BrendaR

Thinking our next vacation will be San Francisco. Our kids will be 19 and 16 (g/b). I'm thinking either June or July, any recommendations as to which is the warmer, less traveled month? Also, what would interest them? Thank you so much.

J_Correa

I think that June is likely to be slightly warmer than July, but I doubt the difference will be very noticeable. Just bring layers so that you can adjust for fog, sun, wind, or whatever.

I think that early June would likely be less busy than late June and July since fewer kids will be out of school at that time. July 4th week will probably be crowded.

As for what to do, there are tons of things. It really depends on what your kids are into, but here are some general recommendations:

Rent bikes and ride over the GG Bridge
Alcatraz
Chinatown, including a Dim Sum lunch
Riding cable cars
Wandering around the Haight Ashbury
Take the ferry out to Angel Island
Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39
Coit Tower
Golden Gate Park

beachbum

You realize of course that you're asking two questions; which month is warmer, and which month is less traveled? The answer to each might be different.

I was curious by your response, J Correa, so I checked weather.com. Actually, the average in July is a whole one degree higher than in June. But with summer vacations and all, there are probably more visitors than in June, Brenda.

My teenagers liked poking around in Chinatown, Ghirardelli Square, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, riding cable cars, and the normal touristy stuff. They'd love to have gone to a baseball game could we have gotten tickets.

J_Correa

I was thinking that June would be less foggy than July (thus slightly warmer) because the inland valleys would be cooler in June than July - the whole inversion layer, hotter than hades in the valley, socked in on the coast thing.

Heavens

Our teens loved the shopping and poking around in Chinatown. We were there on a Saturday this summer and it was a zoo. And I don't mean tourists. Everyone was out that day doing their errands. We even bumped into a funeral procession.

The shopping there is quite fun and very cheap. The little Chinese slippers and robes and dishes. My daughter picked up a few treasures.

We ate lunch in Little Italy which is right next door and that was awesome. We ate at Pinnochios.

A ferry ride is the best, especially if it is chile, but take a jacket. On the water it is really cold. Get a shrimp cocktail at Fisherman's Wharf.

San Fran has great shopping. A wonderful Nordstrom's and other flagship stores. And in that area of town there is a lot happening, especially on a Saturday. We saw street dancers and all kinds of interesting sights you can only see in San Francisco. Our teens had their jaws dropped most of the day.

And great food, which most teens seem to like. Ours do anyway. What they did not like was wine country so we left them home this time (at their uncle's house) to play movies and video games while we went to Napa. They were happy and we didn't have to hear about how boring wine tasting is.

laurelee

We took our three teenage boys to San Francisco in early August. They all enjoyed the two Giants games we went to the most. The ballpark is really fun and good food there too. We walked from the Argonaut Hotel(Fisherman's Wharf) to the park-that was even fun because we were near the water the bridge views much of the time.
They also liked the Alcatraz tour.

Dreamer2

My teens loved riding the cable cars, Alcatraz, and dim sum! They also enjoyed a day in wine country, particularly the tram tour at Benzinger.

dovima

You could take them to the Fillmore Auditorium, depending on their (and your) taste in music. The Fillmore has good security and a great little cafe on the second floor where you can get away from the music if you want to. The poster collection on the walls of the cafe is stunning. I've noticed a good number of parents taking teenagers for concerts. Just be prepared for a loud volume level and a certain hazy smell in the air.

Jayne1973

Ditto for Chinatown and Alcatraz -- my 16 and 19 year olds also liked the Exploratorium -- which was a bit of a surprize. They also loved the ghost walking tour we took on the last night we were there.

CaliNurse

Haight Street and Union Street are great fun for teens--intersting shoppng and people watching in the Haight, and more "refined" atmosphere on Union Street.
On Union Street, try Betel Nut restaurant.

Melissajoy

Teens will enjoy San Francisco. Mine did. Here's something that provides unexpected fun for the whole family...Ripley's Believe It Or Not, near Fisherman's Wharf...seek this one out, you'll all have great fun! Not too expensive. (My teens dragged me in and I thought it would be dumb but it's fun.)

Chinatown is fun too. Daughters will enjoy shopping there...so will sons...you can get some poppers there (those little noisy things like mini-firecrackers.) Find a good place to eat in Chinatown. Oh, if you have daughters, have them dress a bit more on the conservative side for Chinatown...took my daughters there wearing spaghetti straps, and nobody else was wearing spaghetti straps...some dirty old men began following them and acting like they were prostitutes! I think we violated the unspoken Chinatown dress code. (Didn't have husband or son with me on that trip.) T-shirts and jeans would be better in Chinatown. Had to take daughters back to the hotel to change, and then we were treated better.

In summer early June is usually less crowded in California. The later you get into the summer the more vacationers you get. Last week in August is less crowded too because many people are getting back to school by then. (Not labor day weekend, though. That can be crowded too.)

Melissajoy

Oh yeah, gotta find that crookedest street in the world in San Francisco and ride down it...great fun. We did it in our car.

Cable cars are fun but lines are long. Try to get on at a different stop if the lines are long.

J_Correa

Cable car strategy:

Plan to ride earlier in the day rather than later and on a weekday if possible.

The Powell lines that go from Market to the FW area are more crowded than the California line, but they are also more fun because of the views and steep hills.

When the cable cars are crowded, you can often only board at the turn arounds. If they aren't full, you can board along the route.

rahjmh

Go to Berkeley on a Saturday. Do not drive, take BART. It goes under the bay and lets you off right at the Univ. of Berkeley. Take a short walk to Telegraph and it's like your in the 60's. Lots of street venders, music. I took my teen and she love this more than anything else. Also Haight Ashbury for resale shops. Very different than the norm. Before we went last summer, I went to Concerts in S.F. on the web and found a concert for my teen and friend. They thought that was really cool. It was an all day outside concert, so I dropped them off and had a day to myself. Also splurge and get a convertable. I got one on price for the price of a regular car. Going across the Golden Gate is so much more fun in a convertable. We stayed 1/2 time at the Triton & 1/2 at the Marriott at Fishermans Wharf. I picked these because The Triton is right at Chinatown, so my teens could go out. And Fishermans for the same reason.
Have fun.

Jayne1973

rahjmh -- sounds like a great trip...sorry I missed Berkely when we were there.

dwoodliff

We went to SF when my kids were 16 and 18, and they loved the Haight-Ashbury area -- lots of interesting shops and music stores. It will probably be a couple of months before the exact date is posted, but the Haight-Ashbury Street Fair is held during the first half of June. We planned our trip to coincide with that. My teens loved hearing the bands, and seeing all the neat stuff to buy and interesting-looking people. If you go during the street fair, spend a night or 2 at the Phoenix Hotel, and you might have a visiting rock band in the room next to you.

Donna