I'm going to San Francisco with my 3 teenage children in February. I know that the weather will be cooler, but was wondering if there was any must do things besides Alcatraz. I haven't been there since I was 12 and remember it being beautiful and loving it. So any suggestions would be appreciated. Also, we are staying at the Cathedral Hill Hotel. How is the area and hotel if anyone knows. Thank you!

On the Cathedral Hill Hotel: I've never liked that hotel. It looks so run down from the outside and it's on a busy street but not near anywhere that you really want to go. Here's the tripadvisor link for reviews:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...alifornia.html

If it were me, I'd rather stay in the Hostels International Hostel at Fort Mason (Fisherman's Wharf) than at the CH hotel. Rates for a private room (believe they sleep four) at the hostel is $58 and with three teenagers that'll probably work for you. The location is beautiful and quiet.

http://www.sfhostels.com/fishermans-wharf/

Otherwise, I'd suggest coming to this Fodors site and start another thread on "Inexpensive hotels in San Francisco", there will be plenty of good suggestions.

BTW, the HI hostel in downtown San Francisco is not in a good location, so would not recommend that with three teenagers.

As for activities, there's plenty to do: walk along the ocean beach and visit Fort Miley or walk along the Marina all the way to Fort Point. See the Exploratorium, Chinatown, the cable car museum. Walk/bike across the Golden Gate Bridge or ride the ferry to Angel Island. Eat in Little Italy or anywhere around town - lots of wonderful choices.

Get a 7 day transportation pass for each person and you can ride on almost every mode of transportation available in San Francisco: bus, trolley, cable car. You really don't need a car in SF.

For clothing: layer - right now it's T-shirt weather, but it could get very cold very fast. So, layer - T-shirt/shirt/blouse, sweater/sweatshirt, warm waterproof jacket with hood. Each kid should have his/her own backpack, so that if one needs to remove a sweater, they can carry the sweater in the backpack.

Welcome to California!

Check Goldstar.com for some discounts on activites including the Go Car, a fun way to site-see around the city. Take ferry to Tiburon and enjoy the view back tot he city from Guyamas restaurant (the ferry parks there) -- nice too if you want to see Golden Gate Bridge Alcatraz close up from the water but not get off on the island.

Walk around the shops on the Haight (Haight St) (teens find the shops cool). Have egg tarts from Golden Gate Bakery in Chinatown.

Walk thru ferry building and enjoy some gelato and very good burgers.

Drive around the presidio and take in the awesome views from Fort Point (surfers below the Golden Gate Bridge!).

Shop in Union Square ride cable car over the hill to Fisherman's wharf and see the Sea Lions at Pier 39.

Have Tapas in the Mission at Picaro

Hello writealiving, if you think your teens might enjoy it check out Beach Blanket Babylon in North Beach. They have (or least had) a Sunday matinee where those under the age of 21 are allowed to attend. If you will be in SF on a Sunday of course. Teens always seem to really enjoy SF so you will all have a wonderful time I think.

Thank you for all of the suggestions, especially about the hotel. I am looking into changing it, but don't know areas. I was also considering the Holiday Inn or even Marriott at Fisherman's Wharf. I know there is a big difference between them, but mostly was looking for an area I could feel safe with my children. And thank you, I am cancelling the rental car.

writealiving, the Columbus Motor Inn, which is a couple blocks from Fisherman's Wharf, has lowered their rates for now to $82/night weekdays, $98 weekends, when they're normally about $139/night. I've checked for dates from now to May, and they're still quoting those rates. That's a great value, and a clean, comfortable place to stay in a great location. You can get one or two beds in a room.

columbusmotorinn.com

>>wondering if there was any must do things besides Alcatraz.<,

Lots of stuff. You could all go to the Haight/Ashbury area & get matching family tatoos or piercings.

Seriously, check my list of favorites, that I posted on Fodors a while back.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=35129049

Stu Dudley

Stu,
Thank you so much. What you wrote was amazing and extremely helpful, though I will have to read through a few times to get it all, lol. I remember this being a beautiful city and am thrilled to come back. Actually, my kids are the ones who requested the destination. Thanks for the help. Kristen

Fisherman's Wharf is a good location for hotels. It's the number one hotel destination in San Francisco.

The Columbus Motor Inn and its sister properties are good suggestions, especially if you want to rent a car for a few days. Parking is free, which is a rarity in a big city like SF. Rates for a suite that sleeps 4 will run you $100 - $200 at the moment.

http://www.columbusmotorinn.com/

There's always plenty to do in San Francisco. It might help us to give more specific suggestions if we knew what your family's interests are, the exact ages of the teens and how many boys/girls.

Whatever you do, don't go to the modern art museum, which Fodor's has as a starred attraction in its guidebook, unless you want to see a guy sitting at a piano and not playing it, an old dot-matrix printer spewing out paper, a video of hands cutting a cube into a sphere, an i-phone under glass, a double urinal and many other stupid things. The Asian art museum, on the other hand, is very good.

Whatever you do, don't go to the modern art museum, which Fodor's has as a starred attraction in its guidebook, unless you want to see a guy sitting at a piano and not playing it, an old dot-matrix printer spewing out paper, a video of hands cutting a cube into a sphere, an i-phone under glass, a double urinal and many other stupid things

I couldn't help but laugh at this because years ago there was an art installation at the Museum of Modern Art that was a string hanging from the ceiling in a room of its own. My then 10 or 11 year old son and his friend were making a [loud] big deal along the lines of "they PAY someone to do this????"

BUT, the museum does have excellent special exhibits.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and comments. I have sons, 16, and 14, and an 11 year old daughter. They are your average teens. They'll kick and scream about going to certain "cultural" things and come out in awe saying how much they love it. My oldest plays guitar and is into music. My middle guy loves sports. My daughter just goes along for the ride, lol. I'm also wondering if I'm better off postponing until the summer because I'd like to drive the Big Sur and maybe go down to LA and San Diego as well. I only have 5 days this trip and wonder if summer will be better or too crowded, hot, etc.

do both.

How many days will you have in the summer?

It will not be too hot along the northern Calif coast or in SF in Summer - unless we get a massive heatwave like we are having this week. Not too hot in Southern Calif either.

Can be quite crowded - reserve hotels ahead.

Stu Dudley

Do summer.

February is the "rainy" season - altho we haven't been getting much rain as yet during this "rainy" season and it's getting worrisome.

You seem to imply that you'll have more time in the summer and I love the Big Sur drive.

So, summer would be my suggestion.

Also take Stu's suggestion and book early if you switch to summer.

Summertime, you can catch a SF Giants ballgame in the new ball park. Sit way up there in the cheap seats and the view is fantastic! We used to share season's tickets with a friend but haven't gone now for a couple of years. Even in the heat of summer, a night game can get very, very cold. Bring gloves, warm jacket, knit hat if you are planning on going to a nighttime baseball game. Also take a blanket from the hotel.

Summertime there are also free concerts at Stern Grove

http://www.sterngrove.org/

There are also free music events in other places around town - sometimes there's one at the grove in Golden Gate Park. It just depends on when you are here.

The SF Jazz Festival is in late September/October timeframe, so probably too late for you.

Speaking of the Golden Gate Park - try the new California Academy of Sciences with a lot of science displays.

http://www.calacademy.org/

Another science museum is the Exploratorium.

http://www.exploratorium.edu/

Another interesting museum for children is the Cartoon Art Museum:

http://www.cartoonart.org/

It may/may not be interesting, depending on what the current exhibits will be at the time of your visit. One year we saw a Calvin and Hobbes exhibit that was just fantastic!

If you stay around Fisherman's Wharf, there's also the Maritime Museum (free) which should be reopening by summer and don't miss the Hyde Street Pier (small entrance fee). The Pier is a national park and is part of the maritime exhibits and features ships and boats of various sorts - kids love the Pier! They can wander around the ships for hours!

http://www.nps.gov/safr/

One of the best free things is something that Stu recommends a lot - the san Francisco Library free city tours:

http://www.sfcityguides.org/

Enjoy!

Thank you again everyone for your responses. In the summer, I can take as much time as I'd like. With no school, its pretty much open. My more ambitious plan was starting in San Francisco, driving down to LA, and then driving to Vegas while stopping at a halfway point in the desert at a ghost town I keep hearing about. I don't know if its too ambitious for the kids, so I'm really going to have to think about it. The kids were excited though about going in Feb and asked if we could do both. Its nice to be a teenager and forget that traveling costs money, lol. I'll let you guys know what I decide, and thank you again for your help. Kristen

Ok, its official. We are coming in February. Unfortunately we will not be there on a Sunday so Beach Blanket Bingo is out. I am going to go through Stu's list again a little more slowly now. We are all so excited and I'd like to thank everyone for the help.