Any tips and tricks for San Francisco? Book excursions there except for Alcatraz? Any do’s and don’ts? TIA

Nancy Naicker Weran
Go to the golden gate cookie factory in Chinatown

Look on Groupon for discounts to attractions.
Do a Hop on Hop Off City bus tour. It was great.

Check go city.. we did this for our San Diego trip and I noticed they have San Francisco attractions. Also pier 39 is a must! Its nice to shop or dine! We met a local fisherman there, who did ocean tours and took us out under the Golden Gate Bridge!

Sheena sounds like a plan!!!! Thanks!!

Kristin Sehn Sorry one more if you get the chance to check out Muir Woods.

Bring layers. It's not typical California weather. You'll experience 3 seasons in one day and it gets cold once the sun goes down.

Bike across Golden Gate to Sausalito and take ferry back. It was best experience besides Alcatraz

April plan on it thanks!!

Rent a bicycle going to Golden Gate Bridge. So much fun.

Wenty Tariga do they have places all over to rent the bikes, or do you book online?

Shannon Kovacs
Don’t waste your time in the hop on hop off bus unless you get a good deal on a multi day. We spent most of our day in traffic lol. We would have been better off just using an uber when the areas were too far to walk.

Definitely check out a Giants game. Beautiful views from up there & even though we don’t t follow baseball, it was super fun!

Been there six times and still haven’t made it to Alcatraz. Too many more scenic & fun things to do.
One of my fav cities.
I know you will see the usual places like Fisherman’s Wharf, cable cars, seafood restaurants,etc.
Definitely day trip wine tour to Napa & Sonoma.
Visit the Redwoods in Muir Woods.
Have a blast with a GPS self-guided tour in a Go Car (hands down the funnest way to see the sights).
Have an Irish Coffee at The Buena Vista.
Day trip to Sausalito with lunch at Bar Bocce.
Farmers Market at the Ferry Building.
Dueling Pianos at Johnny Foleys.
Sunset Bay cruise.
Dinner in Little Italy.
Sangria on a patio overlooking the bay.
City tour on ebikes or Segways.
Japanese tea garden Golden Gate park.
See what’s playing live at the Orpheum Theatre.

Janice I saw these go cars! They look so fun!!

When I was there, there were free admission days for many things like the art gallery. I mapped my days around those and it helped me see lots and save money. Also, much of SF is walkable!

Serena where did you find free admission days notifications? I find everything has a price and we would like to do what you did. Thanks!

Kristin Sehn I just googled ‘san Francisco free admission’. You’ll get a bunch of hits. Museums and stuff tend to have free days once a month or so.

Serena Thank you!

Good restaurant is the Waterbar. It's right by the water and we had amazing service and excellent food.

Lance thank you

Pack a bag & do the day trip/hike in the redwoods. Bring a map as there is no cell service.
Botanical gardens are beautiful.
Rent a bike off the street … go over the bridge
Take the train from the airport to your hotel. Don’t pay for a cab. You will see people all over hauling their suitcases. It’s completely normal.
Read the hotel reviews.
Download uber. Get used to “ride sharing”. Basically you’ll pick up others along the way to reduce the total bill.
Bring comfy shoes. You will walk a lot.
Ps. The pier is overrated. But check it out.

Jessica Muir Woods? Thanks for the information!

Jessica best way to get to the redwoods? Instead of a “tour?”

Jessica also how do you get back with no cell service?

Kristin Sehn you’ll have service at the beginning, just not in the forest. There are maps like this posted around. We probably hiked 16kms. When you come up to the exit you can walk to the road and time it for a bus ride back. You won’t get service again until about 10-15 mins drive on the bus. Know the bus schedule before, we had to wait over 30 minutes for the bus.

Jessica thanks!

Jessica bus takes credit card or cash? Thanks for all your info!

Kristin Sehn … that you’d have to look into. I’ve been so many times, but my last time was in 2018
The ballet / performing arts are also A+

Spend time at Sausalito - just over the bridge from San Fran. If you want any fancy restaurants make sure to make reservations ahead of time. Bring good waking shoes

If you are into wine, we booked a Napa Valley wine tour that departed by bus from Pier 1 and then we returned to Pier 1 via the ferry from Vallejo. Great tour!

We did a Segway winery tour in guerneville (near Sonoma)

Julie-An was it good?

Kristin Sehn so much fun, it was excellent. I’d do it again and again and again.

Julie-An I get the message

It's a blast
Go to China town

Stay away from the tenderloin district so then he homeless people and rough streets check out the Costco it's fun take the bus there!

any suggestions for a cheaper hotel near the airport to stay the night before a flight back to YEG?

Debbie we stayed at Dylan Hotel. It is close to airport but also close to BART station so we could enjoy one more evening in San Francisco. Continental breakfast included and an airport shuttle too.

Benita perfect!

Ferry to Sausalito and walking around for an afternoon was nice.

Thanks for the info.Thank you so much!

Thank you so much!

Following

https://www.gocartours.com/tours/san-francisco/
GOCARTOURS.COM
San Francisco Tours & Sightseeing - GoCar Tours

Wine tour to Napa… was fabulous, rent bikes, Giradelli Chocolate tour, walk around Chinatown, check out the crooked street

City pass!!! https://www.citypass.com/san-francisco?mv_source=rkg&adpos=&creative=557325970261&device=m&matchtype=e&network=g&gclid=Cj0KCQjw-daUBhCIARIsALbkjSYQun-aUQ799zhwpsXAz_tR2Q4W7rld4qHaQH5l2zWCPZzT56sVa54aAowkEALw_wcB
I love using them for places I visit, cheaper overall for admissions. Great value
CITYPASS.COM
San Francisco CityPASS

Natalie I’ve read that you need to reserve ahead of time for these and a lot of times it is sold out. In July when I’m going, that might be the case?

Stern Grove festival. Free music festival in the park. BYOW and picnic lunch.
https://www.sterngrove.org/
STERNGROVE.ORG
Stern Grove Festival

I would highly recommend sfcityguides.org if you like walking tours. They have several to choose from in neighborhoods all over the city and are free! They are provided by volunteers who love their city and operated as part of the public library. I’ve been on about 5 of them- the Golden Gate Bridge, Chinatown, the Castro, Coit Tower, Haight Ashbury, oh and also Fisherman’s Wharf! Visit their website find available tours and meeting places. Of course they accept donations to keep the tours going. I learned so
Much about the city that made me love it even more.

Colleen wow!!!! Thank you!!!!!!!

I did these too and they were awesome!

If you're in good shape, rent a bike from a shop near Pier 39 and go for a ride across the Golden Gate Bridge. If you enjoy wine but don't want to invest the time or cash on an excursion to Napa, you'd probably enjoy a visit to the tasting room of Chateau Montelena winery in the Westin hotel on Union Square.

Brad Vanderwilk following