San Francisco Bay

Pros: Very interesting, lots of myths and legends surrounding Alcatraz
Cons: It can be cold and windy here, even in summertime.

We have been to San Francisco many times and every few years we go out to Alcatraz Island. It is a fascinating place and I recommend it very highly as a place to visit when you and your family are in the Bay area. The name "Alcatraz" is s Spanish word...

Pros: Inexpensive attraction, Educational
Cons: There's alot of dangerous areas there

A friend took me to San Francisco in November of this year, and while we were there, we had the chance to go to Alcatraz. It was not something that I was excited about seeing, but am so glad that I did. Not only did I learn so much about the island,...

Pros: Tons to do for everyone!
Cons: --

San Francisco's Pier 39 is a hopping place to visit! The Golden Gate Bridge, restaurants, shops, trips to Alcatraz, helicopter rides, oyster diving, art galleries, live sidewalk shows and a whole lot more!

If you only go to one place in...

Pros: Being in San Francisco.
Cons: none

Being typical tourists we had to do the typical tourist thing ... right? … and what’s a visit to San Francisco without the obligatory ‘bay cruise’!

While looking through a copy of the ‘San Francisco...

Pros: One-stop, easy to find place to taste hundreds of wines
Cons: Can be crowded, easy to get burnt out well before tasting those hundreds of wines

Since I couldn't find a general wine/wine tasting/wine association non fiction area to post this in, it's living here in the San Francisco Bay category, in light of this being one of Fort Mason Center's largest events of the year. This is a good time for ...

Pros: Great way to see the bay's sights!
Cons: On some days it will be chilly

Are you looking for a new experience while in San Francisco? Both visitors and locals to the Bay Area should get their feet wet on an exciting sailing tour aboard the Hawaiian Chieftain. Recently, I took a few friends aboard for a spectacular...

Pros: Great views of the bay
Cons: Hike is very strenuous

If you're looking for a great workout, as well as beautiful walk in the California foothills, I'd like to suggest a hike up Mission Peak. This is a mini-tour of my experience on this mountain, supplemented by 5 photos of the hike. To view the...

Pros: Alcatraz and Golden Gate Bridge both.
Cons: None.

The Bay Area is a wonderful place to go on during a vacation, or if you are a tourist and just love to see spectacular emblems of the history in the United States. One of the most visited attractions in the Bay Area would have to be the San Francisco...

Pros: Incredible piece of American history. Terrific way to spend an afternoon in the Bay.
Cons: Some walking uphill required.

My wife and I visited some friends in San Francisco this August.
They live in Menlo Park, and wanted to make sure we made the trip out to Alcatraz in the San Francisco Bay.

We bought our tickets for the ferry over to Alcatraz Island at...

Pros: Lovely drive, no traffic, no crowds, cool crisp air
Cons: Have to wake up really early

How do you feel about waking up on a Sunday before sunrise? Not too keen on the idea? Well, think again. I love to sleep in on weekends too, but one day I was determined to get myself out of my bed and into the car - for a lovely morning in the Bay Area....

Pros: SF's best kept secret
Cons: often foggy and cold

Camping, bicycling, BBQ, and a nice bottle of of wine on Angel Island is what I first had in mind. It was October, Indian summer was coming and the weather was looking promising. At this time of year the ferry only runs on the weekend and all the...

Pros: Views, Trees, Isolation
Cons: Wind, Fog, Insects

Most people don't know it, but there's an island in the middle of the San Francisco Bay that you can go picnicing and camping on. Because it's one of the lesser known treasures of the Bay, you can actually get reservations without putting yourself on a...

Pros: Great, interesting city, lots to do, inexpensive
Cons: Traffic, hills, traffic, hills....

We visited San Francisco as part of a five location trip to California/Navada in June/July of 2000. San Francisco was our first stop and we arrived late afternoon, very tired after a nine hour flight from the UK. However once we navigated our way from...

Pros: Stressful, overly multicultural, lousy transit, mayor oblivious, super expensive
Cons: Fog, wind, hippies, bums, alkies, druggies, righteous minorities, flapping lips, traffic nightmares, opinionated natives

San Francisco is the city people love to love, the "most European" (aaargh? which part of Europe?), and it's packed most of the time with tourists, conventioneers, commuters from every directions, illegals of all stripes, corrupt politicians,...

Pros: Good audio tour
Cons: Tickets hard to get on short notice

If you get to San Francisco, California, try to make time for a visit to Alcatraz. To me it's a gotta see it once type of place.

There are various tours to Alcatraz, and most of them are with the Blue and Gold fleet. I suggest purchasing...