Golden Gate Bridge, what time to arrive

[moniqueand2]

Hi,

I'm visiting San Francisco with my sister, brother in law, and my 2 kids, ages 10 and 13.

Here's my schedule so far.

Thursday, June 25 - arrive around noon after long flight, we are staying in a hotel in Union Square- thinking of going to pier 39 with the kids

Friday, June 26 - China Town, Fortune Cookie Factory, eat a few times

Saturday, June 27 - I am busy in the morning and I plan to meet up with my gang in the afternoon. If we arrive at the Golden Gale Bridge around 2:00 pm, is that enough time to spend in the area at the Visitor Center, walk on the bridge? Is there anything else in the area that we should see?

Sunday, June 28 - I am busy all day, the gang is going to Alcatraz and whatever else they come up with

Monday, June 29 - I'd love to get to Muir Woods, but am quite unsure how to get there using public transportation. Any suggestions on that? Or any other ideas of a better use of time? We have all day.

Tuesday, June 30 - only have a partial day. Just plan to eat somewhere, maybe walk to the water again.

Thanks for taking a look at plan and thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[usnuzuloose]

You can visit the Ferry Building , they have all kinds of eateries, shops for buying things. On the weekend they have all kinds of vendors there for buying fresh fruit and veggies. I forget the name of it , but there is an area with nothing but the food catering trucks that have all kinds of foods to choose. That would sound good for anyone trying something different. You have the Walt Disney Museum.

Try looking up these sites for discounts on stuff in the area

Travelzoo.com

Groupon.com

Livingsocial.com

They do have companies for tours to Muir woods. The boudins Bakery is just down the street from Pier 39 and have good food. You can buy bread and all sorts of goodies to take home. You can watch them make bread from the window outside. You have Ghiradellie sp? for the Ice Cream. Yummy.

Make sure you purchase Alcatraz tickets prior as you may not get to go , they sell out very quickly.

 

[moniqueand2]

Thank you. I did get the Alcatraz tickets and you sure are right about advance purchase. I was planning for Saturday and that day was completely sold out, so adjusted for Alcatraz on Sunday. The bakery you recommend sounds good.

 

[usnuzuloose]

You can't go wrong with food in San Francisco

 

[bcla]

There's a lot of stuff to do on both sides of the bridge. You don't have to walk the entire length of the bridge. The meters at the parking lot on the San Francisco side are short term and might be enough time to explore the visitor center.

I'd recommend driving across the bridge to explore the Marin side. You could stop at the vista point (only accessible northbound coming off the bridge) and take a drive through the Marin Headlands. Some visit Muir Woods, although if you're short on time, Conzelman Road is spectacular with the best views of the bridge.

The only caveat to the bridge is that they have all electronic tolling now in the south direction (into San Francisco). If it's a rental car it gets tricky setting up a "license plate" prepaid toll or renting/buying a FasTrak toll transponder.

 

[czmom]

I hope I am not hijacking this OP. We will be in SF in August and I had no idea you could park and walk across it!! Any other tips about this or is just that simple?

 

[bcla]

I hope I am not hijacking this OP. We will be in SF in August and I had no idea you could park and walk across it!! Any other tips about this or is just that simple?

There is the issue of parking. There's a convenient lot right at the visitor center on the San Francisco side, but those spaces are metered and I believe have a one hour limit. There are places to park further away, and now they require a prepaid parking fee. However, those are typically long enough that you can walk across the bridge and back. The vista point parking lot on the Marin side is free, and has a 4 hour limit.

You can also ride a bike (typically rented) across the bridge on the western side. Pedestrians are supposed to be on the eastern side. There are routes to the Sausalito ferry terminal, and the ferries have lots of bike spaces. I've been on that ferry, and each boat has a huge space for bikes, unlike the Larkspur ferries which primarily serves commuters. The Sausalito ferry also has different pricing - really high for a cash fare, and steeply discounted using the Clipper multi-agency fare card. Also - if you miss the last ferry of the day, there will be taxis waiting that can drive bike renters back with their bikes.

 

[czmom]

We won't need to be on it for too long. My kids are 6 & 8. So just enough to check it out is cool

 

[Pigletpal40]

Cliff House was cool. You can explore the bathhouse ruins, some beautiful hiking trails are out there as well as Ocean Beach.

 

[bcla]

Cliff House was cool. You can explore the bathhouse ruins, some beautiful hiking trails are out there as well as Ocean Beach.

Did you eat there? It's a great view, but it's kind of expensive. The National Park Service owns the building. They also own Louis' Restaurant, which is operated by the family that built the place. I haven't tried it, but there was some controversy over the concession contract being put up for an open bid.

 

[Pigletpal40]

Did you eat there? It's a great view, but it's kind of expensive. The National Park Service owns the building. They also own Louis' Restaurant, which is operated by the family that built the place. I haven't tried it, but there was some controversy over the concession contract being put up for an open bid.

We (my wife and I) had lunch at Bistros when we were at the Cliff House. It is more of a casual diner type atmosphere. Sutros is the more upscale restaurant there.