SF Itinerary Help Please
 

You have helped me plan my trip down coast(5 adults & 5 kids in full sized van) in July, now it is time for detailed itinerary and I need your help! We arrive in OAK on Wed at noon and pick up van at airport. We drive to SF. Our hotel is at Fisherman's Warf. Soooo, we have Wed afternoon, all day Thurs, and we depart Friday AM to continue down coast. I'd like to walk across Golden Gate bridge, have Dim Sum in Chinatown (WHERE?),visit Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Co while there, go to daytime Alcatraz tour, ride cable car (which line is the coolest experience for kids and do I really have to get there at 6AM???). Is there any other must do?(Do I have to do Exploratorium or should I focus on outdoor things?) Please suggest order of activities for Wed and Thurs. What is most logical? Once in SF, really want to park van and not use it again. Thanks for your advice!!!

Hi nytraveler, I will jump in with my limited knowledge of SF {5 days there 2 years ago}, and at least top this for you.

I THINK that the Hyde St cable car line is reputed to be the most thrilling. You can walk there from your hotel before or after your Alcatraz tour, and then walk to Giedelies sp? for ice cream. The line was shut down when we visited, leading us on a wild cable car chase. The alternative line we finally made our way to {forget which one} had a very long line - an hour or two wait in the afternoon - but a musician was entertaining the crowd. We eventually got on that cable car, but it broke down in Chinatown.....

The Exploritorium is great fun I think, and I'm an adult! It's a pleasant walk to Golden Gate Park where you can get a good view of the Golden Gate Bridge. I think that the actual bridge walk is rather long, and I'm unsure of the best way to access it.

I just visited San Franciso last weekend. I had a really good time and my only regret was that I was only there for the weekend; so much to do. I can tell you that walking across the brige won't be hard at all. Once you drive across it, there will be a pull over area where you can park. Surprisingly the only free place to park. From there you can easily walk across the bridge. Wear good shoes though, because it's a long walk. Just to give you a heads up, I would do as less driving as possible. The amount of money I paid each day for parking ended up being more than what I payed each day for my rental car. There are places along the piers where it costs as much as 20 bucks just to park. San Franciso has excellent transportation systems so not driving is not a problem...until you want to cross the bridge. Another thing I should warn you about is Fisherman's Warf. This might be just my opinion only, but the warf seemed extremely over rated and touristy. It seemed like almost everyone in the city was there, long lines and high prices. I wouldn't center my trip around pier 39 or Fisherman's Warf, I think you would find other areas more enjoyable. It is good to check it out for a bit though.

Our family went to San Franciso last year (also during July) and we had a great time. We also wanted to walk the GG Bridge. It was nice and warm when we left Fisherman's Wharf, but cold and windy on the bridge. Fortunately, we knew to take our jackets. It was down right cold on the bridge! But.... great fun. However, we only walked half way and then turned around and game back. The kids still view it as a highlight of the trip. We were a group ages 17 - 47. Vacationmom

You might consider taking a ferry from Fisherman's Warf to Sausalito and have lunch their. Great, short trip and you will have a wonderful view of the Golden Gate. Fun for kids. If it is a clear day you will be amazed.

Hi, nytraveler!

Glad to see your plans coming together! And for such a large group! :)

In essence, you have a day and a half in San Francisco.

Here are my suggestions:

Day 1, arrive Oakland airport at noon. By the time you get your luggage and your van, it'll be 1pm. (At this point, I would strongly suggest that, since you are coming for only a week, you leave the kitchen sink behind and travel light with only carryon luggage. This way, you will have all your luggage with you when you deplane. Saves a lot of time.) Once in the van, follow the airport signs for San Francisco. There is a tricky point where the signs are in ORANGE and hard to see, so go slowly as you exit the airport. You then have to cross the Bay Bridge, which is actually two spans with an island in the middle. Immediately at the end of the Bay Bridge, take the very first exit on the LEFT to HARRISON Street. Then follow the signs for the Embarcadero. Drive along the Embarcadero (the road that fronts all the piers)until Fisherman's Wharf. By the time you are settled into your hotel, it should be around 2pm.

I would suggest doing the Alcatraz tour this afternoon. My AAA guidebook says: "Visitors are strongly advised to buy [Alcatraz] tickets 2 to 4 weeks in advance". Ferries leave from Pier 41 at Fisherman's Wharf about every 1/2 hour and the guided tours are about 90 minutes long. Thus, the shortest trip to Alcatraz would take about 2 and 1/2 hours.

On your return from Alcatraz, some of the adults may want to go back to the hotel to rest. Others may just want to wander around "touristy" Fisherman's Wharf. There's a free Maritime Museum at one end of FW which the kids should find interesting. If you walk past the Maritime Museum along the beach, you will find yourself in Fort Mason.

Or you could drive westward to Crissy Fields and walk along the shoreline there right beneath the Golden Gate Bridge.

Dinner: There is a Lori's Diner at Ghirardelli Square which is right by Fisherman's Wharf. At Ghirardelli Square, there is also the Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory for ice cream. Suggest you get the Earthquake or even two! LOL! Or you can try the terribly noisy jungle cafe (temporarily forgotten its name) right there at Fisherman's Wharf. It's got fake boa constrictors and other wonderful beasties to satisfy any kid's heart. Their dessert is a flaming Volcano!

Day Two: Leave the car parked and take public transportation. At Fisherman's Wharf is the beginning of the Hyde Street cable car. You can take this cable car all the way to its other end at Powell and Market. This will place you in the middle of SF and you can begin your walking tour of SF, probably by first going one block north to Union Square.

Dim Sum in Chinatown, usually starts around 10:30 am and lasts until 1:30pm. Try either the New Asia Garden or Miriwa, both on Pacific Street about a half block up the hill from Grant Avenue (the main drag for Chinatown). With so many people, order a chow mien (noodle) dish or two, such as beef chow fun (chow fun is a broad noodle), directly with the waiter. The smaller dim sum dishes will arrive on carts and you merely point to what you like and order from the carts. You should also indicate how many plates of each dim sum you wish, otherwise, you will get only one plate and it will have only 3 to 4 goodies on it. The larger dishes, such as chopped up duck or barbecue pork, will cost more and may not be worth it for such a large group. (Sorry, but I'm not aware of your budget and just trying to save you some money! :) )

Afternoon: drive across the Golden Gate Bridge, take the very first exit on the right to the Vista Point and park there. Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge or walk halfway or don't walk at all - whatever your preference. Bring a jacket, it may get cold on the bridge.

After the GG Bridge, drive down Highway 1 and drive around the Presidio, then further south on Highway 1 to the Golden Gate Park (numerous things to do there, you can choose), then cut over to Twin Peaks for a panoramic view of San Francisco. Hope, by this point, that you have a good map!

I'd suggest skipping the Exploratorium this trip, since you have only a day and a half and there is so much to do and see in SF.

Day Three: from Fisherman's Wharf, head westward all the way to the beach. If you head westward from Geary Boulevard you'll reach the Cliff House and the Great Highway. I love the view of the beach from the Cliff House. Go southward along the Great Highway, which becomes Skyline Boulevard/Highway 35 which itself turns into Highway 1, putting you on the way to Monterey/Carmel.

Hope this helps! I'm certain other Fodorites will have excellent suggestions for you! Have a great trip!

easy, I want you to plan every trip for me from now on! What a fun itinerary--makes me homesick for SF...

Easytraveler, I love to read your suggestions on SF, you are so knowledgeable. Don't you live in the Bay area? NYtraveler, we always like to drive down Lombard St., "the crookedest street in the world." There is usually a line so maybe drive down it in the evening on the way back to your hotel. Even coming up Lombard from Van Ness is fun, it's quite steep. I used to drive all around SF in a car with a stick shift. Talk about coordination!!

Why are you renting the van at Oakland? Parking is SO expensive in San Francisco, it's really a waste of $$ to park and continue paying the rental charge.

Either cab it, shuttle van or BART from the airport to SF. Friday, pick up the car and head out. There are many car rental locations in SF.

You will not need your car in SF. Plus, you really wouldn't want to drive in the city anyway.

Curious

I was going to suggest that they wait to pick up their car too, but with 5 adults and 5 kids I don't know how that would work. Once you factor in shuttle costs, they might just about break even.

Gosh easy t, you make me want to drive down to the City and spend a day or two
:))
R5

WOW! Thank you ALL so much for your advice! I love easytraveler's itinerary, but I have a question or two. I am a little concerned about doing Alcatraz on day #1 as I just checked and saw that we have 40 minutes to make a connection in Chicago. I'm worried about paying for 10 tickets and missing my connection and arriving on some later flight. Am I too paranoid? Should I switch Alcatraz to day #2 after Dim Sum? If I wanted to switch the Golden Gate to day #1, can I do all that you suggest after coming from Oakland airport, before I park the van at the hotel? Which route shld I take from the airport if I want to do this on day#1? (Note to Curious and J Correa: It was so hard to locate a 12 passenger van and since the van must return to where you rent it,I thought it would be easier to return it at OAK upon our departure and opted to spend the $$$ parking it at hotel) Your thoughts and advice on changes to day one and day two due to O'Hare paranoia would be appreciated!!

Sounds like you'll all have a wonderful time! I just wanted to mention that if you do Alcatraz Day 2, I'd still try to book it in the afternoon. I had heard that there is often fog in the morning and was afraid we wouldn't see any of the "views!" I would be concerned to go without any reservations, but even though I had booked 2-3 weeks in advance, people were buying tickets for trips over just 1-2 hours ahead when we were there! But we also hit "off-season," and I would imagine July is a lot busier.

NY,
I also forgot to mention that you definitely want to do the headset tour, and your make that reservation when you book the boat over. It's a good quality narration with many comments from former inmates.

I would suggest doing the Alcatraz tour in the afternoon as suggested because of the fog. In the summertime, the inland valleys are generally hot which creates an inversion layer on the coast, resulting in foggy mornings. The fog generally burns off about mid-day and comes rolling back in around sunset. Some days are completely clear and somedays the fog doesn't completely burn off. One of my favorite sights is fog rolling in through the Golden Gate - absolutely beautiful.

I liked taking the Alcatraz tour first thing in the morning because there were no crowds when we got there. That was in September though. Don't miss the audio tour.

We liked Lori's Diner at Ghirardelli Square that easytraveler mentioned for its reasonable prices and view of the bay. It is very close to the Hyde St. Cable Car turnaround. That line takes you past the crooked part of Lombard St. and the fascinating Cable Car Museum.

There is an information booth in Chinatown but we found it handy to have a printout from the internet on the fortune cookie factory to show people so they could just point us in the right direction. We found the 'funny' cookies rather sexist so, if you buy a bag, you might want to stick to the regular fortunes.

We also greatly enjoyed walking across the Golden Gate Bridge, although we only walked out half way. (A taxi driver pointed out that it would be the same distance if we took a taxi to the other side and walked back.) Take a sweater or jacket with you everywhere. That bone-chilling fog can roll in so fast

Wow! Thanks for all the praise! I really feel flattered, but don't deserve it. So many of the other Fodorites are so much more knowledgeable than I am about San Francisco. I'll accept your kudos on behalf of all the excellent contributors to the SF portion of this forum! :)

nytraveler: sure, you could swap the GG Bridge for Alcatraz the first afternoon.

One more thing I forgot to mention: although I suggested that, given the short amount of time you have, you should skip the museums, there is one museum which your family will probably enjoy. This is the Cable Car Museum. It's on the Hyde Street cable car route. You could make a stop there - it's free! Then continue by catching the next cable car going downtown. Or just walk from there to Chinatown for an early dim sum lunch.

Enjoy your trip! San Francisco is a great city!

The Cable Car Museum will be added to the itinerary as several of you mentioned it. FREE is in the budget considering we are a group of 10! Thanks for all the help!!! Now its time to plan the details for the rest of the trip down the coast...