A very expensive RV park with full-hookups is our home for 4 nights while we visit San Francisco. We booked here only for the convenience of being close to the city – The RV park is walking distance to the Larkspur ferry which gets us to the city in 30 minutes. Much better than driving and trying to find parking, etc. It is a mobile home park and RV park, basically a parking lot but the showers, laundry, etc. is immaculate and the staff super friendly and helpful.
Larkspur ferry leaves every 30 min.
Taking the ferry across the bay allows us to get some great views of the entire bay area (San Rafael, Sausalito, Oakland, and of course San Francisco as well as the Bay Bridge and the famous Golden Gate Bridge). We also pass by Alcatraz Island which is our first day destination. In the bay we see quite a few container ships waiting their turn, barges, tugboats, and lots of ferries. Our ferry trip is $12 per trip, but with the ‘clipper cards’ which the RV park gave us, we pay only $7.75 per trip. We disembark at Pier #1 and walk 20 minutes to Pier 33 for the ferry to Alcatraz. The port here is large – about 100 Piers.
San Francisco Day 1: Pier 33 – The ferry is a quick 12 minute ride to Alcatraz “The Rock” which isn’t that far from the mainland, but the cold water and undercurrents were a very good deterrent for any potential escapees. The island was initially a military base and later a military prison before becoming a Federal prison. The lower area was the village (warden and guard’s families lived full-time on the island – there was even a school), and at the top is the prison. Once inside, you are given a set of headphones and start a very well done self guided tour. The narrators are both former prison guards and prisoners so you get a real sense of what life must have been like. We were both very surprised by how small the cells are.
The Rock 
Solitary 
The Notorius
Back in the city, from pier 33, a short walk to Fisherman’s Wharf where we are looking for some lunch. It is pouring now and we are getting very wet, so we pop into a seafood restaurant and order a bowl of the iconic “chowder in a sourdough bowl’ – overrated in my opinion. Who needs all that bread which is wasted at the end. But the chowder was tasty and soup is always welcome in rainy weather.
San Francisco Day 2: Time to tour the city. First and foremost is the must do Cable car ride up a hill and back down. We had purchased a MUNI one-day passport online on our phones which gives access to all the transportation in the city. We hopped on the cable car going up California Street which is a main street through the city and goes up a long hill at one point – our driver, on the job for 30 years, was a hoot – very entertaining.
An old fashion cable car (they still run a few on certain avenues – we just had to……)
We got off at the top and took another car partway back down. Getting off near Chinatown, we then walked along streets with Chinese markets full of fresh produce, medicinal plants (I did not recognize most of the stuff), fish markets where fishermen were throwing live fish from their trucks into buckets for the merchants to choose from, and the typical ‘toot’ stores loaded with plastic this and that….. People everywhere, most we’ve seen all day.
Then we turned a corner and were suddenly in Little Italy. Streets lined with restaurants and cafes with tables out front and espresso everywhere. We notice just about every cuisine is represented in this city. Getting hungry we get on a bus with a destination in mind, but passing by a market with fresh produce and food trucks we jumped off and instead sat down in a park with live entertainment (musicians and other) and ate our lunch.
Depending on where you are in the city, the architecture is very different which makes it very interesting. Victorian houses in one area, spanish inspired homes in another, and interesting modern skyscrapers in the financial district. The usual homeless and interesting characters seem well looked after with the missions and health services available.
Next up, Lombard Street – the wonkiest street
A steep drive down a hill with very tight S-curves – lined with flowerbeds. Expensive looking condos on either side. To get there we walked up a very steep hill and then back down (which is worse?). Walking back to the port we discovered a whole other part of Fisherman’s Wharf that we had not seen the day before, and passed by the many T-shirt shops, buskers, etc. The walk back to pier one now seemed very long, so we were going to take the streetcar back – but we happened to come across a bike transport and negotiated a good price for a bike ride back. Along the way a flock of parrots flew loudly overhead. (In 1990, a pair of escape artist parrots found a suitable climate to live in Telegraph Hill, and the flock has since grown to over 300). Our escort said they roost on Telegraph Hill, but spend their days in trees by the Ferry Building.
Back on the ferry to Larkspur with a clear sky, we were treated to twilight views of the San Francisco skyline as we departed the city.
San Francisco Skyline
- The city has free Wifi but it is spotty in places
- Buy a MUNI pass (1-7 day options) which gives access to all the transport in the city (not the ferries)
- Clothing – layers, layers, layers, (the city is surrounded by water) and comfy shoes, you will be doing a lot of walking up and down hills
- Maps and brochures – the streets are not laid out in any sense so be prepared to be lost without a map – a paper map
- There is a lot to see and it’s spread out, so if you have only one day make a plan
Not far from the Larkspur ferry terminal is San Quentin Federal Penitentiary. As the ferry heads out to the open waters of the bay, you pass by the prison, It is a fenced area the size of a village. The prison looks very old and rundown and is apparently undergoing a refurb.