ONE DAY TRIP FROM SAN FRANCISCO

You don’t have to rent a car for a day trip from San Francisco. It can easily be done by using Uber, riding on a shuttle, enjoying the wind in your face while on a ferry, and by using public transit. Yes, all that in one day.

Below is our day trip itinerary from Berkeley to San Francisco with a whole lot of fun along the way.

Area covered: Muir Woods-Sausalito-San Francisco (21 km)

For our day trip from Berkeley to San Francisco, we had a full day planned.  We left around 8:15 am and got back around 9pm.  Our legs and our feet we so sore.  We got a bit too much sun even though we did put on sunscreen.  It was only 18 degrees but man it sure felt warmer than that.  So this is what we did and it was the easiest and cheapest way we found to do everything we wanted.

Stop 1 – Muir Woods National Monument

We called Uber to take us to Muir Woods as we wanted to arrive early and beat the crowd.  All was well until Blondie Bear got car sick and vomited in the back seat.  We had to pull over on the freeway and I cleaned up the back seat with my shawl and water.  

We got charged 150$USD for the clean up which was RIDICULOUS, it should have been 80$.  Heck, had I known I would be charged excessively I would have refrained myself from cleaning up myself and using my shawl as a rag.  We did send an email to complain after reviewing the terms because according to their terms we should have been charged 80$ and not 150$.  

Blondie Bear got car sick due to excessive braking from the driver after eating breakfast.  Don’t think we were entirely to blame.  So that put a dent in our morning and in our wallet.  Anyways, I washed what I could in the Park’s bathroom using the hand dryer to try to dry up the clothes, and then we were on our way.  It took my shaw all day to dry despite the sun. Luckily I was able to get rid of the smell.  Blondie Bear never got sick again after that.

Muir Woods

Muir Woods is beautiful and the redwood trees are GIGANTIC.  It really is amazing.  The redwood trees are known for their height and are related to the giant sequoia of the Sierra Nevada. While redwoods can grow to nearly 380 feet (115 m), the tallest tree in the Muir Woods park is 258 feet (79 m).

The entrance fee is 10$/adult and kids get in for free.  We took the Dipsea trail which was painful as it over 2 miles upwards. However, it was really worth the effort.  Along the way, we even spotted a deer. At the top, you can see the Pacific Ocean.  We spent roughly 3hrs there.  Make sure to bring water and snacks which we had forgotten to do. If you are going to hike with young kids, it goes without saying that a stroller will be useless. Instead, use a baby wrap carrier.

Don’t bother driving up there unless you arrive really really early as the small parking lot fills up fast.  A 5$ roundtrip shuttle is available from Sausalito. This is the better option and that is what we took to get to our next stop (50 min ride).  The shuttle runs every 15 min daily.

Stop 2-Sausalito

I could not go there and miss the kappas floating houses, sort of the birthplace of hippyness.  I knew it was a far walk from our shuttle stop which is close to where you can catch a ferry back to San Francisco.  We walked nonetheless as there are many stores and restaurants (lots of tourists).  We stopped by the Visitor Center for some information and the man there was very helpful. He gave us a map and suggested a place for us to eat, Salitos. It turns out that it is a crab place, away from the main area, and on the way to the floating houses.

Salitos

We walked to the restaurant (about 10-15 min walk from the town center).  Salitos Crab House has a nice vibe and is located on the water.  It’s away from the hustle and bustle of the town center and people riding their 2hr, 25$ bike rental.  As to be expected in California, our meal was a bit pricy. Nonetheless, the food was delicious. Blondie Bear got the 9.99$USD kids meal which was fish & chips, homemade. It was probably the healthiest kids’ meal to date I have seen.

We once again ‘borrowed’ the wifi and got another Uber (6.25$) to go see the houseboats.  That was freaking awesome.  Of course, we got to walk on one of the only accessible dock (B) but surely by far the most well kept.  You can feel the creativity just by roaming around, it is beautiful.  Having no Wifi, we walked the 2.2 miles back into town to catch the ferry.

Stop 3- The ferry and Pier 39

We took the Blue and Gold ferry to San Francisco which is a bit cheaper than the other ferry line. It each cost us 10$USD, one way.  

Since we couldn’t book a trip to Alcatraz, I figured that by taking the ferry from Sausalito to San Francisco we would be able to catch a glimpse of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge.  We weren’t disappointed! It was such a clear day (a bit too sunny and windy on the ferry though!) we were able to see what we wanted.  It’s a short ride of 30 minutes.

Alcatraz tip: You have to book your tickets for Alcatraz at least two months in advance during the summer. (I had tried one month prior to the trip and all five days of our trip were full.

Pier 39

Upon arriving in San Francisco as the final stop of our day trip, we thought we would check out the sea lions on Pier 39 and then be on our way.  It didn’t quite pan out like we wanted, hence sore feet.  

The sea lions were pretty much a no show as it was the mating season( end of July) and they were all down south.  They do come back early august though.  So be warned that from May to the end of July you won’t see too many. Their home is at Pier 39 .

We then had to catch our Bart train back to Berkeley from the Embarcadero station, close to Pier 1. Yes, that was a long walk especially since we had covered so much ground already. However, we got to see old trams, lots of tourists, the Coit tower from afar and it was sunny and warm.

It was a really long day trip from San Francisco but it was a lovely and happy one despite the 150$ puke….grrrr….