3 nights in San Francisco

San Francisco absolutely blew me away and massively exceeded my expectations. We stayed in the 4* Handlery hotel in Union Square. The hotel was fantastic, and I’ll definitely be recommending this hotel. Not only was it a brilliant, central location but it was a lovely hotel. The staff were friendly and helpful, and the rooms were spacious, comfy and modern. We didn’t have time to use the pool and spa facilities, but they’re there if you want them after a long day of sightseeing. Our flight arrived late afternoon so after checking in we just explored the Union Square area and then had 2 full days before heading to Vegas. I personally thought that 2 ½ days was a perfect amount of time for San Fran. We booked Alcatraz for one day and The Golden Gate Bridge for the 2nd day, and although these aren’t full day experiences, it allowed us to do them at leisure and really enjoy Fisherman’s Wharf both days, exploring the piers, have some lunch and then heading back to Union Square to stop for a few drinks before heading back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. If you have less time to play with, you can do these in one day and I’d suggest that you would need more time if you want to explore further such as Muir Woods, Yosemite, Sausalito or Napa Valley. If we did have more time I think I would have done a movie sights tour.

I very much liked Union Square. It was almost like staying in the Covent Garden area of London. There are lots of shops and plenty of restaurants to choose from. A typical city area. Fisherman’s Wharf was much closer to the action in terms of the sightseeing. The boat trips to Alcatraz set sail from Pier 33 and Pier 39 is just a short walk along. Pier 39 is busy with tourist shops, lots of restaurants to choose from and is of course famous for it’s resident sealions! Pier 39 is fantastic for families as it offers attractions such as the aquarium, an arcade and carousel amongst other attractions.

Eating out in San Francisco

We had an amazing steak meal at John’s Grill The atmosphere was just as amazing as the food in Murphy’s Irish pub.. Café Mason is a very American style diner, and their breakfasts were amazing.

Transport in San Francisco

San Francisco has hills that are so steep that it’s not really advisable to walk too far. The cable car is iconic in San Fran, so a must really to get between Union Square and Fisherman’s Wharf. There are ticket booths at the start of the tram line, but tickets are cheaper by purchasing on an app called MuniMobile. From Union Square there are three lines that take you over to Fisherman’s Wharf. We took the Powell/Hyde line and stayed on until the last stop which is Hyde Pier. Hyde Pier is well worth a visit. The walk between Hyde Pier to Pier 39 is lined with loads of restaurants, street music and brilliant tourist shops. Hyde Pier is also the best place if you want to hire bicycles to get to The Golden Gate Bridge.

Golden Gate Bridge

We had decided that we were just going to walk the bridge, but as we started walking, we realised that we had definitely underestimated how far it was from Hyde Pier, so we headed back and hired bicycles from a place called Blazing Saddles. They have two shops in Hyde Pier, one along the main road of the pier and another at the tram stop. We paid a bit extra to upgrade to electric bikes which was $80 per bike for 2 hours, but options start from as little as $20. The price is capped, so if you go over your 2 hours you know exactly how much you will be charged for a later return. The guy in Blazing Saddles was really helpful. We were given a map and watched the route to cycle on a TV screen, so we knew exactly where to go and the best route to take to cycle past the marina harbour and the homes of the rich and famous and some of the route was along the beach which was lovely. San Francisco is notoriously known for being foggy and windy, especially in this area as it is so open. It was a cold day so we did invest in jumpers from the shop in Hyde Pier but there is a lovely coffee shop along this cycle route if you want to stop on the way there or back. Once you get to the bridge there is an etiquette to follow, but there are signs before you enter the bridge. The main things to know is that walkers take priority, and you must keep to the route on the right. There are viewpoints along the bridge for you to stop and take pictures. Once on the other side of the bridge we chose to come straight back, but you will also be given a map from Blazing Saddles if you want to cycle further into Sausalito where there are some lovely restaurants and wineries if you fancy a fancy lunch!

Alcatraz

I think it goes without saying that no trip to San Fran would be complete without a trip to Alcatraz, but I think it’s difficult to put into words how incredible this visit was and massively exceeded my expectations. A short ferry trip will take you over to Alcatraz Island, but it’s more than just a prison. The prison is of course at the top of ‘the rock’, but what I didn’t realise was how much there is to see on the walk up. I hadn’t given a thought to the fact that the prison officers and their families lived on the island, and you can see their communal areas and take an island tour before you even get up to the prison. Top tip, make sure you head round the back where the gardens are as this area will give you the best views of San Francisco. When you get into the prison itself, don’t just walk around. Get yourself some headphones and take the self-guided tour. The narrator of the tour is the voice of an actual prison officer that served at Alcatraz and you also here from some of the most infamous prisoners too such as Al Capone. The tour tells you exactly which way to walk and where to stop and start, making sure that you see ALL areas of the prison. I loved that you could go into some of the cells, the dining hall, the washroom etc and really get a feel for what life was like for those serving time on Alcatraz. The attention to detail and the authenticity of the tour was so good, that although it’s busy inside with tourists, you get lost in the tour as if you’re the only one in there. I really did enjoy Alcatraz so much more than I expected to. Once on the island you’re free to spend as much time on there as you wish, but we spent roughly around 2 ½ hours there. You cannot take food or drink onto the island, so we took a morning tour and then got the ferry back to San Fran in time for some lunch.