5 Best Haunted Tours in San Diego 2024 / 2025

I took this tour at the beginning of August 2024 with my wife and. ‘WOW’, we really enjoyed the experience.

You get to partner up with an experienced paranormal investigation enthusiast Michael Brown to explore some of the neighborhood’s most haunted locales on the San Diego Ghost Hunting Walking Tour in Old Town.

There are no costumed actors or fake set-ups designed to trigger the equipment, so you can be certain that if you happen to spot something unusual, you just may be having a real ghost encounter! For that reason, not only is this an excellent ghost tour, but we also consider it one of the best locally run tours in San Diego and best overall tours in San Diego as well!

Know that when booking your tour, you have two options.

• Early Session Ghost Tour
• Late Session Ghost Hunting Tour

The first, the Ghost Tour, is for a larger group of people. You’ll get to visit 10 different locations that are rumored to be haunted and learn about some of the real accounts from people who have claimed to have seen the supernatural. You’ll also get to see photographic evidence, try out the same meters used in ghost hunting TV shows, and enter San Diego’s most haunted building.

Your other option is the Ghost Hunting Tour, where you’ll embark late at night on a tour with just a handful of other people. You’ll also get access to additional high-tech equipment including a voice box, K-2 meter, and SLS camera.

Both tours are set to be about 90 minutes long.

What Makes This Tour Special

In a word, this tour is special because of the guide, Michael Brown! His energy and enthusiasm is infectious and really made the experience for me and my wife!

His tours are among the best San Diego ghost tours for paranormal enthusiasts, as you’ll get to use real ghost hunting equipment and learn from the experts.

Plus, the small group Ghost Hunting Tour that I was a part of has an exclusive feel that I think creates an unbeatable atmosphere.

What to Know Ahead of Time

If you’re traveling with the family, you may want to opt for the standard Ghost Tour, which is an amazing tour that creates a better experience for all ages. The Ghost Hunting Tour starts much later and is geared toward adults.

Haunted tours don’t have to be all doom and gloom - some also incorporate comedy, like the San Diego Haunted Ghost Tour by Bus.

The directors of this 2-hour tour aren’t just guides; they’re true storytellers who make the night entertaining as you ride around town in a coffin-shaped bus. This tour is fun for ghost hunters, and it’s also a blast for locals or visitors that are looking for a unique activity to try in San Diego.

You’ll get to visit many different locations, some of which are popular tourist spots and others that are more exclusive. Alongside well-known ghost hunting spots like El Campo Santo Cemetery and the Whaley House, the bus tour also includes a purportedly haunted mansion in Sherman Heights and a hospital where patients’ ghosts are rumored to still walk the halls.

This bus tour is the best way to see ghost hotspots that are otherwise unavailable to the public, which is one of many reasons why it’s not just a great ghost tour but also one of the best tours in San Diego.

Unlike some other haunted tours, the San Diego Haunted Ghost Tour by Bus is largely family-friendly, though the content may frighten some younger kids. It’s recommended for anyone 5 and older.

What Makes This Tour Special

Many San Diego ghost tours are walking tours, but being able to see the city by bus offers a whole new angle. Plus, as someone who does a lot of walking when I vacation, I appreciate having the option to give my feet a break!

What to Know Ahead of Time

The tour starts at the Old Town graveyard near the statues, not far from the plaza.

Since the tour includes ticketed establishments like the Davis-Horton House and Whaley House, the cost of admission is included in the tour price.

Board the “trolley of the doomed” and prepare for a truly terrifying hour and a half on the Ghosts and Gravestones Tour of San Diego. This tour will take you to notable historic locations and gravesites of some of the city’s most notorious and nefarious previous residents.

This 1.5-hour tour includes some scary content, and it’s recommended for visitors 13 and older. Great for couples, small groups and families with older children, there are few to no jump scares, and the content is primarily focused on providing a historical, educational angle.

The trolley will take you through popular haunted sites in Pioneer Park, El Campo Santo Cemetery, Grant Elementary School, and the Whaley House, one of the most haunted places in America!

Many Old Town San Diego tours talk about the past, but we love that this one unveils the darker, more mysterious side of San Diego, shedding light on unexplained and unnerving deaths that haunt its past as effectively as any spirit. If you’re ready to see the city in a whole new light, this tour is the perfect way to spend an evening under the full moon.

What Makes This Tour Special

This tour gets a special mention as one of the 19 Best Things to Do in Old Town San Diego as selected by our team.

While the ghosts are front and center, you’ll also learn a lot about history - so even if you’re not totally convinced of the paranormal, you can still learn something new and have a great time.

What to Know Ahead of Time

Though most of the tour is delivered while aboard the trolley, there are two short walking segments, so wear comfortable shoes. Unfortunately the tour is not wheelchair-accessible.

Perhaps a self-guided tour that you can enjoy at your own pace is more of your speed?

The Whaley House is one of the most popular tourist destinations in San Diego, and this self-guided tour is a smart way to explore it!

During the daytime, you can visit and learn about the building’s Greek Revival architecture from the mid-nineteenth century, as well as its extensive history as a home, granary, courtroom, and more.

At night, however, is when the ghosts come out to play! Take the Whaley House Ghost Tour to learn about the house that has been called America’s most haunted. Featured as part of our Unique Things to Do in San Diego article, this evening tour is a quick one at just 30-40 minutes long.

Ghost sightings on the Whaley property typically involve either one or more of the Whaley family members, or one of the criminals who were hanged on the property where the Whaley House was built. Other apparitions have included Yankee Jim, a man convicted of grand larceny before the construction of the house; previous tenants; and even the Whaley’s terrier, Dolly Varden.

Walking tours include the Whaley House itself as well as the surrounding grounds.

What Makes This Tour Special

While most tours we recommend are ‘guided’, this tour gives you another option to go on a self-guided tour.

Getting to step inside one of the most haunted places in San Diego, often referred to as the city’s most haunted house, is a huge treat. It’s really amazing to see the transformation between daytime and nighttime, so we highly recommend visiting at both times to see the Whaley House in an all new light.

What to Know Ahead of Time

No photography or video recording is allowed during the evening tour. If you’re hoping to record evidence of the paranormal, check out some of the other options on this list.

Prepare to be enthralled with gripping stories of ghost sightings, real crimes, and all manner of grave events that have shaped San Diego’s past while on the Gaslamp Quarter Ghosts and Crime Walking Tour.

This is a walking tour that focuses mainly on Gaslamp Quarter landmarks like the Horton Grand Hotel and Carriage Works. While this is certainly a haunted tour with time dedicated to talk about ghosts that have been spotted drifting through these locations, it’s also heavily focused on history, with lots of tales that won’t make the history books but which are still worth preserving for those with a taste for the neighborhood less-than-spotless past.

It’s an especially great pick for those who enjoy true crime, as the tour guides have a number of stories dealing with real events. They include battles during California’s settler-colonial era alongside more recent terrifying events, many of which may have left restless spirits in their wake.

You’ll even get to learn about a murder mystery that remains unsolved to this day. Without spoiling any of these spooky tales for you, I can only say that you’re truly in for a chillingly good time!

What Makes This Tour Special

If you’re not much of a ghost hunter but you love stories of the morbid and macabre, this is the perfect tour for you. We love that it’s just as fun for believers of the supernatural as it is for skeptics who want to learn about the Gaslamp Quarter’s sordid history.

What to Know Ahead of Time

The tour begins at 8 pm and leaves from the Balboa Theatre on the Horton Plaza side. It lasts for about an hour and includes a mile-long walking route, so wear sturdy shoes.

Photos are allowed but video recordings of the tour are prohibited.