2 days in the bay
What do you do when you’re hardcore feeling the winter blues, and have a weekend off? Fly to San Francisco of course! We flew out of NYC and landed at 10 am Saturday morning, bright and early at the San Francisco International Airport. This gave us two perfect days to spend in this Bay Area city.
This post is perfect for San Francisco first timers and short stays. It highlights the best things to do in the city, and the must sees. Included below is a suggested itinerary, a bucket list, and even a list of things to do for next time.
Logistics
- Length/Pace: 2 days, medium paced
- Vehicle: Public Transit, Uber/Lyft
- Accommodation: Hotel
- Budget: $250 /pp (without flights)
- Season: Winter
ARRIVAL + Transportation
From the Airport (SFO) to the city
If it’s significantly cheaper without being too inconvenient, you know I’ll always suggest a public transportation method to get out of the airport. The San Francisco International Airport is a little ways outside of downtown. Luckily, the BART (SF’s subway system) is easily accessible within the airport. I recommend either looking at Google Maps on your phone or a BART map to see which line to take, and which stop to get off of. For us, there was a stop right at the Embarcadero area where we were staying. It took roughly 30 minutes of travel time.
Transportation
RIDESHARE/TAXI: For transportation around the city, we primarily used ride share options such as Uber/Lyft, since they were convenient, and we were short on time.
BART: Another option is to use the Bay Area Rapid Transit, aka the BART. To ride the BART, you need to load money on either a regular BART card or a clipper card. A regular card is free, just add the amount you need onto the card with the machine. A clipper card has a one time $3 fee, but can be used across all kinds of transit methods in the Bay Area, including buses, cable cars, and discounted BART rides.
The cost of BART rides depends on distance – it’s not a flat fee. However, next to each machine there’s usually a guide on how much your stop will cost you.
CAR RENTAL: I recommend against renting a car, due to parking hassle. It’s hard to find available parking around the city, especially around the more popular areas. Save your time and money.
DAY 1
Lunchtime // The Ferry Building + Saturday Market
By the time we got to Embarcadero and settled into our hotel, it was prime time lunchtime. Luckily for us, we knew that good food was right across the street.
The Ferry Building is a huge, magnificent building right on the pier. Open every day, the Ferry Building houses some of the most delicious food vendors, such as Hog Island Oyster Co, Cowgirl Creamery, and Humphrey Slocombe. However, if you’re fortune enough to be in the area on a Saturday morning, the farmer’s market is open and should not be missed. Vendors set up shop outdoors and sell everything from family farm produce, fresh herbs, artisan cheeses and jams, as well as food like tacos and sandwiches. The people are incredibly friendly, and there are free samples at practically every booth.
The real star of the Saturday farmer’s market, however, is Roli Roti Gourmet Rotisserie. Recommended by all the locals, Roli Roti is wildly popular. The line is intimidating, but they’re so fast and efficient you won’t have to wait long at all. Their $10 porchetta sandwich (pictured above) is juicy and tender, and quite literally the best sandwich I’ve ever had.
Chinatown
After lunch, we decided to take a walk around Chinatown to see if we could find any goodies/snacks to munch on. The Chinatown in San Francisco is a popular neighborhood to visit because it’s actually the oldest Chinatown in North America, and the largest one in the world outside of Asia.
Grand Ave. is the main route for tourists. The route features fun shops, little food places, and walls lined with cool murals. Our first stop was Good Mong Kok Bakery, where you can order takeout dim sum at the counter. They have a huge selection treats all numbered on the wall. If you’re feeling brave, you can randomly pick a number and see what you get. We got a few shrimp shumais, hargaos, and both baked and steamed pork buns.
Another popular spot to visit is the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory. You have to turn down a little alleyway to get here. Inside, you can see fortune cookies being made in-house. When we went to visit, they were handing out free cookie samples fresh off the roller for us to try. For $1.00 or $1.50 for two, you can write your own message to be inserted into a fresh fortune cookie. It’ll even come with the cutest mini takeout box. The souvenirs here are great. You can purchase fun flavored fortune cookies, giant ones, chocolate covered, sprinkled cookies, ones with funny messages etc. all for pretty cheap.
The most highly sought out for egg tarts in the whole country can be found at Golden Gate Bakery here in SF’s Chinatown. However, it’s very rare that you will find them open. Without a set schedule or hours open, it’s recommended that you check online or call first before heading there. Unfortunately, we missed them during our trip.
* TIP: Chinatown is a great place to visit for your first trip, but for more authentic Chinese food/fantastic Chinese restaurants, to go to the Richmond or Sunset district instead. *
Lombard Street
Lombard Street is a street made famous due to its absurd zig-zag like turns. Apparently, it was built this way to slow vehicles down from speeding, since the road is pretty steep. We had our Lyft drop us off here for a quick stop before heading across the Golden Gate Bridge.
You might have noticed by now that San Francisco is a super hilly area, and with steep hills come great views. There are an array of famous steps built around the city that we didn’t get to enjoy, but we were able to walk down the steps at Lombart instead. Pictured above is the view from the top!
Golden Gate Bridge
If there’s one thing to do while visiting San Francisco, it’s to see the Golden Gate Bridge. Seeing Golden Gate on the first day was super important, because of the unpredictability of the weather. San Francisco is infamous for its thick, heavy, blanketing fog. I’ve heard stories of people who’ve visited four times, but were only able to see the bridge once. Going the first day, as long as the weather is clear, won’t leave you with the risk of being stuck with a visibility issue due to fog on your last day.
The best and most iconic view of the Golden Gate Bridge is at Battery Spencer. Other notable spots are Crissy Field and Baker Beach. If you have more time in your itinerary, you can choose to walk or bike across the bridge. A popular day time activity is biking across all the way to Sausalito, having lunch, and taking the ferry back to Embarcadero.
For the sake of time, we took a Lyft right to Battery Spencer. We arrived early so we could get some daylight pictures in before staying to enjoy the sunset. The view was absolutely stunning and became one of the highlights of our entire trip.
Ghirardelli Square
We had a couple hours to spare before dinner, which was just enough time to explore the pier area. Ghirardelli Square, Fisherman’s Wharf, and Pier 39 are all still bustling with people after sunset. We stopped at Ghirardelli Square first, since it’s located right over the bridge when heading back.
Ghirardelli Square is where the original Ghirardelli chocolate factory was located in the 1960’s. The factory has since been relocated, but now they pay homage to the history of the location through giant Ghirardelli stores and special Ghirardelli restaurants, where you can order an indulging cup of warm hot chocolate or big San Francisco themed sundaes. The square offers a lot more than just chocolate, however, and also includes other restaurants, a variety of shops, and even a cute beer garden by San Francisco Brewing Co. with seating provided around fire pits and string lights.
Fisherman's Wharf + Pier 39
Further down the pier is Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39. Both are pretty touristy areas with the typical boardwalk type of vibe, but they’re still fun to walk around and explore. Fisherman’s Wharf is a street lined with restaurants, galleries, and boutique shops. Indulge in steamed crab at one of the many seafood stands, have a bowl of Boudin Bakery’s famous clam chowder, or get your fix of In & Out. Pier 39 has its own set of souvenir shops and food stands, like the Biscoff Coffee Shop. During the day, you can come here to check out the sea lions that lounge on the dock.
The highlight of the Fisherman’s Wharf area for us was Musée Mécanique. This antique arcade features coin based retro games and moving displays. Get your fortune told, watch a pair of dancing dolls, play some pinball, or compete in Tetris, this place has it all. It’s full of oddball games and knickknacks, with some more modern ones in the back. A handful of quarters here can go a long way in terms of entertainment. If you are a Princess Diaries fan, the same arm wrestling game that Mia and her grandmother played in the movie can be found here!
* TIP: If you fly in Friday night, you can check out the Wharf and Pier 39 during the daytime before having lunch at the Ferry Building. *
DAY 2
Alcatraz
We decided to take advantage of our jet-lag with an early morning tour of Alcatraz. We bought the first ferry ticket out to the island, which departed at 8:45 AM. The advantage of early bird tickets is that your group will be the first ones on the island, which means way fewer crowds. This is something to keep in mind, especially during peak tourist months. You can buy tickets online here.
Alcatraz, a famous prison that operated from 1934 – 1963, is known for housing some of the most notorious criminals like Al Capone and Birdman. Heavily guarded and perched on an island in the middle of the Bay, Alcatraz seemed inescapable. Only the worst and most dangerous criminals were sent here.
Now, Alcatraz Island is considered a historical landmark. You can take a guided tour, or choose to walk around on your own. The main prison at the top of the hill offers an amazing self guided audio tour. The audio tour really immerses you into what life was like for both the inmates and guards, and tells the story of the most famously executed escape from Alcatraz, and how they did it. Don’t worry if you’re not typically a “museum” person, it’s nothing like that. This tour was way more interesting than we anticipated, and it honestly blew my expectations. We heard their stories, walked down their halls, and even experienced firsthand what an isolation cell felt like.
* TIP: Buy Alcatraz tickets ahead of time! Popular ticket slots such as the After Dark ones tend to sell out months in advance. *
Painted Ladies + Alamo Square Park
Since it was on the way, we decided to make a quick stop at Alamo Square to see the Painted Ladies before heading to Mission for lunch. This pit stop is entirely optional, but if you grew up as a huge Full House fan like me (these are the same houses featured in the show’s iconic intro!), it might be worth the visit.
The Painted Ladies are a colorful row of Victorian style houses. This picturesque and totally postcard worthy view of the houses, with San Francisco’s skyline in the background, can be appreciated at Alamo Square. The park itself has its own charms and is an ideal place to spend a sunny afternoon. There are picnic tables, walking trails, a dog park, playground, tennis court and public bathrooms.
* TIP: Buy Alcatraz tickets ahead of time! Popular ticket slots such as the After Dark ones tend to sell out months in advance. *
Mission + Dolores Park
If there’s a single
* TIP: Buy Alcatraz tickets ahead of time! Popular ticket slots such as the After Dark ones tend to sell out months in advance. *
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