San Francisco Activities Worth Your Time
Ask five people waiting in the Alcatraz ferry line what else is worth doing in San Francisco and you will get five different answers, because the city rewards whichever direction you point it in: water, hills, or park.
Alcatraz first, because it sells out
Alcatraz City Cruises, departing Pier 33, is the only authorized operator to the island; the Day Tour runs $47.95 for an adult and includes the audio tour narrated by former inmates and officers through the cellhouse and D-Block. Summer and holiday weekends sell out three to six weeks ahead, so this is the one booking to make before anything else. Alcatraz City Cruises’ official schedule is the only place to buy; third-party listings at a markup are reselling the same tour.
The cable car, and the fare about to change
A single ride on the Powell-Hyde or Powell-Mason line costs $9 through early January 2027, after which SFMTA raises it to $12 with an $18 all-day Cable Car Plus pass. Board a few blocks up from the Powell Street turnaround, at Powell & Post or Powell & Pine, to skip the worst of the line; SFMTA’s fare and route pages cover the California Street line too, which runs less crowded.
An afternoon in Golden Gate Park
The California Academy of Sciences (dynamic pricing, roughly $42 to $55) combines an aquarium, a planetarium and a four-story rainforest dome under a living roof; check calacademy.org for the day’s ticket band before you go. Across the music concourse, the de Young Museum charges $20 for its galleries, but its 9th-floor Hamon Observation Tower is free to enter without a museum ticket and gives a clear view over the park and the fog line. The Japanese Tea Garden charges $16 to $18 for non-residents and is free to enter before 10am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Getting on the water
Golden Gate Ferry runs from the Ferry Building to Sausalito for $14 one way ($7.75 with a Clipper card), a 30-minute crossing under the bridge. Blue & Gold Fleet’s competing route from Pier 41 has been suspended since May 2026 for dock work with no return date set, so the Ferry Building departure is the only way across by boat right now. For a shorter outing, book a Golden Gate Bridge bike route on GetYourGuide and ride back over the ferry instead of retracing the bridge.
Where to base yourself
Union Square and the Embarcadero both put you within walking distance of the cable car lines and the ferry piers; compare San Francisco hotels on Booking.com before locking in dates around Alcatraz tickets, since the two bookings should happen together.
The verdict
Buy the Alcatraz ticket the day you commit to San Francisco, then build everything else around whichever slot you get. For a longer look at the city’s viewpoints and neighborhoods, see the sightseeing guide .
Before you go
Carry a windproof layer even in July; the coldest, foggiest months in San Francisco are June through August, not winter.