Quick Guide for Visiting San Francisco in Just 2 Days

After enjoying Yosemite and its surroundings, it was time to change the scenery for something more urban, and San Francisco was exactly what we needed.

Railtown 1897 State Historic Park 🚂

Not to hurry things around, before we left Sonora, we made a short stop at the local Railroad Museum. Even if we were there, early in the morning, the temperature was already high so we took the quick tour without any guide. After checking the outside pieces, we headed to the Locomotives stored at roundhouse where we decided to join the guided tour presented by Steve, a great storyteller who also gave Clara a little gift at the end of the tour. Most of the locomotives were over 100 yo in good shape, some of them being part of some well known movies like Back to the future or Bonanza: The Return. More info about the park here. And that was it, we finally managed to check all the things we planned, and we were ready for our next stop, San Francisco.

After another half an hour and a few stops for the views and photos we reached the valley where everything is breathtaking and definitely a place that should top every traveler’s bucket list. The plan was to leave the car in a visitor parking, take the shuttle and check as many points on the map as possible, keeping in mind that we had another 2 days to explore the park. I’ve decided to go with the Yosemite Village Parking, which is close to one of the main attractions, Yosemite Falls. Also from here you have plenty of things to see / visit on a walkable distance, being in a central position. The main reason we chose the shuttle was because near the Falls there isn’t any parking, in comparison to any other one that had.

San Francisco Vibes 🌉

The Warmup

3 hours apart, we arrived at Oakland, The Bay Bridge with an insane traffic ahead of us. On our last visit here, we knew a place where you could shoot some nice pictures across the bay, so here was our first stop. Unfortunately the place was being renovated so we needed to look for another spot, and after a short while we reached the Treasure Island Dog Park. After enjoying the view over the city and taking a few nice shots, we left for our hotel. As we passed the bay, the towering skyscrapers of the Financial District came into view, leading us all the way to Chinatown. For crossing the bridges, you’ll need to pay a toll, here you can find more info about it.

The Power Tour

After enjoying a tasteful and good looking lunch at Pacific Catch we were ready to explore the city, on foot obviously. Our first order of business, Fisherman’s Wharf where the place was packed with tourists. Initially we wanted to take a cable car ride, but after seeing the 30min + cue we decided to skip it for another time. So we continued our promenade to Pier 39 to check the sealions on the docks. Here it was even more crowded, everyone taking pictures, having an ice cream or having a bite at one of the many places here. We’ve also opted for a coffee and an ice cream at the Biscoff Corner down the pier. Unfortunately at the scenic spot from where you can enjoy views over the bay, with the Golden Bridge and Alcatraz Island in the background, we could see just a few sealions instead of the packed docks you’ve seen over the internet. No harm done, we took our break and continued our route to Coit Tower with a really great view over the Financial District and where I got a really nice shot of Clara doing the cartwheel. Went down the hill all the way to Washington Park, where St. Peter and Paul Church dominates the surroundings with its pose and architecture assisted by the statue of Benjamin Franklin.

Continued our walk to ChinaTown and Union Square where a concert was in place so we took a water break. We were already at the gates of the Financial District so we wandered around between the high skyscrapers checking the Microsoft Building or Transamerica Pyramid and the Dragon Gate.

From here we had 2 options, either walk back or hop on a taxi. Guess what? Clara said she wanted to continue our power tour in style, so we went all the way back passing Lombard Street, and headed back to the Pier where she wanted some Pusheen. So there you have it, after a few solid hours we managed to see a lot of stuff thanks to Clara and her unbelievable stamina. At this point we decided to rest and take an UBER back to the hotel, but not before another round of Pier 39 and a short visit at the Magowan’s Infinite Mirror Maze.

San Francisco Night Tour

After having dinner, I decided to go on a night tour and check the look and feel of the city. Prepared from LA with more layers, we suited up with some jackets and went straight to the Golden Bridge, to admire the night stand over the bay. Here just a few people were wandering, most of them scared by the powerful wind. We also did not spare too much time here, just enough to get the right feeling of it and get a few brilliant shots.

From here we took a drive over the bridge, and set our new destination to Treasure Island. Check the info about the tolls over the bridges in the bay area here. On our way there we explored the Financial District once again, which at those hours was a ghost city, the only people you’d seen were in cars. Clara was still strong after this long day and enjoyed the views across the bay over the city of San Francisco.

At 12AM sharp we were back to our hotel after 20km walking and plenty of scenic spots checked for the day. Thank you Clara! Thank you San Francisco!

Early Morning at Golden Gate Park

It was our final day of our great Park Tour and we had a few other things to cover before we left for LA. Organized our luggage and headed to a nearby place to enjoy a breakfast, our choice, Home Plate. Our plan for the day was to ride a bike in the Golden Gate Park, but on our way there we went again to Lombard Street to take a few shots under the glazing sun with the beautiful flower coloring.

We parked under Music Concourse, $5.25/hour and made our way to Parkwide Bike Rentals & Tours behind Golden Gate Park BandShell to rent a bike. We opted for a regular bike with a tag-a-long so I can handle most of the effort since there were a lot of ups and downs. Stretching for 3.5 miles the park shared 2 seasons, half sunny summer and the other half windy autumn, so obviously we spent more time on the hotter side. Along our ride, we saw the Conservatory of Flowers, a handful of street artists or architecture pieces. You can easily spend a full day here doing or sort of activities.

Wrapping Up

From here we hopped on our car and continued our tour to check again the Golden Gate Bridge after our night session the day before. This time, like most of the times during the day, the red structure was half covered by fog. Just to have an idea, San Francisco lies on a peninsula which provides a unique climate where the northern part is usually foggy, windy and with lower temperatures and the continental part is more stable with higher temperatures. So once again we left the chilly part and headed for the sun. Here we energized ourselves with an energetic lunch at sweetgreen and a coffee since we had a long drive home.

The Drive

Exploring the city limits on wheels from bridge to bridge.

From here we were ready to hit the road, 600km and 6h of driving ahead of us. But not before we saw the majestic Palace of Fine Arts. At 5PM we were ready to lift off and hit the afternoon traffic to Oakland and Stockton on Interstate 5.

Tips & Tricks 🌟

Depending on our time of travel in San Francisco there are a few things to consider:

Tolls

If you cross Oakland and Golden Gate Bridge, with a rental, then you need to make a payment here (if you don’t have a Fastrak account). You select a time interval of max 48h in which you will be charged for each paid crossing.

Parking

Everything near the main attractions, 2-3 blocks are parked meters, beyond that area if you’re willing to walk a little it’s free for 2 hours. Also there are private parkings which start from $5/hour. Always the street parking is better then private lots.

Ride Sharing or Taxi

Here is a matter of choice. I’ve used Uber, but there is also Lyft, taxi service and of course the newest thing, the driverless Waymo.

Public Transport

San Francisco has a great system, which covers all the main tourist areas. Check here which type of ticket/pass works for you.

Activities

Try to make your own research, and book in advance so you don’t encounter any cues. Also check some of the city passes like CityPass or GoCity. Pretty sure you can find other offers as well.

Photo Spots

Depending on the sun positions here are a few spots and things to shot in different parts of the day:

Lombard Street – from bottom to top you’ll get better shots, the sun light hits it by noon, after 2PM it will be shady,
Golden Gate Bridge – now this is a gamble, most of the time it’s foggy, but great views depending on which side you are, can be found all day. In the evening most likely the fog will go away.
Treasure Island the main well known spot is under renovation currently, but you can still have a great view over the city near the park. Best views at sunset.
Fisherman’s Wrath id say the best view is at sunset.
Financial District -great shots we’ve taken were in the evening before the sun went down.

San Francisco is not just a city; it’s a place where the ocean meets the hills, history meets innovation, and every corner invites you to explore something new.