This was our third visit to San Francisco and the first time we had been in the spring, our previous two visits were over Christmas and in the middle of January and even though the weather was fantastic then it's always nice to see plants in flower plus we were hoping to see more of Anna's hummingbirds that tend to flock here in larger members at this time of year, although they can be present all year round if its a warm winter. As far as temperatures go San Francisco seems to be fairly consistent with daytime temperatures typically around 14 to 18 centigrade all year round. It turned out that most days were around 18 to 25 centigrade but as we have found out in the past you still need to pack something warm to wear as this city is renowned for its fog and cold wind off The Bay that will plummet the temperature to single figures within minutes.
As far as planning goes it took just as long as the previous trips due to the number of hills and working out which is the best bus routes to get to places. We have already been to most of the main tourist attractions so we planned on going a bit further out which can bring more problems when taking a wheelchair so it's always best to have a plan B.
Transport is all fully accessible most of the time and the only real problems you run into are that the trams also run through the subway tunnels under the city as well on the streets, not all of the street stops above ground have a raised platform as there isn't enough room to build them so I spent a fair amount of time looking at Google Street View, if the kerb is high enough then Jane get off and all the subway stops have elevators but you need to hold your breath for the ride in them, most are used as toilets.
Although we faced challenges getting around the city and navigating the steep hills it goes to show that where there is a will there a way. San Francisco is a city we both love since first visiting back in 2013 and though it has become less safe here now as a tourist we don't let things you see on the news like shooting or robberies deter us if you thought way then you probably wouldn't even go out in the morning. I've spoken to some people who have been here before, they came years ago and I've only found other one person who loves it as we do. There are many more cities in the USA we want to see but I think San Francisco will always be our go-to place especially in the early or late winter months. It's a friendly city with people from all the world and restaurants to match every taste most of which you'll probably want to avoid like the famed fish restaurants in Fisherman's Wharf. There are many places we still want to see in and around the city but it will probably be 3 years before we get back here.
So here are a few statistics about our trip
- Going it took 19 hours from home to the Hotel Triton
- It's around 5363 miles or so from London to San Francisco
- 11 hours in the air going at a speed of 550 miles an hour at 38,000 feet
- 10 hours coming back at a speed of 560 to 610 miles an hour due to the way the earth spins
- Returning it took 16 hours from the hotel to home
- We took over 1200 photos between us and about over an hour of video in small clips
- We travelled around 150 miles while we were there
- Travelling on about 70 buses, trams and streetcars
- We spent around $1,000
Guide books and transit apps used
Urban Trails San Francisco
DK eyewitness travel, San Francisco
Quicky Transit (app)
