What to do in San Francisco with children?

[dvcnewgirl]

I just booked the pacific rim cruise on the Wonder. I have never been to California before. I would love to find some family friendly activities that my children would really enjoy. Does anyone have any tips? TIA

 

[skiingfast]

This may not be something you would want to use but it has the right idea.
http://www.citypass.com/san-francisco

Cable Cars. Cable Car Barn/Museum.
Exploratorium
California Academy of Science.
Chinatown.
Fishermans' Wharf

 

[dvcnewgirl]

This may not be something you would want to use but it has the right idea.
http://www.citypass.com/san-francisco

Cable Cars. Cable Car Barn/Museum.
Exploratorium
California Academy of Science.
Chinatown.
Fishermans' Wharf

Thanks!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

You might want to look into the Muir Woods excursion and see the redwoods. Also, depending on the age of your children, The Walt Disney Museum

 

[Huff]

The Exploratorium is tons of fun for kids.

Across the bay is Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. It is part amusement park, part sea animal shows and part zoo. There is a 50 minute ferry boat ride that will take you across the bay to Six Flags (short bus ride and admission is included).

Pier 39 has tons of sea lions that have over taken the boat docks there that are fun to watch.

SF Zoo is great although I have not been there in years.

Have lunch at Scoma's on Fishermans Wharf. Great food and not as touristy as other places because its back behind the other buildings so slightly harder to find.

 

[dvcnewgirl]

You might want to look into the Muir Woods excursion and see the redwoods. Also, depending on the age of your children, The Walt Disney Museum

The Exploratorium is tons of fun for kids.

Across the bay is Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. It is part amusement park, part sea animal shows and part zoo. There is a 50 minute ferry boat ride that will take you across the bay to Six Flags (short bus ride and admission is included).

Pier 39 has tons of sea lions that have over taken the boat docks there that are fun to watch.

SF Zoo is great although I have not been there in years.

Have lunch at Scoma's on Fishermans Wharf. Great food and not as touristy as other places because its back behind the other buildings so slightly harder to find.

Thanks!

 

[mamacatnv]

How old are your kids?
How many days in San Francisco
Will you have a car?

We go to San Francisco 3-5x's a year, we love love love it!

 

[StormalongKay]

My kids favorite was Alcatraz! You take a ferry over from Pier 39 (I think), then tour the old prison with headphones. It wasn't too scary for my kids who were 10, 8 & 7 at the time.

We also spent an afternoon riding the Cable cars all over - stopped at Ghiardelli Square, Lombard St (crookedest street) Cable Car museum, chinatown for dim sum lunch, Union Square for shopping. SF is a great destination for kids.

We also did Muir Woods on our drive out of the city - crossing the Golden Gate bridge. It was awe-inspiring, and an easy walk through the redwoods. We kept going to Sausalito for lunch, which is a very pretty town.

Enjoy California!

 

[mamacatnv]

My kids favorite was Alcatraz! You take a ferry over from Pier 39 (I think), then tour the old prison with headphones. It wasn't too scary for my kids who were 10, 8 & 7 at the time.

We also spent an afternoon riding the Cable cars all over - stopped at Ghiardelli Square, Lombard St (crookedest street) Cable Car museum, chinatown for dim sum lunch, Union Square for shopping. SF is a great destination for kids.

We also did Muir Woods on our drive out of the city - crossing the Golden Gate bridge. It was awe-inspiring, and an easy walk through the redwoods. We kept going to Sausalito for lunch, which is a very pretty town.

Enjoy California!

Alcatraz tours depart out of Pier 33 here is the site: http://www.alcatrazcruises.com/index.aspx

I second or third the Exploratorium for kids and adults of all ages - book the Tactile Dome, its a great experience

 

[dvcnewgirl]

Thanks all! 2 kids age 8,10. No car, 2 days

 

[trish.]

My kids, DS9 and DD7 at the time, really really enjoyed Alcatraz. We also took a cable car looking bus on a 2 hour tour of the town with a stop at the Golden Gate bridge, we all enjoyed that.

 

[mamacatnv]

2 days

Here is what I would do:

Walk out onto the Golden Gate Bridge, its amazing. Then off to the Exploratorium. That could easily take 1 day

Visit Fishermans Wharf, ride cable cars and take the cruise out to Alcatraz.


Fishermans Wharf, personally is not a favorite of mine, especially the commerical areas of Pier 39 but if you have never been, the wharf area itself is interesting and should be seen at least once. There are some great sights, ships, sea lions, street performers etc. Chili or clam chowder in a sour dough bread bowl would be on my list too.

My family loves China Town and we always spend a day there as well as we go to the Exploratorium every time we are in the city.

 

[PDuckX]

Dont forget Golden Gate Park. You can spend a good chunk of the day there. When we were there just over a year ago, we got City passes which included admission to several museums, attractions and bus and cable car passes. Our kids 7 and 10 loved just cruising the city on the cable cars and hopping off where ever we felt like. Good times.

 

[gatorfreud]

We live here, but played tourists on Friday when we were off school. My boys (7 and 9) and I went on the double decker bus tour - I think it's good for 48 hours, although we only did 1 day.

You can get on/off at any of 20 stops - we entered in Golden Gate Park (since we live near there) rode across the bridge... probably would have walked across and picked up the bus on the other side if we were really touring.

We got off at Exploratorium for a couple of hours - we have a pass so you may or may not want to spend $ for just a bit - or you also have 2 days to stretch it over. You can also get off there and walk Crissy Field which is nice.

Back on, and hopped off at Chinatown - ate at Sushi Boat, then walked around. Make sure you go to the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie company. It's a tiny littlel hole in the wall in Ross Alley (literally an alley). You can get samples and buy fortune cookies. We've eaten 2 big bags since Friday!

Back on and we got off at the wharf. You can play here, see the Sea Lions, eat at Boudin, walk to Ghiradelli. You can take cable cars here too. But I like the California line. Less crowded and very hilly!

Then we got back on and rode through more of the city, back to GGP and home.

Near the Academy of Sciences where the bus stop is, you can hop on over to the Children's playground. Very big and fun giant old concrete slide! Get some energy out. You could visit the Academy too.

I would just make part of this loop each day. That should give you the highlights. I learned a lot too!

And you can always hop on bus/train (Muni) if you need to. There is an app called next bus (or just go to nextbus.com I think) that will tell you when the next bus/train is coming. Very helpful!!

Enjoy!

Oh and PS not sure what time of year you are coming but it is pretty much always cold here. Especially in the summer!! No one ever wears shorts -except on the rare day a year it breaks 80. So PLEASE dress in layers - the weather changes drastically based on the hour and part of the city you are in. You do not want to be caught in July at the wharf with all of the other tourists shivering in their shorts and tees!

Kim

 

[mamacatnv]

Love the fortune cookies from the Fortune Cookie Factory! I always buy a few bags of the flats, they are sooooooo good

 

[gatorfreud]

I know, right? I don't know why the flat ones are so good. They were gone by the next morning!

 

[chttyangel]

My kids are 15, 13, 6. I agree with everyone on Alcatraz; fun and great history. Plus you can look around Peir 39 and see the sea lions before or after you board.

The zoo and the Academy of Science would be a close second for us. If you go to the Acedemy of Science then be sure to leave a little time to explore Golden Gate Park. There are some amazing sites.

Glad to see your not renting a car. A car in SF is a pain and $$$

 

[gopalkumar20]

Near the Academy of Sciences where the bus end is, you can hop on over to the young children's playground. Very big and fun vast old hard slide! Get some force out. You could stop at the Academy too.
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