The San Francisco Bay Area: Two Kid-Friendly Itineraries

There is so much to see in the San Francisco Bay Area that you could really spend a month or more exploring the various towns and landscapes, in addition to the quaint city of San Francisco that has so much to offer itself! Momaboard has put together two kid-friendly SF Bay Itineraries: a five day and a ten day one, to ensure you hit up all the right spots during your visit, but also taking into consideration alternating free time with planned activities so the kids (and you) don’t lose their marbles along the way!

The Five Day Itinerary: San Francisco and a Day Trip

Day 1: Start off at tourist haven Fisherman’s Wharf where you can catch the sea lions and the Aquarium and take a ride on the carousel. Feast on fish n chips or San Francisco’s famous clam chowder. Grab a sundae at the Ghirardelli Ice Cream and Chocolate Shop after which you can grab the tram to Union Square for some shopping. Keep your cameras ready for curvy Lombard Street!

Day 2: Drive upto the Golden Gate Bridge, take in the spectacular views from just before in the Presidio. Drive down to Baker Beach (make sure you have the kids bundled up, this ain’t no Florida!) and grab an hour of grey matter development at the Exploratorium.

Day 3: Have breakfast at the Ferry Building (bonus points if it is a Saturday and the Farmers’ Market is on) and take the ferry to Sausalito for a scrumptious seafood meal and fun souvenir shopping.

Day 4: Spend a fun day in Hayes Valley, sampling gourmet burgers at Flippers, indulging in some delectable kids’ shopping, and hanging off the dome-shaped play structure (the kids, not you).

Day 5: Weather permitting, pack a picnic and spend the day at Golden Gate Park. Check out the Japanese Tea Garden, the playground and of course, the Academy of Sciences.

The Ten Day Itinerary: San Francisco and the Bay

Day 1:Start off at tourist haven Fisherman’s Wharf where you can catch the sea lions and the Aquarium and take a ride on the carousel. Feast on fish n chips or San Francisco’s famous clam chowder. Grab a sundae at the Ghirardelli Ice Cream and Chocolate Shop after which you can grab the tram to Union Square for some shopping. Keep your cameras ready for curvy Lombard Street!

Day 2: Drive upto the Golden Gate Bridge, take in the spectacular views from just before in the Presidio. Drive down to Baker Beach (make sure you have the kids bundled up, this ain’t no Florida!) and grab an hour of grey matter development at the Exploratorium.

Day 3: Take the Bay Bridge east for a trip to Sonoma. We would recommend spending the night in glorious wine country, booking one of their many lodging options.

Day 4: Leave Sonoma after lunch and let the kids nap in the car for the 1.5 hour journey to Berkeley, where you stop for a bit of shopping and dinner at Fourth Street.

Day 5: Chill out day at Golden Gate Park. Check out the Japanese Tea Garden, the playground and of course, the Academy of Sciences.

Day 6: Make like the locals and grab brunch in the Mission at Foreign Cinema and stop into Aldea Ninos for a bit of organic, ergonomic, uber-trendy California kids’ stuff. Take a load off at Dolores Park till dinner time.

Day 7: Hop into the car for a drive down to Palo Alto and a glimpse of Silicon Valley’s past and future. Take the kids to the Palo Alto Junior Museum for some science and animal fun, and then grab lunch at Max’s Opera Cafe at Stanford Mall. While the kids nap, take in some designer shopping and a coffee at La Baguette. The Stanford Mall is great to let the kids run around as it is open-air and spread out. To avoid traffic on the freeway, it’s best to grab dinner at University Cafe on University Avenue and head North to the city after 7:30pm.

Day 8: Spend the day at the San Francisco Zoo and nearby Ocean Beach (again, bundle up!)

Day 9:Have breakfast at the Ferry Building (bonus points if it is a Saturday and the Farmers’ Market is on) and take the ferry to Sausalito for a scrumptious seafood meal and fun souvenir shopping.

Day 10: Spend a free and easy day in some of San Francisco’s charming neighborhoods: Hayes Valley, Noe Valley and North Beach (Little Italy).