If I want to take the kids to San Francisco next year…

[Bearsinmotion]

When should i book? Am just thinking flights and mid range hotel near Union Square or Fisherman’s Wharf for ten days in the summer holiday next year. Is it better to book now or nearer the time to get the best deals?

What would you do for 10 days?

Don't mind me, OP, I'm just peacemaking to get some tips 🙂

20 years ago it was nice round there but not so sure it is now OP lots of homeless people,drug addicts and people wandering around with MH issues according to family who live out there and all sounds a bit grim. Maybe someone who's been very recently will fill you in properly.

How old are your DC? Not sure SF has enough for 10 days.

Explore the city and local area with a few days lazing around!

20 years ago it was nice round there but not so sure it is now OP lots of homeless people,drug addicts and people wandering around with MH issues according to family who live out there and all sounds a bit grim. Maybe someone who's been very recently will fill you in properly.

I agree with this unfortunately. My sister is air crew and this used to be her favourite place in the world. She actually avoids going now as she finds it so scary and depressing.

They will be 8 and 11. The youngest is transport obsessed so would love the cable cars etc

That is a shame, I was there just before DD was born and loved it ☹️

DH and I went for 2 days on 2019 and were very underwhelmed. Much nicest places to go on the west coast with kids. What about San Diego?

Op there have been some amazing tips on past threads about visiting that area.

Google those..

What most people seem to do is a few days on San Francisco then drive down coast or vice versa?

Where should we go instead? Would like to go back to Sydney, but now wondering if I am viewing that through rose tinted glasses too!

Checking out San Diego now, thank you!

My dc absolutely adored Costa Rica at that age.
Beach, jungle, lots of interesting wild animals, zip lining. A good mix of activity and chill.

The city that they have enjoyed visiting most was Charleston, rather to my surprise. Although it has lovely beaches with dolphins nearby.

Miami and the Florida Keys was also a popular trip.

San Francisco is no place for young kids for a weekend let alone 10 days.
Neither is LA.

Go to Seattle, Chicago or somewhere in Canada.

10 days is 7 too many unless you hire a car and go to Nappa or Yosemite.
Not many hotels have any outside space and it isnt really a relaxing place

Transport obsessed- I did the Californian Zephyr train to Denver (lots of other nearer stops but you must go through the rockies) from SFO, you get a sleeper car- amazing views. Takes 2 days

www.amtrak.com/california-zephyr-train

Ocean beach in San Diego is a really nice spot to spend a few days if you’re in the area!

Central America hadn’t occurred to me, went to Costa Rica as part of a cruise a few years before DC, always wanted to go back!

Living in Chicago it isn't a bad shout either for a city, lots of museums, aquarium, a beach/lakefront, boats and skyscrapers.
Compact and easy to get around.
But no wildlife ( this is quite important on our breaks!)

We have spent a few days in Toronto which was fine but I wouldn't particularly want to spend longer there and surrounding countryside was a little dull.

I grew up there, most of my friends still live there (with kids, the horror, as apparently it's a terrifying place where no one should go). I don't go back every year but wish I could.

What I'd do with kids:

• Lots of people like Fisherman's Wharf for "touristy" stuff (not my vibe, so I skip it) but might be worth an afternoon.


• I'd probably stay in an AirBnB for that amount of time and get a car for some day or overnight trips. You could get a nice space out in the Richmond or Sunset, which would allow you to have chill days in Golden Gate Park.


• Museums depending on what they like: Exploratorium and California Academy of Sciences particularly great for kids. I take my kids to art museums (whether they like it or not 😄) so we go to the DeYoung and SFMoma.


• Cable car ride


• Ferry ride! To angel island (have a hike around, return same day) or Sausalito/Tiburon (cute towns, get lunch and ice cream)


• Alcatraz (needs to be booked in advance)


• Would be ideal to have a car for day trips or overnight trips: drive to see the redwoods, which are truly amazing (Muir Woods). Visit a beach (not for swimming too cold) Muir Beach, Stinson Beach, or a beautiful North Bay town like Bolinas. Drive South for an overnight trip to Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay or Monterey. Or splash out on a lovely trip to Big Sur. With that amount of time, you could do two days in Tahoe and relax by a mountain lake.


• Baseball game for an American experience (hot dogs and garlic fries!).

I could come up with more but these are top of mind. There are definitely issues with homelessness and drug use -- that's the case in most American cities and more noticeable in the West Coast cities like Portland, Seattle, LA etc.

I still love SF, still visit it, still love to bring my children there and will always consider it home. I personally have always had good experiences, but when I visit I stay in a neighborhood (most recently, Noe Valley, which is great for kids), not Fisherman's Wharf and not downtown/"Union Square" (which is noticeably quieter post-pandemic with lots of businesses closed).

Any more questions let me know.

One of my favorite trips with our kids: we do the shipwreck walk, which is over a cliff above the pacific ocean at Lands End. At some points you can see evidence of shipwrecks, but the view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the ocean is gorgeous and the walk is very gentle and gradual, we could do it even when we had a buggy.

We end at the Legion of Honor, which wouldn't otherwise be a museum to visit but is a nice stop (with a loo) on this walk and is worth poking around for an hour. We then walk to one of the cheap and wonderful Asian places nearby -- either Vietnamese or Chinese noodles and dumplings.

Link to someone's description: tinybeans.com/san-francisco/a-shipwreck-walk-for-your-little-skipper/

I would second San Diego. Had a week in Imperial Beach, beautiful and chilled. Lots to do. Trains, buses, trams and boats, plus cable car over the zoo.

The USS Midway is a spectacular floating museum- an aircraft carrier complete with aircraft.

I live there for 10 years, and great advice from @exceptmeandmymonkey ... lots to do with kids for that period of time. It's also convenient that BART runs from the airport to SF now.

Remember that the kids will be jetlagged and tired the first few days there too.

One additional thing to consider is the weather. Even when it's sunny elsewhere in the bay area, it can be cloudy/foggy and surprisingly cool in SF during the summer.

TBF there were a lot of homeless people and dodgy places in SF when we got married there in the early 1990s. Took the kids there a few years ago but stayed in Oakland and got the train in for doing the touristy things (but it was more of a short stay as part of a big road trip).

San Diego is also lovely for a few days - USS Midway, the zoo, several museums, Birch Aquarium, La Jolla, Coronado Island, baseball at Petco Park etc.

One can take the Empire Builder or Southwest Chief from Chicago to the west coast. The private bedrooms are pricey but worth it.