Would you chose San Francisco area or San Diego area with kids in summer?

[kalamazoo]

I'm trying to plan our summer vacation and am toying with California for part of it. I'm trying to decide which area would likely be most entertaining and wanted a few opinions. Here's a little background:

1) We want somewhere where there are a variety of things to do (man-man entertainment and natural).
2) We're willing to drive for day trips but don't want to have to do a lot of long day trips.
3) We don't want to go to a million theme parks, but would not rule one out and we don't want to do big hiking trips but are willing to take small hikes if they lead to something interesting.
4) We are interested in all types of terrain (beach, desert, mountains).
5) We like animals and science.
6) Our kids are school-aged.
7) We would be there for 1 week - 10 days and would prefer not to change accommodations (want 1 base).

I have done some research and both areas seem good so I'd like to see what others have to say.

 

[DSNY4ever]

Both fit your criteria- and both are great, so really it depends on what you want to do!

If you want "warm, sunny" California, definitely do San Diego. The Zoo is great, you can also explore the museums at Balboa park and spend a day at the beach. Old Town is fun for kids, lots of neat shops and restaurants where they can watch tortillas being made.

San Francisco is also wonderful, and it can be sunny (and occasionally is warm), but it is usually foggy and cold. But they have wonderful museums too- the California Academy of Science is great and so it the Exploratorium (this one is more for kids). Golden Gate Park is beautiful for a picnic day (you can rent bikes). You could go over to Muir woods on a short day trip and see the redwoods without doing any major hiking, kids seem to love the ferry ride to Alcatraz too.

Good luck- go with you gut, you would have a great time at either spot!

 

[PHXscuba]

I spent vacations as a child in SF but have not been back there in more than 15 years, so I won't comment on SF, although I enjoyed it and want to take my kids. Since we have relatives in Orange County (near DL), it's been easy to go to SD on both day trips and longer.

Things in SD that would fit your parameters:
1. Variety: Definitely. We have been several times and not covered half of what I want to do.
2. Day trips: up the coast, to Disneyland, down to Tijuana, out to the desert, etc.
3. "Theme" parks: Sea World, Legoland, Wild Animal Park/Zoo, Knott's Soak City.
4. The beach is obviously the big selling point for SD, but you can get into mountains and desert going east.
5. Animals: zoo/WAP, Sea World, Birch Aquarium, plus harbor tours. Science: Balboa Park.

If you are planning to be there more than a week, look into renting a condo. You'll avoid burning out on junk food and have a living room and kitchen. We had one right on the sand of Mission Bay -- great to just hang out in the sunshine, build sand castles, walk on the beach. It priced out similar to the hotel we wanted but gave us a better location, more room, and saved us $ on eating out.

Things we loved: SEAL tour of the harbor, Birch Aquarium, tide pools at Point Loma, zoo, Wild Animal Park, Legoland, Sea World, zoo, etc.
Things we still want to do: Old Town, Maritime ships and USS Midway, pro baseball game, trolley, more of Balboa park, etc.

Good luck planning. I know the San Diego forums on Trip Advisor have been very helpful to me. I feel San Diego is a much more driving/parking-friendly option, but I do think San Francisco has some great day trips around it.

PHXscuba

 

[eduk8r26]

The only problem with renting a condo in San Diego in the summertime is most of them are rented for a week at a time. Most won't rent for less than a week.

 

[PHXscuba]

I think the OP plans to go for a week to 10 days and stay in one place, which should be good for a condo. They do fill up quickly for popular times.

PHXscuba

 

[PlutoPony]

San Diego for elementary / early middle school years and SF for older would be my recommendation.

San Diego beaches are better for younger kids, plus zoo and other animal possibilities as well as theme parks within a days drive.

We took our 14 yo to SF last summer and it was a great destination for that age. San Francisco is more of a city trip. We used public transportation exclusively in the city and picked up a car to go north for a few days - Muir Woods, Point Reyes, wine country. Segway Tour was the absolute highlight of the trip for our son (minimum age is 12 there).

 

[kalamazoo]

Thanks for your replies everyone. I'm going to start looking at San Diego in more detail.