Coronado Island Ferry Times | Dock That Fits Your Day

The Coronado ferry runs daily from San Diego, with Broadway hourly, Convention Center every 30 minutes, and a 15-minute crossing.

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Pick the wrong dock before checking Coronado Island Ferry Times, and you can add 30 to 60 minutes to a simple bay crossing. The practical answer is this: Broadway Pier is the clean hourly route, while the Convention Center route gives you twice as many departures to Coronado Ferry Landing.

Flagship Cruises & Events operates the San Diego to Coronado ferry. Standard Coronado one-way fare is $9 for ages 4 and up, the crossing takes about 15 minutes, and tickets are valid for the purchased route on any scheduled departure when space is available.

For same-day transit options between downtown San Diego and Coronado, compare the route before you pick a terminal:

Coronado Ferry Schedule By Dock

The Coronado ferry schedule works on two patterns: Broadway Pier runs to Coronado on the hour, and the Convention Center route runs about every 30 minutes. Coronado return trips leave on the matching offset, so choosing the right dock matters more than saving a few blocks of walking.

Broadway Pier is the better dock if you are near the USS Midway Museum, Santa Fe Depot, Little Italy, or the north Embarcadero. The Convention Center dock is the better choice if you are near the Gaslamp Quarter, Petco Park, the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, or a downtown convention hotel.

Use the table as a planning snapshot, then confirm the live grid before leaving your hotel because holiday, concert, and event schedules can shift.

Which Coronado Ferry Route Should You Take?

Broadway Pier is simpler; the Convention Center route is more frequent. Travelers staying near the waterfront north of downtown should use Broadway Pier, while Gaslamp and convention-area travelers usually save time with the Convention Center dock.

Broadway Pier sits at 990 North Harbor Drive, close to the USS Midway Museum and Maritime Museum of San Diego. The regular visitor pattern is easy to remember: depart San Diego on the hour, return from Coronado on the half hour.

The Convention Center terminal sits at 600 Convention Way, also called Fifth Avenue Landing. The departure grid is denser, which makes it the safer pick when you do not want to build your day around one hourly boat.

The Coronado dock is the same for both routes: Coronado Ferry Landing at 1201 First Street. From there, you can walk to bayfront restaurants, rent a bike nearby, or take a rideshare toward Coronado Beach and Hotel del Coronado.

Tickets, Bikes, Accessibility, And Boarding Rules

Coronado ferry tickets are route-specific, but they can be used on any scheduled sailing for that route when vessel capacity allows. The operator recommends arriving at least 10 minutes before standard departures, and earlier during weekends, holidays, conferences, and major event release times.

Flagship lists the Coronado routes as ADA accessible except for the exterior top deck. Bikes are allowed onboard when space permits, which makes the ferry useful for a San Diego waterfront ride into Coronado.

The official operator page is the source to check before you leave: Flagship Ferry routes and schedules.

Planning note: Buy a return ticket or check the return time before you wander far from Coronado Ferry Landing. Missing a Broadway Pier return can mean waiting close to an hour.

How Early Should You Arrive?

Arrive at least 10 minutes before a normal Coronado ferry departure, and give yourself more time after concerts, Comic-Con sessions, holiday events, or dinner rushes. The ferry is short, but boarding lines can build when downtown San Diego empties out after an event.

For a low-stress day trip, aim to reach your San Diego dock 15 to 20 minutes ahead of the sailing you want. That gives you time to find the dock entrance, sort tickets, and avoid watching the boat pull away while you are still crossing the street.

• Broadway Pier: choose this dock if you want the simplest hourly plan.
• Convention Center: choose this dock if flexibility matters or you are coming from the Gaslamp Quarter.
• Coronado Ferry Landing: use this dock for every return to San Diego, then choose Broadway Pier or Convention Center by where you need to land downtown.

Where To Stay For An Easy Ferry Day

Staying near Coronado Ferry Landing makes the ferry the easiest way to reach downtown San Diego without driving across the bridge. Staying downtown near Broadway Pier or the Convention Center works better if Coronado is one day of a larger San Diego trip.

Coronado is calmer at night than downtown San Diego, with bayfront dining near the ferry and beach hotels farther across the island. Downtown San Diego gives you more late-night transit choices, but the ferry ride itself becomes a timed outing rather than a doorstep option.

Use the map to compare stays near Coronado Ferry Landing, Coronado Beach, and the downtown ferry docks:

Pick The Right Sailing Pattern

The cleanest ferry plan is Broadway Pier if you can match the hourly departure, and the most forgiving ferry plan is the Convention Center route because it runs every 30 minutes. Both routes land at the same Coronado Ferry Landing, so your San Diego starting point should decide.

Use this simple split before you go:

• For the most departures: use the Convention Center route.
• For the simplest memory trick: use Broadway Pier to Coronado on the hour and return on the half hour.
• For a beach day: arrive at Coronado Ferry Landing, then budget extra time to reach Coronado Beach.
• For late events: check the event schedule because Rady Shell and holiday sailings can change the final useful boat.
• For eligible commuters: early commuter sailings are separate from the visitor rhythm and can be affected by weekday holidays.

For most visitors, the Convention Center ferry is the safest default because missing one boat usually means a shorter wait. Broadway Pier still wins when your day starts north of downtown or when the hourly schedule already lines up with your plans.