Last updated: October 2026.
I have been to San Francisco twice, first for a longer stay with five nights in the city followed by a road trip through Napa and the Big Sur, and a shorter stop this October, when we flew into SFO with our 22-month-old and stayed outside the city before driving on to Yosemite.
This guide pulls the best of our trips into one suggested four-day itinerary, covering practicalities for little ones, where we stayed, how to get around, and our favourite road trips from the city.
In this guide:
- Is San Francisco good with kids?
- Our suggested 4-day itinerary
- Where to stay
- Getting around with a toddler
- Food and eating out
- Road trips from San Francisco
- Destination score
- FAQs
👉 Don’t have time to read everything? Jump straight to our 4-day itinerary, or browse places to stay in San Francisco to compare prices.
Is San Francisco good with kids?
Absolutely, but plan it more slowly than you would as a couple as there are two things that make it harder for parents – the hills and the weather. The climb starts as soon as you leave the waterfront, and the city can be cold and windy even on a gloriously sunny day, so pack layers!
We loved how Alcatraz and the cable cars are free for under fives, and how easy and compact the waterfront is. And the food is unbelievably good, especially in the Mission district.
My best advice is to take a carrier as well as a pushchair, and to plan a visit to one area a day (as tempting as it is to cram in more with so much to potentially do). If you are choosing a carrier, our guide to child carrier backpacks for travel and hiking compares the options.
Our suggested 4-day San Francisco itinerary with kids
Day 1: Fisherman’s Wharf and the waterfront
- A cable car ride on the iconic Powell-Hyde line, which runs past Lombard Street on its way to the Wharf.
How San Francisco cable car tickets work
Children aged four and under ride free, and a single ride is currently $9. You buy your ticket before boarding at the terminals (Powell and Market, Bay and Taylor, and Hyde and Beach) between 8am and 5pm. You can use the MuniMobile app, a Clipper card (we used this on our Apple wallet) or exact cash. Tickets are one way only, with no transfers between lines.
- Lombard Street (specifically the famous zigzag section)
- Ghirardelli Square, the old chocolate factory, a short way downhill from Lombard Street and a great stop for a sweet treat. Ghirardelli chocolate started in San Francisco in 1852.
- Fisherman’s Wharf and watching the sea lions at Pier 39, with clam chowder a must
- A harbour cruise if your kids like boats – we took one and it was fun going under the Golden Gate Bridge
- A walk in Great Meadow Park at Fort Mason, with views of the Golden Gate Bridge
This is the flattest day apart from Lombard Street, so it makes the easiest start – the cable car does the climbing for you.
Day 2: Alcatraz, Chinatown and North Beach
- Alcatraz in the morning (book ahead as tickets go on sale up to 90 days ahead and can sell out weeks in advance). The ferry to get there is part of the fun – it leaves from Pier 33 and takes 12 to 15 minutes each way.
Prams can go on the ferry and around the island, but there is nowhere to store them, so I would use a carrier.
How Alcatraz tickets work:
Toddlers aged four and under are free and do not need a ticket, so they simply board the ferry with your party, according to Alcatraz City Cruises. Children aged five and over need their own ticket. The audio tour is included and is worth doing in my experience, although you may have to choose one parent to be on toddler duty if they aren’t old enough to listen to their own audio guide.
- Chinatown and North Beach (Little Italy), and specifically a food tour if your family is up for it (or just a walk around if not). We did a Chinatown and Little Italy food tour, which included visiting a fortune cookie factory and an old tea shop. The history narration wasn’t great, but we enjoyed it, and the tea and fortune cookie stops were the highlights. If you only want Chinatown, this Chinatown food tour has better reviews and may be worth a look, although we haven’t done it ourselves. Food walking tours are mostly on foot over a couple of hours, so before booking one with a toddler, ask the organiser about pushchairs, how much walking is involved and whether children are welcome.
- Dinner in North Beach. We liked The Stinking Rose, a garlic-themed restaurant
Day 3: The Mission and Dolores Park
- Walk Mission’s mural alleys. We did another food walking tour and honestly it was incredible, but just grab lunch somewhere if nothing else as there’s so many great food options here. The street art around here is very cool and Balmy Alley has around 33 murals covering garage doors and fences. Clarion Alley is another one to visit as the art changes all the time.
- Dolores Park playground and views over the city. The park gets busy on sunny weekends, so go earlier in the day if you want space.
Day 4: Haight-Ashbury, Golden Gate Park and Ocean Beach
- The famous Painted Ladies at Alamo Square is a row of Victorian houses built between 1892 and 1896 and which survived the 1906 earthquake and fire. Residents and artists campaigned to save them in the 1960s and painted them in their now-famous bright colours.
- The Haight-Ashbury area was the heart of 1960s counterculture and the 1967 Summer of Love, and another interesting district to walk around. The alternative newspaper the San Francisco Oracle was printed here too, and the Counterculture Museum on the corner of Haight and Ashbury has posters, records, clothing and photos from the era.
- Afterwards, head to Golden Gate Park, with the Koret Children’s Quarter playground and the historic carousel worth a stop with kids. Haight-Ashbury sits at the edge of Golden Gate Park, so it leads naturally into an afternoon in the park.
- If you want a full day, we liked Ocean Beach, at the western end of the park. We watched a gorgeous sunset there. The beach isn’t really for swimming, as the National Park Service describes the water as frigid with hazardous currents.
Where to stay in San Francisco with kids
Fisherman’s Wharf is the easiest base with a toddler, because the waterfront is the flattest and most compact part of the trip. Union Square is the most central, with the cable cars and BART close by. Haight-Ashbury suits families who want a residential, apartment feel and quick access to Golden Gate Park. Whichever you choose, you won’t need a car in the city.
Which area to stay in
Union Square
We spent three nights at Hotel Emblem, a three minute walk from the square, and it put us right in the centre of the shopping district, with a cable car running very close by. I’d choose it if you want to reach everything easily and don’t mind a busier, more urban base.
Fisherman’s Wharf
Another popular destination, albeit slightly more touristy with Pier 39, the Aquarium of the Bay, a sea lion colony and the Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason cable car lines. Hotel Zephyr and the Argonaut Hotel, below, are both here.
Haight-Ashbury
We spent our last two nights of our first stay in a holiday rental on Shrader Street, and it felt good staying in a residential neighbourhood as a change of scene. Neighbourhoods like this are a good fit if you’d like more space and a quieter base.
Best family hotels in San Francisco
Hotel Emblem – best for a central Union Square base. We stayed here for three nights and Union Square was a great base: it is a three minute walk from the square, with a cable car close by. For families, cots are free, up to two children stay free in the room, and there are two-bed rooms and connecting rooms. The trade-off is that it is a boutique hotel rather than a family one, so there is no pool or gym.
Hotel Zephyr – best for a lively Fisherman’s Wharf base. It is on Beach Street, a short walk from Pier 39, with family rooms and cots. The draw for families is The Yard, an outdoor space with giant garden games and fire pits, plus an indoor games room. The trade-off is that there is no pool and no restaurant inside the hotel, though several eateries lead off the lobby.
Argonaut Hotel – best for exploring the waterfront on foot. It is a converted cannery near Ghirardelli Square and Hyde Street Pier. Cots are free, children stay free in the room using existing bedding, and the Blue Mermaid restaurant on site has a children’s menu. Street-facing rooms can be noisy, and parking is valet only if you have a hire car.
Fairmont Heritage Place, Ghirardelli Square – best for self-catering and separate living space. The residences have full kitchens, a separate living room with a sofa bed and an in-suite washer and dryer. Cots are available on request and valet parking is included. It is set in the old Ghirardelli chocolate factory. It markets itself as five-star, so expect a higher price than the others.
Ready to book? Compare family-friendly places to stay in San Francisco and check prices for your dates.
Getting around San Francisco with a toddler
Do you need a hire car?
Not for the city itself. We only collected a hire car for the road-trip leg, so we were not paying for city parking while we did the sights. If you are driving on afterwards, check parking before you book a hotel.
How to get to San Francisco from the airport:
BART runs from the airport station into the city, reached by the free AirTrain, and children aged four and under ride free. Powell Street is the closest station to Union Square. With a toddler and luggage a taxi or rideshare may be easier, but California’s car seat rules apply in both, and the companies are not required to supply a seat.
Under California law, children under two must ride rear-facing unless they weigh 40 pounds or more or are 40 inches or taller, and children under eight must be in a car seat or booster in the back seat. The catch for UK families is that seats approved in the UK (ECE R44 or R129) do not meet the US standard, FMVSS 213, so you generally cannot use your own seat in the US. Up to now we have hired a seat when we arrive instead of bringing ours, and we would do the same again with a baby. We have used BabyQuip, which delivers inspected baby gear including car seats to your hotel or rental, so check that it covers where you are staying. Once your child is in a bigger seat, it is more economical to buy one in the US that lasts from around 1.5 years to 8 to 12 years, depending on the seat. That is what we did this October, picking one up from Target. Our guide to the best travel car seats explains the UK versus US issue in more detail, and our hiring baby equipment guide covers when hiring is worth it.
Public transport:
Muni buses and trams are free for riders aged 18 and under, but SFMTA says San Francisco youth need a Free Muni for Youth Clipper card, so check on the SFMTA site whether visitors can get one before you travel. Cable cars are the exception: children aged four and under ride free, and older children pay the standard fare.
Food and family dinings options in San Francisco
We ate a lot of Mexican food, including burritos and tacos, had ramen along the way and a bowl of clam chowder at the wharf (plus plenty of seafood on our broader trip). Plus there’s all the usual American food, so you won’t struggle to find something all family members will eat. Our two food tours, one in Chinatown and one in the Mission, gave us a flavour of some of San Francisco’s neighbourhoods and I can’t recommend doing this enough.
Road trips from San Francisco
San Francisco works well as the start of a longer California road trip, and we have done a few of the iconic routes:
- Napa – while I loved Napa, given the main reason for going is wine tasting it probably works better with older children who can entertain themselves while the adults are listening to the tour and trying the wines.
- Big Sur – we drove south to Carmel, where we stayed a night or two, with time on the Big Sur coast before driving back to SFO. This route would work very well with children of all ages.
- Yosemite – we had the best time this October in Yosemite National Park, and the Big Oak Flat entrance is about 170 miles from San Francisco so takes at least four hours. It offers so much for parents and adults alike, and you can see how we did it in our Yosemite with kids itinerary.
Planning a road trip from San Francisco? Compare car hire prices with Discover Cars for your dates.
This October we drove on from San Francisco to Yosemite and then south to Palm Springs, which we’ve covered in our Palm Springs with kids guide, before finishing in San Diego. If you’re linking the stops together, our California family road trip route shows how the whole trip fits together.
Our San Francisco family destination score
1. Getting there: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
There are direct flights from the UK and the airport is close to the city, so it scores well. The catch is that it’s quite a long flight, at around 10 hours, which is a lot with a kids.
2. Pramability: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
San Francisco is very hilly, so I’d want a carrier as well as a pushchair. The cable cars are a fun way up the hills, but pushchairs must be folded and children taken out before boarding. The city also has BART and the Muni Metro, which runs underground through the centre, so you don’t have to trek everywhere.
3. Adult fun factor: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
There’s lots to do and enjoy for adults as well as families and kids. The food tours, the Mission murals and Alcatraz were all worth doing.
4. Cost: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It’s pretty well priced for the US, given what you get from the city’s attractions and sights. Children aged four and under ride the cable cars free, and Alcatraz is free for under fives, so a day out with a toddler doesn’t have to be expensive.
San Francisco with kids: frequently asked questions
Toddlers aged four and under are free and do not need a ticket, so they simply board the ferry with your party, according to Alcatraz City Cruises. Children aged five and over need their own ticket. You can leave on any later ferry if your little one has had enough. The walk from the dock to the cellhouse is a steep quarter of a mile and pushchairs cannot use the tram, so I would take a carrier. Eating is only allowed at the dock, so bring snacks for there, and bring layers.
Children aged four and under ride free. A single ride is currently $9 for anyone older, so check the SFMTA site for the current fare.
Not for the city. We only hired one for the road trip to Napa and Carmel.
We spent five nights in the city on our longer stay. With a toddler I would plan four days at a slower pace, with one main area a day.
Generally no. UK seats are approved to ECE R44 or R129, not the US standard, FMVSS 213. Up to now we have hired a seat when we arrive, and we would again with a baby. Once your child is in a bigger seat it is more economical to buy one in the US that lasts from around 1.5 years to 8 to 12 years, which is what we did this October. California’s rules still apply in taxis and rideshares.
A pushchair is fine for the waterfront. A carrier is much easier on the steep streets and at Alcatraz.
Allie, Jack & R x
