Expanded international air service, major food and wine festivals, new dining concepts, museum renovations, and family-friendly attractions are among the highlights shaping San Diego’s visitor experience this fall. Across the region, a mix of signature events and cultural experiences offer travelers more reasons to explore San Diego in Fall 2026.
Halloween and Seasonal Festivities
“Kids Free San Diego” returns for its 15th year during the month of October. All month long, kids 12 and under eat, stay and play for free in San Diego. Offers include free hotel stays or amenities, free entrance to theme parks, attractions, and museums and free meals for children with a paid adult throughout the month and region. A complete list of participating partners and special offers is available at KidsFreeSanDiego.org.
The San Diego Food and Wine Festival returns to the Embarcadero November 1-8 to showcase cross-border cuisine, celebrated chefs, winemakers and more. The festival also spotlights sustainability, features award-winning chefs including James Beard–recognized talent, and supports culinary education programs through scholarships that benefit aspiring hospitality professionals across the region.
Howl-O-Scream, San Diego’s largest Halloween nighttime event, returns to Seaworld San Diego this fall. Beginning September 11, haunting select nights through October 31. Guests will venture deeper into the darkness than ever before with new scare zones, pulse-pounding live performances, dark speakeasies and themed bars, and sinister surprises lurking around every shadowed corner.
Arts and Culture
The Tony Award-winning production of Dear Evan Hansen is coming to Cygnet Theatre in Liberty Station from September 9-October 4 in the Joseph Clays III Theater. Dear Evan Hansen, winner of six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, follows high school senior, Evan, who becomes involved in an unfortunate misunderstanding that evolves into a web of lies he did not intend to create. The powerful musical explores themes of mental health, family dynamics, and human connection in the era of social media.
The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego’s fall exhibition, Visiones Nocturnas: Queer Nightlife in Contemporary Art will be on display September 19-January 2027. The exhibit explores the intersection of queer nightlife and contemporary art through works that explore physicality of these spaces — dance clubs, dive bars, backyards and bathhouses — as critical sites of queer collectivity, transcendence, and resilience.
Located in the heart of Balboa Park, Fleet Science Center recently unveiled its first major renovation in decades, transforming more than 9,000 square feet of museum space. The reimagined space expands exhibit areas by more than 20% and introduces new interactive galleries, a free public entrance gallery celebrating San Diego’s spirit of science and innovation, and the new Element 8 Cafe.
Dining and Nightlife
International restaurant-lifestyle concept Zuma will open its first California location within downtown San Diego’s historic The Guild Hotel. August 10. Zuma is known for its high-energy izakaya-style experience, and the menu is shaped by three distinct culinary experiences—the sushi counter, the robata grill, and the main kitchen. The space will span approximately 12,000 square feet with the capacity to seat around 270 guests.
Normal Heights, a vibrant uptown neighborhood, recently welcomed MAKE Cafe, by MAKE Projects, a local nonprofit that empowers refugee and immigrant women through job training, community support and farm-to-table dining. More than a cafe, the new space serves as a community gathering place, workforce development hub and real-world training environment where participants gain hands-on experience in agriculture, hospitality, customer service and food preparation while building the confidence and skills needed to pursue long-term career opportunities.
Attractions and Entertainment
This fall Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography will expand its popular Imagine Wild exhibition with the introduction of The Axolotl’s Graden/El Jardín del Ajolote. Guests will explore themes of biodiversity, climate resilience, habitat loss, migration, transformation and care through encounters with animals, contemporary art and conservation science. The aquarium is also bringing back its popular Shark Snorkels experience. Participants will get an up-close look at local sharks and rays along with other fascinating species found in our local waters.
Ringer’s Roller Rink, a woman-owned outdoor roller-skating venue, recently debuted its newest location at Seaport Village. Ringer’s Seaport introduces an open-air roller rink to one of San Diego’s most iconic waterfront destinations and brings the brand’s lively spirit downtown, offering visitors and locals a fresh way to skate with stunning views just steps from the Embarcadero.
Hotel News
San Diego Mission Bay Resort continues to bring the excitement of women’s soccer to the shores of Mission Bay with its exclusive San Diego Wave FC Suite experience. Created in partnership with San Diego Wave FC, the fully branded suite offers fans a one-of-a-kind stay featuring team-inspired décor, official merchandise and thoughtful Wave FC touches throughout. With home matches at Snapdragon Stadium continuing through October 25, guests can pair a coastal getaway with the energy of game day, elevating their stay with premium match-day experiences, including discounted Loge Box seating and exclusive pregame on-field access during warmups.
The La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club has officially begun the second phase of its $60 million renovation with the redesign of 90 guest rooms. Inspired by the spirit of La Jolla and the elegance of the California coast, every room will be completely reimagined. The project is slated to be completed by Memorial Day 2027.
Transportation
Japan Airlines announced it will increase nonstop service between San Diego International Airport and Tokyo’s Narita International Airport to daily, year-round flights beginning in August. The increase from the current four-times-weekly schedule comes as demand for travel between San Diego and Asia continues to grow. Passenger traffic on San Diego–Asia routes rose 42% from 2023 to 2025, driven by strong business, tourism, and cultural connections across the Pacific.
JetBlue has added nonstop service between San Diego and Fort Lauderdale, expanding access from South Florida and strengthening connections across the Caribbean and Latin America. The route will also feature JetBlue’s premium Mint experience, bringing the airline’s signature lie-flat seating and elevated onboard amenities to the market.
Awards and Anniversaries
Lucien, located in the picturesque coastal neighborhood of La Jolla, has earned a prestigious MICHELIN star at the 2026 MICHELIN Guide California ceremony`, held in San Diego for the first time. Lilo, a one MICHELIN-starred restaurant in Carlsbad, also received the Sommelier award. With the addition of Lucien, San Diego is now home to five MICHELIN-starred restaurants, nine Bib Gourmand restaurants, and twenty-nine restaurants included in the MICHELIN guide, reinforcing the destination’s reputation as a premier culinary destination..
San Diego International Airport’s new Terminal 1 was recently named to the World’s Most Beautiful Airports List 2026 by Prix Versailles, the prestigious international award program that recognizes outstanding contemporary architecture and design. Terminal 1 was one of only two U.S. airports and one of seven airports worldwide selected for the 2026 list. Additionally, the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority’s Procurement Department has once again been recognized for excellence, earning the 2026 Achievement of Excellence in Procurement award from the National Procurement Institute, Inc. The honor marks the Airport Authority’s 17th consecutive year receiving the national distinction.
ABOUT THE SAN DIEGO TOURISM AUTHORITY
The San Diego Tourism Authority (SDTA) is a private, non-profit, mutual benefit corporation composed of more than 1,000 member organizations, businesses, local governments, and individuals seeking a better community through the visitor industry. SDTA members include tourism-related entities in such categories as lodging, dining, arts, attractions, shopping, and transportation, among others, as well as other companies indirectly involved in tourism. Visit sandiego.org to learn more.
The majority of funding received by the San Diego Tourism Authority is derived from San Diego Tourism Marketing District Assessment Funds. Lodging business in the District raise these funds through self-assessments for the purpose of promoting tourism in the San Diego region.
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