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Need help with your holiday shopping? If you’re scrambling for gift ideas — or you know someone who doesn’t want a thing — give a local experience instead. These outings might offer fun and memorable ways to explore San Diego that are better than anything you could wrap in a box.
Discover San Diego
- Get wild by gifting a membership to the San Diego Zoo, or book an experience at the Safari Park in Escondido.
- Spend a day with Sidecar Tours viewing scenic San Diego sights, or pick a tour focused on breweries or local wine.
- Get on the water and explore San Diego’s natural beauty with Sail San Diego, or opt for a private boat experience.
- Take a tour of San Diego — with a twist. Murder n’ Mayhem offers different ways to explore the city, including ghost tours, whodunit scavenger hunts, or LGBTQ+ history explorations.
Learn something new
- Become an artist with classes at The Artist Outpost or make DIY crafts at AR Workshop’s Coronado and San Marcos locations.
- Take a cooking seminar and become an at-home chef with classes offered by Cozymeal or CocuSocial.
- Schedule a trip to a local museum — there are over two dozen in San Diego County and many offer annual memberships.
![Wine glasses and a gondola ride on the Coronado Cays](https://6amcity.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/c76aef9/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1440x811+0+225/resize/1000x563!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fk1-prod-sixam-city.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F3c%2Fda%2F50e02eb24ed0b523d0fef3e6e809%2F109508490-401510474139755-3660765217799952696-n.jpg)
Coronado just looks different inside a gondola.
Photo via @fiercealexandraaa
Show some love
- You don’t need to go to Italy to find a gondola — take a ride in the canals of the Coronado Cays with The Gondola Company.
- Plan a picnic, but let Pop Up Picnic Co. do all the hard work for you.
- If humor is your love language, check out a local comedy club or find a secret show with Don’t Tell Comedy.