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First Signficant Trip Since Having Children -- Seeking Advice in San Francisco
I used to use these boards frequently when my wife and I were traveling as a couple. Since having childre, with the exception of the travel to visit family and the occasional road trip, our wanderlust has been limited.
I am excited as we're finally ready to dive in and ready to start exploring the world again with our children in tow -- two boys (9 years and 7 years old) and a girl (4 years old). I should add they are fairly mature and well behaved kids for their ages (thankfully!). We will be there arriving on a Tuesday mid morning and leaving first thing the following Tuesday in mid-March to coincide with Spring Break. As it's been a long time since I've been to SF and never with kids, can you please provide some suggestions and ideas to consider to create an itinerary for that time period? We're the kind that like to take it slow and leisurely and not necessarily try to pack everything in all at once or in a rush just because it's on a travel list -- this is probably a given when traveling with small kids anyway, but just thought that might be helpful for you when you provide feedback. Any recommendations on a place to stay -- less about the actual hotel -- and more about what area would be helpful as well. We don't plan to rent a car unless we decide to go to Yosemite. Again nothing is set or planned at this point other than our inbound and outbound air travel. Thanks in advance to the great community that is Fodors and I'm excited to be back! G P.S. I'm particularly excited about this because my wife nor kids even know I have this planned. It's a long time coming and it's not a good thing when my 9 year old asks me when we can visit some places :-( |
Try Airbnb for accommodations. You may find a two bedroom house or apartment which is what I would do with young kids. That way they can have breakfast right there at home, etc.
https://www.airbnb.com/s/San-Francis...ts=5&source=bb Stu will give you tons of things to do. Here are some kid friendly things to try. 1. Golden Gate Park. You can visit the Observatory, Conservatory, the arboretum, Japanese tea garden and the Botanical gardens until the kids wear out. Very kid friendly and you can take it as slow as you want. There are also free shuttles. http://sfrecpark.org/parks-open-spac...te-park-guide/ Take a shuttle through the Bison paddock (real bison) from the park to the beach and back. http://sfrecpark.org/parks-open-spac...-park-shuttle/ San Francisco Zoo: http://www.sfzoo.org/ Stroll (and eat at) the Ferry Plaza Farmer’s market http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace....ers_market.php Take a ferry ride across the Bay. Great way to view the bridges and Alcatraz from the water. I just checked this site of Top 10 Things to Do with Kids in San Francisco. http://gosanfrancisco.about.com/od/t...dowithkids.htm We visited cousins there when we were all young and ran around their neighborhood quite a bit. It was fascinating just going to local playgrounds and corner stores for candy and running up and down the hills. The 60’s of course were quite different in the city. My uncle, who’s in the Handball Hall of Fame, was president of The South End Rowing Club and would swim across the Bay. We once took a ferry out and watched them swim. We felt at home as kids, and later on I returned and ran the Dipsea race with him. https://www.google.com/search?q=dips...w=1093&bih=471 Overall, not planning too much, being spontaneous, but definitely doing a few planned outings that the kids can count on was what mattered most to us, and made some good memories! Best! |
If you take the family on a GtayLine city tour, or hop on hop off tour, there is no need for a car, the busses pick up at major hotels, and you get to see all of the major sites at your convenience... look for big discounts through AAA
www.graylineofsanfrancisco.com We stayed at Union Square and Cable Carred to Fishermans Wharf as an event, but either end has great lodging... Consider a side trip to Monterrey Pier... My kids loved both the tour and Monterrey Pier... |
thats Grayline...no Gtayline
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buy a pass for using the muni buses and cable cars to save money Cable cars are a blast but they are up to $5.00 pp each way and that is costly. GG park is great. Hop on/Hop Off buses would be fun as well. Fishermans wharf or Union square area for hotels. Look for specials on line at parc 55 which is just a few blocks off Union Square, Pier 39 might be fun and the "aquarium" there is cute for kids. I would also check out a book store for things to do with small children or google it. Great City but as an adult, I am not that familiar with things to do with small children except all the great features in GG Park.
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The Randall museum is good for kids, with the basement filled with a model train set up. There is also a nice view of downtown from the hill above the museum.
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I took my Girl Scout Troop to the Exploratorium (near the Palace of Fine Arts) several time and at different ages. It's always a big hit.
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Hasn't the Exploratorium moved from the Palace of Fine Arts to Pier 15?
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>>Hasn't the Exploratorium moved from the Palace of Fine Arts to Pier 15?<<
Yep |
>>I took my Girl Scout Troop to the Exploratorium (near the Palace of Fine Arts) several time and at different ages. It's always a big hit.<<
The Exploratorium is now on the Embarcadero. Great combo w/ the Ferry Bldg, seeing the Bay/Bay Bridge, and Pier 39 if you <i>must</i> ;) (Pier 39 isn't fantabulous and most locals will advise against -- but most families I know w/ young kids enjoy it) |
Thanks for the update! :)
I agree about Pier 39.........but my daughter loved the merry-go-round and the watching the sea lions. |
I have fond memories of visiting Chinatown and the Balclutha when I was a kid. My son was 11 when we took him to San Francisco, and he enjoyed Alcatraz, the seals at Pier 39 (we didn't do anything else there), and riding the cable cars.
The "top 10 things to do with kids" list garyt22 linked looks great to me. If you have time to spend a day or so in Monterey, the Aquarium is incredible - but if you're going to Yosemite, you won't really have time for both. Lee Ann |
If you find yourself near the Flood Building ( it's on flood Street) and your kids enjoy history, the lobby has great pictures and historical documents about their family forefathers finding the Comstock Lode! Also has great black and white photos of the city before the big earthquake ... My kids enjoyed it! It's just a quick stop but unexpected and fun!!
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Cable Car Museum - it's free
http://www.cablecarmuseum.org/ Streetcar Museum. - free too http://www.streetcar.org/museum/ Firehouse Museum , yes, free too! http://guardiansofthecity.org/sffd/ |
San Francisco is fabulous to visit with kids, and you've received some great recommendations so far. My favorite website for kid-friendly ideas is redtricycle.com Their list of activities in and around San Francisco is full of great things to do: http://redtri.com/san-francisco/thin...isco-bay-area/. You won't have any problem filling your days.
Well-designed city playgrounds abound, most with nice play structures used by kids of all ages. Favorites include the wonderful Dolores Park playground and the Koret Children's Playground in Golden Gate Park (with the fun carousel next to it, $2 a ride), but there are many more. If the weather's nice, there's a fun little (sprinkler) water park on Valencia near 19th in the heart of the trendy part of the Mission, near good restaurants, tasty ice cream at Bi-Rite Creamery on 18th and Dolores, and amazing murals on many sidestreets. The bowling alley in Yerba Buena Center is a hoot, accessible for both adults and kids. The zoo is surprisingly nice. The new location for the Exploratorium is awesome, and though it's expensive, it's worthwhile for all age-groups. In Golden Gate Park, the Calif. Academy of Sciences (also expensive) is impressive. Be sure to take your kids up to the tower of the DeYoung Museum across the plaza from the CAS--it's free and they (and you) will be impressed by the view (they can pick out the places they've been, like the GG Bridge, and you can help them pinpoint where you are staying on the giant aerial photo on the wall). The Coastal Trail at Lands End is a great trail in the northwest of the city, with awesome views of the GG Bridge and across to Marin. You can walk all the way around to Ocean Beach and even enjoy playing alongside the cold Pacific Ocean on a sunny day. Public transportation will take you to all these places. Go to 511.org to map out the transit options for each place. With a week, you might look for a rental through vrbo.com or airbnb.com (though rentals of less than 30 days are technically illegal in San Francisco, the law apparently isn't enforced). A friend of mine recently did that with his family and was very happy with the results. Have a great trip! |
>The Coastal Trail at Lands End is a great trail in the northwest of the city, with awesome views of the GG Bridge and across to Marin. <
Is this the one near Point Bonita lighthouse? |
Nope - Pt Bonita is on the Marin Co side of the Golden Gate (north side), while the Coastal Trail starts at about Seacliff on the San Francisco side. Take the trail from Seacliff to Sutro Baths if you want to avoid a long run of "Up" stairs.
Stu Dudley |
Thanks, Stu, that's the one I was thinking of!
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Regarding lodgings, one concern is that you are a family of 5. We also are a family of 5 and it can be hard to find a hotel in the heart of the city. Often the square footage of the rooms are smaller so fire code only allows 4. In some cases, it's screwy, they will allow two double beds and a rollaway but still only 4 people.
So you may be looking a: hotels with suites the air bnb route recommended above a less central hotel sneak in the 5th person Hotels with suites: If you absolutely want a hotel in the city, I would suspect the hotels near Fisherman's Wharf, being more family oriented may have more hotels for a family of 5. For our own trip there last summer, I found the following possibilities--Hotel del Sol, Suites at Fisherman's Wharf and the Hotel King George. Less Central Hotel options: Ultimately, we decided we wanted a pool and I'd always wanted to stay in Marin County, so we stayed there for far less. You also can stay near the airport for far less and take BART in. You have already gotten advice on air b&b and I do not recommend sneaking. |
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