As we were planning our trip to San Francisco, we had so many people suggest getting tickets for the Hop-On Hop-Off Bus in Fisherman’s Wharf. This turned out to be a fabulous recommendation because we were able to see all the major attractions in San Francisco without worrying about parking at all the sites we wanted to see. We probably looked like typical tourists, but that was okay.
You can buy tickets in advance, but with so many buses running, you can just purchase your tickets right off the Pier at the corner of Jefferson Street and Mason Street. Buses run from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., so there’s plenty of time to catch one.
We chose the 2-day pass for our family with an add on of the submarine tour. I wish we would have chosen Muir Woods Tour add-on for many reasons.
After getting on the bus at Fisherman’s Warf, we soon stopped at our 1st stop at Washington Square. There was a park and we sat and watched some locals in their Tai Chi ritual in the morning.
We hopped back on the bus and found ourself riding toward the Business District.
We soon found ourself stopping off at the Ferry Marketplace Building.
Next stop was a few blocks from Chinatown.
We had to walk a about 4 blocks uphill and then we arrived at the entrance of Chinatown!
After Chinatown we walked back to the Business District and boarded the bus again. We soon found ourselves at Golden State Park.
Golden Gate State Park has endless walkways with a huge variety of trees and plants that have been meticulously maintained.
Near the gate to Golden Gate State Park is a botanical center. There were a lot of children in this area enjoying their time in the botanical center.
We were soon back on the bus and made our way to the Golden Gate Bridge!
The Crookedest Street is also a stop on the bus tour. My kids were pretty exhausted and beat down by the 55 degree weather that we didn’t get off. However, we stopped off at Lombard Street before leaving the city of San Francisco.
We did get the 2-day pass so we didn’t feel pushed to get it all done in one day.
The following day we returned to Fisherman’s Wharf to hop back on the bus and visit the sights we missed the first day.
We had to ride past our previous stops: Washington Square, Business District, Ferry Marketplace Building and Chinatown.
One stop was the Presidio neighborhood. My kids weren’t interested in visiting the neighborhood, but we did stop at Haight Ashbury and of course we stopped at Ben and Jerry’s for a scoop of ice cream.
The Painted Ladies is located at 710 Ashbury Street in the Haight Ashbury area
We got another chance to cross the Golden Gate Bridge. This time it wasn’t so miserable since the sun came out a little.
When we returned to Fisherman’s Warf we lingered at Pier 39.
We also walked along Fisherman’s Wharf and just took in the sights and visited Umbrella Alley. There they have fun, interactive murals – can’t miss it!
As part of the Hop-on Hop-off bus ticket we added on the tour of the submarine. The USS Pampanito on Pier 49. Tickets are usually $20. for adults.
This submarine went on several tours during WWII. It was amazing to see how 80 men fit into this size of submarine. On the self-guided tour, you get to see where they loaded torpedoes, the small bunks and tiny mess hall. The doorways are narrows and so are the ladders you have to climb to go from the upper deck to the lower deck. Avoid this tour if you’re claustrophobic. The submarine is very tight. My family really liked exploring the submarine.
Wow! That was a lot of San Francisco to see in just 2 days! Have your camera ready to include your family and friends in your vacation memories!
We did many so many more things while in San Francisco….I just couldn’t fit it into one post!
My kids are a little older and they loved every minute the were in San Francisco – even if it was 55 degrees in July!