Narrated Naval History Bay Tours affordable treat with general admission

More Information

• Destination Weddings
• Historic Landmark
• Narrated Bay Tours aboard vessels on the National Registry of Historic Places
• A rare collection of historic vessels, from sail to steam to submarine.
• Kid Friendly
• General Admission - Adult
• General Admission - Child
• General Admission - Senior
• Restaurants
• Private Room Capacity: 50
• Boat Excursions
• Other Languages Available
• Self-guided

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Military Ship Tours

November 8 – 11, 2024.

Event Times:  10:00 am – 4:00 pm

Broadway Pier 1000 N. Harbor Dr. San Diego, CA 92132

We invite you to come down to the spectacular San Diego bayfront to tour our visiting ships docked at Broadway Pier and get a glimpse of the day-to-day lives of the sailors serving in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard.

Tours are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Visitors must be at least five years old to tour the ships. Strollers, glass, large bags and large backpacks will not be permitted on board. Closed toe shoes are Highly recommended.  There are no elevators aboard the ships, those with limited mobility should not join the tour.

Due to the Navy’s current operational security posture, we cannot confirm the names of the ships participating until the ships are pier side. Thank you for understanding.

• Ship tours are FREE
• No Tickets needed
• No Advance Reservation needed
• Valid Government Picture ID Required. (i.e.: Driver’s License, Passport, Military ID, etc.)

CLOSED-TOE SHOES ARE REQUIRED.

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San Diego SEAL Tours

SEA & LAND ADVENTURES

We Make Vacations Better ®

Join us on san diego seal tours to view america’s finest city on a boat with wheels..

Ready to see the best of San Diego on sea and land?  Your 100-minute, fully narrated SEAL Tour departs from Seaport Village or the Embarcadero. Wind your way through picturesque San Diego streets before splashing down for a cruise through the waters of the San Diego Bay. Experience the history and ecological wonders of San Diego in the comfort and security of our virtually unsinkable Hydra-Terras. Here you will learn first-hand of our rich military history and cruise through the waters that are the playground of the California Seals and Sea Lions.

San Diego tours depart from two locations, Seaport Village or Embarcadero. Your land and sea adventure is led by one of our experienced sightseeing tour guides. Our captain and crew are locals who love this beautiful city, so they know about the best things to see and do!

View some of San Diego’s most famous points of interest including the Maritime Museum, Star of India, The U.S.S. Midway, Lindbergh Field, Seaport Village, Shelter Island and many other San Diego attractions!

Once on the water, the boat tour glides past resident San Diego seals and sea lions, a few California brown pelicans, and several other wildlife species from the safety and comfort of our amphibious vehicles.

Enjoy a leisurely cruise and witness various San Diego attractions including Point Loma, the North Island Naval Air Station, Point Loma Submarine Base, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Marine Mammal Training Center, Shelter Island and much more!

FREE Self-Guided Walking Tours (adult ticket) Enjoy San Diego your way with our self-guided walking tours. As you finish your SEAL Tour, the adventure continues at your own pace, using your smartphone for turn-by-turn guided audio tours. Explore rich history, discover hidden gems, and immerse yourself in the vibrant culture of America’s Finest City. Even after you disembark, the fun keeps going, ensuring an unforgettable experience that’s uniquely yours.

Select Your Journey

Whether you’re just breezing through or enjoying an extended stay, we’ve got several options to choose from to help you maximize your time in San Diego and still see the best first!

1451 reviews

San Diego Seal Tour 4.6

San Diego SEAL Tour

• 100-minute, fully narrated SEAL Tour
• State-of-the-art U.S. Coast Guard certified Hydra-Terra vehicles
• Wind your way through picturesque San Diego streets
• Cruise through the waters of San Diego Bay
• FREE Self-Guided Walking Tours (adult ticket)

Old Town Trolley Pass & SEAL Tour

• 1 day of free unlimited re-boarding aboard the Old Town Trolley
• Only hop-on and off tour over the bridge to Coronado
• FREE Self-Guided Walking Tours

Whaley House Evening Guided Tour

• Be part of the historic legacy, mystery and legends of the Whaley Family, and hear of their myths and misconceptions
• Approximately 30-minute guided tour through the historic Whaley House and the surrounding grounds
• Regale in the tales of the spirits from the past and perhaps even experience the paranormal

Whaley House Daytime Self-Guided Tour

• Self-paced tour through the interior and surrounding grounds of the House
• Immerse yourself into the history that makes the property a unique legacy site
• Discover the heritage that leads many to believe that the Whaley House is America's Most Haunted
• Get an unparalleled peek into early California history

Ghosts & Gravestones

• Join our spirited & entertaining tour built on stories, history, mystery and legends
• Travel back and hear about the spirits of characters who lived & died in San Diego
• Hear stories of how Pioneer Park changes to the darker side when the sun goes down
• Includes outside of the Whaley House and grounds. Tour does not enter the house.

San Diego City Lights Night Tour

• Open-air sightseeing perfect for taking pictures
• Approximately 1 hour and 40 minute tour
• See San Diego’s famous sights illuminated at night
• Take in romantic views of the city and cruise past notable landmarks

1-Day Old Town Trolley Tour

• 1 day of free unlimited re-boarding
• Hop on & off at 11 Old Town Trolley stops
• San Diego’s largest fleet with the most frequent service

ADVENTURE TOUR

Click to start

DID YOU KNOW...

The Star Of India is the World’s Oldest active iron clad sailing ship, sailing since Abraham Lincoln was President.

Seaport Village was built on landfill over Punta de los Muertos, Dead Man’s Point, where the Spanish expedition of 1782 buried those who had died of scurvy.

Artist Pae White designed the Visitor INFO Center with colored glass in hues that mimic the dawn and dusk hours of the San Diego Bay

There are 33 different species of seals? The largest of these is the elephant seal, weighing up to 8,800 pounds.

The foam flotation system in the SEAL has side sections of 100% aluminum, the hull is divided into small compartments and filled with foam material.

The Naval Base located at Ballast Point was originally a Spanish Fort.

The USS Midway was America's longest-serving aircraft carrier of the 20th century, from 1945 to 1992.

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Tour schedule, the seal tour departs daily.

Wind your way through picturesque San Diego streets before splashing down for a cruise through the waters of the San Diego Bay. The sightseeing tour is approximately 100 minutes; 40 minutes on land and 60 minutes on the water. 

Click BUY TICKETS to see our Calendar

Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Schedule subject to change due to weather and low tide conditions or city events.

Download Brochure

Points of Departure

• Seaport Village Map
• Embarcadero Map

SAN DIEGO TRAVEL GUIDE

After years as a San Diego tourist draw, rusty Soviet sub is headed to the scrap yard

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For 15 years, visitors to the Maritime Museum on San Diego’s downtown waterfront could climb aboard a retired Soviet attack submarine known as B-39 and learn about the hidden world of undersea warfare.

Now the sub is destined for a place where it will disappear for all time — the scrap yard.

The outer skin of the 1970s-era Foxtrot-class vessel has been deteriorating for some time, its once sleek black profile disfigured by holes, rust and orange protective netting. Saltwater and the occasional severe storm have not been kind.

Museum officials said the sub is not as bad as it looks — the pressure hull remains stable, making B-39 as seaworthy as it was when it debuted at the Embarcadero in 2005.

“But that doesn’t make its condition cosmetically acceptable in so prominent a location,” said Raymond Ashley, president and chief executive of the museum.

It detracts, he added, from the beauty of the other ships in the museum’s collection . They include the iron-hulled sailing ship Star of India, the steam ferry Berkeley, the replica frigate HMS Surprise and another submarine, the USS Dolphin.

So B-39, closed to the public since the pandemic started more than a year ago, is headed to Ensenada, where it will be scrapped and recycled, Ashley said. The museum is awaiting approval from the U.S. Coast Guard for a towing permit.

Although it was never the most celebrated of the museum’s holdings, the 300-foot-long sub proved popular with tourists — so popular that what had been planned initially as a two-year stay in San Diego got extended indefinitely.

Visitors immersed themselves in “To the Brink of War,” a dramatic exhibit based on events during the October 1962 Cuban missile crisis, when other Foxtrot submarines armed with nuclear-tipped torpedoes got into a nervy cat-and-mouse game with U.S. Navy ships lobbing practice depth charges.

B-39 also had its moment in the Hollywood sun. In 2013, it was used to film large chunks of “Phantom,” a box-office dud starring Ed Harris and David Duchovny.

This was believed to be the first movie about a submarine actually filmed on one. Some of the cast and crew could attest to the realism — they suffered from claustrophobia during the three weeks they spent working in the cramped quarters.

“Phantom” was based loosely on another bit of history, this one involving the Soviet submarine K-129. It sank in deep waters off Hawaii in March 1968, setting off a search that the Soviets eventually abandoned but the U.S. pursued with the clandestine help of reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes and a ship called Glomar Explorer. In 1974, it retrieved part of the sub.

To Maritime Museum visitors, the B-39 got some of its goose-bump appeal from the likelihood that the sub, when it was active, spent a fair amount of time stealthily stalking U.S. Navy ships based in San Diego.

Launched in 1967, the diesel-electric powered sub spent about 20 years in the Silent Service while assigned to the Soviet Pacific fleet and based in Vladivostok, Russia. It carried 78 crew members and 24 torpedoes, and it could dive to 985 feet. The museum’s website describes it as “low-tech but lethal.”

After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, various pieces of military hardware wound up in private hands. B-39 was sold in the mid-1990s to a Canadian consortium, which brought it to Vancouver with plans to put it on display. It went from there to Seattle and then to San Diego, towed there on a 7-knot journey that took eight days.

Museum officials never expected it to be a permanent part of the collection. In 2010, plans were announced to add it to San Diego’s Wreck Alley , a group of vessels sunk off Mission Beach to form artificial reefs and attract recreational divers. But the popularity of B-39 among museum-goers scuttled the scuttling.

Now it awaits a tow date to Ensenada.

“We have determined not to shift scarce resources away from the historic vessels in the [museum’s] fleet that we intend to keep in perpetuity, in order to extend the life of the Foxtrot,” the museum says on its website.

Coast Guard officials did not respond to requests for information about the removal permit.

Other Soviet submarines were given post-military reprieves as tourist attractions and have met a similar fate. The B-143 , which spent 20 years at a maritime museum and theme park in Brussels, was scrapped in 2019.

In Long Beach, city officials are trying to dispose of the B-427 , which was a dockside attraction next to the Queen Mary for almost two decades, drawing about 8,000 visitors a month. It closed to the public in 2015 after a hull ruptured and a ballast tank was flooded, causing the sub to list to the port side. Before long, raccoons moved in.

City officials say the vessel is now an environmental hazard, taking on water and threatening to roll over and damage the Queen Mary.

They’d like the owner to remove the submarine, according to recent media accounts, but years of lawsuits and bankruptcy proceedings have left them with a problem: It’s unclear who the owner is.

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John Wilkens joined The San Diego Union-Tribune as a staff writer in February 1988. He writes news features and human interest stories. He’s won numerous local, state and regional awards. A graduate of UC Santa Barbara, he worked for the Santa Barbara News-Press for almost nine years before coming to San Diego.

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Yemen’s Houthi rebels target ship in the Gulf of Aden as the Eisenhower aircraft carrier heads home

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeted a commercial ship traveling through the Gulf of Aden but apparently caused no damage, authorities said Saturday, in the latest strike on the shipping lane by the group.

The Houthi attack comes after  the sinking this week of the ship Tutor , which marked what appears to be a new escalation by the Iranian-backed Houthis in their campaign of strikes on ships in the vital maritime corridor over the  Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip .

Meanwhile, the U.S. military ordered  the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower , the aircraft carrier leading America’s response to the Houthi attacks, to return home after a twice-extended tour.

The captain of the ship targeted late Friday saw “explosions in the vicinity of the vessel,” the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. A later briefing by the U.S.-overseen Joint Maritime Information Center said the vessel initially reported two explosions off its port side and a third one later.

“The vessel was not hit and sustained no damage,” the center said. “The vessel and crew are reported to be safe and are proceeding to their next port of call.”

The Houthis, who have held Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, since 2014, claimed the attack Saturday night. Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, identified the vessel targeted as the bulk carrier Transworld Navigator.

The  Houthis have launched more than 60 attacks  targeting specific vessels and fired off other missiles and drones in their campaign that has killed a total of four sailors. They have seized one vessel and sunk two since November. A U.S.-led airstrike campaign has targeted the Houthis since January, with  a series of strikes May 30  killing at least 16 people and wounding 42 others, the rebels say.

In March,  the Belize-flagged Rubymar carrying fertilizer became the first to sink in the Red Sea  after taking on water for days following a rebel attack.

The Houthis have maintained that their attacks target ships linked to Israel, the United States or Britain. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the Israel-Hamas war.

The  Eisenhower , based in Norfolk, Virginia, is returning home after  an over eight-month deployment  in combat that the Navy says is  its most intense since World War II . The San Diego-based  USS Theodore Roosevelt  will take the Eisenhower’s place after a scheduled exercise in the Indo-Pacific, according to the Pentagon’s press secretary, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder.

The Roosevelt anchored Saturday in Busan, South Korea, amid Seoul’s ongoing tensions with North Korea .

The Eisenhower had already reached the Mediterranean Sea, said a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ship movements. Flight-tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press showed a Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk helicopter associated with the Eisenhower flying above the Mediterranean just off the coast of Port Said, Egypt, on Saturday night.

The Eisenhower had repeatedly been targeted by false attack claims by the Houthis during its time in the Red Sea. Saree on Saturday night claimed another attack on the carrier — but again provided no evidence to support it as the ship already had left the area.

CORRECTION : A previous headline provided by the AP incorrectly identified the location of the attack. It was in the Gulf of Aden, not the Red Sea.