Mini review of San Francisco - here now

[DisneyArab]

We are about half way through our West Coast/New York trip and thought I would do a wee mini review of our time here so far. I got quite a wee bit help from kind Dibbers before we left, so hopefully this might help others with their planning.

DH and I travelling from Edinburgh with our three children DD's age 16 and 15 and DS age 9.

We flew to Gatwick the night before our flight out to Oakland on the Saturday, and stayed in the Hilton at Gatwick overnight. Really glad we did this as it made our travel day on the Saturday a lot shorter and saved a ridiculously early rise on the Saturday. Our flight out to San Francisco was really good and the 11 hour flight went really quickly.

We got the Bart from Oakland to Embercadero (bought tickets at the station $55 for 5) and was an easy journey straight to our hotel. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Club Level and really enjoyed this. We made use of the breakfast/dinners there and probably saved a fortune.

On arrival day we walked to Union Square to the Apple store to get a new phone for our daughter - her top priority - but was good to get a wander after the flight. The only downside to this walk was the homeless. We knew about the homeless problem before we visited but it was certainly an eye opener on a couple of occasions. We never felt threatened by them but it was definitely a downside of the city (the only one for me).

Our first full day we did the Dylans Famous Tour - was recommended by Dibbers to do this - so glad we did this, was a great day. Our tour guide was Adam and he was excellent - full of great stories and history of the city - our kids really enjoyed it too - I had wondered if it might not be very interesting for our 9 year old son - but they all really enjoyed it. We had lunch at the Napa Valley Burger Company in Sausalito. Was lovely but very expensive for what we had. Two burgers to share and a childrens burger. Added on 2 lots of fries, hubby had a couple of beers. $110 dollars. Food was lovely but pricey for what we had.

The only downside to the tour was that it was a foggy day - can't be helped but we didn't get the views of the city that we could have. Would highly recommend doing the Famous Tour. After we were dropped off we walked down lombard Street which was good fun.

Day 2 we did Alcatraz, leaving at 9.10 am. All really enjoyed this again and finally got to see the Golden Gate Bridge after it was covered with fog yesterday. Alcatraz was also great, really interesting, kids all enjoyed this too although probably the guided audio tour was enough for them. After the tour, we walked round to see the sealions - there were none ! They migrate a couple of months at this time of year so are rarely there.

The kids were desperate to try an in-and-out burger so this was our lunch stop - have to say - very good burgers ! We then got the trolley car to Westfield shopping mall and had a good wander around there - all did really well at Abercrombie with hoodies - they had some great bargains in their sale.

Day 3 we purchased Muni passes today and headed out first thing on the bus to visit the 'Fuller House' house from the Netflix show - kids all love this show and were keen to see the actual house. We then revisited the Painted Ladies (also used in the Fuller House series) to spend more time there. We then headed back to the Lounge at our hotel to watch the England game.

We then headed out to the Japanese Tea Garden at Golden Gate Park then walked half way over Golden Gate Bridge and back.

Day 4 we picked up car at 7 am at Post Street which was very straightforward. Picked up our luggage and drove down Lombard Street (was quiet at this time)before heading off on the drive to Anaheim. This took 8 hours with 3 quick stops on the way.

The weather was on the cool side in San Francisco - we made do with hoodies - kids would probably have loved their winter coats tbh.

All in all, loved this city. Had not realised just how steep the streets were in San Francisco - driving down some of them from the top and they honestly felt like going over the drop in Splash Mountain - has to be seen to be believed! Walking up them was hard going - I would say I was fairly fit but walking up one of the streets was very hard going on quite a cool day.

Our highlights were the Dylan's tour, Alcatraz and hanging off the trolley cars which we did a few times.

I'll do a review of Anahaim separately.

[disneypars]

Looks like you're having a good time. Thinking of doing west coast next year so looking for ideas. Will also be flying from Edinburgh thinking either BA or VA from Heathrow. Is Oakland a destination for Norwegian then? Looking forward to your next instalment.

[DisneyArab]

We flew British Airways, Edinburgh to Gatwick on the Friday evening then Gatwick to Oakland on the Saturday morning. There was no difference to the total cost of the flights to fly to Gatwick on the Friday night than it was the Saturday morning. We have a lot of BA airmiles to use so booked a family room at the Gatwick Hilton overnight using airmiles- this included breakfast in the morning. Was a good option for us - didn't cost us anything extra and made our travel day a lot easier.

[fatblokeflorida]

Originally Posted by DisneyArab

We are about half way through our West Coast/New York trip and thought I would do a wee mini review of our time here so far. I got quite a wee bit help from kind Dibbers before we left, so hopefully this might help others with their planning.

DH and I travelling from Edinburgh with our three children DD's age 16 and 15 and DS age 9.

We flew to Gatwick the night before our flight out to Oakland on the Saturday, and stayed in the Hilton at Gatwick overnight. Really glad we did this as it made our travel day on the Saturday a lot shorter and saved a ridiculously early rise on the Saturday. Our flight out to San Francisco was really good and the 11 hour flight went really quickly.

We got the Bart from Oakland to Embercadero (bought tickets at the station $55 for 5) and was an easy journey straight to our hotel. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Club Level and really enjoyed this. We made use of the breakfast/dinners there and probably saved a fortune.

On arrival day we walked to Union Square to the Apple store to get a new phone for our daughter - her top priority - but was good to get a wander after the flight. The only downside to this walk was the homeless. We knew about the homeless problem before we visited but it was certainly an eye opener on a couple of occasions. We never felt threatened by them but it was definitely a downside of the city (the only one for me).

Our first full day we did the Dylans Famous Tour - was recommended by Dibbers to do this - so glad we did this, was a great day. Our tour guide was Adam and he was excellent - full of great stories and history of the city - our kids really enjoyed it too - I had wondered if it might not be very interesting for our 9 year old son - but they all really enjoyed it. We had lunch at the Napa Valley Burger Company in Sausalito. Was lovely but very expensive for what we had. Two burgers to share and a childrens burger. Added on 2 lots of fries, hubby had a couple of beers. $110 dollars. Food was lovely but pricey for what we had.

The only downside to the tour was that it was a foggy day - can't be helped but we didn't get the views of the city that we could have. Would highly recommend doing the Famous Tour. After we were dropped off we walked down lombard Street which was good fun.

Day 2 we did Alcatraz, leaving at 9.10 am. All really enjoyed this again and finally got to see the Golden Gate Bridge after it was covered with fog yesterday. Alcatraz was also great, really interesting, kids all enjoyed this too although probably the guided audio tour was enough for them. After the tour, we walked round to see the sealions - there were none ! They migrate a couple of months at this time of year so are rarely there.

The kids were desperate to try an in-and-out burger so this was our lunch stop - have to say - very good burgers ! We then got the trolley car to Westfield shopping mall and had a good wander around there - all did really well at Abercrombie with hoodies - they had some great bargains in their sale.

Day 3 we purchased Muni passes today and headed out first thing on the bus to visit the 'Fuller House' house from the Netflix show - kids all love this show and were keen to see the actual house. We then revisited the Painted Ladies (also used in the Fuller House series) to spend more time there. We then headed back to the Lounge at our hotel to watch the England game.

We then headed out to the Japanese Tea Garden at Golden Gate Park then walked half way over Golden Gate Bridge and back.

Day 4 we picked up car at 7 am at Post Street which was very straightforward. Picked up our luggage and drove down Lombard Street (was quiet at this time)before heading off on the drive to Anaheim. This took 8 hours with 3 quick stops on the way.

The weather was on the cool side in San Francisco - we made do with hoodies - kids would probably have loved their winter coats tbh.

All in all, loved this city. Had not realised just how steep the streets were in San Francisco - driving down some of them from the top and they honestly felt like going over the drop in Splash Mountain - has to be seen to be believed! Walking up them was hard going - I would say I was fairly fit but walking up one of the streets was very hard going on quite a cool day.

Our highlights were the Dylan's tour, Alcatraz and hanging off the trolley cars which we did a few times.

I'll do a review of Anahaim separately.

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Do you mind if I ask about the flight over as we are flying that route in a couple of weeks? Was the plane dated, poor IFE etc. Did you have movies, games, music etc and plenty of choice of each?

[Colette-S]

Thanks for the review - we will be there in a few days. Going Man-LFR, LHR-SFO with BA

[DisneyArab]

Originally Posted by fatblokeflorida

Do you mind if I ask about the flight over as we are flying that route in a couple of weeks? Was the plane dated, poor IFE etc. Did you have movies, games, music etc and plenty of choice of each?

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DH thought the plane was quite old. We all had movies/TVs shows etc loaded onto iPads so none of us really used the IFE. The food was nice, but I always quite enjoy the plane food!

[DisneyArab]

Originally Posted by Colette-S

Thanks for the review - we will be there in a few days. Going Man-LFR, LHR-SFO with BA

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Have a great time.

[disneypars]

Originally Posted by DisneyArab

We flew British Airways, Edinburgh to Gatwick on the Friday evening then Gatwick to Oakland on the Saturday morning. There was no difference to the total cost of the flights to fly to Gatwick on the Friday night than it was the Saturday morning. We have a lot of BA airmiles to use so booked a family room at the Gatwick Hilton overnight using airmiles- this included breakfast in the morning. Was a good option for us - didn't cost us anything extra and made our travel day a lot easier.

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Thanks for the information much appreciated (not a Dundee United supporter by chance &#129300

[disneypars]

Originally Posted by Sevcunto

I've flown:

EDI-LHR-SFO - Virgin 747 (Upper Class)
EDI-LHR-SFO - United 777 (Economy Plus)
EDI-EWR-SFO - United 757 (Economy)
EDI-LHR-SFO - United 777 (First Class)
SFO-LHR-EDI - Virgin 787 (Economy - Exit Row)
EDI-LHR-SFO - Virgin 787 (Economy) returning on BA SFO-LHR-EDI - A380 (Premium Economy)


All were excellent - the 787 is really good for jetlag in both directions IMO.


All these routes tend to have really good staff and I'm struggling to find any issue with any sort of cabin crew on any of these routes. VS and UA are consistently excellent although on UA you have to pay for booze in Economy.

Another one to consider is EI via DUB to SFO. Not a route I've done personally but could be good as I'll assume you pre clear immigration.

The A380 is my current favourite plane though so I'd be tempted by BA if it's currently flying the route.

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Thanks for the information will be monitoring flights and prices when they're released. Hopefully planning to go in September. Trying American airlines this year via Dublin.

[Vinniecat]

Thanks for sharing sounds like you are have a great time.