What to wear in San Francisco in May?

[Chelsea21]

Just wondering if anyone can give me some advice on this?

My mum and dad have been in September and said they found it very cool when they did Alcatraz, open top bus tour and when they were on the pier. I’m going in May which I know is getting into summer but temperatures look pretty similar.

I’m thinking jeans and jumpers, am I on the right track?

[landandword17]

Yes. Layers work best. We’ve been in August and even then it was chilly.

[Bozza]

A flower in your hair.

Hope this helps.

[Tetrarch]

I went in August and made the mistake of thinking I would only need summer clothes. San Francisco seems to have its own micro climate and we had fog on a couple of those August mornings which made it distinctly chilly, even at that time of year. I'd take a few clothes for all eventualities if I went again.

Debra

[tocpe321]

Layers. We went in August and it was quite cold. My DW bought a SF fleece to stay warm.

[lottiesmum0]

Definitely layers - we went July and found it chilly, especially down by the water. Inland it became much warmer

[IlDivoette]

We are going in June and I've been thinking along the same lines. I have bought a padded hooded jacket and a lighter hoody which I hope will cover all daytime temperatures. Must admit I'm finding the whole clothing thing a bit of a nightmare for our trip as we will also be doing Vegas which will probably be in the 90's, so have to have the whole spectrum. I'm wondering what people wear out to restaurants in the evening? Is it all jeans and trainers or does anyone wear summery dresses etc. (with a jacket over the top)? 😊

[landandword17]

I didn’t see “summery” clothes in SF, if you mean clothes us Brits would normally wear on a sun holiday. Sun dresses, maxis, sandals and the like. We didn’t go anywhere too fancy but the dress code seemed to be jeans, a top and boots and jacket. Down at the wharf it was tourists in very causal clothes even at night. Away from Fisherman’s Wharf most places had more business travellers than leisure tourists so you’d see a lot of suits in the bars. The Cheescake Factory on Union Square was full of tourists and it made me laugh because every second person there was in a “San Francisco” hoodie or long sleeve T-shirt. I think a lot of tourists get caught out by the cool weather and have to dash into one of the souvenir shops for a hoodie.

[IlDivoette]

Originally Posted by landandword17

I didn’t see “summery” clothes in SF, if you mean clothes us Brits would normally wear on a sun holiday. Sun dresses, maxis, sandals and the like. We didn’t go anywhere too fancy but the dress code seemed to be jeans, a top and boots and jacket. Down at the wharf it was tourists in very causal clothes even at night. Away from Fisherman’s Wharf most places had more business travellers than leisure tourists so you’d see a lot of suits in the bars. The Cheescake Factory on Union Square was full of tourists and it made me laugh because every second person there was in a “San Francisco” hoodie or long sleeve T-shirt. I think a lot of tourists get caught out by the cool weather and have to dash into one of the souvenir shops for a hoodie.

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This was just the answer I was looking for and hope the OP will find the same, so thank you. Will leave the summery things from Vegas in the packing cubes and haul out the jeans, jumpers and jackets from the vacuum bags (I'm not on the dibb for nothing) 😁.

[400ixl]

You can ignore the date in San Fran, the answer is always layers as you never know. Early mornings and evenings can be quite cold any time of the year. Jeans and hoody are always essential to have available as well as shorts and teeshirt in San Fran.