Sea kayak trips: For messing about on the water under your own steam join one of the many kayak tours that head out from La Jolla every day into the marine ecological reserve. You need to be tolerably fit to keep up and you will get wet but it's worth a little exertion to paddle with pelicans flying overhead and rays swimming beneath out to the seal and sea lion colonies. La Jolla has atacted the rich and famous for generations and you' ll get the lowdown from the well informed tour guides about who has lived in the grand colonial style mansions that dot the coastline as well as picking up a fair bit of local history and geology. The highlight of the trip is venturing into the La Jolla caves strong waves permitting. Prices vary subtantially so it's worth shopping around La Jolla Sea Caves Kayak Tour is a good option.
Seal tours: There aren't many major cities that don't have a boat on wheels tour in one form or another (often called a Duck Tour) and there's a reason it's an incredibly popular fun trip especially for families. After a whistle stop drive around the city the San Diego version makes a splashy entry into the bay. From then on there's more of an emphasis on wildlife than in most of the harbour cruises there's a detour to see the sea lion colony and the commentary is aimed at a mixed age audience.
By sea, Harbour cruise: San Diego is built around a sea port and with its grid formation you often get tantalising glimpses of the ocean as you walk around. To get the best water views though you need to head out into the harbour. Tours take place at regular intervals throughout the day in cruise ships and give you a feel of the scale depth and history of San Diego as well as impressive shots of the skyline. The tours typically take you past the glamorous residences of Coronado amd under the Coronado bridge passing the military base (where you get an excellent close up look at navy destroyers and aircraft carriers) and commercial shipyards with huge floating dry docks. If you want to turn the tour into more of an experience there are dinner and champague cruises as well as blue whale tours on some days of the week.
Combat flight: If you' re fan of classic Tom Cruise movie Top Gun a trip to San Diego is all about visiting locations from the movie and a combat flight over the city is the ultimate Top Gun experience. Admittedly less sightseeing and more adrenaline adventure this is your chance to experience a flight in a fighter jet complete with aerobatic manoeuvres and even the option to take the controls yourself. It's wildly expensive but for Top Gun buffs especially unforgettable.
Helicopter flights: The best way to get the full panorama of San Diego is undoubtedly to take a helicopter tour which in one flight takes in the city's entire area. Most fly over La Jolla (some venturing further north up the coast to glitzy Del Mar) as well as downtown and waterfront San Diego and Balboa Park with perhaps a swoop down to the Mexican border towards Ti juna. Variations on the theme include a stop off for wine tasting in nearby wine country. These trips don't come cheap prices tend to start at around $250 for the most basic tour but they do cover a huge distance.
Paragliding: Further north in La Jolla paragliders erge each morning from the clifftops at Torrey Pines. Taking advantage of unique soaring conditions ( westerly sea breezes deflected upwards by the sandstone cliffs) gliders can stay aloft for hours and land back on the clifftop. Unlike many paragliding venues flying here is a year round activity (although they do make a grudging exption for Chaistmas Day). Tandem flights take you straight out over the sea where floating above the vast Pacific Ocean and with dolphins and surfers sharing the waters of Blacks Beach Below you can see the expanse of the La Jolla coastline spreading out on one side and North County on the other. The flight even gives you aerial views at startlingly close quarters of La Jolla's poshest clifftop communities. It's worth sticking around afterwards for a sandwich at the Cliffhanger Cafe to watch others in flight and enjoy the views with your feet on the ground.