The Perfect 3-Day San Francisco Itinerary; Real Tips from Our Trip

What to do, where to go, and what we’d change next time.

Before our trip to San Francisco, we planned everything down to the hour. We’re talking a colour-coded, time-stamped PDF. So we feel pretty confident saying this - we squeezed as much as we possibly could out of three days in The City by the Bay.

San Francisco is one of those places that feels like a movie set; cable cars clattering up steep streets, fog rolling over the bridge, and sea lions sunbathing like they own the place.

But it’s also a city where planning helps. So here’s our real, honest 3-day itinerary - the best bits, what worked, and what we’d do differently next time.

San Francisco Highlights

Favourite Spot: Fisherman’s Wharf - we know it’s popular with tourists, but we really liked it. Good atmosphere, nice views, sea lions causing chaos. What more do you need?

Must-Do: Seeing the Golden Gate Bridge properly once the fog finally cleared.

Unexpected Surprise: The smell outside Alcatraz. Nobody mentions this enough.

Where We Stayed: Union Square

We stayed in Union Square, which turned out to be a really good base for a first trip. It’s central, easy for transport, and close to loads of restaurants, shops, and cable car stops. Also handy when your legs are giving up halfway through the trip.

Day 1 – Alcatraz & Chinatown

We started our first full day with Alcatraz.

If you’re planning a trip to San Francisco, definitely book this in advance because tickets sell out quickly. We booked the morning ferry, which worked well because it left the rest of the day free afterwards.

The audio tour is genuinely really interesting, even if you’re not massively into history. The whole island feels strange in a way that’s difficult to explain properly until you’re there.

One thing we can explain properly though is the smell outside in certain areas. Between the birds, seaweed, and whatever else is going on over there, it catches you off guard very quickly.

Once we got back to the mainland, we headed back to the hotel for a quick reset before wandering into Chinatown.

San Francisco’s Chinatown is one of those places where you don’t really need a strict plan. We spent most of our time just wandering around, looking in random shops, and deciding what food we wanted every five minutes.

We obviously stopped for dumplings and bubble tea, because it would’ve felt wrong not to.

That evening, we headed over to Oakland to watch an A’s baseball game.

Neither of us are massive baseball experts, but it ended up being one of our favourite evenings of the trip. The atmosphere was great, getting there on the train was easy, and there’s something very fun about getting fully invested in a sport you only half understand.

Sadly, the Oakland A's are no more but our advice is to see what's on whilst you're there and just...go! Basketball, baseball, ice-hokey - whatever! That's what we did and it was great fun.

Day 2 – Baker Beach, Lombard Street & The Painted Ladies

We started the morning with coffee and breakfast at Scullery, which we’d happily go back to.

Then we made our first mistake of the trip.

We went straight to Baker Beach first thing in the morning to see the Golden Gate Bridge…except the bridge was hidden behind thick fog. So we didn't see it (well, until a few hours later!).

So if you’re following this itinerary, learn from our mistake and don’t go too early.

Instead, start at Alamo Square Park to see The Painted Ladies first. These famous pastel houses somehow look exactly like you expect them to and also completely different at the same time.

After that, head over to Lombard Street, which genuinely looks ridiculous in real life.

Watching cars slowly attempt the turns is weirdly entertaining.

We walked down via the steps and stopped to admire the views.

And then, once the morning haze has cleared, head over to Baker Beach. Relax, watch the sea lions playing in the waves and take in the view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

If you’re feeling more energetic than we were, this is also a good day to hire bikes and cycle across the Bridge. We didn’t fit it in this time, but we definitely would next trip.

Day 3 – Fisherman’s Wharf, Union Square & Cable Cars

We took things a bit slower on our final day.

After a lazy morning, we headed down to Fisherman’s Wharf for lunch and a wander around.

We know some people say to skip it, but we actually really liked it there. Yes, it’s busy, but there’s loads going on and it’s just a fun area to spend a few hours in.

We walked over to Pier 39 to see the sea lions, who spend most of the day shouting at each other and fighting over spots on the platforms.

While you’re there, get the clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. It’s one of those things you just have to try while you’re in San Francisco.

In the afternoon, we spent a bit more time around Union Square before finishing the trip with an evening ride on the cable cars.

This ended up being one of our favourite things we did.

Hanging onto the side while flying downhill feels slightly unsafe, but apparently that’s all part of the experience.

Final Thoughts

Three days in San Francisco went ridiculously quickly and we easily could’ve stayed longer.

It’s one of those cities where every area feels completely different, and half the fun is just wandering around seeing what you find.

If we went back, we’d probably spend a bit more time exploring outside the main tourist spots and finally attempt cycling over the Golden Gate Bridge properly.

But overall, this trip was a very good mix of sightseeing, food, sea lions, and accidentally walking uphill far more than expected.

Which feels like a pretty accurate San Francisco experience, really.

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