Hey guys! Charlie and I recently got home from spending 8 days in California – 3 nights of which we spent in San Francisco. We LOVED the city, so I wanted to map out a three night/two day itinerary for anyone looking to make a quick weekend trip. Here are seven of the absolute must-do things in San Francisco!
1. Visit Muir Woods
Muir Woods is a national monument situated right outside of San Francisco. It is the PERFECT alternative to visiting Yosemite if you, like we were, are visiting the area with a limited amount of time to explore. The park includes both Giant Sequoias and Redwood trees, just on a slightly smaller scale. Don’t worry – Yosemite is still very high on my bucket list, but this option was appealing to us on this trip because we didn’t want to spend a whole entire day doing just one activity.
Before going in, I’ll be totally honest. I was excited, but this wasn’t what I was most looking forward to. Let me tell you – I WAS WRONG. This park was one of the most magnificent and breath-taking things I’ve seen. It was stunning. The park was immaculately clean and the trails were extremely easy to navigate. It was so well-groomed that we even saw a gentleman in a wheelchair exploring the park. It’s a very family friendly place to visit for those from all walks of life.
After the whole trip was said and done, this ended up being my favorite thing we did. It really cannot be overstated. This is a MUST if you’re visiting San Francisco. My only suggestion is to make sure to check out my blog about everything you need to know before you visit so that you aren’t surprised by anything like we were!
2. Take a Tour of Napa Valley and/or Sonoma County
My second favorite thing of the entire trip was a day trip to Napa Valley and Sonoma County. We booked our tour with Gray Line San Francisco. It was $150 per person and here is everything that price included:
- A designated pick up location in San Francisco (two options to choose from)
- A very comfortable coach tour bus
- A driver/tour guide
- Two winery stops in Sonoma County
- Lunch in Sonoma Square
- One winery stop in Napa Valley
- A stop at the Golden Gate Bridge for photo and viewing opportunities on the way back
- Drop off at the same designated pick-up spot from that morning
I truly can’t recommend this company enough. It was an amazing day from start to finish. The driver was VERY nice to have after a few of the winery stops. The tour guide aspect was amazing because we were on the bus for about an hour each way and it wasn’t boring at all! He taught us so much about the places we were visiting. All in all we saved a TON of money just by simply not having to rent a car. It was so much fun to be able to relax, enjoy the day, and let someone else take care of all the details!
3. Take a Ferry to/from Sausalito
This was something we didn’t want to miss because living in Alabama, ferries are a foreign thing to us! We ended up ferrying FROM Sausalito to San Francisco. This was a little more desirable/less stressful for us because on the way TO Sausalito we were on a strict itinerary timewise. We felt more “in control” just Ubering for that portion of the day.
On the way back to the city, however, we had no real itinerary or set times, so we were able to relax and go with the flow. This was an awesome experience because we ferried right by Alcatraz. We didn’t have time to tour Alcatraz during this trip, so I was really glad we still got to see it up close!
Make sure to check the ferry schedules in advance here. Note: the ferry schedule is different on the weekends!
4. See the Golden Gate Bridge
I know this one kind of goes without saying. There are a variety of ways to see the Golden Gate Bridge:
- Rent a car/call an Uber and drive over the bridge
- Rent bikes and bicycle from one end to the other
- Run or walk – there is a walking/biking trail on the side of the bridge
- Go to one of the many vantage points throughout the bay area to see it in its entirety
We opted for the last choice – we went to a vantage point a little bit below the bridge so that we could see the whole thing. The magnitude of the bridge is unreal. This option will also be your best bet if you want a photo. While being ON the bridge is really cool, it doesn’t make for great pictures because you can’t really see what you’re standing on. All in all, do NOT miss an opportunity to see this architectural gem!
5. See Pier 39 and the Sea Lions
Pier 39 is a magical display of lights, noises, attractions, people, and more. It is a long strip of cute shops, restaurants, dessert places, etc. We went at nighttime so we could really get the full effect of all the lights and I highly recommend doing that. We walked around and found a place that looked good for dinner. We put our names on the list – we didn’t mind waiting at all because we took that time to go down and see the famous sealions. However, if you don’t like waiting I would definitely call in advance and make reservations.
The sealions were amazing. There are lots of flat wood pieces floating near the pier, and the local sealions have taken up residence on them. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve seen them in person, but all I can say is that they were HUGE. I don’t know what I expected, but they blew me away. They are also very vocal creatures, so they were constantly talking to each other and putting on a show for the people watching!
I won’t sugar coat it, this area is very touristy. However, I think it’s absolutely still worth a visit. You can stay for as little or as much time as you’d like – if you don’t like it, don’t stay but at least go check it off your list and witness the sealions in person!
6. See Chinatown
Chinatown in San Francisco is North America’s first of its kind and the largest outside of Asia. It spans something of 24 blocks in downtown San Francisco. The famous Dragon’s Gate is located on Bush Street and is the best place to start your tour. Everything in Chinatown is amazingly authentic. It offers food, shops, temples, and more. There is also a lot of street art which makes walking even more fun!
This is an area, again, that you could spend as little or as much time in as you’d like. I personally believe it’s an important stop for everyone to see and experience a different culture from your own. If you like it, I highly recommend stopping to eat – it’s some of the best you’ll find!
7. See the Palace of Fine Arts
This was by far one of the most underrated stops of our trip. It is a huge faux-palace structure that was originally built in 1915 for an art exhibition. It is now used as an event venue. I’m guessing you maybe don’t hear about it much because there’s nothing to “do” there, but I was floored at the beauty of this structure. If you have the time, go during the daytime so you can see the whole palace and the surrounding pond. We went after dark, so I think we missed some of the magnitude (we couldn’t see the pond at all), but even at night the beauty of the palace was simply amazing.
I wouldn’t plan on spending much time here. It’s just a stop-by sort of place, but it is absolutely worth it if you’re a fan of architectural gems. If you’re staying in the marina district like we did you can even walk to it!
BONUS: Take a Tour of Alcatraz
Unfortunately, we did not have time to do this. Because we were only there for two full days, we had to make some choices and this one didn’t make the cut. However, had we had more time I would have absolutely loved to see Alcatraz! There are lots of tour companies to choose from, and they literally take you inside the prison so that you can see what it looked like while it was operational. Next time we go this will be first on our list!
Also note: if visiting Alcatraz is really important to you, switch it out with something else on our list! I’ve read that it takes a good chunk of time, so it could be switched out with visiting Muir Woods, Sausalito, or wine country.
Example Itinerary
This is how we arranged our itinerary and it worked perfectly for us because our hotel was in the Marina district. As always, when planning an itinerary, I highly encourage you to plug things in according to where you’re staying. That way if you need to switch some things around you’ll know ahead of time!
Friday – Travel Day:
- Fly in Friday evening after work (so that you don’t have to take the day off!)
- Check into your hotel
- Grab dinner if it’s early enough. For us, it was pretty late so we just found a grocery store and got some snacks for the weekend.
- Go to bed early so you can wake up ready to explore!
Saturday – Full Day #1:
- Wake up and eat breakfast/find coffee
- Either Uber or take a ferry to your Muir Woods pick up spot
- ~5 hours – Muir Woods (this includes transportation to and from the park)
- After you get dropped off at the conclusion of your time in Muir Woods, Uber/Lyft to Sausalito (it’s on the way back into the city!)
- Spend ~2 hours exploring Sausalito
- Catch the last ferry of the day back from Sausalito to San Francisco
- Walk or Uber to Pier 39 – have dinner there or just walk around and sightsee (make sure to see the sea lions!).
- Head home and get some sleep or go out and explore the nightlife!
Sunday – Full Day #2:
- Wake up and eat breakfast/find coffee
- Walk/Uber/Lyft to Napa and Sonoma tour pick up location
- ~8 hours: Tour of Sonoma County, lunch in Sonoma Square, Tour of Napa Valley
- Stop at the Golden Gate Bridge for photos on the way back to San Francisco
- Go explore Chinatown
- Visit the Palace of Fine Arts
- Head home and get some sleep or go out and explore the nightlife!
Monday – Travel Day
- Wake up and eat breakfast/find coffee (I recommend making reservations at a brunch place for this morning since you have more time!)
- Pack and check out of your hotel or AirBnb
- Head to the airport
I hope this is helpful for you guys! San Francisco has SO much to offer that it can be a little overwhelming if it’s your first time visiting. Start with these places and you can’t go wrong! If you have more time or you’re visiting for a second time, I recommend staying away from the touristy areas and exploring more of what the locals in the city have to offer!
