#MiniVaca Guide: San Francisco, CA
Being a traveler with a busy schedule means mastering the #MiniVaca is a must.
Depending on your work/school schedule, a #MiniVaca is a short vacation ranging anywhere from two to four days. It can be hard to fit a roundtrip flight as well as activities in when you have such little time to vacation, but that’s exactly what I live for. For the most part, many of my trips are just that… short trips! This will be the first of a series of posts focused on how to plan short vacations in various major cities. This series will also include general tips for getting the most out of any #MiniVaca. The following areas will be covered in this post: how to get there, where to stay, how to get around, & what to do.
First city on the #MiniVaca series? San Francisco! (2 full days, 3 nights)
How to get there?
Depending on your departure airport and day of the week, the price will vary (obviously). When I flew into San Francisco (SFO), I flew Frontier out of Orlando International Airport (Orlando, FL). One-way, my Tuesday night flight was $94. As I mentioned before on my blog, Frontier almost always has the cheapest flights. However, if you do not live near an airport associated with Frontier, some other cheaper airline options include: American Airlines, Southwest, & Virgin America.
When taking a short trip, it is important to factor in the flight time. Because you don’t want your #MiniVaca to be wasted away sitting in an uncomfortable seat in the sky, planning the flight time is critical. Try to fly out late the night before. This gives you the ability to follow your normal day schedule (workday, classes, etc.), jump on a late-night flight (a great time to catch up on some Zzz’s), and arrive at the destination where you can start exploring early the next day. This is the option I took on my #MiniVaca to San Francisco. I flew out Tuesday night, landed late that same night, had two full days of exploring, then left Friday morning. If a late-night flight is not doable, the next best thing is to catch the first morning flight out. If this is the case, it is best to have a solid plan for the day set so you can start exploring your destination as soon as possible after landing. In addition to flight times, you also want to be aware of any time zone changes you will face while traveling. For example, traveling from eastern to pacific time zones? Lucky you, you get more time to explore!
Where to stay?
When it comes to finding a place to stay, there are four key things I consider: safety, cleanliness, price, and location. As a college student #OnABudget, I try to first find the cheapest options for lodging. Hotels, and even vacation house rentals, can run you a lot of money… which is why I always start by searching through hostels via HostelWorld.com. This site provides you with various cheap hostel options as well as their rating according to reviews made by users. After searching through all of the many options, I booked a stay with the HI San Francisco Downtown hostel. During this trip, I was traveling with a group of friends. Having a group allowed us to book six beds in two rooms, keeping our group together. The price per night per person was $52.30, totaling to $157 per person for the entire three-night stay. HI San Francisco Downtown was a wonderful hostel that offered guests clean rooms, friendly staff, a safe environment, a central location in the city, free Wi-Fi and free breakfast, among many other amenities. To view more information on this hostel, click here.
How to get around?
While in San Francisco, I mainly relied on Uber and walking to get around. The Uber rides were reasonably priced, but traveling in a group of seven people made the Uber rides even cheaper per person because of Uber’s option to split the fare with other passengers. Between Ubering from the airport to the hostel on the first day, Ubering around San Francisco for two full days, and Ubering to the bus terminal to leave San Francisco, I went on a total of 6 Uber rides, where I spent $28.01. However, do not forget I was traveling with a group and having the option to split the fare among the passengers made these rides very affordable. As a general traveling tip, make sure Uber, Lyft, etc. is available in the city you are visiting if you are planning to use these services. If they are not available, looking into public transportation or rental vehicles are always other options.
Part of experiencing a city involves walking around. Walking is usually a good option when in a city because things tend to be closer together and within walking distance (for the most part). In addition, walking helps to get some exercise in and helps keep off any “vacation weight”. Just remember to pack comfy walking shoes!
What to do?
I saved the best for last—San Francisco is full of fun things to do, no matter what you’re into! As much as I wish I had time to see all of what San Francisco has to offer, that is just simply impossible when you only have two days in the city. Instead, I have listed the six activities I did while staying in the city-- please see below.
First up? Take a tour through the wineries of Napa Valley. No, Napa Valley is not in San Francisco, BUT, hear me out… when you are that close to Napa and on spring break traveling with three of your #wine-loving girlfriends, you go to Napa! The winery tour my friends and I went on picked us up from our hostel, drove us around the San Francisco area for sightseeing, drove us out to three different wineries in Sonoma and Napa Valley, drove us to an overlook next to the golden gate bridge, and gave us the option to be dropped off back at our hostel or at another location in the San Francisco area. The tour included a comfortable coach bus, wine tasting at each vineyard, downtime for shopping in Yountville, and a tour guide who shared with us the history of the area as well as his extensive knowledge on everything having to do with wine. This tour lasted most of the day and cost $85 per person. I found and booked this tour via Viator, a website for booking experiences at places all over the world. For more information on this tour, click here.
Take a stroll through Pacific Heights. Pacific Heights is a unique area of San Francisco, with beautiful houses and amazing views. These amazing views also come with some very steep streets, so make sure to wear comfortable walking shoes and get ready to possibly break a sweat! Interestingly enough, you may end up passing by the “Full House” house. While walking around, especially if you pass by this famous house, remember that people do live there so it is important to make sure you respect the area and its residence. Not to mention, this is something you can do for FREE!
If you walk outside the Pacific Heights area and toward the bay, you will eventually stumble upon the breathtaking Palace of Fine Arts. This is a walkthrough area with beautifully detailed, not to mention ~massive~, structures. This is a great spot to grab a bench seat, sip on a delicious cup of coffee, and take in the view. Cost to enter? FREE. Don’t forget to respect the area and clean up after yourself, the locals and wildlife will greatly appreciate it.
Next up? One of my personal favorites… Kirby Cove! From the Palace of Fine Arts, our group took an Uber ride across the Golden Gate Bridge, to an overlook. In addition to this overlook having a great view of the famous bridge, it was also near the entrance to a hiking path that leads down the mountain side to Kirby Cove. Kirby Cove is a camping area located on the water just below the Golden Gate Bridge. Not only is it a beautiful wildlife area, it is home to a breath-taking view of the bridge. Kirby Cove is also well-known for having a famous swing that visitors can use. It is important to note that you should respect the area when visiting and be aware of the wildlife that are known to live there. Not to mention, bring lots of water! Cost to enter the park on foot? FREE.
Tour Alcatraz! Taking a trip to visit Alcatraz is a must. This once maximum high-security prison is located on an island in the San Francisco Bay. The tour starts by taking ticket holders on a short boat ride from the pier, through the bay, docking on the island. You can then exit the boat and enter the building, where you will pick up a set of headphones as well as a recorder that will guide you through the prison. The audio tour gives the listener directions on where to walk as well as history on the different rooms of the prison, on some of the prisoners, on the island beyond the prison walls, as well as many other things. Once the tour is over, you can get on a boat back to the pier. The tickets were $35.50 a person, booked through the Alcatraz Cruises company, via their website which can be found here.
Grab a bite to eat around Fisherman’s Wharf. Fisherman’s Wharf is an area on the Bay full of restaurants, attractions, and souvenirs. Of all the spots there to grab food, I had the pleasure of dinning at the Boudin Bakery café, Scoma’s, the original Ghirardelli, and in-n-out (always a must-have… obviously). Boudin Bakery café offers delicious quick service options. Scoma’s is a higher-end restaurant, known for its delicious seafood options. In-n-Out is a well-known fast food burger chain based on the west coast with some AMAZINGLY tasty low-cost menu items. Lastly, save room for dessert at the original Ghirardelli ice cream and chocolate shop.
San Francisco is an exciting city full of culture, entertainment, and plenty of outdoor activities. Although the to-do’s I have listed do not nearly come close to covering all of San Francisco, they did give me a good taste of the city. During my four days (really two full days of exploring the actual city) visiting, I fell in love with how beautifully picture-perfect San Francisco is, and I can’t wait to go back. If you love the outdoors but also love being in a major city environment, San Francisco is definitely a trip you should take.
If you do end up taking my advice during your trip to San Francisco, or if you have any questions, I’d love to get your feedback. Please click on the “contact” link at the top of the page and write your message there.
Thanks for visiting #TFTL & safe travels!
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