College Visit Guides

Drive guide · 1 day, 2 campuses

San Diego State and the University of San Diego in 1 Day: A San Diego College Trip

A parent-first plan for seeing San Diego State University and the University of San Diego in one day from a Mission Valley base: SDSU's tour and admissions presentation in the morning, USD's information session and tour in the afternoon. Official visit sign-ups, where to park, three hotels from budget to upscale, drive times and seasonal weather, every fact sourced.

The white Mission Revival towers and arched entrance of Hepner Hall at San Diego State University, framed by palm trees and a lawn under a blue sky
Hepner Hall at San Diego State University (Jun 2013). Photo: Stuart Seeger · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized and cropped

Last checked Oct 28, 2026. Every fact comes from the pages listed in Sources at the bottom. Some hotel and tour links are affiliate links (disclosure).

The short version

Trip at a glance

Schools
San Diego State University (San Diego, CA) · University of San Diego (San Diego, CA)
Days
1 weekday: SDSU in the morning, USD in the afternoon. Arrive the evening before.
Fly into
San Diego International (SAN), about 10 minutes from our Hotel Circle pick with no traffic.
Best base
Days Inn by Wyndham San Diego Hotel Circle, about 10 minutes by car from SDSU's tour parking and 6 minutes from USD's West Entrance.
Car or transit
Rent a car: SDSU to USD is about 14 minutes and 9 miles with no traffic. SDSU also has its own trolley and bus station if you'd rather use transit.
Registration
Both schools take tour sign-ups online. USD's confirmation email has the parking code you'll need, so keep it handy.

1. Who this guide is for

This plan is for parents with a high schooler, and maybe younger siblings, who want to compare two very different San Diego campuses in one trip: San Diego State University, with more than 220 academic programs and 400 student organizations, and the University of San Diego, a Catholic university on a 180-acre hilltop campus.

Both campuses sit along I-8, with Hotel Circle in Mission Valley between them, so one hotel night is enough: SDSU in the morning, USD in the afternoon, and SAN is about 9 minutes from USD when you're done.

Why this order

  • Morning: SDSU's Prospective Student Tour with Admissions Presentation is a two-hour program, a 30-minute interactive admissions presentation plus a walking tour, designed for future applicants and their families.
  • Afternoon: USD's campus visit starts in Manchester Hall with a 30-minute information session led by an admission representative, followed by a 90-minute student-led campus tour.
Two campuses, two ways to park
  • SDSU: park on levels one through five of Parking 3 (P3), off East Campus Drive. Buy a permit on the Offstreet website with your license plate number; SDSU suggests choosing three hours to cover your visit.
  • USD: tour visitors must park in the West Parking Structure, entering by the West Entrance on Marian Way. Parking is complimentary, but you register your plate at a pay station with the 4-digit code from your tour confirmation email. The ParkMobile app can't be used for that code.
Tour availability varies by season.
  • SDSU's admissions office is closed on Nov. 11, Nov. 26–27 and Dec. 22–25, 2026, and on Jan. 1, 2027, so pick a different day for that tour.
  • USD offers Saturday tours on select Saturdays from November through April. Around finals, summer break and orientation week its tours may be self-guided, so check USD's tour-availability list before you book.

2. The suggested 1-day plan

  • Drive and walk times are no-traffic estimates from OpenStreetMap routing, using addresses geocoded with OpenStreetMap Nominatim. I-8 through Mission Valley gets busy at rush hour, so add a cushion between campuses.

Arrival evening: fly into San Diego and check in on Hotel Circle

  1. San Diego International Airport (SAN) → Days Inn by Wyndham San Diego Hotel Circle (543 Hotel Circle South)

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~10 min, 3.4 mi (no-traffic estimate)
    Driving
    Rent a car at SAN
  • USD says its campus is about 15 minutes from downtown San Diego and the airport and 10 minutes from Mission Beach, so an evening out is easy from Mission Valley.

Day 1: San Diego State in the morning, University of San Diego in the afternoon

  1. Days Inn Hotel Circle → SDSU Parking 3 (Zura Way and East Campus Drive)

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~10 min, 7.2 mi (no-traffic estimate)
    Driving
    Car required

  2. Parking 3 → Prospective Student Center, Student Services West

    Driving (no traffic)
    Walk
    Driving
    ~8 min walk, 0.4 mi

  3. Student Services West → Hepner Hall

    Driving (no traffic)
    Walk
    Driving
    ~5 min walk, 0.2 mi

  4. SDSU Parking 3 → USD West Entrance (Marian Way)

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~14 min, 9.2 mi (no-traffic estimate)
    Driving
    Car required

  5. USD West Entrance → San Diego International Airport (SAN)

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~9 min, 3.2 mi (no-traffic estimate)
    Driving
    Car required
  • From I-8, exit at College Avenue and go south, continue through the Canyon Crest Drive/Alvarado Road light, turn left on Zura Way and right on East Campus Drive. P3 is the first parking structure.
  • From P3, walk west toward the residence halls and the large arched bridge, cross it, and go through the courtyard of the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union. Student Services West, with the Prospective Student Center beneath the clock tower, is on your right.
  • Pick a USD afternoon tour that leaves time for SDSU's two-hour program and the 14-minute drive. Manchester Hall is a short but steep walk up from the West Parking Structure; a USD Tram stop on the structure's ground floor runs to the Paseo de Colachis stop, the closest to Manchester Hall.

3. Campus by campus

The white Mission Revival towers and arched entrance of Hepner Hall at San Diego State University, framed by palm trees and a lawn under a blue sky
Hepner Hall at San Diego State University (Jun 2013). Photo: Stuart Seeger · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized and cropped

Campus

San Diego State University (San Diego, CA)

Where visits start
  • Book the two-hour Prospective Student Tour with Admissions Presentation on SDSU's tour portal. If you'd rather skip the presentation, SDSU also offers a 1-hour-30-minute Campus Walking Tour for prospective students.
  • If guided tours are full or don't fit your day, SDSU offers self-guided tours: register ahead of time and it will send you resources for the route. Your tour departs from the Prospective Student Center in Student Services West, directly beneath the clock tower.
Visitor parking
  • Park on levels one through five of Parking 3 (P3), the first structure on East Campus Drive. Pay on the Offstreet website by entering your license plate and state; SDSU recommends choosing three hours.
Getting there
  • No car? The Green Line trolley stops at the SDSU Transit Center, 55 feet underground, and MTS bus routes 11, 115, 856, 936 and Rapid 215 stop at its street-level mezzanine. These routes connect campus to the airport and the train station.
What to know
  • Hepner Hall, the building in the photo at the top of this guide, is about a 5-minute walk from the Prospective Student Center.
  • SDSU also runs specialized walking tours led by student ambassadors, the Black Excellence Historical Tour and Adelante Tours; it suggests taking a general tour first.
Contact
SDSU Office of Admissions, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182. Prospective Student Center in Student Services West: in person Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–2:30 p.m.; by phone at (619) 594-6336, Monday–Friday, 9–11 a.m. Pacific.

Last checked Oct 28, 2026. Tour and admissions details change often, so confirm them on the school's official visit page before you go.

Official pages: SDSU: Campus Tours and Virtual Visits · SDSU: Directions & Parking · SDSU: Public Transportation

Founders Hall at the University of San Diego with the blue-domed tower of the Immaculata church behind it and palm trees in front
Founders Hall and the Immaculata at USD (Feb 2012). Photo: Walleigh · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized and cropped

Campus

University of San Diego (San Diego, CA)

Where visits start
  • Weekday visits start with a live, 30-minute information session from an admission representative, then a 90-minute campus tour led by a current USD student. The session covers the application process, financial aid and life at USD.
  • Residence hall visits aren't part of the tour; USD points families to its Housing Tour page instead. If you can't fit in a tour, USD says you're welcome to stop by the admission office for information and explore campus on your own.
Visitor parking
  • Enter by the West Entrance on Marian Way and park in the West Parking Structure; the code in your confirmation email isn't valid in any other lot, including the Main Parking Structure. At a pay station, push START, press 2 for Enter Validation Code, then enter your plate and the 4-digit code. No need to display the receipt.
Getting there
  • USD says campus is about a 10-minute ride from the airport by taxi or rideshare. If you use Uber or Lyft, set Copley Library as the drop-off and pick-up point; Manchester Hall is a short walk from there.
What to know
  • USD describes its 180-acre hilltop campus as Spanish Renaissance-inspired, with outdoor study spaces, blue Adirondack chairs and views of the Pacific Ocean.
  • Bring sunscreen, a reusable water bottle for the campus water stations, and comfortable shoes, USD suggests. You can also check the Toreros' game schedule and catch an NCAA Division I event.
Contact
USD Office of Undergraduate Admission, Manchester Hall, 5998 Alcalá Park, San Diego, CA 92110; (619) 260-4506, admissions@sandiego.edu. Group tours: tours@sandiego.edu.

Last checked Oct 28, 2026. Tour and admissions details change often, so confirm them on the school's official visit page before you go.

Official pages: USD: Visit · USD: Preparing for Your Campus Visit · USD: Daily Tour Registration

4. Where to stay: Hotel Circle in Mission Valley, about 10 minutes from SDSU and 6 from USD

Price tiers (Budget, Mid-range, Upscale) follow each hotel's star class on Expedia. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.

Hotel · Our pickMid-range

Days Inn by Wyndham San Diego Hotel Circle

543 Hotel Circle South, San Diego, CA

Why here

  • It's about 10 minutes by car from SDSU's Parking 3, 6 minutes from USD's West Entrance and 10 minutes from SAN, so one night here covers the whole trip.
  • It's one of the eight Bartell Hotels. USD's visit page says Bartell, owned by USD alumnus Richard Bartell, offers discounted room rates to USD visitors and donates 10% of total room costs back to USD for student scholarships.
  • Expedia lists this hotel as a 3-star property, so we place it in the Mid-range tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.

Good to know

  • Confirm parking and amenities on the Expedia listing before you book.

Check rates on Expedia →

Expedia link is an affiliate link

Hotel · AlternateBudget

Motel 6 San Diego, CA - Hotel Circle - Mission Valley

2424 Hotel Circle North, San Diego, CA

Why here

  • Expedia lists this hotel as a 2-star property, so we place it in the Budget tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
  • It's the closest of the three to USD, about 4 minutes by car from the West Entrance, and about 12 minutes from SDSU's Parking 3.

Good to know

  • Confirm parking and amenities on the Expedia listing before you book.

Check rates on Expedia →

Expedia link is an affiliate link

Hotel · AlternateUpscale

Sheraton Mission Valley San Diego Hotel

1433 Camino del Rio South, San Diego, CA

Why here

  • Expedia lists this hotel as a 4-star property, so we place it in the Upscale tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
  • It's on the south side of Mission Valley, about 10 minutes by car from SDSU's Parking 3, 8 minutes from USD and 12 minutes from SAN.

Good to know

  • Confirm parking and amenities on the Expedia listing before you book.

Check rates on Expedia →

Expedia link is an affiliate link

Stay in Mission Valley: all three hotels are within about 4 minutes of each other by car, 10 to 12 minutes from SDSU and 4 to 8 minutes from USD, so you can take whichever fits your budget without changing the plan.

5. Meals between tours

Hours change, so check before you go.

On campus at USD

USD invites visitors to enjoy a meal in one of its campus dining facilities while exploring on their own.

Downtown and the beaches

USD's visit page notes the campus is a few minutes from restaurants, beaches and downtown San Diego, about 15 minutes away.

6. Things for siblings along the route

With siblings

USD Tram

University of San Diego, San Diego, CA

Little legs will appreciate it: a tram stop on the ground floor of the West Parking Structure runs up the hill toward Manchester Hall, a short but steep walk otherwise.

Official page →

With siblings

A Toreros game

University of San Diego, San Diego, CA

USD suggests checking the game schedule before you arrive to see which NCAA Division I events you can catch.

Official page →

7. Practical tips

Driving and parking

  • SDSU: Parking 3, paid on the Offstreet website by license plate. USD: the West Parking Structure only, registered free at a pay station with the code from your confirmation email.
  • Hotel Circle to SDSU is about 7 miles and 10 minutes, and to USD about 3 miles and 6 minutes, with no traffic.

Flying in and out

  • SAN is about 10 minutes from Hotel Circle and 9 minutes from USD, so an evening flight home after the USD tour works. From SDSU, SAN is about 18 minutes.
  • Prefer transit for SDSU? SDSU says its Green Line trolley and bus routes connect campus to the airport and the train station.

Weather by season (1991–2020 NOAA normals: San Diego Lindbergh Field)

  • Spring: April averages about 69°F highs and 57°F lows, with under an inch of rain.
  • Summer: July averages about 75°F/66°F with essentially no rain, so sunscreen matters more than an umbrella.
  • Fall: October averages about 75°F/62°F, with about half an inch of rain.
  • Winter: January averages about 66°F/50°F, with about 2 inches of rain, the wettest stretch of the year.

Parent checklist

  • Register for SDSU's morning tour and presentation and a USD afternoon tour online, leaving time for the drive between them.
  • Book one night on Hotel Circle, plus a rental car from SAN.
  • Before SDSU, have your license plate ready for the Offstreet permit. Before USD, find the 4-digit parking code in your confirmation email.
  • Pack sunscreen, a water bottle and comfortable walking shoes: USD's tour runs 90 minutes on a hilly campus.
  • After each visit, take five minutes to jot down what stood out to your student.

8. Student-athlete recruiting visits

For families whose student hopes to play a college sport. Rules below are the NCAA's; each school's links were checked Oct 26, 2026.

Coaches arrange the recruiting part of a visit, not the admissions office. The tour sign-ups in this guide are for the regular family visit. An official (school-paid) visit is offered by the school, and contact with coaches follows NCAA rules that vary by division, sport and grade level.

Start with your sport's questionnaire, then email the coaches. The NCAA suggests emailing coaches with your achievements, highlight videos and interest in their program, including your name, position, NCAA ID and graduation year.

2 Division I

NCAA basics for parents

  • Unofficial visit: any campus visit you or your family pay for. You can take as many as you like; in Divisions I and II each one has to come after the first permissible date for your sport.
  • Official visit: a visit paid for by the school. Each school can offer your student only one. Before a Division I official visit, your student must be registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center, be on the school's institutional request list, and the school must have their high school transcripts.
  • Division I (San Diego State University and University of San Diego): on an official visit the school can pay for travel for the student and up to two family members, lodging, up to three meals a day for the student and up to four family members, and up to $60 a person in entertainment, including five home-game tickets. On an unofficial visit there are no free meals, but the school can give up to three home-game tickets. Division I uses recruiting calendars with contact, evaluation, quiet and dead periods; in a dead period, no in-person contact and no visits.
  • Rules change. Confirm with the coach, or check the NCAA's recruiting page and recruiting calendars, before you plan dates.

Planning around the season

  • Check each school's athletics schedule (linked above) before you pick dates, so a coach meeting doesn't land on a road trip or game day for your sport.
  • Our recommendation, not a school rule: ask the coach whether they can line up an admissions session or tour around your meeting. If not, book the regular family tour yourself through the official sign-up links in this guide, and leave time between the two.

Student-athlete sources

All checked Oct 26, 2026.

  1. NCAA, 2026-27 Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete (pp. 3, 21–25)
  2. NCAA.org: NCAA Recruiting
  3. NCAA: Division I and II Recruiting Calendars and Guides
  4. NCAA Directory: San Diego State University
  5. San Diego State University Athletics (official site)
  6. San Diego State University Athletics: Athletic Compliance
  7. San Diego State University Athletics: Staff Directory
  8. San Diego State University Athletics: schedule of events
  9. NCAA Directory: University of San Diego
  10. University of San Diego Athletics (official site)
  11. University of San Diego Athletics: Prospective Student-Athletes
  12. University of San Diego Athletics: Staff Directory
  13. University of San Diego Athletics: schedule of events

Trip planner

Plan this trip

Add your dates and how you're getting there, and we'll pull this guide into one plan: tour sign-up links, the hotel base, parking or airport notes, the route and meals.

Which schools?
Driving or flying?

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Sources

All checked Oct 28, 2026. Tour schedules change constantly, so always confirm on each school's official sign-up page. Photo credits are under each photo and on our About page.

  1. San Diego State University Admissions: Campus Tours and Virtual Visits
  2. San Diego State University: Prospective Student Tour with Admissions Presentation (official sign-up)
  3. San Diego State University Admissions: Directions & Parking
  4. San Diego State University Admissions: Public Transportation
  5. San Diego State University Admissions: Contact the Office of Admissions
  6. San Diego State University: About SDSU
  7. University of San Diego Undergraduate Admission: Visit
  8. University of San Diego: Campus Tours (official sign-up)
  9. University of San Diego Undergraduate Admission: Preparing for Your Campus Visit
  10. University of San Diego Undergraduate Admission: Daily Tour Registration
  11. University of San Diego: Visit Campus
  12. University of San Diego Undergraduate Admission (contact details)
  13. University of San Diego: About USD
  14. OSRM routing (OpenStreetMap), driving profile
  15. OSRM routing (OpenStreetMap), foot profile
  16. OpenStreetMap Nominatim geocoder
  17. NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Monthly Normals, San Diego Lindbergh Field (USW00023188)
  18. Expedia listing: Days Inn by Wyndham San Diego Hotel Circle (star class, checked 2026-10-28) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/San-Diego-Hotels-Days-Inn-By-Wyndham-San-Diego-Hotel-Circle.h19220.Hotel-Information)
  19. Expedia listing: Motel 6 San Diego, CA - Hotel Circle - Mission Valley (star class, checked 2026-10-28) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/San-Diego-Hotels-Motel-6-San-Diego.h996099.Hotel-Information)
  20. Expedia listing: Sheraton Mission Valley San Diego Hotel (star class, checked 2026-10-28) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/San-Diego-Hotels-Sheraton-Mission-Valley-San-Diego-Hotel.h11725.Hotel-Information)
  21. Wyndham Hotels: Days Inn by Wyndham San Diego Hotel Circle (address) (not linked: https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/days-inn/san-diego-california/days-inn-san-diego-hotel-circle/overview)
  22. Motel 6: San Diego, CA - Hotel Circle (address) (not linked: https://www.motel6.com/property/motel-san-diego-ca-california-us-294705/)
  23. Marriott: Sheraton Mission Valley San Diego Hotel (address) (not linked: https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/sanvs-sheraton-mission-valley-san-diego-hotel/overview/)
  24. Bartell Hotels: USD partnership hotel list (not linked: https://www.bartellhotels.com/usd)
  25. San Diego Toreros Athletics: Calendar