San Francisco help

[czmom]

We will be in SF for 1.5 days. Our flight arrives at OAK at 11 AM on a Tuesday, then we have all day Wednesday. We are staying at the Columbus Motor Inn. Any suggestions on the best plan to accomplish the following:

Lombard St
Pier 39
Fisherman's Wharf
Ride a cable car
Walk on the GG bridge (not all the way)
Possible Ride the Duck tour (my kids will love it!)

We have Alcatraz tickets for the 8:45 tour on Wednesday morning. Other than that, we are wide open and would love the best plan of attack.


One other question- we will be leaving Thursday for Yosemite. Should we leave at a certain time to avoid traffic? How early? or how late to go after traffic?? Will we drive over the GG bridge on our way out? Thanks!

 

[bcla]

One other question- we will be leaving Thursday for Yosemite. Should we leave at a certain time to avoid traffic? How early? or how late to go after traffic?? Will we drive over the GG bridge on our way out? Thanks!

You could, but that would be the "scenic route". The fastest way is via the Bay Bridge and then I-580.

There are a couple of ways in. The way via New Priest Grade (120) is faster, but the drive can be a little bit scary. It's also less scenic. It's a little bit longer via 140, but there's generally better scenery.

This is New Priest Grade:

I wouldn't necessarily worry about traffic if you leave in the morning. It's the reverse commute if you're leaving San Francisco. If you forgot something and have to backtrack, you'll probably be stuck for a while.

 

[usnuzuloose]

Traffic is usually bad around 6-9 am. There is also the Ferry building which has shopping, and a lot of good food places. On the weekends they have tents set up for all kinds of fruits and veggies and different things.

There is also the Walt Disney Museum in the presidio.

Also look under

Groupon.com

Travelzoo.com

Livingsocials.com

under SF for discounts on things to do in the city.

 

[GoBears 1980]

Don't spend too much time in FW or Pier 39. It is schlocky tourist crap. There is very little San Francisco left in those places. I'd look to spend time in Union Square, Nob Hill, the Embarcadero and North Beach.

A cable car can take you to/near all of these.

I don't know what your plans are after SF, but you are seriously, seriously short changing yourself in one of the great cities in the US.

 

[bcla]

Don't spend too much time in FW or Pier 39. It is schlocky tourist crap. There is very little San Francisco left in those places. I'd look to spend time in Union Square, Nob Hill, the Embarcadero and North Beach.

A cable car can take you to/near all of these.

I don't know what your plans are after SF, but you are seriously, seriously short changing yourself in one of the great cities in the US.

I'm a local and I enjoy Fishermans Wharf. It's got great views and the food can be fine if chosen carefully. There's also Musee Mechanique.

 

[GoBears 1980]

I'm a local and I enjoy Fishermans Wharf. It's got great views and the food can be fine if chosen carefully. There's also Musee Mechanique.

Then you are the only one...... good food?? Where? Bubba Gumps? Applebee's? Rainforest Cafe? Even poor Alioto's is caricature of the restaurant it once was.

 

[bcla]

Then you are the only one...... good food?? Where? Bubba Gumps? Applebee's? Rainforest Cafe? Even poor Alioto's is caricature of the restaurant it once was.

I kind of like Boudin. Yeah it's touristy, but a good value. I rather like In-N-Out. The crab stands are fine. Nothing fancy, but still fine.

 

[czmom]

My kids are young so we are all about touristy

After SF we are headed to Yosemite and then DL.

 

[ncc1701]

I kind of like Boudin. Yeah it's touristy, but a good value. I rather like In-N-Out. The crab stands are fine. Nothing fancy, but still fine.

Speaking as a tourist we like Boudin too . We also like the Buena Vista . We stay in that area due to the access to the ferry to Sausalito, the cable cars and the F-line trolley cars. Plus the afternoon Irish Coffee at the Buena Vista ☺

 

[DaretoDis]

Speaking as a tourist we like Boudin too . We also like the Buena Vista . We stay in that area due to the access to the ferry to Sausalito, the cable cars and the F-line trolley cars. Plus the afternoon Irish Coffee at the Buena Vista ☺

Not bad for breakfast either...

 

[tiffjoy]

I live in the Bay Area and we spend many weekends doing things in the city. Just were there both Saturday and Sunday this last weekend.

I don't particularly love FW, but our kids absolutely do. Our approach to FW is to go in the evening when all other family activities (museums, playgrounds, gardens, etc) are closed. We stay in the city until bedtime, then put the kids in pjs and drive home, so we end up at FW a lot to kill time in the evening.

There are three, and only three, places we eat at FW: for a more expensive meal- Scoma's; nice sit down but more affordable than Scoma's- Fog Harbor; for fast and affordable- Boudin's. We've been many, many times to all three of those with no bad meals. Fog Harbor in particular has amazing views. They aren't my favorite restaurants in the city, but they are good food and quite acceptable.

Two things our kids love to eat- turtle bread from Boudin's and Trish's mini donuts. They also love the double decker carousel and magic shows at the Alpine water stage. Musee Mechanique is a lot of fun, too.

After Alcatraz, I would recommend the FerryBuilding for lunch, another place my kids beg to visit. The empanadas are our favorite snack, and they love the flavored milk from Cowgirl Creamery. Sit out back on the benches and enjoy the view while you eat.

 

[usnuzuloose]

I live in the Bay Area and we spend many weekends doing things in the city. Just were there both Saturday and Sunday this last weekend.

I don't particularly love FW, but our kids absolutely do. Our approach to FW is to go in the evening when all other family activities (museums, playgrounds, gardens, etc) are closed. We stay in the city until bedtime, then put the kids in pjs and drive home, so we end up at FW a lot to kill time in the evening.

There are three, and only three, places we eat at FW: for a more expensive meal- Scoma's; nice sit down but more affordable than Scoma's- Fog Harbor; for fast and affordable- Boudin's. We've been many, many times to all three of those with no bad meals. Fog Harbor in particular has amazing views. They aren't my favorite restaurants in the city, but they are good food and quite acceptable.

Two things our kids love to eat- turtle bread from Boudin's and Trish's mini donuts. They also love the double decker carousel and magic shows at the Alpine water stage. Musee Mechanique is a lot of fun, too.

After Alcatraz, I would recommend the FerryBuilding for lunch, another place my kids beg to visit. The empanadas are our favorite snack, and they love the flavored milk from Cowgirl Creamery. Sit out back on the benches and enjoy the view while you eat.

I really enjoy the Ferry Building. So much in there.

 

[CPT Tripss]

If your kids are old enough, rent bikes and ride to (or across) the Golden Gate Bridge. When we were there, eight or so years ago, so there was a rental place just down the street from the Columbus Motor Inn. http://www.blazingsaddles.com/san-francisco

 

[DaretoDis]

Be aware that a single ride on a cable car is $6./person. A MUNI day pass is $17/day and includes unlimited rides on cable cars, F-Line trolleys, MUNI buses, and subway, but not BART.

 

[GoBears 1980]

I kind of like Boudin. Yeah it's touristy, but a good value. I rather like In-N-Out. The crab stands are fine. Nothing fancy, but still fine.

I like the Boudin at the Wharf for the entertaiment/educational aspects, some of the crab stands are okay and I love the cioppino at Scoma's so FW is not a complete loss, but it bugs me to no end that visitors come to FW and barely get away from it and think they've been to SF and instead they've only gotten a distorted picture of SF.

I live in the Bay Area and we spend many weekends doing things in the city. Just were there both Saturday and Sunday this last weekend.

I don't particularly love FW, but our kids absolutely do. Our approach to FW is to go in the evening when all other family activities (museums, playgrounds, gardens, etc) are closed. We stay in the city until bedtime, then put the kids in pjs and drive home, so we end up at FW a lot to kill time in the evening.

There are three, and only three, places we eat at FW: for a more expensive meal- Scoma's; nice sit down but more affordable than Scoma's- Fog Harbor; for fast and affordable- Boudin's. We've been many, many times to all three of those with no bad meals. Fog Harbor in particular has amazing views. They aren't my favorite restaurants in the city, but they are good food and quite acceptable.

Two things our kids love to eat- turtle bread from Boudin's and Trish's mini donuts. They also love the double decker carousel and magic shows at the Alpine water stage. Musee Mechanique is a lot of fun, too.

After Alcatraz, I would recommend the FerryBuilding for lunch, another place my kids beg to visit. The empanadas are our favorite snack, and they love the flavored milk from Cowgirl Creamery. Sit out back on the benches and enjoy the view while you eat.

I agree entirely on the restaurants, but when my kids were young (all three are now Berkeley grads, so it's been awhile) they loved Union Square because they felt they were in a "real city" as opposed to the So Cal beach towns they grew up in. They encountered enough tourists in summer at home that they didn't want more of them on their vacation.

 

[tiffjoy]

I like the Boudin at the Wharf for the entertaiment/educational aspects, some of the crab stands are okay and I love the cioppino at Scoma's so FW is not a complete loss, but it bugs me to no end that visitors come to FW and barely get away from it and think they've been to SF and instead they've only gotten a distorted picture of SF.

I agree, but the OP had other items on their "to see" list. I don't know many people (and I interact with a lot of visitors at my job who come for work and stay to play) who ONLY go to FW. It's just usually on the list. Every single place has tourist items, but that doesn't make them not worth seeing at all.

I agree entirely on the restaurants, but when my kids were young (all three are now Berkeley grads, so it's been awhile) they loved Union Square because they felt they were in a "real city" as opposed to the So Cal beach towns they grew up in. They encountered enough tourists in summer at home that they didn't want more of them on their vacation.

My girls love Union Square as well, especially at Christmas time. But it's similar to FW in that it's crowded and toursity. Just a different kind of touristy. Like FW, you go, you see some things, then you move on to another area.

OP, if you go to Union Square, take time to go up to the top level of some of the stores and look out at the view, especially in the evening. You used to be able to go up the elevator at The Westin, but not anymore, sadly, unless you are a guest. But there are plenty of other places. I like to eat at Scala's Bistro there. And my DDs enjoy tea at The Rotunda in Neiman Marcus (not my favorite tea place in the city, but certainly prettiest views). I like the building that the mall is in- it's an older building with a really pretty center dome. Is Yerba Beuna Gardens technically Union Square area? Either way, it's fun for young kids- not sure of your kids ages.

 

[GoBears 1980]

Is Yerba Beuna Gardens technically Union Square area?

I'd call it SOMA.

 

[czmom]

I live in the Bay Area and we spend many weekends doing things in the city. Just were there both Saturday and Sunday this last weekend.

I don't particularly love FW, but our kids absolutely do. Our approach to FW is to go in the evening when all other family activities (museums, playgrounds, gardens, etc) are closed. We stay in the city until bedtime, then put the kids in pjs and drive home, so we end up at FW a lot to kill time in the evening.

There are three, and only three, places we eat at FW: for a more expensive meal- Scoma's; nice sit down but more affordable than Scoma's- Fog Harbor; for fast and affordable- Boudin's. We've been many, many times to all three of those with no bad meals. Fog Harbor in particular has amazing views. They aren't my favorite restaurants in the city, but they are good food and quite acceptable.

Two things our kids love to eat- turtle bread from Boudin's and Trish's mini donuts. They also love the double decker carousel and magic shows at the Alpine water stage. Musee Mechanique is a lot of fun, too.

After Alcatraz, I would recommend the FerryBuilding for lunch, another place my kids beg to visit. The empanadas are our favorite snack, and they love the flavored milk from Cowgirl Creamery. Sit out back on the benches and enjoy the view while you eat.

Thank you so much!!! This is super helpful. My kids are 6 and 8. Think we can do everything on our list in 1.5 days?

 

[tiffjoy]

I definitely think you can do them all, and there are some options as to how you fit it in. Before I recommend a list, are you going to have a rental car and will you be planning to eat lunch in the city or grab something by the airport after landing? Also, the only thing that can be expensive and hard to fit in in your list is the cable car ride since you don't have a morning. The wait can be 30 minutes long.

 

[Terapin]

We were just in SF with just a few hours to spare until a late flight and we headed down to Pier 39. I thought it was really interesting. We saw sea lions, ate at Fog Harbor, and wandered around near the boat slips, and just meandered. It was a nice afternoon (but cool by the water). If I returned with my kids, I would definitely take them there. I know we missed out on a lot of other places in San Fran, and want to go back for a longer visit, but it was a nice few hours. There is a large (and expensive) parking garage right near Pier 39. If you eat at some of the local places (sorry, don't know which ones), there is a large discount with a validated ticket. Hope that helps!