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-   -   You guys schooled me on Cruises, now school me about San Francisco (https://www.revscene.net/forums/718034-you-guys-schooled-me-cruises-now-school-me-about-san-francisco.html)

dark0821 07-13-2025 12:20 AM

You guys schooled me on Cruises, now school me about San Francisco
 
So my wife started working earlier this year...

She decided to reward our fam fam with a week long vacation in San Fran...

We will land Monday early pm Aug 18th, and leave late pm Aug 22nd.

No car rental booked yet, but I heard parking is a nightmare anyways.

It will be 2 adults + 2 kids (12 and 10)... is it just worth to uber everywhere? or something like modo/evo whats the car sharing they have there?

We never been there, does NOT need to be one of those "need to hit every spot ever".

If we did like a big spot every half day, how would you spend it?

Mon PM
Tues AM
Tues PM
Wed AM
Wed PM
Thur AM
Thur PM
Fri AM

My knowledge about San Francisco is basically Golden Gate Bridge and that windy road and that trolley and.... that's it?

Also, remember Dark is cheap af.... so dont suggest crazy places that is like $150 per person, unless its a lifetime unforgettable experience~

Thanks in advance RS, I know you wont let me down!

sdubfid 07-13-2025 02:32 AM

Try out a Waymo
Go on the uss hornet
Check out Alcatraz and that other island with the cannons
Don’t leave anything in vehicles
There’s a spot right by the bus tours near fisherman’s wharf that has cheap clothing etc if you forgot something.
Giants games were very reasonable last time I was there
Take the hop on hop off bus tour and get off at the garden place and then walk to the beach.

Badhobz 07-13-2025 05:23 AM

try not going. That place is a fucking shit show nowadays. not even safe. Too many homeless idiots everywhere

Also dont go into Oakland for any reason unless you wanna get jacked or murdered for lawls.

Dont take the BART (take the homer instead... aka rent a car or waymo)

as mentioned above:

Yes try Waymo, USS Hornet, Alcatraz (before that trump reopens it as a jail),

Drive south along the 101 and hit up Santa Cruz & Monterey where all the car museum and festivals are. aka peable beach

Drive and "inspire" your kids at Stanford. Watch a game while youre there if possible. go to the university store and buy some swag

Drive to Google HQ and Apple HQ. Apple HQ has some swag you can buy like cups and shit that are only available there. Same with Google HQ

Drive to my favourite Frank Lloyd Wright building. Just walk around and take it in how magnificent the architecture is
https://maps.app.goo.gl/XzV6WnjZWRGwZraw6

Drive north to Napa and get a wine tour on. Most of these places have free tasting, so you drive, drink, crash and die all in one go.

Sacramento is about 1-2h away, depending on traffic. it has a really neat old historic district
https://maps.app.goo.gl/aive4AbNCgtNgWKt7
great to just walk around with the family.

Closer to the city, your usual: Coit Tower, Chinatown, Take the trollys, pier 39, pier 22, the ferry building, golden gate park for photos of the bridge, the "full house" house, etc etc

Food wise, dont miss out on the house of prime rib. if you like that sort of stuff. Also becareful if you eat at fishermens wharf, those birds will FUCK YOU UP. Try El Pollo Loco. I literally ate that every day while i was living down there.

noclue 07-13-2025 07:05 AM

Second badhobz recommendations.
Summertime San franscisco = Heavy marine fog! It should dissipate late morning but it can cause flight delays + you cant see the golden gate bridge.

downtown SF is nothing to write home about, except take the photo with the trolley down the street or ride the trolley. Bart sucks + expensive might as well rent a car.
Fisherman wharf is the tourist spot, you can go to alcatraz by ferry there. I personally think its not interesting so I didnt go.
You can park in crissy field for free right south of golden gate and spend a day in the park + presidio park. Or you can rent a bike a fisherman wharf and cycle across the bridge, go to sausalito and take the ferry back to fisherman wharf. North of the golden gate bridge has a sweet viewpoint of the bridge + downtown SF.

Golden gate park is fun as well, their version of central park in NYC.
Catch a baseball game at AT&T field if you like baseball.

Rent a car and venture out of the SF bay area!
Halfmoon bay = chill beach views on a cliff
Santa Cruz = their version of Santa Monica with a pier and amusement park
Monterey/Pebble Beach = the aquarium here is actually very good and place is bougie plus laguna seca racetrack is here.

Cheapish place to eat:
In N Out burger
Philz Coffee
La taqueria = michelin recommended or won a star for burritos cant remember but it's in the hood so beware.
San Mateo has a lot of asian restaurants, Gao Viet is good.
Somewhere in SF is the world's biggest pho challenge lol

bcrdukes 07-13-2025 07:31 AM

Don't listen to any of these guys. The only place you must visit is the Tenderloin District :troll:

supafamous 07-13-2025 07:44 AM

I'd probably do (mostly a repeat of noclue and hobz.):

- Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown and the surrounding areas for a day.
- Golden Gate Bridge, Presidio, and Golden Gate Park for a day. Make it a picnic type day.
- Head north to Napa for some wine and nice sights. If you're lucky maybe there's some action at Sears Point. This could be an overnight trip.
- Go down Hwy 1 to at least Santa Cruz, preferably Monterey for some sights. This might be an overnight trip. Go to the aquarium and swing by Laguna Seca (it's not locked off so you can walk the property and may even see some track action).

After that considerations would be:
- Catch a baseball game - great ballpark.
- Take a walk through the Tenderloin and realise the DTES is not THAT bad. Best times are in the evenings. Bring the kids!
- Get stabbed in Union Square
- Visit Stanford U and the surrounding areas
- Go to Fremont and see if Elon is sleeping on the factory floor. Confirm the Nazi symbols on the plant.
- Swing by the HQs of Apple, Google, Meta etc. I always visit Apple HQ when I'm down there but I'm a tech nerd.
- Gilroy is the garlic capital of the world, have a sniff of what a garlic capital smells like.
- Get picked up by ICE and check out El Salvador.

You'll definitely want a rental car and I actually wouldn't stay in SF proper as a tourist as most of the stuff worth visiting is on the fringes of SF or outside entirely. I'd probably stay just over the bridge for half the trip (Sausalito or Marin) and then stay south of the Airport after that. Even though I'm a stupid libtard I think downtown SF is a bit of shit hole - I don't really think of it as a family vacation destination.

roastpuff 07-13-2025 08:31 AM

Not going to repeat what those guys above said - all good suggestions.

Spend a day in the Presidio Park area, go north to Sausalito and feel poor when looking at waterfront property, go do a walk in Marin to check out the giant redwoods (Muir Woods National Monument).

Avoid DT except for the waterfront/Fisherman's Wharf/Pier 39 area.

Must try: the BEST EVER croissants at Arsicault Bakery

Drive down to Half Moon Bay/Santa Cruz/Monterrey, absolutely beautiful scenery and little towns.

Honestly if you have time - Yosemite. Still some of the most incredible scenery I've ever seen.

Badhobz 07-13-2025 08:54 AM

Honestly, i rather go to San Diego—way more Zoo's and amusement parks for your kids.

But if you say fuck the kids, i wanna see interesting and some gay shit (Castro district), then SF is better.

MG1 07-13-2025 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdubfid (Post 9185139)
Try out a Waymo
Go on the uss hornet
Check out Alcatraz and that other island with the cannons
Don’t leave anything in vehicles
There’s a spot right by the bus tours near fisherman’s wharf that has cheap clothing etc if you forgot something.
Giants games were very reasonable last time I was there
Take the hop on hop off bus tour and get off at the garden place and then walk to the beach.

Giants game would be awesome. The view from the cheap seats is breathtaking. One of the most beautiful baseball fields in MLB. Also, concession stands are something to be experienced.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...4/72873951007/


Oh, gotta drive down Lombard Street. If they still let you.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lombar...(San_Francisco)

Close to Fisherman's Wharf.

underscore 07-13-2025 09:13 AM

I found the Golden Gate Bridge itself to be a bit underwhelming, I get why its existence is cool for the locals but the structure itself isn't anything special and the toll to cross it isn't cheap. I wouldn't bother actually driving across it unless you wanna go to Sausalito, which is gorgeous. If you do go to the north side view points on the one-way road, don't bother stopping at the first few, just go right to Battery Ridge or go to Horseshoe Bay on the east side.

The Oakland Bay bridge is cooler but I don't think there's much reason to go to Oakland? Driving around the end of the bridge in downtown SF is neat though. If you are on that side Alameda is nice but don't stop in San Leandro for any reason, go out by the Oakland Airport at least if you desperately need something. I had two coworkers get stuff stolen from their cars in San Leandro but at my hotel near the airport I saw women jogging at night so it seems safer lol.

Driving down the coast to Santa Cruz is really nice. I did it near sunset and it was gorgeous. In land of there is very pretty as well, Big Basin Redwoods State Park is a nice area and the back road down to Santa Cruz is great. If you're going down there I'd take Skyline Blvd and the road through Boulder Creek on the way down and then drive back up the coast in the evening. I could spend ages poking around all the backroads there. Saratoga was also very pretty at night.

I won't repeat everything I posted before but there's some pics and good suggestions from other people in this thread:

https://www.revscene.net/forums/7177...francisco.html

mikemhg 07-13-2025 09:34 AM

Some restaurant recommendations:

Tony's Pizza Napoletana - Iconic pizza spot
House of Prime Rib - If you like Prime Rib, it's worth a visit, iconic as well.
Tommy's Joynt - Old school shitty diner
Brenda's French Soul Food - If you like southern soul food, delicious.
Marufuku Ramen - We have good ramen here in Vancouver, but if you're itching for it.

Jason00S2000 07-13-2025 10:05 AM

Go to the Tenderloin and hang out there... see if it is better/worse than the DTES!

pastarocket 07-13-2025 10:55 AM

-highly recommend a drive from San Fran to visit Pebble Beach. -about a two hour drive from San Fran.

First, visiting the beach is free. Parking is free near the beach. Beautiful view of cypress trees near the beach.

-visited San Fran and Pebble Beach first in 2013.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...a86f509850.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...e34925870f.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

nabs 07-13-2025 01:22 PM

Alcatraz is worth it IMO, but make sure you book before hand, day of tickets are rare, you would have to get it from a bike tour company combo with their services, more expensive this route, however in a bind you can just skip out on the bike tour all together.

!LittleDragon 07-13-2025 01:46 PM

House of Prime Rib... other than that, the place is meh... maybe because half my family lives in Silicon Valley and I spent a lot of time in the bay in my 20's...

Umm... take a drive down to Monterey... too bad you'll be a week late for Monterey Car Week... lol

Badhobz 07-13-2025 01:55 PM

That’s probably a good thing. Car week is a friggin zoo.

bcrdukes 07-13-2025 02:10 PM

Head to Laguna Seca and do a few laps. :troll:

noclue 07-13-2025 02:36 PM

Maybe dark should drive down (only 15hrs) while the fam takes the flights and then drive up together to vancouver via pacific coast highway oregon coast. One of the most scenic drives IMO

Badhobz 07-13-2025 04:35 PM

love that drive... used to do it every year, but i missed out this year due to Australia. You gotta go relatively early in the year, like March or April. Anything later and California becomes an unbearable oven.

bcuzracecarz 07-13-2025 08:53 PM

Great timing for a thread so thanks for the input so far peeps. I’m down there with the wife on the 12th until the 16th of August. It’s my wife’s 40th and she’s always wanted to go to Napa so doing that for most of the time (have the wine train booked which looks awesome), but upon arriving we are hitting up the evening giants game, then Alcatraz the next morning and Golden Gate drive up to Napa in the afternoon.

Our research has definitely shown that tenderloin/union is great for an injectable dinner and getting rid of unwanted items quickly.

noclue 07-13-2025 09:35 PM

French laundry is in napa if you can get a reservation.

6793026 07-14-2025 03:58 AM

2 things.
Bring a jacket, it does get cold. #1 souvenirs people buy in SF - jackets.
DO keep all your belongs. Don't leave it in your car.

6793026 07-14-2025 04:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcuzracecarz (Post 9185220)
Great timing for a thread so thanks for the input so far peeps. I’m down there with the wife on the 12th until the 16th of August. It’s my wife’s 40th and she’s always wanted to go to Napa so doing that for most of the time (have the wine train booked which looks awesome), but upon arriving we are hitting up the evening giants game, then Alcatraz the next morning and Golden Gate drive up to Napa in the afternoon.

Our research has definitely shown that tenderloin/union is great for an injectable dinner and getting rid of unwanted items quickly.

It's not cheap to eat in napa, the pros to that = there are not college kids. Everyone is nice, educated and there to enjoy themeselves. Very safe. I chose siting at the patio and it was just great weather all along.

dark0821 07-14-2025 07:10 AM

So far jacket, jacket, jacket...... and deck the whole family out in kirkland, no brand names, no bling, no nothing... got cha...

and looks like I should start reserving things~~

CivicBlues 07-14-2025 07:11 AM

lol so much for Elbows Up eh?

Drive down to Big Sur and back on Hwy 1. All the way down to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. I believe after that the road is closed due to landslides.

It's worth it even though it'll take an entire day. Better if you can stay overnight. One of the world's best scenic coastal drives IMO.


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