What it is: CityPASS is a week-long bus ticket, plus admission to four of San Francisco’s coolest museums.
Admission: $94 for an adult CityPASS.
What you save: Over $80, if you visit all four attractions.
Where to get it: Any of the CityPASS attractions or at the San Francisco Visitors Center, located at 900 Market Street.
Who it’s for: Anyone staying in San Francisco for an extended amount of time—at least a week.
Includes:
- Seven-day cable car and municipal bus passport
- California Academy of Sciences admission
- Blue & Gold Fleet Bay cruise adventure
- Exploratorium OR De Young Museum
- Aquarium of the Bay OR Monterey Bay Aquarium
Benefits:
- No lines in transportation, its free, and it takes you wherever you want to go
- Perfect for long stay
- Saves you a lot of money in museum admission
- The things included are educational
- Includes a lot of discount coupons for dining, shopping, etc
- It also has discounts for Segway tours and for bike rides
If you’re in San Francisco, purchasing a CityPass is a great way to get around and save money on some of the city’s coolest attractions. For me, the CityPass was especially helpful for transport, although I also enjoyed a lot of the inclusions.
San Francisco is known for its cable car. It’s relatively cheap—just $7—so of course I wanted to be sure to experience it! We rode the cable car to Mason, navigated the streets on the F Street car to the wharf near Pier 39, and hopped aboard the Blue and Gold Fleet Adventure.
Blue and Gold Fleet: 1 hour bay cruise $30
The Blue and Gold Fleet cruise took us around the bay area, explaining all the sites we saw on both sides of the bay. The trip gives you an overview of the city and even takes you under the Golden Gate Bridge. The boat also goes around Alcatraz and gives you a history about the place. The tour is an audio recording, so it can be a little bit hard to hear if there are a lot of people on the boat. It can be a cold tour, so be sure to wear a jacket or an extra layer if you go! I was glad that we were on the 1:00 pm cruise and that the day was sunny. It helped me survive the chilly air. Remember, I’m a tropical girl! I’m not used to cold weather. Also, the boat has a snack bar, so if you forget to pack food, you can still get a bite to eat.
Exploratorium: $29
I loved the Exploratorium! It’s a science museum geared toward kids, but even adults can learn a lot. I went with my grandma, and even she enjoyed it. The museum has interactive exhibits as well as live demonstrations. I happened to catch a cow eye dissection. It was disgusting, but also fascinating!
With CityPass, you have the choice to visit the Exploratorium or the Legion of Honor and De Young Museum. We used the CityPass transportation to the Legion of Honor and explored the California of Sciences, which was right across from it. We got to Legion of Honor around 4:20, and the guy at the front told us that the museum would be free at 4:30, so we would be better off waiting ten minutes for free admission and saving our tickets for the Exploratorium. We had 45 minutes to explore the Legion of Honor for free until 5:15, when the museum closes. We were glad we did! It was lucky that we listened to him, because as much as I love art, I really enjoyed the Exploratorium, too.
California Academy of Science $34.95 for adults
I really liked the mini aquarium at California Academy of Science! It’s like land, water, and rain forest in one. They have a lot of interesting displays. The most important thing I learned is that you can actually touch sea urchins! Well, at least the ones they had there. The staff told me that if you touch one, it won’t sting you. What makes them release their stings is the pressure you put on an urchin if you step on it.
Monterrey Aquarium for $39.95 or Aquarium by the Bay for $22.95
I didn’t get to see the Monterrey Aquarium yet. It’s out of the city, but they say it’s good! Hopefully I’ll get to see it soon. If you find it difficult to go to the Monterrey Aquarium there is one right by the wharf at Pier 39 ( Aquarium by the Bay). I just didn’t get to visit Aquariums for this trip.
I have gotten in the one in NYC, but had no idea they had these for other cities. They are a great way to see a lot.
Yes, they have in several cities. Worth to get it too .
Wow so I can grab a CityPass in any city in USA and see lots of awesome sites without having to stand in long queues? This is amazing Karla and I will be doing to since we pop over quite a bit! Thanks for sharing and your San Francisco Images are Boss for sure. Makes me want to come back soonest!
Next time I am in California will make sure to get city pass so that I can explore all those great places. Definitely a tourist places will with many interesting things for the whole family.
That is cool! If I ever go back to California, I will have to check this out!
i am thinking to visit california soon.this pass is for sure really good for people who wanna visit.It has lots of benefits
San Fran is on of my favorite cities to visit. I think this CityPass is a nice tool to help you get the most out of your visit.
This was definitely very helpful
It would be nicer to tour San Francisco with a city pass, definitely. Especially when it’s your first time in the city. This is a great deal, I love that it has museum tours because I love learning about a city’s history by visiting their museums. The places included are awesome and it suits my taste.
What an awesome trip. I love visiting San Fransisco. City Pass sounds like a great option for tourists!
Wow, i never been in San francisco and this is one of the beautiful place. I wish I can go there someday
I always thought that San Francisco is really beautiful. I’m sure city pass would help me to explore San Francisco.
Great deal! We would love to go there with my wife this year.
Looks like an awesome trip. I’ll have to keep this in mind for when I travel to California!
I have to keep this in mind when I have the chance to go to California. It would be nice to be able to visit all these places, especially the museums!
This sounds like an awesome deal. I wish we had known about it when we were in San Francisco last year.
They also have for other cities 🙂
I’ve heard this before and my husband wants to get in! I’ll tell this to him.
On my last trip to San Francisco I used this pass it is fantastic =)
I feel it was really worth it for me .
I think I’ll try it the next time I visit. It’s perfect for people who are new to the city!
This is truly handy. Makes travelling more fun, easy and comfortable. A must have!
This looks like a wonderful place to spend a day with the family. My boys would have so much fun. They really enjoy learning and especially love anything related to science.
I want to visit San Francisco one day. I will remember to purchase passes.
Learning new things everyday and got to visit some of San Francisco’s cool places through your blog post. From all the featured places, I like the Exploratorium the most. We have a similar concept science museum in our country and I find it amazing. Couldn’t wait to visit San Francisco and drop byExploratorium.
Even I could use a SF citypass even if I am local here. That’s an amazing deal for all the things you can do in San Francisco! Whenever I travel I also search for ‘City Pass’ in each area. It really gives you a bang for your buck!
San Francisco is the BEST. We had the city pass and it made our time there so enjoyable. We would love to return!
This pass is a great way to save money. My daughter used this when she went to San Diego and love it.
This is sooo perfect! my next novel is located in san fran! So this has been an ginormous help! great content & insightful. if you have more on san fran let me know.
I’ve heard of this, such a smart idea!! San Fran is gorgeous and being able to enjoy it without worrying about travel is amazing!
This is an awesome deal. We are sight seers so I always try to find bundle deals when we are on vacation. I’m definitely taking note of this. We are planning on doing northern CA next year for vacation.
I’ve used City Pass and it’s great. Your get to sightseeing in so many places easily.
Looks like such an amazing city, and what a deal to with the city pass.
CityPass does look like a great way to explore San Francisco. I would love to visit San Francisco some day and I world be awesome to see all there attractions at that price with the CityPass. Thanks for sharing.
This is a great tip! San Francisco is so expensive and any way I can save money I’m there!
Exploratorium!!! Amazing! Would love to go here!
I would love to go to San Francisco someday. It’s on my list of places to visit. I think it would be a great family vacation for my family and I.
I never been in San Francisco and I would love to go there someday if I have a chance. Love those photos
I never been there, but that is on my bucket list, I really love go to San Francisco with my family.
These are great ideas! I especially love the City Pass one – we normally do bus tours, anyways, so that would be perfect!
Loved the idea, id love having a citypass in my little hometown hehe.
San Francisco is one of my favorite places to go. I’d love to explore like this. Plus I like being able to save that much money!
I love the city pass idea. Especially the savings, but look at the fun places to have a great family adventure!
I am so excited to have a SF’s CITY PASS! (Assumed going there) I am going to list this on my BUCKET LIST
We love San Francisco! We haven’t been back there in years. But these are neat ideas for visitors. Thank you!
I love City pass. I got one when I was in San Fran and we had a ball. I recommend it to everyone.
This is so cool. As a local I never knew about it and there are a few spots the pass covers that I have never been to.
San Francisco is one of my favorite cities.
I would love to visit there someday! The photos were great and thank you for the post!
Definitely hoping to visit San Francisco someday! It’s one of the most beautiful cities for me, and having a city pass will make the trip a lot easier! Thanks for the lovely preview of the places you can visit there!
CityPass is a fantastic way to explore a city and save money. I’d love to visit San Francisco.
CityPass is always a good idea as you can save a lot & I think such facility is available in many tourist destination these days. This could be so useful for someone visiting California for a trip anytime to get the best of their journey.
A city pass is always a good idea. Thanks for the travel tips.
I’ve never been but have always wanted to go and when I do I now know some great things to do thanks to you and I will be getting a pass!
This sounds like a great deal for anyone who wants to get the most out of their trip to San Francisco. I wonder if they have one for kids as well.
City Pass seems like a great investment if you want to see all the interesting sites in San Francisco! I’ll remember this when I make my way over to the east coast.
Yes! I’ve use one of those before. Although, I actually used one from a different company. Those are always the best! They save so much money whenever you want to visit new places you’ve never been before. Actually, I was still buy those in my local city just to save money. lol
I haven’t been to San Francisco but I think getting the City Pass is one great way to maximize touring it.
I’ve been to SF once and want to get back soon. I loved the weather, the sites and I know there is more to see. Thanks for this!
This is so cool!! CityPass is a necessity to explore all the great places with convenience. 🙂
Travelling was so much fun and I’d love go to San Francisco with my family.
This is a great way to explore the city without spending a lot. I would love to visit SF someday! 🙂
wow hopefully i will go there and i will try that city pass i will included it on may bucket list
bookmarking this for my future visit! i am bad at planning when travelling this post will help me a lot for sure
CityPASS seems like a great way to save money while seeing all of the great attractions in San Francisco! I love museums and the fact that it includes admission to four museums is amazing. Who wouldn’t want to jump on this?