Travel guide for a two to three day weekend in San Francisco, CA!
I have taken two road trips up to San Francisco, first time was back in October 2018 and then again this month in April 2019. Each time I’ve gone, I have fallen more in love with the beautiful Bay Area!
Related: The Essential Guide For Your Next Road Trip
Disclaimer: This blog may include affiliate links, and any purchases made through such links may result in a commission or credit to Curly ‘N Loud at no extra cost to you. All thoughts, opinions, experience, and advice is my own.
What to Love About San Francisco?
The people are very kind!
San Francisco’s food is AMAZING!
The city is very clean.
How dog-friendly the city is!
People take care of themselves and care about their appearances, and not in a super-overdone glamorous way like LA.
Easy to get around.
People know how to drive!
How active people are! People are biking, hiking, swimming, running, or even just spending their time out at the park. San Franciscans just love to be outside!
How to Get Around?
Lyft / Uber
Drive
The Trolley
Cable Cars
Taxi
B.A.R.T (Bay Area Rapid Transit)
Find more information here.
Things We Got To Do in SF (and Highly Recommend)
Alcatraz + Angel Island Tour
Make sure to book your tickets in advance! We signed up for the tour that took us to both islands. Make sure to dress warm since the bay is a bit breezy, especially with the high winds on the ferry over to each island. We spent most of the day at these two islands.
While you’re at Alcatraz, there are great places on the edge of the island to take pictures and see the gorgeous skyscrapers of San Francisco.
San Francisco Zoo
Offers giraffe feedings, and is right by the water! So you get to see beautiful views as your enter and exit the zoo.
Pier 39
Lots of shops for food and shopping.
Golden Gate Bridge
This was so cool to see in person! There are different sites to view the bridge at different levels. The first time we went to SF, we were near a park and biking trail. The second time we were right at the water near a little pier. The bridge is definitely something beautiful to just take a few moments and enjoy its grandiose and surroundings.
Kara’s Cupcakes
The best cupcakes you can have in San Francisco!
Ferry Building
Little shops and restaurants.
Alamo Square Park
A place to see amazing views of the traditional SF homes, along with downtown.
Patricia’s Green in Hayes Valley Park
You can walk here from Alamo Square Park, and it’s a cute area with little coffee and juice pop-ups, along with plenty of restaurants.
Muir Woods National Park
Get your hiking boots on and go on up to see some of the Redwoods! These stunning + massive trees that have been around for centuries. The park is gorgeous and so very peaceful to where you can be in there for hours taking in its beauty.
Farmer’s Market
After Muir Woods and on our way back to El Cerrito (where our AirBnB was), we came upon a Farmer’s Market that are held on Saturdays from 9am-2pm! They had vendors that sold fresh fish, flowers, DELICIOUS food, and even had a small petting zoo!
4th Street in Berkley
A short street with shops + restaurants, with a great ice cream and coffee shop, and even its very own Amazon 4-Star store!
Public Market in Emeryville
Short drive from 4th Street in Berkley. Is a fun place full of different meals and desserts! Down the street is a shopping mall and movie theater to enjoy your evening at as well!
Chinatown
Chinatown is full of shops, restaurants, and souvenir shops.
BONUS: Jelly Belly Jelly Bean Factory
If you have extra time, drive over to Fairfield to visit the Jelly Belly Jelly Bean Factory! It’s 30 minutes from El Cerrito, and about an hour from San Francisco.
Things We Did Not Get To Do, But Wish We Did
California Academy of Sciences
San Francisco Museum of Modern Arts
Japanese Tea Garden
The Original Ghirardelli Ice Cream & Chocolate Shop at Ghirardelli Square
Union Square
de Young Museum
Aquarium
Conservatory of Flowers
Palace of Fine Arts
Walt Disney Family Museum
Cartoon Art Museum
Literally TONS of things to do!
Few things to keep in mind…
Have cash for crossing bridges, can be up to $6.
Dress warm!
For Muir Woods, take the shuttle.
San Francisco is SO beautiful and there are endless things to do! If you are staying at an AirBnB, make sure ask them for recommendations. And walk around! We came across so much just by simply walking around, seeing things that we would have definitely missed if we were to drive.
With this AirBnB code, get anywhere from $15 to $50 off your first stay!
What are your favorite things to do in San Francisco?
Share with me in the comments below!
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