How to see San Francisco on a tight schedule: 6 hours or less

I have looked all over the internet for what I could see in one day or less. More like in 6 hours or less because I had a flight to catch later that day, but I didn’t find much. Most itineraries I found were for a few days or a week San Francisco. I had to piece together my own plan without actually having been there yet. If you have tried to make your own itinerary, then you know how hard it is to figure out where to go first and then next because you have no clue how traffic is in that area. It is very difficult, and I am a big planner. I don’t like going into a new place blind and just winging it. I like to have, as much as possible, planned out so I can relax and enjoy my visit. Otherwise, I stress myself out. So, now that I have actually been to San Francisco, even if it was for a weekend, here are my suggestions for an itinerary for seeing the city in less than a day. It is possible!

Golden Gate Bridge

I recommend starting off your day here. Go to the Golden Gate bridge first because it is out of the way, and you do not want to get stuck in traffic on the way back to your hotel or the airport. All the travel posts that I had read had suggested to go out to the Golden Gate Bridge early in the morning to see the sunrise over the bridge. According to them, it is such a beautiful sight. So, I added it first thing to my list of things to see or visit.

But these bloggers seemed to have left out one important detail. If you go in the fall, like I did, then no matter what time of the day you go, early in the morning or late afternoon, you will not see the entire bridge. Not sure how it is the other parts of the year, but when I went the fog was so thick that all you could see was one small section of the bottom of the bridge. As we got closer to the bridge, the fog was coming closer towards us and covering what we could see, too.

According to my cousin, a resident of the city, she said that there is always fog in the morning and seeing the bridge will be difficult. Now, they never told me if it was possible to see the entire bridge at all and what parts of the year it was possible to see it in its entirety. But, from what I saw, you might have to go at the perfect time to do so. And, we did not have the time. Oh well! At least, we could say we were there and we saw it, even if it was just her left leg.

On the bright side, as the day went on and we continued our traveling around the city, you were able to see a little bit more and more of the bridge. At one point his face, the points of the top of the bridge, began to slowly peak out. But, she didn’t show us her entire face. Maybe, she was shy. That just means we have to go back and try again.

Crookedest Street (Lombard Street)

After our visit to Lady Gold Gate Bridge, our next stop was Crookedest Street. This is on the way back towards downtown San Francisco, so why not make your way over to Lombard Street next. Start at the top of the street and step out to look down at the unique road. Snap some pictures for memories of course.

If you are driving your own car to each destination, which we did, well it was my cousin driving us around, but we had a car, then good luck finding parking! There is literally no place to park near the destination, or even away from the destination. The city is just that packed. Every single parking spot is taken. Thus, it would be best to take some other sort of transportation, including but not limited to, taxi, bus, cable car, or even using your feet to walk. It’s a city after all, you should have expected to do some walking.

Now you looked down, you can drive down the street or take the stairs on the side to walk to the bottom. We did both! Why not, right? Experience it all. While our cousin was driving around, since there was no place to park, we walked halfway down the stairs, snapped some pics before making our way back to the top. We wanted to drive down it, so back up we went.

If you brought a car, I recommended taking a drive down the street. It’s a unique experience, and you might not get the chance again. You are here, so go for it. At least, that’s what I tell myself. Who knows when I will return. The ride was slow, but fun. It is a tight drive, but you get to experience the left, right, left turns of the very crooked road.

Now you made it to the bottom, get out again. Look up at the street from this view and snap some more pictures if you would like. After all, memories are all you will have as life goes on.

Side note: If you want to experience a ride on a cable car, and have some time, there is a stop near crookedest street to get on one. Which we decided to do, but of course, we didn’t plan this beforehand. If it is something you want to do, make sure to look at the cable car schedule so you know when one stops and where.

Coit Tower

Next stop, Coit Tower. One place that has parking. Score! This is a tall tower that you can go up and see the entire city from the top. Get your tickets online or inside. California residents get a discount price, but it is not that much of a difference. It’s worth it. Especially if you want to see more of the city in a short period of time. You can see it all from the top of this tower. After a short elevator ride to the top, you climb up a small set of stairs to the very top. It is a circular room with windows all around it. Go up to each window and look out. You can see the entire city, the Golden Gate Bridge, well just parts of it since the fog was stubborn and not going await, Fisherman’s wharf, Oakland Bridge, Alcatraz, a great way to see the ex-prison without wasting an entire day of making the trip to the island, and more.

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Once you see the city from the tower, come back down and explore on the campus of the tower. Walk around and see parts of the city. You never know, the Golden Gate Bridge might show more of her face as you walk around.

If you still have time…

We managed to see all these places so quickly. I was so shocked at how fast we saw the city. I was expecting to be stuck in lots of traffic and not even get a chance to see what I had planned. I should have looked up more things to see. If you still have time, make your way over to Fisherman’s Wharf and Ghirardelli Square. We were going to head over there, but we were all hungry and decided to get lunch instead. If you want to visit Alcatrez, then you need more than a day. I have heard you need one day dedicated to visiting the island because you do have to ride a ferry there and back.

Tips: How to dress

My family and I went in October. Despite the weather and seasons being so off balance in the past few years, San Francisco is usually the same temperature year-round. Not too hot, not too cold, just right. My kind of weather! I would suggest bringing a light jacket, it gets pretty windy at times, especially since you are near the water. When we stepped outside of our hotel, the water was right there, so it was super windy; however, when we went downtown, it was warmer. No jacket was needed. Dress how you would for the fall. It is usually around the 50s during this time of the year and can get near the 60s. And of course, walking or comfortable shoes, because you will have to do some walking.

Conclusion

I hope this guide was helpful and I wish you a safe and fun trip to San Francisco. Share your favorite moments! I would love to hear your experience of visiting the city. Travel and accommodation tips will follow in a future post.