San Francisco Touring Plan Help

[queenofthehive]

My plan so far -

Day 1
Morning flight - get in at 11:30
Walt Disney Family museum
Lucas films (just see outside)

Day 2
Full SF day -
Alcatraz (first trip of the day)
Ferry bldg - lunch
Cable car museum
Walk by China town (see arches) no need to tour it
Coit Tower
Pier 39
Lombard street
Golden Gate Bridge

Day 3
Oakland Area Day
Rosie Riveter Museum (10-2 / 4hrs?)
Pixar Studio (can't go in but want see outside)
Fenton's Creamery
On road by 4 for drive to Bass Lake

Need help with day 2 of plan. What would be the best order and what buses to take to get to each area? We will be staying near the SF Intl airport so we will be driving and parking car in a garage for the day.

For the Oakland day, do I need pay a toll going over to Oakland? Rosie Riveter museum - has anyone visited this and if so, how much time to estimate?


Thanks in advance!!

 

[usnuzuloose]

One suggestion, may sure to purchase the Alcatraz tickets online in advance, as most of the time they are full for the day.

 

[queenofthehive]

Yes, I have purchased these tickets already. Thank you!

 

[usnuzuloose]

Your welcome!

There are a few links to look at for other discounts around town

Groupon.com
Livingsocials.com

Travelzoo.com

You can also get things for food as well.

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

My plan so far -

Day 2
Full SF day -
Alcatraz (first trip of the day)
Ferry bldg - lunch
Cable car museum
Walk by China town (see arches) no need to tour it
Coit Tower
Pier 39
Lombard street
Golden Gate Bridge

Thanks in advance!!

There are two major transportation systems in the city. The BART is mainly for getting in and out of the city. It starts in Millbrae at SFO or near there (Depends on the time of day and what day of the week it is) and go up to the city, follows Market Street to Embarcadero, then goes East to Oakland. There's also the MUNI which is most of the transportation within the city. It has trains and buses. The trains mostly go East-West through the center of the city. There are no trains in the Northwest part (where the Golden Gate Bridge is). Probably the one train you might use is the MUNI F line, which goes along The Embarcadero (you could take it in between Pier 39 and the Ferry Building).

Here is a website called 511 where you can put in your starting location and your destination, and it will come up with how to get there:

http://tripplanner.transit.511.org/

With the exception of Golden Gate Bridge, you could theoretically walk everywhere (it's about a mile between Pier 39 which is the most Northern point in your itinerary to the Ferry building which is the most South on the list), but it would be a lot of walking, so depends on how much you can walk. Also it gets hilly when you start getting away from The Embarcadero and starting going towards the center of the city.

To be honest, if you're trying to do a lot in a short amount of time, I would just walk when you think you can walk, then Uber or Taxi if it's a bit too far or you're in a hurry. Trying to take a bus everywhere is probably not very efficient timewise.

You may also consider trying to take the cable cars, since that could be fun:

http://www.sfcablecar.com/routes.html

The map at the link there actually shows the location of Pier 39, Ferry building, Coit Tower, and the cable car museum. It also shows Lombard Street, though looks like it's labeled "Crookedest street". The Hyde st car runs right past there, though you actually probably wouldn't see it very well because you would be at the top of the hill, so you would need to get off and go to the bottom of the street to see it.

More cable car maps:
https://www.sfmta.com/maps/categories/cable-car-maps

I guess what you would probably want to do is park, see everything on your list there except the Golden Gate Bridge, then after you're done, drive over to the Golden Gate bridge and stop at the Visitor's Center, or just drive across it.

Is your Alcatraz tour leaving from Pier 33 or somewhere else? What time is the tour?

My plan so far -


For the Oakland day, do I need pay a toll going over to Oakland? Rosie Riveter museum - has anyone visited this and if so, how much time to estimate?


Thanks in advance!!

The Bay Bridge connects SF and Oakland. They collect the toll when you go Westbound (from Oakland-> SF), there is no toll Eastbound (SF -> Oakland). It's usually $5-6, depending on time of day.

I've never been to Rosie Riveter museum (I actually never heard of it).

Edit: also, where are you staying at night?

 

[hilarys]

It would also be helpful to know which days of the week and time of the year (vis a vis daylight) you are planning to do these things so that you can take traffic patterns into consideration. Also, what do you want to do at the GG Bridge, do you want to walk across or just get a closer view? If your flight is on time and it doesn't take too long to get your luggage (sometimes luggage is really slow at SFO), you might want to consider doing the Golden Gate Bridge on Day 1 after touring the WDFM. You will be very close to the Bridge when you are there. That way you could concentrate on the other things on your list and Day 2 - Park the car and tour around.

Day 3 I have heard of the Rosie the Riveter Museum but have not been - seems like 4 hours might be a lot. I am glad to see Fenton's on your list. It is one of our family favorites. Also, depending on the day of the week, you may want to hit the road later that day. East bound will be commute direction and the East bound commute starts building early.

 

[queenofthehive]

Thanks for all the suggestions! We will certainly walk it if that is easier and maybe grab a cable car as that would be fun to ride. We will be visiting SF during memorial weekend then going to Yosemite (Bass Lake) that Sunday afternoon. I am going to leave visiting the Rosie Riveter museum up in the air and might just use that day to see the sights in SF if we need more time. Also, what is a good place for dinner that is laid back and casual? Thanks again -all your advice is much appreciated.
One more thing- the other half of our party arrives in Friday evening so that is why we plan to see GGB Sat. We would like walk on it but not the entire way. Also, would like to drive to the other side and drive up that hill to get another view.

 

[bcla]

I've never been to Rosie Riveter museum (I actually never heard of it).

It's really the new visitor center at Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park. The National Park Service doesn't call it a museum per se. I suppose they have interpretive exhibits that are kind of like a museum. It's also where all the tours start now. I've only been to the memorial (in a city park). The memorial was kind of underwhelming - just a metal sculpture that's kind of randomly placed. The area around the old shipyards and factories are really the meat of the park. I live really close and should probably make a visit. I think they also have the oldest ranger working for the Park Service.

https://www.nps.gov/rori/index.htm
http://www.rosietheriveter.org/news-events/tours-and-schedules

I'd say four hours would be really long. Also, it's in a fairly safe part of Richmond. There are parts of Richmond I would recommend visitors avoid.

 

[queenofthehive]

bcla- I would love to hear your thoughts on Rosie Riveter museum when you go see it. Also, good to know about the area- I did wonder about that... I am working on my Yosemite plan so please chime in as I love to read your insight/suggestions about the park. Thanks!

 

[bcla]

bcla- I would love to hear your thoughts on Rosie Riveter museum when you go see it. Also, good to know about the area- I did wonder about that... I am working on my Yosemite plan so please chime in as I love to read your insight/suggestions about the park. Thanks!

Richmond does have a reputation for violent crime, but that's really part of the city near downtown. 23rd and Macdonald can be pretty sketchy, but the Marina or Point Richmond areas are reasonably safe. I grew up near Richmond and went through Richmond schools that were engineered to bring kids together from various backgrounds. I wouldn't worry about the memorial or visitor center locations.

Here's a photo of the memorial. It's a few photos built into ladders as well as a sign.

I might just take my kid there for one of the tours of the area.

 

[tanyaegangibson]

Also, would like to drive to the other side and drive up that hill to get another view.

If you're going to drive across the bridge to the Marin Headlands (the hill on the other side of the bridge), you might allow some time to explore the headlands and even drive down to Rodeo Beach (10-15 minutes through the headlands). It's a really beautiful area with lots of hiking, wildlife (bobcats, deer, etc.), birds, etc. A nice meal or drinks can be had at Murray Circle restaurant at Caballo Point at that same exit: http://www.cavallopoint.com/murray-circle-restaurant.html. (I live in Marin and love people to get to see how beautiful it is!)

 

[queenofthehive]

Thank you!

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

Thanks for all the suggestions! We will certainly walk it if that is easier and maybe grab a cable car as that would be fun to ride. We will be visiting SF during memorial weekend then going to Yosemite (Bass Lake) that Sunday afternoon. I am going to leave visiting the Rosie Riveter museum up in the air and might just use that day to see the sights in SF if we need more time. Also, what is a good place for dinner that is laid back and casual? Thanks again -all your advice is much appreciated.
One more thing- the other half of our party arrives in Friday evening so that is why we plan to see GGB Sat. We would like walk on it but not the entire way. Also, would like to drive to the other side and drive up that hill to get another view.

Walking partway or all the way across Golden Gate Bridge is definitely worth the trip if you have the time. Looking out over the bay from the middle of the bridge is a fantastic view. I don't go to SF all that often for dinner unfortunately, parking is kind of painful over there at dinner time, especially at the more popular local spots. If you are there on a Saturday, the Ferry Building has a Farmer's Market every Saturday. If you like pork, RoliRoti (which is a regular stand at the Farmer's Market) has a fantastic porchetta sandwich, but it often sells out early. Otherwise, there's lots of stuff there to wander around and see, in addition to the normal shops and restaurants within the Ferry Building. Hog Island Oyster Bar is a popular spot at the Ferry building if you like Oysters, but wait times can be long if you go at typical meal times. When someone is visiting from out of town, I often end up going to the Crab House on Pier 39 for dinner. It's easy to park there and kind of fun. The most popular dish is a whole crab roasted in Garlic Sauce. If you are a foodie, though, I'm sure there are better places to go. You could just pick a place along the water anywhere on the Embarcadero or Fisherman's Wharf and enjoy the view. Most places in SF are not very formal. Dress codes in California tend to be more relaxed.

If you're going to drive across the bridge to the Marin Headlands (the hill on the other side of the bridge), you might allow some time to explore the headlands and even drive down to Rodeo Beach (10-15 minutes through the headlands). It's a really beautiful area with lots of hiking, wildlife (bobcats, deer, etc.), birds, etc. A nice meal or drinks can be had at Murray Circle restaurant at Caballo Point at that same exit: http://www.cavallopoint.com/murray-circle-restaurant.html. (I live in Marin and love people to get to see how beautiful it is!)

Yes, Marin county is beautiful and you get great views of the city from there. We've walked around near the Point Bonita Lighthouse, which is also very beautiful.

Sometimes if we are at the Ferry Building for the Farmer's Market and have some time to burn, we take the Ferry to Sausalito or Tiberon.

It's tough to boil everything down to 2 days.