San Francisco itinerary: three days, plus one out of town

Our San Francisco itinerary puts the waterfront and Alcatraz on day one and the cable cars and SFMOMA on day two. Day three takes the bridge, Fort Point and Golden Gate Park, and an optional fourth day goes to Muir Woods or Sausalito.

The order is our own judgement, not an official route. It rests on closed days and on the light: on 5 November 2026 the sun sets at 5:07 p.m., and most museums here close at 5 p.m.

Our San Francisco guide covers the airport, the bridge toll, taxes and the weather; this page only sets the order. We read the figures below on 5 November 2026 on the pages of the National Park Service, SFMTA, the Golden Gate Bridge district, SFMOMA, the Exploratorium, the California Academy of Sciences and the US Navy. The de Young, the Legion of Honor and Coit Tower are left out because we could not read their hours.

What does each day of this San Francisco itinerary hold?

Day one of this San Francisco itinerary stays on the Embarcadero. Day two moves to the cable car lines and downtown, and day three covers the bridge and Golden Gate Park. Day four leaves the city. Each day puts the stop with the fixed ticket or the early closing first, and the stop that stays open late last.

Alcatraz was closed on 5 November 2026, so day one has a version without it, set out below. The rest of the plan does not depend on the island.

Which weekdays should three days in San Francisco not fall on?

Three days in San Francisco work best from a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday start. The reason is a closed-day grid: SFMOMA shuts on Wednesday, the Exploratorium and the Cable Car Museum on Monday, and Fort Point opens Thursday to Monday only. The Conservatory of Flowers also shuts on Wednesday.

Every row keeps day one off Monday, day two off Monday and Wednesday, and day three off Tuesday and Wednesday. A Wednesday start has one more advantage: SFMOMA stays open until 8 p.m. on Thursdays, which is day two.

A Sunday start costs the Cable Car Museum on day two and Fort Point's interior on day three. A Monday start costs the Exploratorium on day one and Fort Point's interior on day three, and a Tuesday start puts SFMOMA on a Wednesday. The other stops keep their order.

How do Alcatraz tickets fit the order while the island is closed?

Alcatraz tickets are the first thing to buy, once the island reopens. The Park Service says it closed on 26 October 2026 for dock repairs and that the work is "expected to be completed by Nov. 18, 2026". Its release adds that weather or other factors may move that date. On 5 November the park's alerts carried no reopening notice.

The Park Service says tickets go on sale up to 90 days ahead and the island is open every day except Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. How soon tours sell out depends on the page.

The operator says tours frequently sell out a week or more ahead, and the Park Service says as much as a month or more in summer and near holidays. We would book as early as the pages allow, and read the park's alerts again before travelling.

The day tour costs $47.95 for an adult, tax included, and the operator adds no booking fee; the other tours and ages are in our San Francisco guide. Alcatraz is not on the 2026 list of parks that add $100 for visitors from abroad, and the ferry ticket is the only charge. Our national park fees for international visitors guide explains the list.

Without a ticket assurance, the operator says a ticket can be rescheduled or refunded up to 72 hours before departure. For this closure, the Park Service's release offers ticket holders a refund, another date or a bay cruise. We found no price or timetable for that cruise, so it is not in the plan.

While Alcatraz is closed, day one drops the boat. Start at the Ferry Building, which is open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Its farmers market runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.

Walk to the Exploratorium, about 21 minutes on our own routing, for its 10 a.m. opening, then on along the Embarcadero to Pier 33 and Pier 39, which are a 6-minute walk apart. If the island reopens before you fly, move the boat to your last morning, since nothing else on day one depends on it.

Why does day one start at Pier 33 and end at the Ferry Building?

Day one starts at Pier 33 because Alcatraz Landing sits there, at the foot of Bay Street on the Embarcadero, and the first boat leaves at 8:45 a.m. The Park Service says departures run about every half hour. The operator asks for arrival half an hour before departure, with photo ID and the card used to pay.

The day tour needs at least 2.5 to 3 hours, by the operator's estimate, with a crossing of 12 to 15 minutes each way. A first boat therefore brings you back at about noon. We could not read the winter sailing table, so check the last departure when you book.

The Exploratorium comes next, a 15-minute walk from Pier 33 on our own routing. It opens at 10 a.m. Tuesday to Saturday, at noon on Sunday, and closes at 5 p.m. The adult ticket costs $39.95. On Thursdays its After Dark evening, for ages 18 and over, runs from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at $22.95.

The Ferry Building closes the day, about 21 minutes' walk from the Exploratorium on our own routing. Its marketplace is open until 10 p.m., after dark in every month we sampled.

Why does day two run from the cable car to SFMOMA?

Day two ends at SFMOMA because the Cable Car Museum closes first, at 4 p.m. from Tuesday to Thursday. SFMOMA closes at 5 p.m., except on Thursdays, when it stays open until 8 p.m. Its adult ticket costs $30. Admission is free for ages 18 and younger.

Begin at Powell and Market, where two of the three cable car lines start. A ride costs $9.00 one way with no transfers, and SFMTA says to prepay with MuniMobile or a Clipper card "to avoid long lines".

Take a Powell line to the Cable Car Museum at 1201 Mason Street. Admission is free, and the museum is open Tuesday to Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and closed Monday.

From the museum, walk to the Chinatown Dragon Gate, about 13 minutes on our own routing, then on to Powell and Market in about 12 minutes. SFMOMA is a further 11 minutes' walk. The hills make each figure a minimum, since the routing ignores slope. SFMOMA's own page notes that a new installation affects the Atrium and floors 3, 4 and 5.

Does a Visitor Passport pay off on this three-day plan?

A Visitor Passport pays off only on the cable car day. Two cable car rides cost $18.00, more than the $15 one-day passport, which also covers Muni buses, Muni Metro trains and the streetcars. The three-day passport costs $35, against $36 for four rides at $9.00, so it pays only when the other days hold Muni trips too.

SFMTA says passports are not valid on BART, on other transit systems or on tour buses. They expire at 11:59 p.m. on the first, third or seventh day of use. The plan needs one or two cable car rides.

If you ride twice, the $15 passport on day two is the sensible purchase, and the rest of the plan is on foot. Our San Francisco guide lists the bus and day-pass prices.

Why do Fort Point and the bridge come before Golden Gate Park on day three?

Fort Point and the bridge come first on day three because Fort Point is the only stop with a hard window. It opens Thursday to Monday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., its roof access closes at 4:30 p.m., and it is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.

The Park Service says the exterior is open seven days a week, and that no entrance pass is needed. The days Fort Point is open "change on a seasonal basis".

The Presidio Visitor Center opens every day at 10 a.m., and from it the bridge's south plaza is about 28 minutes on foot on our own routing. From the plaza, Fort Point is about 15 minutes.

The walk to the bridge is free: the district's FAQ says the pedestrian toll was eliminated in December 1970. Walkers use the east sidewalk, open from 5 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. from early November to early March. The bridge is 1.7 miles long including its approaches, and the district prints no walking time.

The toll applies only to cars heading south, so a hire car that comes in by the bridge pays; the rates are in our San Francisco guide. Our guides to driving in the USA as a visitor and to renting a car in the USA cover the paperwork.

Golden Gate Park takes the afternoon, with the Japanese Tea Garden first, on a timed entry booked ahead, and its last entry at 4:30 p.m. from November to February. The California Academy of Sciences is a 6-minute walk away on our own routing. It opens 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, with last entry at 4 p.m.

An adult ticket at the California Academy of Sciences costs $49, or $55 at peak, and the Academy counts November and December holiday periods as peak without saying which days. We found no official travel time between the Presidio and the park, so leave room for it and reach the Academy by 3 p.m.

Which things to do in San Francisco shut before the light goes?

Most of the things to do in San Francisco shut at 5 p.m., close to winter sunset, so the plan puts outdoor stops first. The US Navy's figures put sunset at 5:07 p.m. on 5 November 2026, 4:58 p.m. on 15 November and 4:51 p.m. on 8 December, the earliest of the dates we sampled.

The Cable Car Museum shuts at 4 p.m. from Tuesday to Thursday, Fort Point and the Exploratorium at 5 p.m., and the Academy's last entry is at 4 p.m.

The highs are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals for the downtown station. NOAA's marine-layer page says a summer crossing of the bridge "will commonly encounter fog", and July downtown is 3.9°F cooler than September.

We found no official page on when fog lifts, so we promise no clear hour in any month. September and October give the warmest afternoons, 70°F downtown, with sunset at 7:18 p.m. in mid-September and 6:32 p.m. in mid-October.

Rain belongs to November through March, with 4.40 inches in January against 0.01 inches in July downtown. On a wet day, move the Academy to the morning of day three and keep the bridge walk for the break in the weather.

Which dates before March 2027 break the order?

Several dated closures before March 2027 move a stop, and Thanksgiving is the largest. On 26 November 2026 Alcatraz, SFMOMA, Fort Point and the Cable Car Museum are all closed. A three-day plan with that date in it should move the whole order by a day.

The 14 March date is our arithmetic from the second Sunday in March; the district's wording for the sidewalk switch is "early March".

What fills an optional fourth day, Muir Woods or Sausalito?

The optional fourth day is Muir Woods by car or Sausalito by ferry, and we would pick one, because they need different transport.

Muir Woods needs a reservation for any car or shuttle. A standard car costs $10 to park, booked on gomuirwoods.com, and the entrance fee is $15 for anyone 16 and over. Visitors who arrive on foot, by bicycle or on a tour bus need no reservation. The shuttle is not in service until spring 2027, so a visit before then means a car or a tour.

The monument is open every day from 8 a.m. until about sunset, which is just after 5 p.m. in early November. City Hall to the visitor centre is about 16.2 miles and 35 minutes by car on our own routing. The Park Service's alert says the monument has no cell service, and a Dipsea Trail detour adds about half a mile from roughly December to March.

Sausalito needs no car. Golden Gate Ferry charges $8.50 one way for an adult with a Clipper card or a contactless bank card, and $14.00 for a paper ticket. You tap once, and from Sausalito the fare is taken on disembarking in San Francisco.

We could not read the crossing time or the first and last sailings, so check the district's timetable before choosing the day. Ferries sail from the Ferry Building, which fits the end of day one.

The Park Service's fee-free days exclude visitors from abroad in 2026, and the parking reservation applies on them too. Muir Woods is not on the 2026 list of parks that add $100. Our guide to California covers what lies beyond the Bay Area.

What do the paid stops of the three days add up to?

The paid stops of the three days add up to $166.90 for one adult by our arithmetic, before cable car rides, food and the hotel. That sum is Alcatraz $47.95, the Exploratorium $39.95, SFMOMA $30 and the Academy $49. At the Academy's $55 peak rate the total is $172.90.

Fort Point, the Cable Car Museum and the bridge walk cost nothing to enter. We could not read the Japanese Tea Garden's price, so it is not in the sum. Nor are the sales tax, 8.625% in the city, or the hotel tax, which we could not confirm.