San Diego Short Break with SeaWorld, 2 Nights

A private driver meets you at San Diego airport, which sits right beside downtown and the bay, so the transfer is short. The rest of the day is at leisure. Walk the Embarcadero past the aircraft carrier museum, then eat in the Gaslamp Quarter, whose restored nineteenth-century blocks are now full of restaurants. The weather is mild almost all year, though early summer mornings are often grey near the coast.

Breakfast, then a day at SeaWorld San Diego, a marine park on the shores of Mission Bay. Your ticket is included; the park is a short taxi or ride-hailing trip from most parts of the city. Plan the day around the show times posted at the gate, and fit in the aquariums, the penguin habitat and the rides between them. Families with young children can easily spend the whole day here.

Breakfast and check-out, then a private transfer to the airport for your flight onwards. With a later departure, spend the morning in Balboa Park, whose ornate Spanish-revival buildings hold museums and gardens, or take a taxi up the coast to La Jolla Cove, where sea lions often laze on the rocks below the cliff path.