Our trip itinerary was very full, but included most major San Francisco highlights. I’m recording it here for future reference and in case it’s helpful for any other family visiting the City. We were two adults and two 14-year old girls and we saved a great deal of money by driving instead of flying, staying at my brother’s apartment, and eating many of our breakfasts and dinners at home.
We stuck pretty close to our original itinerary, which you can see here.
The City Pass, which includes tickets to SFMoMA, the Exploratorium, a one-hour cruise, the Asian Art Museum, the Aquarium, de Young/Legion of Honor, AND unlimited rides on the muni and cable cars for the week, was well worth the money. (A cable car ride costs $5 one way!)
*Note we saved the things the girls loved best for the end of the trip, so they would have stuff to look forward to.
Friday – Leave OC and drive to SF.
Saturday – Drive Songbae to the airport (2X). Eat gyros for lunch downtown. Pick up our City Passes at the Asian Museum (Visitor Information Center at Powell Street Station closes at 3 pm). Dinner: ravioli at home.
Sunday – Breakfast with Songbae. Take the cable car to Union Square, Westfield SF, Powell Street and let the girls get some of their shopping urge satisfied. Chad and I spend the morning at the Asian Art Museum.
Monday – Alcatraz ($24.50 for the cruise over and tour). We spent about three hours there. Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill was cheap ($4) and great for views. In the afternoon, Chad and I went to visit SF State, while the girls went back to Union Square.
Tuesday – We made it over to the DeYoung by the time it opened and got upstairs right away for the view. The same day ticket gets you into the Legion of Honor, so we went there next. Lunch: a Mexican place on the south side of the park.
Wednesday – Tour of UC Berkeley campus (free 1 1/2 hour tour every day at 10 am). Lunch on Telegraph Avenue. I went to hang out with an old friend and her kids in Oakland, Chad went to explore the Presidio, the girls went back to Union Square.
Thursday – We spent the morning at SFMoMA (which opens late, so we let the girls sleep in and then breakfast at the cafe downstairs). Then Chad treated us all to fondue at Melt! and chocolate sundaes at Ghiradelli Square for Valentine’s Day. Later we walked out to the end of the pier and gazed at the San Francisco skyline by night.
Friday – Exploratorium. The kids LOVED this and we ended up paying an additional $6 per kid to do the tactile dome – worth it. We also explored the Presidio a bit and tricked the girls into a very short hike in the woods. The Exploratorium is located in the Palace of Fine Arts – great photo opps here with the swans and classical Greek architecture. We had crepes for an early dinner on Chestnut Street on the way home.
Saturday – One-hour cruise in the morning with the Blue and Gold Fleet. Aquarium and Boudin Bakery Tour. Lunch: sandwiches at home. In the afternoon, Chad and I hike the Coastal Trail from the Cliff House to Crissy Field. Bella and Dawkins hang out at Union Square. Dinner: the girls made themselves mac-n-cheese, Chad and I had Mexican at a forgettable place called Rico’s.
Sunday – Drive home, swing through the Stanford University campus on the way.
