Campus Access and Visiting the Institute
The Salk Institute is an active scientific research facility. To maintain the research environment while ensuring a meaningful visitor experience, campus access is available through registered docent-led architectural tours or official Institute business only.
Visitors may access the Institute through public architectural tours offered Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 10:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., unless the Institute is closed for a holiday or private event. Tours are approximately one hour long.
Visitors may also access the Institute by booking a Private Group Tour in advance.
Click here to book both types of tours.
Booking and Tour Availability
Public tour tickets may be purchased online. Public tours are generally available Wednesdays through Fridays at 10:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
Private Group Tours may be requested for Monday through Friday between the hours of 9:00 am – 3:00 pm. Private Group Tour requests must be submitted at least 10 business days prior to the prospective tour date.
Public tours: Click here to check availability and purchase tickets
Private tours: Click here to complete the request form.
The Institute typically schedules tours 3 months in advance for both public and private tours.
Tours work best with a limited number of visitors in each group, so very large private tours will be split into separate groups – each led by an individual docent.
Educational Group Visits
If you are an educator looking only for an architectural tour for your students, click here to request a private tour.
If you are an educator who wishes to visit a Salk lab with your students or learn more about our science, click here.
Tour Details
Arrival, Transportation, and Logistics
There is no public parking available on the Salk Institute campus for tour attendees. Paid parking is available across the street at the Sanford Consortium for $4.50/hour. Limited public parking may be found along Torrey Pines Scenic Drive or Torrey Pines Gliderport parking lot, although the latter is unpaved and not suitable for some vehicles.
If you plan to drive your own vehicle, please allow an extra 15-20 minutes to park.
Weather and Day-of-Tour Questions
If you or your group is running late for a tour, please email Salk Tours at tours@salk.edu. We will do our best to accommodate you.
Tours begin promptly. Guests arriving more than 10 minutes late may not be able to join the tour to avoid disruption to the group. If you aren’t able to join your scheduled tour, you may request a refund of the cost of the ticket.
Ticket Issues, Changes, and Refunds
If you need to cancel or reschedule tickets for a public tour that you purchased online, please email Salk Tours at tours@salk.edu for assistance.
If you need to cancel or reschedule a pre-arranged private tour, please email Salk Tours at tours@salk.edu. Private tour cancellation requests must be received at least two business days prior to the scheduled tour date for a full refund.
Refunds for public tour tickets are available if you find yourself unable to attend the tour you booked online, with 24 hours advance notice.
Refunds for private tours must be requested at least two business days prior to the scheduled tour date for a full refund. After that, the tour payment will be considered a donation that supports the preservation and maintenance of the Salk Institute buildings.
Campus Amenities and Visitor Experience
Yes, the Salk Café is open to visitors from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Access to the Café is on the perimeter of the building and we recommend that you plan your meal for before or after your visit. Seating is available on the Lower West Courtyard for Café patrons.
Show your tour confirmation at the Café and enjoy 10% off—a tasty reward for joining the tour!
Policies
Casual personal photography and brief videography is permitted during tours as follows:
- Guests are limited to one hand-held camera/phone without the use of any additional photo/video equipment.
- Tripods, selfie sticks, lighting set-ups, drones, props, costumes and other equipment are prohibited.
- Formal, staged and commissioned photography or videography is prohibited.
- Taking photos of the laboratories is strictly prohibited.
- Tour groups may not be delayed or interrupted for extensive photography.
- When taking photos, please follow all instructions from docents, and respect other visitors and Salk staff.
Click here for additional photo guidelines.