What "must sees" would you recommend for my husband and I while visiting San Francisco this July for 3 full days, and 2 half travel days?

Would getting the Muni 7 -day pass be better than the 3-day pass?

Would seeing BBB be advisable for this length stay?

Would bus tour to Muir Woods/Salsaulito be advisable?

Would the night Alcatraz tour, or Day, Alcatraz tour be best?

Would Columbus Motor Inn (away from piers), or Wharf Inn (closer to piers) be best?

Hi, Princess,

I lived in SF for 25 years before moving to Hawaii (Paradise). It's a great city. You don't state your ages or interests, so it's hard to respond. It would be fun to take Muni around the city to see the different neighborhoods, but I can't imagine more than 3 days of it (1 is probably enough).

Have you thought about a car?

Beach Blanket Babylon is great! See it!

Muir Woods is beautiful; half a day at least.

I'd spend a full day in Sausalito, shopping, sightseeing, having a romantic dinner someplace on the shore. A bus tour combining this beautiful city with Muir Woods sounds awful!

Why would you want to visit Alcatraz, day or night?

Definitely stay close to the Wharf!

See Chinatown. Walk up and down the streets; don't take a bus. DO NOT take a tour!

Go to Ghirardelli Square. Eat a hot fudge sudae. Wander around the Wharf; visit art galleries; have a Walk-away crab cocktail. Eat dinner at one of the Wharf restaurants.

Enjoy.

By the way; July is the dead of winter in SF. Take sweaters and warm jackets. Trust me.

Have fun.

Well, thank you. We are 60+ married couple and we are from Chicago. I would go to Hawaii in a heartbeat, - - but my husband really wanted to see San Francisco and the Golden Gate, Muir Woods, the Piers.

Actually, we aren't that crazy about going to Alcatraz, but it sure seems everyone takes the trip there and back. Have you been there? The boat ride and the view of the city might be worth the $21, maybe.

We thought the 3-day pass $18 wouldn't cover the time and so opted for paying the extra $6 for the bus rides. The pass covers the Cable car rides (they are $5 each way).

If we stay near the pier, Wharf Inn, then we can do a little less walking or bus riding to get to them. That makes sense, - - we'd pay an extra $110 for the total time we are there for that convenience. (I do have a couple of heel spurs that have begun to act up in my left foot!)

So, we'll see BBB, and laugh a little!

Dead of winter?! Really, and so we need to rethink our semi summer clothes, plus cooler near the pier, right? Thus, a lot of hotels/motels do not have the AC. Wharf doesn't and maybe that will be fine.

Thank you.

Well,gosh.

I just don't agree much with jcrummel. I don't live in SF but only 70 miles away and spend several weekends a year there.

I would not stay either at Columbus or Wharf Inn. I would stay in Union Square, where all of the kinds of public transportation are available and you are away from the tackiness of Fisherman's Wharf. Check out the Chancellor Hotel.

I would definitely see BBB. Since it is an evening performance, it won't take away from your sightseeing, will it?

With 3 days I would not spend an entire one of them in Sausalito. I am not sure I would even take the time to go to Muir Woods, since the beauty of it is spoiled by the crowds.

Do NOT have a car. Public transportation is very good and parking is exhorbitently expensive and hard to find.

I would take a 2 or 3 hour tour of the city first thing to get acclimated and know where things are so that you can use the rest of your time wisely, knowing what you want to do and see.

Spend some time on the Embarcadero, walking along the waterfront. Visit the market and shops in the Ferry Building. Have a capuccino near Justin Herman Plaza. Yes, walk around Chinatown. Alcatraz? Your call. A boat ride on the Bay, Alcatraz or no.

Just a different perspective from the previous posts. We are also a 60+ couple but we do not have any mobility problems and enjoy walking. Last year we visited SF for about the same time period that you are planning - actually one half day longer. We had visited the city several times before and knew we did not want to stay downtown this time (last time we stayed at the Chancellor and it was ok). For this visit we wanted to stay in more of a neighborhood, yet not too far from the wharf and chose Russian Hill. We were happy with our choice. Our hotel, the Castle Inn (more of a motel style) was good, reasonable and had free parking - a real plus. We flew into Oakland and rented a car since the weekly rental was less than airport transfers - we traveled with our 2 grown kids. The car was good to have since we wanted to go to Muir woods again and drive a bit up the coast as well as walk on a beach for a bit and we spent one day doing that combined with the late afternoon and evening in Salsaulito - it was a thoroughly enjoyable day. Otherwise the car was mostly parked. We also wondered if Alcatraz was "worth it" but the kids wanted to go and I am not sorry that we did. We found the day trip to be interesting with some wonderful views going there and back. We bought the transportation pass and used it lot. With cable car rides $5 each it paid for itself very quickly. The Castle Inn is 2 blocks from a Cable car stop and busses run right by. On our last day we had a late flight so we checked out early and drove out to the wine country, visited a few vinyards, had a late dinner in Salsaulito on our way back and got to our plane on time. Is Fisherman's wharf touristy? Sure but we are tourists so just joined in on the fun. Our one disapointment was that the Ghirardelli Ice Cream place was close for a private party. Bummer.

It sounds like either your first visit to the city, or first visit in recent years. I would agree with jtrandolph and suggest Union Square for it's central location. FYI, I'm 50+, and have lived within 30 - 55 miles of the city all my life. I try to do one to two night trips a year, including many day trips.

I don't know about July, but we were in SF in August and opted out of Alcatraz because it was too cold and windy, and we were prepared with long sleeves, pants, jackets & gloves. Even outside on Fisherman's Wharf was uncomfortable. Chinatown was fine.

We rented a car and used a parking garage several blocks from the Wharf (brother-in-law's recommendation). But none of us have difficulties walking long distances.

We loved Muir Woods and a drive into Napa Valley.

My husband and I found Alcatraz interesting. The views of the city are nice.
It is very cold and windy there even in the summer- I can see why everybody has sweatshirts and jacketes from San Francisco!

As for Muir Woods, we also enjoyed it. We went early in the morning when it first opened and it was practically empty. If you have not seen redwoods, it is worth the trip.

Highly recommend a city tour -- we enjoyed a great 2-3 hours and saw and learned alot. We boarded a trolley (looked just like a cable car) They had a great narrator, several stops including Golden Gate bridge, rode up and down the hills. Saw many of the great neighborhoods. Picked up the trolley near Pier 39. This really was the best. Also enjoyed an evening sail on the bay. Had a great walking tour of little italy with Grace Walden. Slow walk, no hills and great food and glorious lunch. This was a great day also. Small group 8-l0 people. Enjoy

Muni is an excellent way to get around the city; use the 511 trip planner on their website to figure out your routes.

We (Mr. Pickle and I and our two kids) enjoyed Alcatraz, but if you don't really want to go there, there are boat cruises you could take.

Type "StuDudley" into the search box for tons of excellent suggestions on making the most of your time.

Lee Ann

Be careful about which boat tour you take. we took the Blue/Gold tour of the Bay and hated it. The boat was PACKED and there were not nearly enough seats for everybody. The narration was prerecorded and quite dull.

.

Princess: Also considering the Muir Woods/Salsaulito visit - can't decide weather to purchase tickets in advance or wait and take our chances in San Francisco. Do you have a website for tickets?

Have you already purchased your 3 day Muni pass and if so where from?

Sandy

No, we haven't purchased anything yet. Ha! Ha! I'm still trying to figure where we will end up staying! I think that we need to move on this, though. I do know that we will be taking an introductory tour of the city. Which one? I don't know.
At first, I thought we'd rent a car and drive to Muir, but am thinking of ferry to Salsaulito and then a Muir Woods shuttle from Salsaulito.