Our final city was San Francisco. One of my favourite places for its non stop hills, amazing nature, the iconic Golden Gate Bridge and even more sea lions!

Journey to San Francisco

We finished off our road trip by driving through the redwood forests to San Francisco, which was a picturesque and beautifully scenic drive!

Where to stay

We stayed in possibly our most disappointing motel in America, it was called Motel Capri and was one of the most expensive (as was the rest of San Francisco!) but had the least amenities, the room was small and needed a bit of touching up and the breakfast would barely count as a breakfast with just a few cereal options and bread on offer. The plus points were the free parking and the location was good, an easy walk from Fisherman’s wharf, as well as Union Square and other central areas.

What to do

Visit the Golden Gate Bridge

One of the most iconic attractions in San Francisco has to be the Golden Gate Bridge. We drove over the bridge on the first evening we arrived and went to a few different viewpoints to see the bridge from different angles and take some photos. There are signs everywhere warning about the fact that it’s a big ‘smash and grab’ area and were told by several people that this had happened to them so make sure you leave no valuables in the car!

Go to Alcatraz Island

We booked our ticket to Alcatraz a couple of days in advance to make sure we could definitely get a place, online it was $53 per person and this gives you a set departure time from Pier 33 but you can return on any boat. We spent two and a half hours wandering around the island, seeing the different buildings, exhibits and visiting the prison building where you could take an audio tour around the main building. It was such an interesting trip and worth every penny. It is very windy on the island so bring layers!

Climb the Filbert steps up to Colt Tower for panoramic views

San Francisco has some serious hills and these stairs climb all the way up to Colt Tower. You can either go even further up to the top of the tower to get even more views, but you get plenty just from the top of the hill if not!

See the ‘Crookedest Street in the World’

Lombard Street is known as the crookedest street in the world with very steep bends going all the way down the hill. Drive or walk down the street to see it from a few different viewpoints!

Take a cable car or see one from the Powell/Mason cable car turnaround point

You can board the cable cars from this point, it’s $8 one way or $16 for a round trip, or if you don’t fancy a ride this is a great place to see the cable cars up close while they turn around.

See the sea lions at Pier 39

Pier 39’s most famous residents are the sea lions. You can view them from the pier and see them lying on their pontoons just next door, a great experience to see them up close.

Walk through Chinatown

An authentic Chinese influenced area, Chinatown is an interesting spot to see some different culture within the centre of San Francisco.

See some art at the MOMA

Although you have to pay for the exhibits at the MOMA there is some free areas on the second floor of the museum. You still need to reserve a place on the day you want to visit but otherwise you don’t need to pay to still see some incredible art! Or if you want to spend the whole day there I think tickets are around $25 per person for the day.

Take a stroll through Little Italy

Another place to see some different culture this area is influenced by the Italians in San Francisco and most importantly has lots of amazing pizza places!

Where to eat/drink

Boudin Bakery

Probably the most famous bakery in San Francisco, Boudin Bakery is based in Fisherman’s wharf and sells a variety of sourdough products. We bought a little ‘baby turtle’ shaped bread roll, complete with tiny eyes and fins. There were plenty of other animal variations like a bear and a lizard. It was delicious too!

IHOP

We couldn’t visit the USA without a trip to IHOP as pancakes are one of my favourite breakfasts of all time. We got the strawberry and banana protein pancakes and the blueberry pancakes, both of which were amazing.

Tony’s Pizza

We visited the notorious Tony’s Pizza in Little Italy and got a slice of cheese pizza to share. It was huge and so delicious, plus a very reasonable price too.

Roam Artisan Burger

This was a great burger place that allowed you to personalise your burger, so you could choose the type of burger (vegetarian, beef, chicken) and then choose the relishes and sauces you wanted. The sweet potato fries were a real winner too.