San Francisco Harbour Cruise & Fisherman’s Wharf: A Perfect Waterfront Day Out
Our first full day in San Francisco started with a harbour cruise with the Blue & Gold Fleet. Standard tickets for the one hour pleasure boat trip cost $37 (£30) but substantial savings can be made by purchasing the CityPASS which costs $84 (£72) and includes admission to four top attractions for use over a nine day period.
Pre booking is unnecessary and we just needed to show our CityPASS barcodes at the Blue & Gold kiosk at Pier 41 on Fisherman’s Wharf to obtain tickets. We couldn’t have wished for a better day as there was a clear blue sky with wall to wall sunshine. Being mid-week the boat wasn’t too busy and we opted to sit outside on the upper deck for the best views and to enjoy the fresh air.
Throughout the cruise we enjoyed a fully narrated commentary about San Francisco’s historic waterfront, the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. Audio guides can be downloaded onto phones for visitors to listen to in nine other languages making it interesting for everyone.
The boat trip provided us with a splendid introduction to San Francisco as we passed through the bay and sailed beneath the Golden Gate Bridge. There was quite a breeze outside the sheltered harbour and the sea suddenly became more choppy.
After returning under the Golden Gate Bridge we had good views of the north bay suburbs of Tiberon, Belvedere and Sausalito and also of the Oakland Bay Bridge. Our tour then took us around the notorious Alcatraz prison island for an off-shore glimpse of a planned activity arranged for later in our stay.
Before returning to the quay, we sailed past Pier 39 and got up close to the floating barges which are home to large numbers of sea lions who were basking in the spring sunshine.
I’d definitely recommend adding this boat trip to your San Francisco itinerary especially if the weather is good as we learnt so much from the commentary as well as taking in the panoramic bay and city views from the perspective of the water.
After getting off the boat we then walked along to Pier 39 to visit the Aquarium of the Bay which is also included in the CityPASS, standard entrance $31.75 (£25.70). This aquarium focuses on marine life in San Francisco harbour and contains more than 24,000 local marine animals of the bay.
The aquarium is divided into several galleries starting with Discover the Bay. Here we were introduced to the ecosystem of the local waters and to its seven different animal habitats demonstrating how they form homes for the creatures living there. Moving on to Go with the flow we viewed some beautiful jellyfish including moon jellies and Pacific sea nettles and learnt that their movements are mostly controlled by bay and ocean currents.
Next we walked through two glass tunnels, in the first, Nearshore Waters we gazed at sharks, bay rays and schools of anchovies floating all around us. The second tunnel explored the deeper waters of the bay with sharks, rays and sturgeons in abundance. To conclude our visit we went upstairs to the Touch the Bay gallery which is unique as it allows visitors to gently touch several species of tide pool animals such as sea stars, sea cucumbers and sea anemones. We enjoyed our visit to the aquarium especially due to its narrow focus on the surrounding Bay area.
Following both of our morning activities we were feeling quite hungry so popped into Boudin Bakery on Pier 39 for some lunch. Boudin is the oldest continuously operating sourdough bakery in San Francisco having been established by Isidore Boudin way back in 1849.
We each ordered a bread bowl of clam chowder and it was just as well that we had large appetites as they were really big as well as tasting delicious. It was the first time either of us had sampled clam chowder but we liked it so much that it was likely we’d be back for more whilst based in the city.
Leaving bustling Pier 39 behind we caught a tram (streetcar) along the Embarcadero to Pier 15, the home of the Exploratorium. Standard admission $39.95 (£32.38) and also included in our CityPASS.
We are enthralled by all things scientific so were delighted to find this large science museum included in the pass as at over £30 it would have been extremely expensive to visit otherwise. There are six indoor and outdoor galleries each focussed on a different area of exploration alongside an open plan exhibit development workshop where scientists research and develop new ideas.
Galleries include Human Phenomena, Seeing, Reflection and Tinkering. We enjoyed trying out many of the hands on experiments such as watching water freeze and form into a spiky kaleidoscope of colourful crystals and creating coloured shadows in a shadow box. It’s a fun museum with something of interest for all ages and we must have spent at least two hours captivated by its exhibits.
From there we caught a tram (streetcar) over to the Dogpatch District which is an upcoming area with old warehouses that have more recently been transformed into craft breweries, restaurants, a museum and an art gallery. We’d come to visit ICA SF, the recently opened Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco located on Minnesota Street (admission free).
The gallery’s ethos is to be continuously ‘under construction’ enabling artists to push boundaries, experiment with new ideas and take risks. It’s quite a small art gallery with varied exhibits some of which I liked and others I wasn’t quite so sure about.
My favourite was a collage of hand mirrors which had been collected from unwanted possessions. We also saw a tree that had been hit by a car and a collection of tambourines neither of which I could really understand.
On leaving, it was getting quite late so we decided to take a tram to Chinatown, arriving there shortly before the lanterns adorning the streets were turned on.
San Francisco is home to one of the oldest Chinatown’s in the U.S. and can be approached via the Dragon’s Gate which forms an archway made from materials gifted from Taiwan. The gate is surrounded by two large guardian lions.
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