San Francisco: Things to do

What to do in SF, according to one typical tourist

The aforementioned "typical tourist" is me. Recently, my family and I spent about a week in San Francisco. This was my first time in California, so I asked friends and Facebook World for a lot of advice. While I didn't check everything off my SF bucket list, I accomplished a fair amount and learned a thing or two for next time. So over the next few days, I'll share what this typical tourist did, ate, and thought her first time in SF. Today, let's look at what to do. 

6 Totally-worth-it things to do in SF as a typical tourist:

#1 Fisherman's Wharf
Fisherman's Wharf is basically the tourist hub — a Disney-fied spot in San Francisco. Lots of souvenir shops, mediocre restaurants, street performers, and tons of people. Initially I thought "How could anyone spend so much time in a tourist trap?" But it's actually a fun, lively spot — plus, there are seals at Pier 39. 

#2 Biking the Golden Gate Bridge
In Fisherman's Wharf, you'll find lots of bike shops offering hourly and all-day bike rentals. We rented bikes for $32/day to ride across the Golden Gate Bridge. This ride was a major highlight of our San Francisco trip. Start at Fisherman's Wharf and follow the map (and other bikers) to the Golden Gate Bridge. Cross the bridge, arrive in Sausalito, hang out, then take the ferry (just $12) from Sausalito back to Fisherman's Wharf. All in all, ours was about a 5 hour excursion. Did I wimp out on all the hills? Yes. But that just goes to show that you can be as athletic as a cupcake and still handle this ride. Make this a priority, future SF tourists!

#3 Coit Tower
After waiting in line for at least a half-hour, you will finally make it to a small elevator that takes you to the top of Coit Tower, where you can see gorgeous views and snap pics like this: 

#4 Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park
Did you know Golden Gate Park is kinda like Central Park, where it's in the middle of the city and you can easily drive through it and park in it and stuff? We didn't really appreciate the sheer size of it before we started meandering through. I will say this: A lot of the park is not especially beautiful. It's nice, but it's not worth traipsing through in full. And DO NOT bother with the "Bison Paddock." Two bison laying down hundreds of feet away — gee thanks!

What is worthwhile, however, is the Japanese Tea Garden ($8 to get inside). It's really very pretty and photos hardly do it justice. It's not very big, but I still say it's earned its price tag. After all — unless you're super lucky — when else are you going to experience a Japanese garden? Time spent there: About an hour.

#5 Pacific Ocean
The ocean: It's right there for you! My family and I, however, took the long way of getting there — a way I wouldn't recommend. We walked the entire length of Golden Gate Park to get there — a sort of "we made it this far, might as well keep going" mentality. And like I said before, the park really isn't pretty enough to justify walking all the way through — it turns into a time-suck. Drive to the beach, people! Drive to the beach. For though the hike wasn't the best use of time, seeing the Pacific was certainly rewarding. 

#6 Boat ride under The Bridge
Walking through Fisherman's Wharf, we were lured in by a fella selling boat rides under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz — $15 for a 1-hour excursion. Some might call it a tourist trap, but we called it a pretty great deal. Totally worth $15. Our boat was the Chucky's Pride, but we noticed lots of boaters offering similar deals.

Things I wish we'd had time for:
-- Seeing the Painted Ladies (Full House houses)
-- Checking out the Mission District 
-- California Academy of Sciences (looks awesome for a rainy day)
-- Tour of Alcatraz (you need to get tickets a few weeks in advance — we did not, tours were all booked up, and we couldn't go)