Tips for Families on a Budget in San Francisco

It's possible to visit San Francisco on a family-friendly budget.
San Francisco is a great family travel destination, but to be totally honest – it’s a pretty spendy city. Here are a few ideas to stretch your vacation budget while still getting the most out of the City by the Bay.
- Look for hotel rooms or suites with a kitchenette. This enables you to eat breakfast in the room, pack snacks for the rest of the day or have a light dinner “at home” some nights. If you can’t get a kitchenette, try for a room with a refrigerator and microwave. Call ahead, some places will furnish them even if they don’t come standard.
Buy a MUNI passport. San Francisco is served by a network of public transportation referred to as Muni. This includes buses, underground trains, streetcars, and the legendary cable cars. Visit www.sfmuni.com for routes and schedules or check out this handy website http://transit.511.org. Mastering MUNI for your stay will save cash and show give you a glimpse of real San Francisco. And we all know littel kids love streetcars and trains…- Don’t rent a car unless you are going out of the city. Parking is notoriously hellish in SF and can be expensive and/or inconvenient. Some meters downtown and near some of the popular toursist destinations need to be fed every twenty minutes. That’s a hassle. And if there is one branch of Frisco government that is rabidly efficient, it is the Department of Parking and Traffic. Don’t risk it. you will get a ticket.

- Golden Gate Park. Even if you don’t avail yourself of the world-class museums in GG Park (the DeYoung and the California Academy of Sciences), this vast 1,000 acre playground is great for families. The Koret Children’s Quarter is a spanking new playground with various types of equipment for multiple ages, including a concrete slide built into the hillside for sliding fast on cardboar. The vintage carousel delights little ones. The Strybing Arboretum nearby is a fascinating botanical garden. Then there is Stow Lake where you can rent a paddle boat or climb to the top of Strawberry Hill. Lots of open space provides space to throw around a baseball or kick a soccer ball. And don’t forget to visit the herd of buffalo — yep, that’s right buffalo – that live in the northwestern corner of the park.

Burritos are filling and cheap.
Burritos. They are fresh, delicious, ubiquitous, made to order, travel well in their foil wraps, oh, so filling and cheap. San Francisco has tons of taquerias, with the biggest concentration being in the Mission district. But you can find burritos all over town these days.
Photos by Lisa Dion
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