san francisco
 

I'm planning on a San Francisco trip with my husband and 12 & 15 yr old daughters. We plan to arrive Memorial day and stay for 5 nights. We're not sure whether to stay at the wharf or another area of town. Any suggestions?

With your age children I prefere Fisherman's Wharf area..
Do a "search" for "San Francisco" there must be tons of info on this city..
Also check out query just previous to yours "3 days ti fill in S.F."
ONE important point---do not rely on weather being warm..sometimes it can be foggy OR very windy...Then again one year the end of May we had70 to 78 for a week !!!
I can remember many a July seeing people in shorts and really looked miserable...
You will have a great time..
It will be a trip your kids will never forget...

I took 12 year old daughter last summer, rented bikes in Fisherman wharf and followed printed bike path along waterfront and across the Golden Gate Bridge(yes it is safe with pedestrian/bike lanes) Very very memorable and oh yes, breathtaking. Take some film! On other side of bridge (continued on all downhill to Sausalito (you won't pedal once) had lunch, took water ferry back to Wharf, and still had energy to pedal (walked the bike) up to Lombard street (very curvy on way down)

My comment on the Wharf area: Crowded, and yes, I have been there before last summer on Memorial Day weekend, kinda dirty and very very touristy, which I don't mind, but crowded and didn't really know what to do once I got there!

I think that you might be happier staying near Union Square. Your kids would probably love to see Beach Blanket Babylon. They do a matinee on the weekends for under 18.

Your daughters might prefer Union Square if they like to shop and most teenage girls do. However when I was planning my recent trip to SF with several teenagers, most of the hotel rooms in Union Square had smaller rooms. If all four of you are sharing a small room for 5 nights, I am sure you will wish you had more space (especially your husband!!). Because of this I made the decision to stay elsewhere. I stayed at the Columbus Motor Inn, got a 2 bedroom suite for $135 a night. It was nice for the kids to have a separate room. It's close to Fisherman's Wharf but you don't have to deal with the touristy crowds. There is also Cow Hollow Inn or Cow Hollow Suites owned by the same company. Do a search on here for more info on hotels.

There may be some hotels in the Union Square area that have bigger rooms but I did a lot of research and didn't find too many. Maybe check out the Grosvenor Suites in Nob Hill. My sister stayed there and loved it, big rooms, kitchenettes but a little older building. The rooms don't have AC which usually isn't a probblem in SF but you never know.

Even though the Columbus Motor Inn was perfect for us-space, price, proximity to Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, North Beach, etc.-my 17 yo daughter said next time she wants to stay in Union Square. Of course if she had a choice she'd live in Nordstroms!!

Since you're going to be there 5 nights, another lodging option is an apartment. Look at vrbo.com and see what's available. You'd want to make sure the location was downtown though to make your sightseeing easier--a number of apartments I looked at were in the more distant neighborhoods of the city.