Seaport Village San Diego: Shops, Parking, Hours & Geppetto's

Seaport Village is a 1980-built waterfront shopping and dining complex at 849 West Harbor Drive in downtown San Diego, open daily from 10am to 9pm. Parking in its lots costs $8 an hour, or $5 for the first two to three hours if a merchant validates your ticket after a $10 purchase. It is a free-to-walk cluster of shops, snack stands, bayside restaurants, a historic carousel and the Seaport branch of Geppetto’s toy store.

What Seaport Village is

The complex opened in 1980 on Port of San Diego land along the bay, between the Convention Center area and the Embarcadero. It looks like a small seaside village, with clapboard buildings, winding paths and plenty of benches facing the water. The Port owns the land and Protea manages the village.

It is not a big mall. Think of it as a 1–3 hour stop: browse a few gift and specialty shops, grab a snack or a bayfront meal, let kids ride the carousel, then walk the waterfront path toward the USS Midway or the Convention Center. It works well for families, cruise passengers with a few hours to spare, and anyone staying downtown who wants an easy evening stroll.

Hours

The official Seaport Village site lists the village as open daily, 10am to 9pm, with the note that hours vary by business. Restaurants often stay open later than shops, and some smaller stores open late or close early on quiet weekdays. If you are heading there for one particular shop, call ahead.

Seaport Village parking

Parking is the most searched question about this place, and the rules are specific. According to the official parking page:

	Rate
Standard (no validation)	$8 per hour or part of an hour, no maximum
Validated, Monday–Thursday	$5 for first 3 hours, then $3 per 30 minutes
Validated, Friday–Sunday	$5 for first 2 hours, then $3 per 30 minutes

How it works:

• Lots. The main lot is on the west side of Kettner Boulevard and a smaller lot is on the east side.
• Ticket. Press the button at the entrance station for a timestamped ticket. Keep it with you.
• Validation. Spend at least $10 at any Seaport Village business and ask them to validate your ticket.
• Payment is cashless. Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover, Apple Pay and Google Pay are accepted. You can pay at the pay-by-foot station near Hot Licks before walking back to your car, or at the exit kiosk.

Because there is no daily cap on the standard rate, a long unvalidated day gets expensive fast. If you plan to spend most of the day downtown, it is usually cheaper to treat Seaport Village as one stop and get validated, or to come by trolley.

Getting there without a car

The Seaport Village Trolley station on the MTS Green Line sits just inland, between Harbor Drive and Market Street at Kettner Boulevard. It is a short walk to the shops. Check MTS trolley info for current fares and schedules. From the Gaslamp Quarter it is also an easy walk down to the water. If you are coming from the airport, see our San Diego airport guide for the transit and rideshare options into downtown.

Shops at Seaport Village

The current directory is mostly gift, apparel and specialty shops. Some of them:

• Geppetto’s (toys; more below)
• The Chuck Jones Gallery (animation art)
• Hot Licks (hot sauces)
• Village Hat Shop, Sock Harbor, Alamo Flags
• Christmas in San Diego (holiday ornaments year-round)
• San Diego Surf Co., Crazy Shirts, BeachCity, Best of San Diego (souvenirs and beachwear)
• Turquoise Trails, Mosaic Handcraft, Istanbul Home Jewelry, Eclectique Boutique
• Art Scene West (paint-your-own art sessions)

Expect tourist pricing on souvenirs. The more unusual shops, like the hat shop, the hot sauce shop and the animation gallery, are the ones worth browsing even if you don’t usually shop on vacation.

Geppetto’s toy store

If you searched for “Geppetto’s toys,” “toy store San Diego” or “wooden toys San Diego,” this is the shop you meant. Geppetto’s Toys is a San Diego chain that opened in 1976. It is known for hand-picked, non-mainstream toys like puzzles, plush, science kits, classic wooden toys and games, rather than the big-box brands.

The Seaport Village store is at 835 West Harbor Drive. In 2026 the company marked its 50th anniversary and listed nine San Diego County stores (KPBS event listing):

Area	Location
Seaport Village	835 West Harbor Drive
Old Town	Fiesta de Reyes, 2754 Calhoun St.
Coronado	1146 Orange Ave.
La Jolla	7850 Girard Ave.
Fashion Valley	7007 Friars Rd.
Westfield UTC	4545 La Jolla Village Dr.
Del Mar	Flower Hill Promenade, 2670 Via de la Valle
Carmel Valley	Del Mar Highlands, 12843 El Camino Real
Carlsbad	The Forum, 1935 Calle Barcelona

The Seaport and Old Town stores are the easiest to pair with sightseeing. Old Town’s store is in Fiesta de Reyes, so you can combine it with a visit to Presidio Park on the hill above Old Town.

The Historic Carousel

The village’s carousel was hand-carved in 1895 and has 54 animals plus two horse-drawn chariots. Rides cost $5, and the carousel runs daily from 10am to 9pm according to the carousel page. It is near the water and is the main draw for small kids. On some event days the village has offered free carousel rides, so look out for those on the official site.

What about carriage rides?

The old page on this site once ranked for “Seaport Village carriage rides.” Horse-drawn carriages used to offer romantic rides along the downtown waterfront. No carriage company appears in Seaport Village’s current directory, and none is advertised on the official site, so do not plan a trip around one. If you want a ride of some kind, your choices on site are the carousel (with its horse-drawn chariots) or a narrated city tour with Old Town Trolley & Seal Tours, which is listed as a Seaport Village experience.

Ringer’s Roller Rink

The newest attraction is Ringer’s Roller Rink, an open-air retro roller rink at 821 West Harbor Drive. It is new to Seaport Village in 2026 and rents quad skates and protective gear, plus Skate Mate trainers for beginners (Ringer’s at Seaport Village). The village page doesn’t list prices or rink-specific hours, so check with Ringer’s before you go. On a sunny afternoon it is one of the more fun things to do downtown with kids or teenagers. If you prefer ice, Ice Town is the indoor alternative.

Where to eat

Waterfront restaurants: Malibu Farm, Shorebird, Louisiana Charlie’s (Cajun) and Zytoun.

Casual: Prime Tacos, Margarita’s Kitchen & Cantina, Marion’s Fish Market, Mr. Moto Pizza House, San Diego Burger Company, Spill the Beans and Wetzel’s Pretzels.

Sweets and drinks: Ben & Jerry’s, Seaport Coffee & Fudge Factory, The Best Donuts and The Something Sweet Shop. For drinks there are Mike Hess Brewing and San Pasqual Wine Tasting.

If you remember Buster’s Beach House, it is not in the current directory. Malibu Farm and Shorebird are the main sit-down options with bay views now.

The redevelopment: what’s happening in 2026

You may have read that Seaport Village is going to be demolished. Here is where things stand. The Port of San Diego chose developer 1HWY1 to redevelop the Central Embarcadero with Seaport San Diego, a proposed $3.8 billion mixed-use project covering about 102 acres of land and water. Plans include hotels, parks, piers, a “Blue Tech” innovation center with an aquarium, and an observation tower.

As of the latest public updates, the project is still in environmental review:

• The Port Board extended 1HWY1’s exclusive negotiating agreement to October 1, 2027.
• In late 2025 the developer reported a memorandum of understanding with the California Coastal Commission to set review timelines (project news).
• After the environmental report is certified, the project still needs a Port Master Plan Amendment approved by the Coastal Commission, plus permits.

The Port’s project page says construction is at least five years away, and likely longer. Any build would be phased over seven to nine years, with the aim of keeping existing businesses operating rather than closing them suddenly. For a visit in 2026 or 2027, Seaport Village is open as usual.

Tips for visiting

• Go late afternoon. The light over the bay is best before sunset. You can shop, eat early, and stay for the evening walk.
• Validate even small purchases. A $10 coffee-and-fudge run pays for itself in parking savings within the first hour.
• Weekends are busier. Weekday mornings are quiet and some shops may still be opening.
• Pair it with the waterfront. Walk north along the bay to the USS Midway and the Embarcadero piers, or south to the Convention Center. A short walk inland, Horton Plaza has its own story of redevelopment.

Who will like it

Seaport Village suits families with young kids (carousel, toy store, rink, ice cream), first-time visitors staying downtown, and cruise passengers looking for an easy walk off the ship. It is not a destination for serious shoppers or high-end retail. If you go in with the idea of a pleasant waterfront hour or two, it does that job well.