Hello, my friends! Have you ever been to San Francisco? San Francisco is a wonderful city to visit, but what if you have only 24 hours to spend there? What would you go and see?   My husband and I had planned a wonderful anniversary vacation ( 31 years) at the Ritz Carlton at Half Moon Bay but also added a day visiting San Fransico. We’ve been to San Francisco many times and have traveled down Lombard Street, rode the trolley, and visited China town but this time we wanted to ride bikes over the Golden Gate bridge before we can’t do it anymore.

If you’ve never been to San Francisco in the summer you need to be prepared for foggy and chilly days. It was in the 60’s the entire week we were in northern California which was a lovely departure from the 90’s we are having in Atlanta. I packed long sleeves, a sweater, and pants for this trip. San Fransisco is a very casual city and you can dress chic or casual but bring along comfortable walking shoes. San Fransisco, like New York, is a great walking city.

We flew in and out of San Francisco so this story is based entirely on my experiences in San Francisco. I will post another blog about Half Moon Bay later.

We flew into San Fran on Delta and was greeted with mimosas in the premier class.

As we departed our plane I quickly threw on this beautiful sweater jacket I purchased from my fierce 50 sister Nora from the Jacket Society in the spring. Even the airport bathrooms are lovely and updated! I wore the sweater every day in California.

24 Hours in San Francisco begins now! Arrived at 5:30pm

Since my husband is a Marriott rewards member we stayed at the JW Marriott for our visit to San Fransisco but there are so many hotel options from inexpensive to luxury hotels.

The JW had just finished being remodeled and I love the bathroom in our room. ( As an interior designer, I’m a sucker for modern bathrooms.)

8:oo pm

We planned to meet up with my cousin and her husband for dinner after we landed at the popular Kokkari Estiatorio restaurant. It’s a wonderful Greek restaurant. I highly recommend you try it the next time you in San Fransisco! The lamb dishes were delicious!

9:00 am- Off we Go!

We headed out in the morning to get our rented bikes and were off for a day of sightseeing and the Golden Gate Bridge. We dressed in warm layers because we were expecting windy conditions on the bridge and the temperature was only going to be 60. I had 2 tops on underneath the cotton sweater and I probably could have used a windbreaker which I didn’t wear on the bike ride. I wasn’t cold after leaving the bridge.

We watched a video about riding across the bridge to Sausalito at the bike rental place (which was required watching) and thought it looked pretty easy. We then decided to continue our trip to Tiburon. (Which we thought was a short distance, from Sausalito because we didn’t look at the miles before we headed to Tiburon! Which was a total of 22 miles from the pier to Tiburon!)

WARNING: If you are not an avid biker (which I’m not) you will find this isn’t the same as a weekend bike ride on a suburban bike path. You can still ride a bike across the Golden Gate bridge but I would recommend an electric bike over a regular bike like we rode. (Your butt and thighs will thank you for selecting an electric bike!) We were expecting a flat surface around the bay to Tiburon and it’s very hilly. 

You start out your trip by Fishermen’s Wharf and ride along the water towards the bridge. You stay close to the marinas and will encounter people swimming there. This woman was swimming all by herself beyond to roped off area in Aquatic Park without a wetsuit in the cold water! Impressive or really crazy!

We stopped a lot to enjoy the views and I took photos of this road trip. (It was also an excuse to catch our breaths.)

Once you hit the bridge you will now meet the foot pedestrians who travel in packs and take up the entire path to capture the perfect picture. The young fashionistas pose hanging on the guard rails and cause complete chaos crossing the bridge. You share the share path and it’s clearly marked: Bikes on the left and walkers on the right. Even if it’s marked that way, the pack of walkers always seem to think they have the right of way. (My husband hit the red painted guardrail when a pack of walkers wouldn’t stay on their side.) It wasn’t crowded on Monday morning but the walkers tend to travel in packs. Be prepared to stop and stare them down when they approach.

After crossing the bridge you will follow the bike path into the cute town of Sausalito.  You need to stop here and enjoy this charming little town! We stopped at the Barrel House Tavern for a light lunch. It’s on the right in the photo below.

When you begin your bike journey you will feel absolutely fine and think you can handle all the hills you will encounter along the way. Sausalito is 8 miles from the piers and Tiburon is 22 miles from San Francisco.

We thought the ride would be flat but it has some hills which means your thighs will refuse to peddle any more after you leave the charming little town of Sausalito. I actually talked to my legs to give them encouragement but I ended up walking my bike up the hills.  Do not be deceived by the photo below, It’s not flat!

Honestly, Tiburon is a beautiful bay town and it’s very wealthy. We didn’t visit Tiburon because we were exhausted and wanted to be done with our bikes. Period. We headed straight to the ferry dock and visited with the locals out and about. They were surprised we biked to Tiburon and didn’t stop and take the ferry back from Sausalito which is what most sane people do.

1:30 pm- Arrive at Tiburon

See us smiling? The ferry is coming to rescue us!

If you don’t visit Alcatraz you get a close view of it from the ferry.

San Francisco looked so beautiful to us from the ferry. We were so glad to check off the bike ride over the Golden Gate Bridge from our bucket list!

4:00 Depart San Francisco

Next up for us is the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay! I hope to see you there!

What I wore in San Francisco (out on the town and bike riding)

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Epilog:

After we came back from Half Moon Bay we stayed at the Marriott by the airport for our early departure back to Atlanta. We walked down about a mile to have our favorite burgers from In-N- Out burgers before leaving California.

And make sure you have identification with you before you head to the airport. Somehow I lost my drivers license on this trip and I had to go through 2 pat downs before I boarded my flight back to Atlanta. Note to self: Pay attention to where you put important papers!

Thanks for stopping by today, my friends!

Have you ridden a bike over the Golden Gate Bridge?

What is your favorite thing to do while in San Francisco? I would love to hear from you!

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Hugs,