San Francisco - summer weekend with kids
 

Hi all, looking for some advice on how to best structure our long weekend in San Francisco. My husband and I have been before. We will have our kids with us - a 10 year old girl and 14 year old boy.

We will be flying in early Saturday morning 27th and leaving late Monday 29th. The only firm plans we have are the Rangers / As game on Sat, July 27 and we definitely want to do Alcatraz (calendar set to remind me 90 days out to book our tickets). We are staying at the Marriott Marquis near Union Square (points). We won't have a car so plan to BART / Uber / walk around as needed.

Saturday: we have an early flight from TX, land by 10AM so should be at hotel by noon-ish I would guess. Suggestions for how to spend the day from noon until 4:30ish when we head out to the stadium? That's not really enough time to plan anything but too much time to waste.... Maybe grab a cable car or is there a neighborhood we could wander and explore nearby ?

Sunday: looking at 10AM Chinatown walking tour with Linda Lee. Anyone been on this? Skip the optional group lunch. This day I think we would do Alcatraz. Dilemma with Alcatraz - Day or Night Tour? I have been at night many years ago. I think Night sounds more entertaining for the kids, and has the optional "Behind the Scenes" tour option. Or should we do the Day Tour of Alcatraz, find an evening walking tour (anyone been on the ghost and murder mystery tour?) and enjoy a nice North End Italian dinner?

Monday: we leave around 6PM, so we have a lot of the day to decide about - I would like to squeeze in some time in Muir Woods, or if we haven't done a Chinatown tour, do it this day (they are at 10AM daily). Possibly Golden Gate park? It can be hard to plan when you're flying out in the afternoon but we want to maximize our time. Ultimately this day would be our bonus day, to do anything that appeals but we haven't had a chance to do yet.

I know Fisherman's Wharf is tacky and as I remember it we will see it when we take the Alcatraz Ferry - maybe a stop at Ghirardelli for ice cream. Don't really plan to spend much time there.

Any suggestions are appreciated! In particular - walking tours, Alcatraz input, food.... OH! A long time ago I fell in love with the Stinking Rose (restaurant)- then on a return trip, it was disappointing. Is this past its prime or did we just have a bad experience?

Just realized that the Behind the Scenes Alcatraz won't work for us - no kids under 12 and the Night Tour is not offered on Sunday and Monday anyway.

So Day Tour it will be!

Much of your time will NOT actually be in San Francisco:
Alcatraz
A's game
Muir Woods
Wharf (may locals don't consider this to be a part of San Francisco)

I would certainly cut Muir Woods. It is now difficult to get there, and it may consume most of a day doing so. And you have a flight to catch that day.

One of my favorite spots is Crissy Field and Fort Point. Fort Point is open on weekends and is underneath the GG bridge. The kids (and you) might like exploring it:
https://www.nps.gov/fopo/learn/photo...edia/index.htm
https://www.sfgate.com/outdoors/urba...at-6015738.php

Or one of the free (donations welcome) San Francisco City Guides tours. There is one for Chinatown
San Francisco Walking Tours | City Guides

Or
https://www.fodors.com/community/uni...ations-356478/
Stu Dudley

Thanks Stu! I was hoping you would respond :) OK Muir Woods is cut. Next time.

Question re: Fort Point / Crissy Field - is this accessible to the GG Park? I think we biked through it when we biked the GG Bridge. My husband has mentioned doing that again - it was fun but challenging. I do not think our 10 year old daughter could hang with biking the bridge, but I have read you can rent bikes in GG Park itself and that may scratch everyone's itch for outdoor time / activity.

There are so many walking tours to choose from! Have you been on any of these (maybe not, being local). I'm looking through to see what would appeal to the kids.

How about this itinerary:

Sat: arrive AM. Noon-5ish: cable car / touristy stuff like Lombard St / get some lunch - think this will fly by . Ballgame that PM
Sun: Chinatown walking tour 10AM. After lunch - bike rental GG Park. Dinner in North Beach .
Mon: Alcatraz, Ghirardelli, whatever we may still want to squeeze in and then depart

Just quick . . . >>OK Muir Woods is cut. Next time.<< No, not even next time. The park is not even the best stand of redwoods in the general SF Bay Area. It is just the closest one to downtown SF and visiting is a bear with mandatory reservations and parking limitations.

I'll be back later to piggy back on Stu's advice.

>>Question re: Fort Point / Crissy Field - is this accessible to the GG Park?<<

No. It is on the north shore of SF between the GG Bridge and the Palace of fine arts/old Exploratorium area. Too much land & hills between it & GG Park. Crissy field/Ft Point is absolutely flat. But there is a huge hill to go up & over the GG Bridge. Most people we encounter are walking their bikes up this hill.

Personally, I think your family might enjoy Crissy Field/St Point more than GG Park on a weekend when Ft Point is open inside. Great views of the GG Bridge & downtown skyline from the top ramparts of Ft Point. Read about it.

>> Sun: Chinatown walking tour 10AM. After lunch - bike rental GG Park. <<

Do Ft Point/Crissy bike rental on Sun, & Chinatown on Monday. The Chinatown tour is offered twice on Mondays
San Francisco City Guides: Chinatown Tour
Maybe on Sunday after Crissy Field/Ft Point (best views of the GG Bridge are in the AM), spend some time on Union St (not Square), Fillmore st, Chestnut St. Lots of interesting shops & places to have lunch.

Get your ice cream in North Beach - not the tacky Ghirardelli area. We wandered around Ghirardelli/Cannery about Oct last year - and it has really gone downhill. Lots of vacant storefronts. I think there are 3 shops in Ghirardelli that all sell Ghirardelli ice cream. Ice cream in North Beach will be much better, IMO.

Stu Dudley

Thanks, Stu. I am pretty sure I was one of those walking my bike up that hill.

I'm looking at the city guides tour schedule now .

Thanks for the tip re: Ghirardelli. My kids hate crowds and tacky tourist areas anyway, but I thought that they might like it for the treat .We'll skip it and just get in and out as much as we need to for the Alcatraz ferry.

Janis - noted!

If you do visit Crissy/Ft Point, pick up bikes at the Wharf & ride them past Ft Mason & then the Marina Green to get to Crissy Field. On Sundays with nice weather, there are a lot of joggers, bike riders, and kite flyers in this area. Do not ride on the paved Mason St in Crissy field. Instead ride along the sidewalk next to the shoreline. Perhaps a hot chocolate at the Warming Hut along the way.

If you return the bikes at the Wharf, it is only a 9 block walk to the Union St/Fillmore/Chestnut street area. Start walking west at Union, then north on Fillmore, the west again on Chestnut. Catch a Uber back to North Beach & dinner.

Stu Dudley

Two Saturday ideas:
I always like North Beach. Climbing Coit Tower would be fun with all the murals and the view at the top. If you prepurchase tickets, I would think you'd have time before the game. The docent tour is only 30 minutes .

https://sfrecpark.org/destination/te...rk/coit-tower/

Or the other obvious choice right by your hotel is MOMA --
Museum of Modern Art. It's basically a block from your hotel. And by the way, I really enjoyed that hotel.
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And as to Fisherman's Wharf, I would have to demur on one point. I really love the Musee Mechanique. So did my kids.

​Musée Mécanique - San Francisco's Antique Penny Arcade​​​


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I bicycle in Golden Gate Park any weekday that it does not rain, starting at the Great Highway, passing by the bison enclosure and going up to the museum area. and then back to the Great Highway. If renting you probably would do a reverse itinerary, which is easy going to the beach, but be aware that the way back is mainly up hill.

A Segway tour might be a better idea, although more expensive. https://segwaysfbay.com/?gclid=EAIaI...SAAEgI1EPD_BwE

Bicycling along the bay to Fort Point might be a better idea as it is all flat.