How to get around San Diego
So you’ve booked your travel to San Diego, and you’ve picked a place to stay. Now let’s tell you how to get to and from the ballpark.
While Southern California isn’t exactly known as a bastion of public transit, San Diego isn’t completely without options. If you are staying downtown, you probably don’t need (or want) a car to get around (and park), and you certainly won’t need one to get to the ballpark. Aside from downtown being very walkable, we have trolleys (it’s really a light rail system, but we call them “trolleys” to make them sound more quaint) that go through many neighborhoods and up the coast, and a recently built extension to the Blue Line goes all the way through the UC San Diego campus in La Jolla.
And there are also buses, which won’t connect you to that many places you are likely to go, but you might be surprised by a few hints and tricks we’ll share with you. When you throw in rideshares and even ferries, you’ll have plenty of choices for getting to Petco Park.
So the bottom line is this: if you want to skip the car, you can, even if you’re staying a bit further away from the ballpark. Let’s tell you what you need to know.
The best transit strategy for getting to Petco if you’re downtown: Walking
Sunny walk to Petco Park
Downtown San Diego is a very walkable place, and there’s a pretty good radius where you can comfortably walk that won’t take more than 20-30 minutes. Anywhere south of Broadway Avenue – which is the main street to the northern part of the Gaslamp District – and west of 12th Avenue, as well as anywhere north and east of Harbor Drive (at the water’s edge) should be a fine walk and a great way to see downtown. And that also means avoiding the cost of parking, or a rideshare (although rideshares within the downtown area are pretty cheap, so if jumping in a rideshare is preferable, it’s a perfectly good option).
But … here’s where we make the uncomfortable point that there are A LOT of unhoused people living downtown right now. Like, sidewalks with tents. And that’s the more visually appealing part. When you see someone lying on the street, and you’re not sure whether they’re still alive, that’s when it can become far more disconcerting. We don’t love having to tell you about this, but hey – it’s our job to tell you how to plan for visiting San Diego, and this is a really important issue that will in some way affect your stay, even if just visually.
Here’s our opinion, based on a decade of experience: even though homelessness is sad to see and uncomfortable to be upfront and close to, you shouldn’t have any real problems as long as you mind your own business and keep to yourself. At night, be aware of your surroundings – not because you’re unsafe, but because it’s best to try to avoid walking into less populated areas where there will be more homelessness. Stick to the more brightly lit streets with more activity (of which there are plenty, especially before/during/after ballgames). No matter which street you’re on, keep an eye on the sidewalk horizon in front of you. If you see something blocking it, it’s time to switch to the other side of the street.
And if you want to limit your exposure, there are two easy ways to do that: don’t walk (rideshare/trolley instead), or stay closer to the ballpark (even though it’s likely going to be more expensive).
Using the trolley system to get to Petco Park
Ok, when we say trolley, we know what you’re thinking: some sort of wooden bus with open windows, perhaps with people drinking on them? But no … it’s not that. The trolley here is a light rail system, and it’s quite decent. And the expansion of the system in recent years has provided ample opportunities for fans to quickly get to the game from a number of different areas.
The expansion of the Blue Line trolley means fans staying to the north of the city along the coast (from La Jolla through the UC San Diego campus, to the huge Westfield UTC Mall) can hop on a train that will take them within a five-minute walk of the stadium (12th and Imperial). And many of the new stations offer free parking, so if you have a car and want to park-and-ride instead of driving downtown, you can.
TSI TIP: the fare to ride the trolley is only $2.50 for adults, and kids ride free, so a round trip for two adults would be just $10. But … as we will mention below, you can find parking within walking distance of the ballpark for less than $15 on some days, so you’ll have to figure out whether parking and riding is a better decision than just driving all the way to the stadium.
Meanwhile, the Green Line starts in East County, zips through the San Diego State campus, makes stops at transportation hubs in Fashion Valley and Old Town, and then takes you to the Convention Center and within two blocks of the ballpark (you want the Gaslamp stop).
The Orange Line is the other trolley, which takes you along the eastern edge of the city and also drops you at 12th & Imperial, the same place where the Blue Line would drop you.
Trains have varied schedules that generally run every half hour, but more trains are added on many game days. Basically, you can take any trolley line to get to Petco – but it’s obviously a good idea to make sure you know ahead of time how to get there. Need a quick tutorial? Here’s a good map.
Driving to Petco Park
If you want to park right at the ballpark, we’d suggest one of two things:
Team Lots
Purchasing parking in advance directly from the team. The team has designated lots across from the ballpark, but they will often sell out, so this is definitely something to do once your plans are finalized. Parking sold by the team usually sells for about $50 on the low end, to $80–100 for valet parking on the high end.
SpotHero or ParkWhiz
(SpotHero Example: Friday night game in April)
If not team lots, the best strategy is to buy a spot through a reliable parking app like SpotHero or ParkWhiz. You don’t want to be driving around close to the stadium looking for a spot. You’re not going to find street parking, and garage parking, if you can find it, is unlikely to be cheaper when driving up than it will be by purchasing in advance.
If you’re willing to walk a little bit to the stadium, you can often find much better parking prices. We’ve seen spots for as little as $9 within our acceptable walking range, which is not more than a 15-minute walk. A sneaky option is to park at Horton Plaza, a defunct mall (but still operating parking garage) about a 15-minute walk from the park. You can park there for as low as $10 on many nights.
Taking the train to Petco
You can get from a number of places in North County all the way up to Los Angeles by taking the Amtrak Surfliner train. They normally run every half hour or so, and cost anywhere from $30-50. Pick up the Surfliner at Solana Beach in San Diego’s North County, or pick it up through Orange County and LA all the way up to San Luis Obispo. The easiest route is to get off at Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego, then hop on a Green Line trolley (they are at the same stop) and take the five-minute trolley ride to the park. Look at you. Didn’t even need a car!
Taking rideshares to/from Petco
The Padres have set up a rideshare loading zone directly across the street from the Bayfront Hilton Hotel on Park Blvd., south of Harbor Drive. It’s just a designated shoulder of the road where rideshares are allowed to pull over and load.
You can take the pedestrian walkway over Harbor Drive to get to the ballpark. You can expect that immediately after a game there may be a wait time to get a car secured, but we do think this is the best and most obvious place to pick one up. The Gaslamp District has blocked off streets after games, plus the general craziness of the post-game scene, so trying to order a car to a closer location isn’t worth the trouble.
Using bikeshares and scooters
Scooter and bike rental programs no longer operate in San Diego, so this isn’t an option anymore.
Getting to the stadium by bus (only from Coronado)
There’s an event-day bus that runs between Coronado and the ballpark. Click here for more details on the event-day bus. The bus is clean, efficient, and literally stops right outside the ballpark gates. Plus, it’s just $2.50 each way for adults, and kids 12 and under ride for free. It takes a bit of time (30-60 minutes, depending on where you’re starting from), so it’s not the quickest option, but it’s an option.
Getting to the stadium by ferry (only from Coronado)
You can also take the ferry across the bay. It’s $9 per person each way, and kids under 4 are free. It runs every 30 minutes, it’s just 15 minutes across the bay, and the last ferry back from downtown leaves at 9:55pm Sunday-Thursday, and 10:55pm on Friday-Saturday. There’s only one game on the entire Padres 2025 calendar that starts after 6:40, so these times should work just fine. Just be careful about extra innings games during the week – you could be cutting it close (but there’s always the bus or rideshare as a backup plan).
Bottom Line
Petco Park isn’t a terribly difficult stadium to get to. If you’re staying in the Gaslamp District or the Embarcadero, you’ll be walking or jumping on a quick trolley. If you’re up in Little Italy or Old Town, you can catch the trolley or get a rideshare. If you’re staying beyond those areas, the choice between rental cars, trolleys, rideshares, buses, or ferries will largely depend on your schedule and what else you’re looking to do.
