Layover In San Francisco: Your Ultimate Guide
We planned this long layover in San Francisco on purpose. We were returning to New Zealand from Orange County via San Francisco so decided to leave early in the morning before catching a flight later in the evening.
Hence 12 hours in San Francisco.
Now I’ve been to San Francisco before but not in about 18 years and not as a family.
We did plenty of research beforehand, unfortunately, I didn’t heed the advice about booking a tour of Alcatraz early and sadly it was a hard lesson to learn as we missed out bummer.
However, there are plenty more experiences to do and so we planned a busy action-packed day. Plus we knew we had a 13-hour plane flight home and this was a great way to tire out our kids.
Quick photo with the family on our cruise of San Francisco bay
Here’s how we spend our layover in San Francisco exploring this beautiful city.
Airport to Fisherman’s Wharf (Pier 39)
Since we checked our luggage through to New Zealand from John Wayne airport we didn’t need to worry about picking it up and rechecking it in San Francisco.
Instead, we took most of our carry on luggage and dropped it off at the airports left luggage area.
Our first stop was Fishermans Wharf Pier 39, we might have missed out on visiting Alcatraz but we planned to take a harbour cruise.
From the airport we took the train to Powell Street Station, tickets for an adult round trip cost $18.30 and kids ages 5-12 cost $9.10 and Sawyer was free.
Waiting on Powell Street to board our first Cable Car ride
Powell Street Station was the perfect place to exit the train as it is the beginning for one of the cable car routes.
Now queues here can be long and we had around a 30-minute wait but once that passed we were on our way.
The kids love their first cable car ride and it was a great way to start seeing the city.
Note: We purchased our tickets from the ticket booth near the cable car stop however we heard you can also buy them onboard or via the mobile app MuniMobile
From the final stop, we walked around for around 15 minutes to reach Fishermans Wharf and Pier 39.
I love this place the restaurants, the shops, even the atmosphere makes this place an absolute must-visit. First, though we purchased our tickets for a cruise around the Bay.
San Francisco Bay Cruise
We opted for Blue and Gold Fleet cruises, I purchased our tickets online via City Sightseeing as this saved us around 15% of the normal price.
I still had to go to Blue and Gold Fleet’s ticket office to collect our tickets but booking online was worth the savings.
Lukas and Dad photo with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background
The cruise lasts for an hour and as we headed out into the Bay we passed the famous San Francisco sea lions.
Now I’ve seen sea lions in the past but nothing like this, there are countless sea lions just chilling out while tourist flock to take photos. It really is a pretty surreal sight.
From here the cruise heads up towards Golden Gate Bridge with spectacular views of the city.
As you pass under the Golden Gate you immediately notice the current in the water changes and can become a bit choppy.
Seal lions relaxing on Pier 39 as we pass by
Trying to get that dream photo though of you (family) and the bridge can be a challenge with many others trying to do the same thing. This here is pretty much the halfway point and now you make your way back towards Pier 39.
Passing Alcatraz is pretty cool, however, it did leave me with an empty feeling, knowing that we could have had our feet on ‘The Rock’ rather than just cruising past it.
Commentary keeps you informed the whole way of the cruise and this is extremely helpful when learning about the parts of the city you are sailing past.
As we arrive back to Pier 39 we reflected on the experience with Lukas, he loved it and gave two thumbs up. Overall we all enjoyed the trip and felt it was well worth the money.
A View of Alcatraz, this is the closest we got
Day Hop On Hop Off Tour ‘City Sightseeing’
After I quick stop for a bite to eat we boarded the double-decker bus and went directly upstairs as it was an open-top. The trip, without getting off, lasts around 2.5 hours. As time was against us we only got off once so we had to pick our stop carefully, in the end, it was a no brainer.
This is a great way to see the city and the live commentary, much like our cruise, helped us explain to the kids the sights, buildings and areas of the city we were looking at.
For us the highlights were driving across the Golden Gate Bridge, knowing only a couple of hours earlier we were travelling under it.
Great way to see San Francisco in an open top bus
The North Vista Point was our one of our two places hat we stopped to hop off, this is the place to take photos of the bridge.
Our next place was Golden Gate Park, was awesome (see below). This park has many amazing attractions and is definitely on our ‘things to do list’ when we visit again.
Finally, we loved the drive through the Haight District (hippy town) just how I thought the 1960s would have been. The art in this area is so cool. And of course Chinatown, one of the oldest Chinatowns in the US.
One of the great things City Sightseeing have added is a live bus tracker app so you can track when the next bus arrives.
This is pretty cool to have. We loved our tour and look forward to doing it again with just a little more time to spend in a few places.
Lombard Street, famous in San Francisco and a tourist delight. Said to be the most crooked street in the world
Golden Gate Park
Now this is where we hopped off the bus, we thought just would be the perfect place to stretch and legs and walk around.
Golden Gate Park is huge and as we didn’t have a massive amount of time we just wandered around. However if you have longer you might spend a whole day here.
There is so much to see and do from; the Japanese Tea Gardens, Gardens of Shakespeare’s Flowers and San Francisco’s Botanical Gardens. Sadly we ran out of time to get the kids to the Koret Playground, much to their disappointment.
Next time I’d also like to check out the Disc Golf course or the 9-hole Par 3 golf course. To make sure you get the most out of your day make sure to do your research on what you would like to see and how long it will take you to get there.
Fishermans Wharf
Finally to finish our day we looked for a restaurant on Fishermans Wharf and there are many to choose from. We opted for Pier Market and it gave us views across the bay.
The food here hit the spot, we were pretty hungry by the time we were seated, especially the kids and while the colouring crayons and paper kept them occupied for a few minutes there was a bit of relief when the food appeared.
The kids both chose fish and chips and this filled them up, thank heavens. While Connie and I selected two perfectly cooked dishes that we shared.
The famous Fishermans Wharf sign
With the sun beginning to set we wandered around a few shops in the Pier, last-minute souvenir hunting.
The kids loved Chocolate Heaven and Lukas spent the last of his travel money on a few treats. It did take him a while to decide as the selection is huge.
Finally, we made our way back to the cable car for the trip back to Powell Street Station and as darkness set in we board the train for the airport.
The shop front of Chocolate Heaven on Pier 39, a must for any chocolate lover
Ride a Cable Car
Now this is a must and as mentioned above the best way to get into downtown San Francisco. There are three different lines you can take (map). It really is the best way to see the city,
if you are on a time limit. Just watching the locals go about their everyday life, jumping on and off at different points. It really was a great start.
Looking down towards the approaching Cable Car with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background
Final Thoughts
Reflecting back on our layover in San Francisco we ask would we do it again in another city? The answer was simple YES! We had an amazing day out, making many families memories along the way and the 13-hour flight home was soooooo peaceful as two tired and worn-out boys slept most of the flight home. Happy days indeed.
However next time we visit San Francisco we decided we would need the spend a few days here seeing all the other sites as well as booking Alcatraz a lot earlier.
I’m not making that mistake again.
Stunning view of Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco bay
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I leave the Airport during a layover in San Francisco?
Yes you can, just make sure you get back for your flight.
Is there a left luggage place at the Airport?
You can leave your luggage at the Airport Travel Agency. It’s open between 6am and 11pm. Prices vary on the size of your luggage and how long you leave it.
We opted for the 24 hour price as it was cheaper than paying by the hour. Check prices here
What is the best way to get from the Airport to Fisherman’s Wharf?
There are plenty of options from Taxi, Shuttle Van, Uber/Lyft but for us as we wanted to make the trip an experience for the kids.
We opted to take the train from the Airport to Powell Street Station and then taking the Powell Street Cable Car to the end of the line. From there it was a 15 minute walk to Fisherman’s Wharf.
Where do you buy Cable Car tickets
You can purchase tickets at Powell & Market, Bay & Taylor and Hyde & Beach Streets. Especially if you are starting your trip here.
You can prepay using MuniMobile (SFMTA’s official ticketing app) or Clipper Card If you want to pay on the Cable Car you can but you need the exact change and in US dollars.
What things can you do on a layover in San Francisco?
Your choices are endless and it depends on how long you have. The hardest part is leaving things of your list. Below is our list of ideas…
– Alcatraz Island
– Golden Gate Bridge
– Golden Gate Park
– Exploratorium
– California Academy of Sciences
– Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39
– Ride a Cable Car
– Check out the Ferry Building Marketplace
– Chinatown
– Ghirardelli Square
– Walt Disney Family Museum
Disclosure: This post might contain affiliate links. This means I might receive a small commission if you click and purchase something. Clicking on these links will not cost you anything, however it helps me to keep my website running. For more information click on our disclosure policy.
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Hi, I've been fortunate enough to have travelled for over 25 years. My parents gave me the travel bug when I was 10 years old by taking my sister and I to the USA and Mexico for two months. I've travelled by myself, with mates, with my wife and now as a family of four. My goal is to inspire our families to get out and see the world.
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