San Francisco

Last month we took a trip to San Francisco.  My cousin moved there last December so we'd talked about visiting later this year depending on whether we could afford it and still had enough annual leave after Mexico.

We booked the flights about 3 months in advance and paid around £300 each with Virgin.  We thought this was a pretty good deal and it was, the only catch being we still had to add luggage on (£45 per bag each way) and could only select our seats 24 hours in advance of each flight.  This is the economy light option they now offer and if you don't mind taking the risk it's a pretty good option especially if you only plan to take one suitcase between you like we did.

The accommodation, however, was a bit more expensive for what we got and worked out around £900 for a week in a 3 star hotel in the centre.  It was basic but a really convenient location so I would happily recommend it on that basis.  It was called the Herbert Hotel on Powell Street.

San Francisco is a pretty busy city with lots to see and do so we knew we had to be super planned and organised in order to fit everything in.  I wrote an itinerary in advance to make sure we did everything we went to and attach it below.

Day 1

3.45pm – land in San Francisco

4.45pm – take BART yellow Antioch to Powell St station

5.15pm – check in to hotel

6.15pm -  head out to dinner

Day 2

Explore Nob Hill and Mission.

Day 3

Yosemite

Day 4

10am – take cable car to Ferry Terminal Building

10.30 – get breakfast from Farmer’s Market

11am – walk to Pier 33

12pm – take ferry to Alcatraz

2.30pm – take ferry back to Pier 33 and walk to Pier 39

3.30pm – walk to Fisherman’s Wharf

5pm – take cable car back to hotel

7pm – go for dinner/drinks

Day 5

10am – breakfast in Union Square

11am – walk to Civic Centre

12pm – climb Fulton St towards Alamo Square to see Painted Ladies

1pm – lunch

3.30pm – climb Folsom to Bernal Heights Park

5pm – take the BART back to hotel

7pm – go for dinner/drinks

Day 6

10am – go for breakfast

11.30am – take BART blue to Dublin/Pleasanton from Powell St

12pm – take bus 14 to Jack London outlets from E.BART

4.30pm – head back to hotel

7pm – go for dinner/drinks

 Day 7

10am – take cable car to Lombard St

10.30am – walk to Hyde St, hire bikes (Blazing Saddles)

11am – cycle along water towards Fort Mason, down to Marina Boulevard

11.30am – stop at Palace of Fine Arts

12pm – continue along San Francisco Bay trail

1pm – grab lunch near Crissy Field

2pm – cycle across the bridge to Sausalito

3pm – park bikes near Marina and explore

4pm – catch ferry back to city

4.30pm – return bikes and head back to hotel

7pm – go for dinner/drinks

9pm – comedy

Day 8

11am – check out of hotel, get brunch

1pm – head to airport

5pm – fly back to London

We also visited some really lovely brunch places so I have listed these below too in case you ever visit:

Lapisara Eatery

Taylor Street Coffee Shop

Boudin Bakery

Dottie's True Blue Cafe

Gott's Roadside

One thing I feel like I do need to point out about San Francisco is the huge homeless problem they have but not just homeless people sleeping rough but mentally ill people on the streets.  It's so sad and quite shocking.  I did really love this city though, it has a really cool vibe.

Have you ever been?

Lauren xx

Follow me here @wonky_lauren