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When we first moved to the Bay Area, we lived in San Francisco for a couple of months in temporary housing. We knew it wouldn’t work long-term due to commute times, so we determined to make the most of our time there by exploring as much as possible. While we no longer live in the city, we still love heading in to re-explore our favorite haunts every chance we get. Based on that, we put together our perfect San Francisco itinerary with kids – one that adults will love, too!
Whenever visiting a new place, I like finding a few local and off-the-beaten-path favorites. This San Francisco itinerary is a perfect mix of classic and famous favorite things to do in San Francisco with kids, with a few hidden gems mixed in. Whether you’re coming to San Francisco sooner or later, I hope you enjoy!
Public transportation in San Francisco is spotty. The buses/trolleys/cable cars are decent when you stay in the Fisherman’s Wharf, North Beach, Chinatown, or Union Square areas, but aren’t convenient when trying to get further west or south. I recommend renting a car for at least 1-2 of the days when visiting San Francisco with kids to give you a little more flexibility on activities and timing.
San Francisco has a number of interesting and distinct neighborhoods. For a shorter visit, I recommend staying somewhere relatively close to some main attractions that allows a decent bit of walkability. If you are renting a car for the duration of your trip, consider staying in a more residential and less touristy area of the city.
The best family friendly places to stay in San Francisco with kids are Union Square, Marina District, and Nob Hill/Russian Hill. In these neighborhoods you’ll be closest to kid-friendly attractions in San Francisco and the best things to do in San Francisco with kids. See this post for some great San Francisco accommodations options!
Wherever you stay, try to learn a bit about the neighborhood in advance. You and your kids will love seeing some familiar sites once you arrive!
San Francisco weather is notoriously fickle. Summer, oddly, tends to be particularly chilly, with lots of fog setting in and cool ocean breezes passing through. Spring and fall tend to have some warmer days, but even they can turn chilly quickly and especially in the evening. Be sure to dress in layers each day. I recommend a lightweight underlayer in the event it gets warm enough to head down to the beach. Throw on a sweater on top of that, as well as some sort of wind-resistant outer layer. This will be especially useful if you head out near or on the water. Add a pair of pants and some good walking shoes and you’re set for pretty much your whole trip.
San Francisco enjoys a pretty casual culture. So even if you head out to a slightly nicer dinner or theater performance, you’ll most likely be fine in your normal day clothes.
Especially with a big family, it’s important for us to pack minimally so we don’t feel totally overwhelmed when we travel. Here are some of our favorite minimal packing essentials for families!
See THIS MAP to view the best places to visit in San Francisco with kids!
Golden Gate has a plethora of activities for families with all different interests. Start the day off strong while your kids are feeling fresh and head to the California Academy of Sciences. It’s one of the best and most beautiful natural history museums, and one of our favorite things to do in San Francisco with kids. Make sure to walk through the amazing rainforest, and don’t forget to check out the earthquake simulator. Once you’ve finished up, head across the way to the de Young Museum. It’s free to take the elevator up to the observatory for a great view of the city!
When you’ve finished up with the museums, head into the park and eat your picnic (or stop into one of the museum cafes to grab some lunch). Don’t forget to stop at the Twirl ‘n Dip truck near the museums for a chocolate-and-sea-salt-dipped soft serve cone.
Head over to Golden Gate Park – I highly recommend stopping first at the Koret Playground to burn off some energy. After you’ve played a bit, go explore the rest of the park. There is a huge variety to appeal to all interests – the Japanese Tea Garden is a peaceful haven, and the Conservatory of Flowers is good even in blustery weather. If you luck out with some sunshine, head over to do some pedal boating on Stow Lake, go hiking on Strawberry Hill, or go visit the Botanical Garden or Dutch Windmill & Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden.
When you’re finished, head over to check out the Sutro Baths and Land’s End. You’ll find the remnants of an old public bathhouse as well as an easy, kid-friendly hike with spectacular views. If you still have some daylight left, pop down to play on the beach for a bit. Baker Beach and China Beach are both smaller and on the quieter side.
Finally, grab some food for dinner nearby. We love Nopalito for slightly nicer Mexican, or Arizmendi Bakery for pizza. Or here’s a great list of places to eat in the nearby Richmond neighborhoods! Alternatively, you can pick up some food to go closer to the Marina neighborhood and take it down the jetty from the Marina Green to the Wave Organ. You’ll have a blast hearing the different sounds of the water hitting the pipes while you eat.
Day 2 of your San Francisco itinerary will help you learn a bit of the history of the City by the Bay, and will take you to visit some of its most famous stops. First, head to Pier 39 before it gets super crowded and check out the can’t-miss sea lions. You’ll hear them barking all the way down the pier! Continue along the water and walk through Fisherman’s Wharf. If you’re early enough, you’ll still see some fish being thrown!
From there, head over to the Maritime National Historical Park visitors’ center. It’s not huge so won’t take a ton of time, but it’s worth a stop to learn a bit about San Francisco’s historic waterfront neighborhoods. Don’t forget to pick up free Junior Ranger booklets so the kids can earn a badge! Once you’ve finished up in the visitors’ center, head across the street to Hyde Street Pier to go aboard the historic ships. Entry is $15/person (free for kids 15 and under), or free with your National Parks annual pass. If you have more than 3 days in San Francisco, you can even go sailing on the scow schooner Alma with advance reservations. It’s such a great spot filled with fun things to do in San Francisco with kids!
When you’ve finished with the historic ships, stop into Boudin Bakery for lunch. Beware – it will likely be quite crowded. But it’s worth coming to the location at Fisherman’s Wharf so you can pop into the small museum upstairs. Definitely get soup in a bread bowl with your lunch order!
When you’ve finished eating, head down to Musee Mecanique for a short stop. You’ll find an old-fashioned arcade with everything from air hockey to coin-powered marionette dancers in a box. After you’ve had some fun, hop on a cable car up to the (free!) Cable Car Museum. The museum won’t take long, but it’s fun to see the giant cables rotating and learn a bit about how it all works.
When you’ve finished up seeing the cables, head out on a walk of the nearby area. Take a stroll by the beautiful Grace Cathedral, and wander into Chinatown. It’s the oldest one in North America and the largest Chinese neighborhood outside of Asia! Don’t forget to stop by the Golden Gate fortune cookie factory, where up to 10,000 fortune cookies are made in the tiny shop in a day. Such a fun spot when visiting San Francisco with kids! If you want to learn more about this area of the city, a walking tour of Chinatown and North Beach would be a great addition to your itinerary!
From Chinatown, hop in a vehicle to head over to Fort Point, an old Civil War fort and one of our favorite stops in San Francisco. (Note: the fort is only open Friday-Sunday in the fall-spring, but is open 7 days a week in the summer.) After that, head back inland to dinner at the Italian Homemade Company (our favorite is the Union St location), where you can watch them making all the fresh pasta.
If you’re not totally exhausted, you may want to look into some special programming for the evening. The San Francisco Ballet and Symphony are both world-class (the Ballet was the first US-based company to perform The Nutcracker). Another option is the Beach Blanket Babylon revue show, a San Francisco classic (it’s pretty tame, but only the matinee shows allow children ages 5+).
Be sure to get going early this morning and make your first stop Liguria Bakery. By going first thing, you’ll hopefully manage to pick up some delicious focaccia before they run out. Then, head over to Coit Tower for a gorgeous view of the city. Don’t forget to appreciate the beautiful Diego Rivera fresco!
After you’ve seen the city from above, head down to the water. Hopefully you’ve managed to reserve tickets to Alcatraz in advance. If you have, head over to Pier 33 to catch your ferry. Our kids were fascinated by the audio tour of the old prison, and we all loved the refreshing and salty Bay air. (If you love being on the water, check out this San Francisco Bay sunset cruise!)
If tickets are sold out, head straight to the Exploratorium instead. There are SO many fun and educational exhibits and activities that kids will love.
After a full morning, go grab some lunch. If you went straight to the Exploratorium, the Ferry Building is just down the road. If you’re coming back from Alcatraz, consider heading right into the North Beach neighborhood to Molinari Deli (delicious and huge hot & cold sandwiches) or Golden Boy (thick focaccia pizza). Both are easy and delicious options when visiting San Francisco with kids! When you’ve finished eating, head over to the Exploratorium if you haven’t already.
Once you’ve finished up at the Exploratorium, hop in your car and head to Mission Dolores, the oldest building in San Francisco. Take a quick tour, then walk over to Dolores Park. Grab a snack (or dinner) at Tartine Bakery (there’s almost always a line, but it’s worth it!). Get it to go and take it over to the park and enjoy the fun slides and space to run.
After playing at the park for a while, stop for some delicious Bi-Rite ice cream. Salted caramel is the most popular, and for good reason. If you’re okay with just one or two flavors for everyone to share, skip the line to get a cone and go straight to the front to purchase pints. You may also want to walk around the Mission a bit to see some of the fun murals.
If it’s baseball season, head over to Oracle Park in the evening to check out SF’s beloved Giants play. There are plenty of cheap tickets available if you don’t mind being high up. You’ll still be rewarded with one of the prettiest views in baseball! Plus, there are plenty of places to eat inside the stadium, so grab dinner there. (If you’re big baseball fans, check out this behind-the-scenes tour of Oracle Park.)
If it’s not baseball season, or if baseball isn’t your thing, head over to Twin Peaks instead. If it’s clear, you’ll get to enjoy a spectacular view of the city. It will be crowded, but worth it. Another option is Bernal Heights, which has a short hike and a fun swing that makes it feel like you’re flying over the city. Hopefully, you’ll catch a glorious sunset over the Bay to round out your 3 days in San Francisco itinerary.
If you have more than 3 days in San Francisco, we love the free tours at City Hall, the Asian Art Museum (with excellent children’s activities), and the Children’s Creativity Museum. Or you could head to Fort Funston to do some sand sledding, or visit the Haas-Lilienthal House, San Francisco’s only Victorian home open to the public.
You could also consider adventuring outside the city. Some favorites include Muir Woods (check out this Muir Woods & Sausalito tour!), the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve for tide pooling, Point Reyes for stunning hiking and coastal views, the Stanford campus in Palo Alto, the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Marin, or the Tech Museum in San Jose. Santa Cruz is beautiful and has lots of gorgeous beaches. Monterey and Carmel aren’t terribly far, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium is well worth a visit. Oakland has a number of fun museums (we love the Chabot Space & Science Center), and Berkeley has lots from terrific food to a hands-on building playground.
Basically, you could return an endless number of times and never run out of activities for a fantastic San Francisco itinerary. Enjoy your visit!!
