Go

Alrighty then

-visit Chinatown
-ride a cable car
-go to the Top of the Mark
-walk around Fisherman's Wharf
-Alcatraz Island
-Pier 39
-Lombard Street

Kids or no kids?

*Bike across GG, eat in Sausalito.....take ferry back and see Alcatraz.
*Chin Town for sure.

Golden Gate Park has a ton of stuff to do:
*Take a boat around Stow Lake
*California Academy of Sciences
*Golf
*Live music and other festivals

Do you like sports? Giants/As for upcoming baseball season.

Two things about San Francisco....

There are a lot of great food venues.
It's not cheap.

Having said that, some of my favorites....

Sweet Maple for breakfast.
Smitten Ice Cream.
Mr. Holmes Bakery.

Go in October...it's the best month to visit San Francisco.

For good and reasonable Chinese food, try Brandy Ho. At 217 Columbus.

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*Bike across GG

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People would buy tickets to watch Jorts bike across the Golden Gate.

I'm in San Francisco quite a bit for business. Great restaurants and ton's of stuff to do. There are quite a few homeless people, but it is one of my favorite cities to visit.

Restaurants - Many good choices. A few of my favorites...
25 Lusk - A bit on the heavier side
Tadich Grill - A SF classic. Mostly seafood.
Trattoria Contadina - I love this Italian restaurant. Small and homey, but really cool. Like it much more than North Beach and the others I've eaten at.

Things to do -
Muir Woods - Love the redwoods and only about 30 minutes from SF without traffic. A must in my opinion.
Muir Beach - Less cool, but mildly interesting. Esp if its foggy/dreary.
Japanese Tea Garden at Golden Gate Park - Esp if in the spring when everything is blooming.
Golden Gate Park - Rented bikes on a Sunday afternoon and was much funner than expected.
Alcatraz - The night tour has a bit of eeriness to it. Take a light jacket...it can get pretty cold at night.
Napa - Rent a car and make a day of it. We only toured one vineyard, but it was worth it.
Fisherman's Wharf - Very touristy and overrated IMO. There is an In-N-Out burger there if you must. Plus, you can ride a trolly there and get a sunday at Ghiradelli Square
Chinatown - Didn't care that much for it.
Golden Gate Bridge - Get a few pics from the Marin County side. You can walk across it, but be warned it's further across than it looks.

Also there quite a few times a year on business, rented a convertible a few weekends ago and drove down the PCH (far too cold). Head down to Half Moon Bay (30 minutes south of SF), beautiful scenery and a really nice golf course at the Ritz Carlton. Going to Napa in a few weeks on another business trip, would also recommend driving over to Yosemite (3 hour drive). Everything is expensive so be prepared to spend some coin but an absolutely beautiful city.

Agree with most of Maverick's thoughts.

Definitely go to Muir Woods
If you like baseball I'd highly recommend a Giants game. Best ballpark I've been to outside of Fenway and Wrigley.
Pier 39 has a great aquarium and the sea lions are entertaining to watch.
California Museum of Sciences was worthwhile
If you like people watching then I'd take the walk from Hippy Hill to Haight Ashbury. It is a true freak show.
If you have kids with you, definitely find some street slides to go down
Gilroy Gardens is a great theme park for kids that isn't crowded at all during the week
Eat lunch at Saucilito
Go to China Beach for a great view of Golden Gate (beware of fat olds doing nude sun bathing)
Ride a cable car
If renting a car, get a convertible
Check into the City Pass it will save big bucks if you are doing touristy things anyway
Presidio Theatre is my favorite theatre on the planet... like going back to the 80's.
Go to Alamo Park for a view of the Painted Ladies
Taking bus or Uber is highly preferable to trying to find parking most places

Going to SF in early July. Flying in early on the Wednesday the 4th, taking a red eye back late Saturday/early Sunday. Is 2 1/2 days enough to hit most of the spots in SF? Thinking of renting a car and taking a day trip after checking out on Saturday. If so, what are some suggestions to visit?

Planning a SF trip for this summer.

Muir Woods looks like an awesome way to spend a day. Think that's a must do now.

If we do that is the Golden Gate Recreation Area worth checking out?

New World Ag said:

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Going to SF in early July. Flying in early on the Wednesday the 4th, taking a red eye back late Saturday/early Sunday. Is 2 1/2 days enough to hit most of the spots in SF? Thinking of renting a car and taking a day trip after checking out on Saturday. If so, what are some suggestions to visit?

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Did a weekend trip with my parents for my mom's birthday last year, same time frame as you. We visited Muir Woods, Alcatraz, drove down the PCH, did a harbor cruise and went to Yosemite in 2 1/2 days. Of course we left very early and got back late but my parents had a great time.

Ag_07 said:

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Planning a SF trip for this summer.

Muir Woods looks like an awesome way to spend a day. Think that's a must do now.

If we do that is the Golden Gate Recreation Area worth checking out?

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You don't really need a day in Muir Woods. I say 2-4 hours is all you need. Of course, you can spend more time to soak it all in... but I think we had enough time to look around in short amount of time. Got there mid morning (9AM) and got out by noon-1ish.

Scoma's restaurant is a must for fantastic seafood.
Top of the Mark for an evening cocktail with an incredible view
Buena Vista Cafe for breakfast and Irish Coffee (it was first served in the US here)
Walk across the Golden Gate and back - we did this on Thanksgiving morning and really enjoyed it

Also, book a Vantigo Tour - preferably on your first day in San Fran. They are the #1 rated tour on TripAdvisor (1,200 five-star reviews) and for good reason. They take you on a tour of all the neighborhoods in San Fran in a vintage VW van - gives you an overview so that you know what you may want to go back and see on your own later. My wife and I did this tour (3 hours or so) on our first day in SF and absolutely loved it.

Jorts, you would enjoy Haight/Ashbury area. Funky. Take a walking tour of places where greats from the music scene in the 60s and early 70s lived. Then walk down to Golden Gate park.

I'll second Trattoria Contadina. Went there 30 years ago when the wife and I were dating. Went back a few years ago and it was still awesome.
I never go to San Fran and not get an Irish Coffee or five at the Buena Vista. The weather is always perfect for them and the make the best in the world.

Any hotel recommendations?

We stay at the Marriott on Sutter Street. We are Marriott loyalists and this property is on the cable car line, a couple of blocks to ChinaTown, 1 block to Union Square and easy walking distance to lots of eating places. Hotels are expensive in SF. Might try Priceline or whatever the new site is for cheaper hotels but where you can also find a 4 or 5 star in a good location. We stay away from hotels around Fishermen's Wharf. Too touristy. We prefer the Union Square area. We stumbled into a small boutique hotel that had a good Italian food restaurant in it that was between North Beach and Fishermen's Wharf. If I think of the name of it I will let you know. Good location in quiet part of the city but close to cable car line.

We stayed at Hotel Zoe down near fisherman's wharf. Smaller hotel, but it was clean, had a good restaurant/bar (Pescatore if you want to look it up) and was about half the price of many other hotels. They also have a cool little outdoor courtyard with fire pits where my wife and I went each evening for cocktails

San Remo Hotel is the one I was trying to recall. We ate there and had a few drinks. Seemed like a neat place to stay.

State Bird Provisions for dinner. Reservations are needed well in advance, check the website. Awesome atmosphere, dim sum style.

http://statebirdsf.com/home/

Wander around the Ferry Building if you're into food.

https://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/

As others have mentioned, Buena Vista for the original Irish Coffee.

Hike to Coit Tower for amazing views.

1 Go hang out at one of the many microbreweries for a few hours.
2. Strike up a conversation about politics with the locals.
3. Video tape the conversation.
4. Profit!

Ghirardelli Square - You need to go there after dinner for dessert. The line will be long but worth it, get one of the Hot Fudge Sundaes or Carmel sundaes. Usually live music in the square. This is a SF Tradition.

I knew we were getting older when we passed on going to The Top of the Mark for a drink and instead went to Ghirardelli Square for ice cream.

Decided to do San Francisco this winter. What kind of weather can we expect in late December?

In what part of town should we stay?

I look forward to looking up all of the previous recommendations.

I am going to San Francisco this weekend. I have read about the Tonga Room and Hurricane Bar. Has anyone on here been?

We will be in SF for one afternoon/night in August at the end of a Napa trip. I plan to do the touristy things because I've never been there before. My biggest issue is deciding what part of town to book a hotel. We will have a car, but being able to walk is always a plus. Where do you suggest?

I recommend driving down to the Monterray area and spending some time down there. We liked it better than SF!

Walk to the halfway point of Golden Gate bridge. Amazing ... views, closeup look at the structure, boats passing underneath.

Ag_N_Houston said:

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We will be in SF for one afternoon/night in August at the end of a Napa trip. I plan to do the touristy things because I've never been there before. My biggest issue is deciding what part of town to book a hotel. We will have a car, but being able to walk is always a plus. Where do you suggest?

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Your car will most likely be useless in SF. Just an FYI. Typical parking at a Hotel costs about $75. Parking is such a premium there I would usually recommend Uber when staying there, but since you are headed to Napa you will need it.

If you want to do the Touristy stuff, start looking around the Fishermen's Wharf area. Depends on how nice of a place you are looking for, SF can get very pricey depending on the days you will be there. But in this area very easy to walk everywhere and see the Sea Lions, Eat some great seafood, Watch the bread made at Boudin's, Alcatraz, Cable Car and Ice Cream at Ghiradelli's. And tons in between.

If we start our trip in SF we do not rent a car until the day we leave. There are several car rental places downtown where you can pick them up. Will save you lots of $$ to do it this way. If you are going to Napa first, then drop your car off as soon as you get to SF. Take Uber to the airport.

We were looking at the Pier 2620 hotel. Anyone been there?

We stayed 3 nights at Pier 2620 two years ago and it was fine. Easy walking to the wharf, Scomas, Ghiradelli square. There is a dynamite breakfast place - Hollywood Cafe - around the corner. Would stay there again.