San Francisco is truly one of the most surprising cities in the U.S.. Filled with opposites, this city is sure to surprise and will offer you plenty of things to do. From rich tech giants to poor homeless folks, from world renowned artists to unknown street performers and from new-age hippies to new-to-town immigrants,
San Francisco is the biggest melting pot we’ve seen. And this leaves you with a variety of things to do, including lots of outdoor activities. And more importantly plenty of delicious things to eat. In our San Francisco travel blog posts, we’ll tell you how to get there, how to get around, what to do and how much moola you need to do it. Keep reading for more!
When To Visit San Francisco
San Fransisco is nice year-round. It maintains a steady temperature throughout the year. Though rain is more common in the winter and fog is more common in the summer; really there isn’t a bad time to go weather-wise. However, crowds do descend during the summer months so try to avoid those if you want to visit with fewer people there. Also, winter, with the slightly higher chance of rain is the most budget friendly time to go if you are looking for a trip on the cheap.
The best time to visit San Fransisco is typically in the early fall, September-October, when crowds thin a bit and the weather tends to be more steady.
Top Things To Do
Getting There And Around
Getting To San Francisco
Flights into San Francisco airport are common and you can find cheap flights frequently. Last minute flight deals can be found for under $100 pretty frequently from other large airports in the U.S. And San Francisco is typically the cheapest airport in the region, but it is not the only airpot. You can also check flights into Oakland and San Jose to see if you can find better/cheaper flight options.
From the San Francisco airport, you can take public transportation into the city for about $10/person. However, you can get a ride share for about $30 so if you’re traveling with luggage and a travel buddy this may be the better option. Taxis are also available in San Francisco, though we took a few and the prices were about double that of a ride share.
Getting Around San Francisco
Getting around San Francisco is so much easier without a car. Parking in San Francisco can be an absolute nightmare. There are plenty of buses, light rails, ride shares, taxis and, yes, cable cars that make navigating the city easy. Also, the city is pretty walkable. Despite there being an uphill walk in every direction, things are pretty close to each other making walking a good option a lot of the time. Just make sure to pack comfy shoes.
There are also bus and rail options for getting around San Francisco. These are great options for traveling short distances as they are cheap and reliable. However, with frequent stops, ride shares are the better options for covering long distances without wasting your precious San Francisco travel time. Also, the San Francisco public transit is composed of two companies, BART (mostly subway, long distances) and MUNI (mostly buses, short distances). So traveling long distances which requires switching modes of transportation was entirely too confusing for us tourists. However, if you do decide to get around on public transit, they do have day passes that get you unlimited rides for the day, which is typically your best ticket option.
Additionally, as a tourist, you also could consider a hop-on-hop-off bus as an option. The tickets are just under $50 and get you around for a full day from 10 AM-5 PM. They go to all of the touristy places and you get a pre-recorded audio commentary as well. We normally use this to get around in large cities. However, these go down insanely busy touristy road in San Francisco and it was not an efficient way of getting around as we spent entirely too much time waiting in traffic.
San Francisco Travel Budget
The San Francisco area may have one of the highest costs of living in the U.S., but a visit to doesn’t have to break the bank. We’ve included our San Francisco travel budget below as well as tips for saving money. However, let’s just start by saying it. San Francisco is expensive. There is no way around that. If you want to travel on the cheap, pick a different destination.
Overall, we spent $910 on 2.5 days in San Francisco. This equates to $182/day/person. I would call this a mid-range budget. We did what we wanted to do, we ate what we wanted to eat, and we stayed in a clean, well-located hotel.
- $400 – Accommodations
- $290 – Food
- $220 – Activities
Accommodations
Budget hotels start around $150/night and go up, up, and up from there. We stayed in a very nice, clean and centrally located hotel in the financial district and we paid $200/night. However, this room was quite small but overall we were impressed with the value of the room in comparison to other large cities.
Home rentals are available but we found them to be mostly outside of peak tourist areas, which would have meant more transportation costs for us. Additionally, home rental prices in San Francisco were quite expensive and were not a money saving option, just a more charming option.
Advance bookings are necessary if the location for your accommodations matter. We booked 4 months in advance and still had only a limited number of hotels in our price range to choose from. We’d recommend booking between 4-6 months in advance for the best number of budget friendly options.
Food
Food in San Francisco is amazing. And this amazballness comes with a price tag but it doesn’t always have to. Fancy restaurants, and there are plenty of them, will cost $75/person for a sit down meal. There are also Michelin star restaurants and dining options that require reservations months in advance. If you’re interested in these dining options, expect to pay upwards of $100/person for food only. And also plan on making reservations for restaurants months in advance.
However, eating in San Francisco doesn’t have to be expensive. You can find more casual restaurants for around $25/person. Fast food and street vendors are even cheaper at around $10/person. While we love a good budget, try to ensure your San Francisco travel budget has room in it to enjoy the food as it is fantastic and we don’t think this is the place to skimp on.
Tipping in the U.S. is standard practice at sit down restaurants. An average tip is 18%, you can tip more or less to make a statement about the quality of the service (15% for less than great, 22% for extra great). Some restaurants do include a service fee in their bills. If you see this fee, this is in place of a tip and you are no longer obligated to leave a tip.
We spent $290 for two people to eat for two and a half days in San Francisco.
Additionally, you could grocery shop and eat at your accommodations if they have a kitchen. Grocery stores are available in the downtown area, along with smaller bodega-esque shops. The price of groceries in San Francisco is higher than that in other U.S. destinations so it isn’t as helpful on the budget as it would be elsewhere in the U.S.
Activities
There are actually a ton of things to do in San Francisco for FREE. So while other large cities come with a large price tag here, San Francisco can help you to save some money on activities (so you can spend it on food).
We bought a hop-on-hop-off bus tour to get around (which we would not recommend doing, you can get around cheaper with ride shares/walking) and an Alcatraz tour (which we would recommend doing). All of the rest of our activities were free. We spent $220 on these two things for two people.
San Francisco Travel Budget Tips
The San Francisco Go City Explorer pass will get you admission into many of the more popular attractions in San Francisco all for one price/day. If you plan on doing two of more activities that have a fee, check out this website to see if this pass will save you money. The San Francisco CityPass is another option that allows you to spread out your activities that require admission and still save money. However, CityPass has fewer attractions available so it may not be the better option for you.
Eating in Chinatown is so much cheaper than other areas of San Francisco. Also, it’s amazingly tasty. Make sure to eat at least one meal here, it will save you money and you should definately try it.
Be careful what you drink. Alcohol and water in San Francisco is wildly overpriced. Alcohol can be skipped. If you’re going to Napa valley later on, you’ll drink plenty there. And for water, make sure to bring a water bottle as the tap water is drinkable.
Don’t shop in San Francisco. San Francisco has an additional city tax bringing the total sales tax up to over 8%. So don’t plan on making any large purchases here as it will be more expensive than other California destinations.
What To Pack For San Francisco
San Francisco is not a warm place, but it also isn’t a cold place. The ocean and wind keep temperatures relatively steady year round. However, in the course of a day the temperature can vary widely. So make sure to pack in layers so that you are comfortable. The wind here is also brutal. So make sure to pack yourself a light jacket that will keep the wind out. Most days start around 50 F and get up to 70 F. So pack for 60s and you’ll be fine.
One other thing to know about the temperature is that it can vary by neighborhoods. We were downright hot at Fisherman’s Wharf and then freezed our butt’s off at the Presidio. So unfortunately, you do have to walk around with layers. Just be prepared for that.
We’d recommend packing a few pairs of jeans, some short sleeved shirts, a sweater/sweatshirt and a light jacket. This San Francisco packing list should get you through most days in the city.
Additionally, you need not have cute shoes in San Francisco. I find it laughable to see those cute dresses and heels in people’s Golden Gate pictures – they clearly changed or took a taxi. People in San Francisco walk places and, unless you are a luxury traveler, you will too. So you will need a comfortable pair of walking shoes. We both brought two pairs of shoes for our two days in San Francisco so we could give our feet some variety, which was a pro maneuver.
Lastly, for clothes, you’ll need both a rain jacket and sun glasses. The weather here changes in an instant. Most morning start off foggy and cool. That fog can change to a drizzle or sun by afternoon. And that weather can change to sheer line winds or unbearable heat by evening.
Safety In San Francisco
San Francisco In the Media
Okay. So you’ve probably all heard about the problem with theft and homelessness in San Francisco. And I’m sure all that exists. However, as large American cities go (and we’re thinking L.A., New York, Seattle, Chicago, etc.) San Francisco isn’t any worse. Sure, you’ll see people experiencing homelessness, alleys will “smell like piss” (direct quote of my father), you will have your pockets picked in busy areas and people doing dangerous things may have negative consequences for bystanders. However, I didn’t feel any less safe here than I did in other large cities, despite the plethora of negative press.
Remember that homeless folks are more likely to be the victims of violence than the perpetrators and don’t let them detour you from visiting. Also remember that they are most likely suffering from mental illness so if/when they shout strange things at you, do as Dory does and Just Keep Swimming. Seeing people use drugs in the street can be common, we saw it once. However, we just kept moving and didn’t have any problem.
San Francisco Safety Suggestions
As for thefts, which is a problem is any large city, just don’t have things that you are worried about losing with you. And the things you do bring, don’t flash them about and look like an ostentatious tourist. Keep your jewelry to a minimum and pay with cards rather than carrying large amounts of cash with you. Use small purses or keep wallets in your front pockets. Pickpockets do congregate in areas with people with lots of money, such as Union Square, so be extra vigilant there.
Also, just use good common sense. If something doesn’t seem like a good idea, then it probably isn’t a good idea. If something bad does happen and you are unsafe or feel unsafe, dial 911. There was a visible police presence in San Francisco so I imagine the emergency services have good response times.
Admittedly, we never left our hotel after dark. We are not nightlife people so we typically don’t go out. However, I don’t think I would walk anywhere at night, especially as a tourist who doesn’t know the neighborhoods well. Instead, I would suggest the smart option for any nightlife would be to take a ride share where you need to go (or stay home and save money like we did).
San Francisco Travel: Final Thoughts
Well now that we’ve gotten out our Negative Nancy on in the safety section, it’s time to end this post. However, we do want to leave you on a positive note: San Francisco was much better than we expected. Again, we entered with low expectations due to our general lack of loving cities and the negative press. However, San Francisco was pleasantly surprising. We hope we haven’t talked you out of a visit and we also hope all of this information has helped you to make your own San Francisco travel plans. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below and we’d be happy to get back to you.
