Vacation to San Francisco!

Hey everyone,

My family is planning a vacation for the beginning of august to go to San Francisco. I know we plan on seeing the redwoods, and alcatraz but besides that we have no idea what to look for or do.

Can anyone who has been there/ lives there give me any good info on fun things to do in the area? Anything is appreciated. Good restaurantes, bars, sights, activities ect...

 

The aquarium near pier 39 is pretty cool i enjoyed it.

 

http://www.segwayoffroad.com/

I have lived in the bay area for 18 years and this is one of the most fun things I have done. The guy who runs it is super down to earth and really cool about taking these things off road. He isnt all uptight about scratching it. It was a little odd to meet him at his house and go to his living room for the pre-tour video, but all was good.

I am not much of a city person so I can only suggest the obvious: cable car ride, Ghriardelli chocolate for a sundae, dinner cruise in the bay under the Golden Gate bridge, seafood at fisherman's wharf, plus what you already suggested. Outside the city though, you can get to Yosemite and back in a long day trip. Even better if you stay overnight just outside the park. You can also drive Highway down to Santa Cruz, then head inland to Mystery Spot.

http://www.mysteryspot.com/

Or get down to Monterrey and visit the aquarium and go kayaking in the bay there. Good chance of seeing sea otters and stuff. I guess you could kayak near SF too, but that isnt for me.

Shop hear and look for interesting things to do. Buy the tickets in advance and save a lot.

http://dealnews.com/l/bay/



Dont skip the segway tour though!!

 

So many things to do in the bay area. What kind of things are you into?

 

The sf zoo is cool if you have kids? The Oakland zoo is also nice. There is so much to see around here as far as in the city and driving a ways. Keep us posted....

Brett

 

Hit up the food trucks!
They gather in different parts of the Bay on different days but like 90% of them are so good.

 

The academy of sciences and the de young museum in golden gate park is awesome.

Fort point and chrissy field in the presideo are great.

I think muir woods is way too overcrowded. If you have a car check out big basin redwoods state park in the santa cruz mountains.

And it's cold and foggy in sf in August. So bring a jacket.

 

Thanks for all the information guys. I dont have kids, its just going to be me, my brother and parents.

My mom will probably want to shop, not sure what info you can give me there....

My dad, brother and I are pretty much up for anything and dont have to much in particular we want to do. Interesting museums, scenic places, maybe try some local beers, stuff like that.

Sorry I cant really give particulars for what I want to do, but anything and everything is appreciated.

I would like to maybe go to some kind of show/concert or maybe a baseball game, but that all depends on scheduling....

 

AT&T park is amazing. Watch a game there, doesnt matter where your seats are. One direction is the bay, the other is downtown sky scrapers, beautiful.

Your mom will enjoy Union Square. Park at the Fifth and Mission garage and go anywhere in that vicinity to shop.

Check out the bars on Polk, like Mayes or Bullet. You'll get more local chill SF folks there. Or you can go around in the Mission and just jump around.

 

Thanks that will be helpful.

We will have a car so I would like to get out of the city and see some of the surrounding area. If anyone could name some cool National Forests/Parks that would be great. Even just some scenic drives would be cool.

Also OnTheTrail mentioned that it would be cool and foggy that time of year in SF. Could someone give me more of an idea of what to expect for weather there? Like is the weather going to be like that mainly in the lower areas in the city or is it warmer and drier once you leave the city? Never been past Ohio before so I have no idea what to expect for your weather.

 

go nowhere without a light-med jacket. ever.

i'm wearing one now! you can see 40-50 degrees with a breeze. a packalble light puffy jacket is the best.

if you are willing to drive a bit, go across the golden gate bridge, visit saucilito..and drive up to Mt. Tam. if you see a car commercial with rolling grass hills, chances are it was filmed there. Stinson beach is over there. stunning views.

you cant have a bad time here.

 

Thanks a lot. I really wouldnt expect it to be that cool there for the time of year so I would be in for a surprise once I got there.

I know my dad did want to see the golden gate and my mom wanted to see some beaches so this will definitely be incorporated into our plans! Thanks again!

 

Definitely prepare for fog and cool breezes in SF proper. If you cross the bay to the East Bay, the weather is better.

Take the drive down to Monterey to see the aquarium. Drive down Highway 1 and not 101. The stretch between SF and Santa Cruz traverses seaside cliffs and is strikingly beautiful, particularly at sunset. The aquarium in monterey is awesome. It will probably be a 2-3 hour drive, so you may consider staying the night in Monterey, if that seems like a lot for you guys. Alternately, you can drive down 101 in the morning, see the aquarium, have lunch, and then drive up Highway 1 a little before sunset.

National Parks: Just a little further south is Big Sur National Shoreline. It is one the most beautiful stretches of shoreline in California.

An hour or so north of SF is Point Reyes National Shoreline. There's a little village there where you can grab lunch, so it's a nice day trip.

4 hours to the East is Yosemite National Park. Try to go there. You can drive yourself or take a tour bus from SF. Make sure to drive Tioga Pass.

Lots of places all over the Bay Area serve local micro brews. Just google 'brewery' and SF you'll find some near you. I'm from the East Bay, so I know the breweries there.