San Francisco Vacation Help!

[diva0045]

We’re planning on visiting San Francisco in August for 4 nights. We’ll be flying. I have zero motivation to figure out what to do! We will be going to a baseball game but that’s the only thing I have on the agenda. Can anyone help give me a jump start on planning? We’ll be taking the kids ages 15 and 11. The 15 year old LOVES history. The 11 year old is our baseball fan. Thanks for the help!

1) Hotel Recommendations?

2) Do we need a car?

3) What are the “must do” activities?

4) Restaurant recommendations?

5) Should we get a car and drive outside of San Francisco and do anything?

[sugarbear1]

We just did this and if you search my username you'll find a similar post.
My boys were 10 and 13.
I would stay in the Fishermans Wharf area -- super touristy but easy to find something to do.

Must-dos for us:
Musee Mechanique
Alcatraz
China Live for dumplings
Walk across the GG Bridge

[maudefindlay]

Muir Woods is about a 45 min drive and you go over the Golden Gate Bridge to get there. Muir Woods is just beautiful. We actually did a tour where we went to the Palace of Fine Arts, Muir, and Napa for a day trip. The rest of our time in San Francisco we just walked everywhere, though you might do cable cars for fun.

Go to the Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 to see seals and sea lions.

We did the Alcatraz tour, but I know some people say to skip it.

We went to Lombard St for a fun photo op.

[namasteak]

We are staying at The Lodge at The Presidio for a wedding in October. It's $$$ but we can get 1 room for all 5 of us & can walk everywhere we need to go. It includes breakfast too.

Following this because we are debating if there is anything we want to see besides Golden Gate Bridge (we can see it from the hotel), things in The Presidio & Muir Woods Monument.

[nsl]

If your family likes to spread out and/or needs separate bedrooms like mine I'd recommend the Suites at Fisherman's Wharf. We went last year over spring break and really enjoyed our stay there.

For activities I'll recommend the hop on/hop off bus tour (it will take you across the Golden Gate Bridge), Muir Woods, and at least one good walking tour. If you get a City Pass you can do multiple activities for a much lower price than if you bought individual tickets, and the bus tour has a stop at Fisherman's Wharf. We booked a food tour through Chinatown and North Beach through Viator, and it was the highlight of our trip. We learned a ton of local history, ate delicious food, and saw so many things (including a fortune cookie factory) that we never would have stumbled across on our own even with a ton of research and planning ahead of time.

[Roc A Bee]

My kids liked the hop on and off bus to see different sites. Stay near the Wharf. We didn’t do Alcatraz but a boat tour around the island and that was cool.

[pinkdutchtulips]

I've lived in the SF Bay Area the last 30 years .. 


1) Hotel Recommendations? Fisherman's Wharf as kitschy as it is, is centrally located


2) Do we need a car?  For the most part no but if you want to go outside of SF, then get a car


3) What are the “must do” activities?  SF- Alcatraz, Pier 39/Fisherman's Wharf/Ghirardelli Sq, Golden Gate Park (Cal Academy of Sciences), Exploratorium, the crooked part of Lombard, for history geeks the Presidio and Palace of Fine Arts are pretty cool; Marin - Golden Gate Bridge, Muir Woods (make sure you get parking reservations WELL in advance), Angel Island (for history geeks); East Bay - Oakland -Oakland Museum of California, the USS Hornet (Alameda) Berkeley - Tilden Park, CAL campus

5) Should we get a car and drive outside of San Francisco and do anything? Check out Marin and the East Bay

[1confused1]

You’ve gotten some good advice already.

I have lived in the SF Bay Area my whole life and have never been to Muir Woods 😲

I took my kids and friends, ages 17 and 14, to SF in December for the day. We walked around Pier 39 and had lunch, walked down to Fisherman’s Wharf, took the cable car to Union Square. I highly recommend buying cable car tickets online ahead of time. We then went back to Ghirardelli Square to have dessert. This would be a perfect itinerary if you stay down in the Fisherman’s Wharf area.

If you guys like Disney, the Walt Disney Museum in the Presidio is really neat.

Alcatraz is a must see, get tickets early.

The Ferry Building would be fun before the game, you can walk to the stadium from there.

[Stan]

I grew up on Angel Island. It’s truly a special place and hugely important for a lot of different historical reasons but particularly Asian American history. Also some of the best views of all time which I definitely took for granted as a kid.

[HRH Queen Dick I, Orphan]

I wouldn't call Fisherman's Wharf centrally located. It's in the name. Wharf means the bay, which is the northernmost point.

Union Square would be more central if you're talking touristy areas.

Go see the sea lions at Pier 39 otherwise all that nonsense down there is crappy tourist bs.

The bridge and Alcatraz are iconic, don't skip that shit.

[HRH Queen Dick I, Orphan]

I have lived here my whole life too and have never been to Muir Woods, it's just trees like whatever I don't do nature.

[shauni27]

Mar 19, 2024 22:54:17 GMT -5 HRH Queen Dick I, Orphan said:

I have lived here my whole life too and have never been to Muir Woods, it's just trees like whatever I don't do nature.

I don't know why this is making me laugh so much.

I love Muir Woods and especially for the teens and to just be outside in the forest. 

I second Exploratorium. The best.

Everything else is covered.

[justemily]

Was just there in October (as well as I used to live in the Bay Area, but it's been 20+ years!).

If you decide to go to Muir Woods, go early. It gets crowded pretty quickly. We did a tour where we stopped on the north side of the GG Bridge for pics at sunrise, went to Muir Woods, and then we were dropped in Sausalito (AWESOME views of SF) and rode the ferry back to Pier 39. It was great.

Def don't skip Alcatraz - and do the self-guided tour, but also don't miss the talks by the docents - they tell some GREAT stories!

If you make it to China Town, check out the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Company. It's down a little alley, but the door is open and you can watch the ladies fold the cookies into their shape right out of the oven. AND if you're lucky, they will give you a few fresh "coins" before they fold them - hot and delicious!

[majesty318]

This was a few years ago, but I stayed at Hotel Zetta and loved it. I also consider Alcatraz a must do. We went to a redwood forest that is not as busy as Muir Woods but I can't remember its name

[christy082]

For Alcatraz, definitely book early, especially the evening tour. They sell out.

[redheadk]

Exploratorium + Ferry Building for lunch is a great combo.

I would not rent a car. If you decide you want to go across the Golden Gate Bridge and go to Muir Woods, just rent one for the day. Granted, we have always stayed in Union Square if staying in San Francisco but I think it was $75 a night to park the rental car. We only did that once, it was a work trip for DH.

[pinkdutchtulips]

Mar 19, 2024 22:54:17 GMT -5 HRH Queen Dick I, Orphan said:

I have lived here my whole life too and have never been to Muir Woods, it's just trees like whatever I don't do nature.

I'll do nature but I have yet to go to Muir Woods .... those required parking reservations are HARD to get. 

[7costanza]

We went for spring break last year with a 3 and 9 year old. We drove from Seattle so had a car but once we checked into the hotel only used it for a day trip to the Winchester Mystery House (which I’ve always wanted to go to so was worth it for us, but I would say to skip unless you have a strong interest.) Highlights were a self guided tour of Chinatown, I found a free walking tour online and it was great, the sea lions at pier 39, Alcatraz (must do IMO), my kids loved the Musee Mechanique but I though it was really grimy, and Muir Woods.