We have just completed the most amazing holiday to San Fransisco. With tons to keep the young ones entertained, including Alcatraz the kids loved it! It’s a truly fantastic family holiday location. San Francisco, in northern California, is a stunning hilly city known for its year-round fog, iconic Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars and colourful Victorian houses. I must thank sftravel.com for all their guidance when planning our trip, Tatiana was a massive help. Also thank you to the wonderful staff at King George Hotel for making us so welcome. Firstly, get a yourself a CityPass. Save yourself a fortune and then head to my top 10 places to take the kids if you find yourself in San Fransisco.
- Aquarium of the Bay. Located on the historic San Francisco waterfront at PIER 39, the Aquarium is home to more than 20000 marine animals. My two loved watching the shark feeding and even got the opportunity to stroke one. Loads to see and do and don’t miss out on the interactive dinosaur experience at the end.
- Sea Lions. Pop out of Aquarium of the Bay, grab an ice cream and catch sea lions camped out in PIER 39’s West Marina. You can smell and hear them before you see them. Let the kids take pictures of them while you enjoy a rest. This was a highlight for us spotting the babies amongst the massive adult sea lions. You will be shocked how close they get to you.
- Cable cars. This was so much fun. Jump aboard the world’s last manually operated cable car system. An icon of San Francisco, 23 lines established between 1873 and 1890 yet only three remain. With two routes from downtown near Union Square to Fisherman’s Wharf, and a third route along California Street. Don’t miss your chance to ride one.
- Sears Fine Food. Open from 6:30am this place is perfect if like us lot you suffer with jet lag. The breakfasts are unreal in San Fran but this place was our favourite. To quote my 9 year old son, ‘The waffles are massive and they taste like no other waffles on earth!’ Plus they dish out tokens for the kids to play on an old fashioned fruit machine which they enjoyed hugely.
- China Town. What an experience! As a family with young children we mixed safely amongst the hustle and bustle of this area. You must find the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory. Watch how they are made, taste them and then make your own cookies with personalised messages inside.
- Exporatorium. The Exploratorium is a museum that allows visitors to explore the world through science, art, and human perception. It has been described by the New York Times as the most important science museum to have opened since the mid-20th century. It really did leave us adults open mouthed and the children would have stayed there all day had we let them.
- Pier 39. There is so much to do here. Maybe visit Madame Tussauds or if you and the family are into the thrill of a rollercoaster and the excitement of a state-of-the-art laser-blasting game try the Laser Maze Challenge. Also make it your business to try the sour bread chowder here too. To die for!
- California Academy of Sciences. This was more than we bargained for! Come face to face with an alligator, penguins and more. Sit back in the planetarium for an experience you will never forget and head into the rainforest to explore a dozen new animal species at seven new observation stations.
- Golden Gate Park. As much as we adore our kids its always nice for them to play independently, run off the pancakes and waffles. This is the place. The Robin Williams Meadow is simply stunning and contains a huge children’s play area for all ages.
- Koret Playground. Native to San Francisco complete with concrete slides the children had a fantastic time sliding down sat on cardboard squares! Sometimes its the free stuff they love the most.
