What to Pack for San Francisco (& what NOT to)

Ahh, the Metropolis by the Bay: barking sea lions, clanging MUNI buses, steaming clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls, freezing chilly Marine Layer… *marinates in nostalgia* We spent over 10 years dwelling within the San Francisco Bay Space, and y’all, let me inform you: determining what to pack for San Francisco is a CHALLENGE.

It’s not your typical type of packing for a metropolis, or a season. It’s extra like packing for a collection of weather-related challenges. Freezing chilly! Blazing solar! Mountaineering up hills! Tiny, 7×7 sq. mile San Francisco consists of a minefield of micro-climates, which implies traversing from the nice and cozy, sunny Mission to the arctic chill of the Outer Sundown is like taking a protracted haul flight between two completely completely different climates and seasons – all inside the similar metropolis. Plus hills.

So, let’s dive into the best way to pack for the distinctive challenges of San Francisco, our beloved adopted house metropolis for over a decade. As a result of “convey layers” doesn’t fairly cowl it (though if we needed to summarize this submit in two phrases…) Right here’s your full San Francisco packing checklist – together with what to depart at house.

Psst: Planning to go to the Bay Space? We’ve acquired a ton of weblog posts about our adopted house metropolis of over a decade! Listed here are just a few of our favorites that will help you put together on your journey.

Searching for extra San Francisco inspiration? Now we have a self-guided strolling tour of San Francisco which visits 6 of our favourite native neighborhoods. Click on the hyperlink under to subscribe and we’ll ship a printable model proper to your inbox!

We even have a Podcast episode about San Francisco! Discover out what to eat, the place to drink, & one of the best issues to do, plus solutions to questions you by no means knew you had… like whether or not there may be weed in all places (sure) and if you happen to’ll by chance see nudity (double sure). We’re additionally spilling the fair-trade, natural, ethically sourced tea on our lesser-known lifetime of crime.

San Francisco Journey Ideas

Earlier than we dive into our San Francisco packing checklist, listed below are just a few fast suggestions that you just’ll have to know earlier than you begin planning your journey.

• Don’t rent a car. Don’t do it! You do NOT need the trouble or expense of parking a automotive throughout your journey to San Francisco. It’s terrible. I NEVER drive in San Francisco if I can assist it, and I extremely encourage you to do the identical. As an alternative, use public transit (BART and Muni) and rideshares (Lyft & Uber) to get round. Something you wish to entry exterior of the town may be organized by way of tour or at most, a one-day car rental.
• Get a Clipper card whenever you arrive for transit. Clipper playing cards are reusable plastic playing cards that you just load cash onto for transit (like a scannable transit bank card) and can work on ALL Bay Space transit, together with BART and Muni to get your across the metropolis. You possibly can even load it in your telephone nearly. Order on-line earlier than your journey or choose one up at Walgreens or a lot of different locations for a $3 charge – here’s where and how to get one.
• Use Google Maps for transit. BART (primarily the underground subway) solely has just a few traces and is fairly easy to make use of, nevertheless it doesn’t get you to many of the metropolis. Enter MUNI, which has each buses and electrical trams that go above and underground – you’ll see them in all places. There are a ton of traces and so they’ll get you in all places you want! To determine the best way to get from place to put, simply enter your vacation spot into Google Maps and choose transit to get directions on which buses or trains to soak up actual time.

• Stroll as a lot as you’ll be able to. San Francisco is a metropolis greatest explored on foot. Sure, you’ll be able to take transit to get round, if you happen to can stand the hills, strolling is the easiest way to see all of the quirks and allure that make up San Francisco! Spend a minimum of a day wandering via the town and stroll as a lot as you’ll be able to. To assist, we’ve acquired a self-guided San Francisco walking tour – and we’ve additionally acquired strategies for one of the best strolling sneakers for journey. Listed here are our favourite journey sneakers for men and for women.
• Don’t name it “San Fran” or “Frisco.” Please. There are 2 acceptable affectionate nicknames for San Francisco: “SF” and “The Metropolis.” That’s it. These are the two. Permitting “San Fran” or “Frisco” to go your lips is a good way to out your self as an out-of-towner, which has the additional benefit of inflicting everybody close to you to take just a few steps again and internally seethe.
• San Francisco has a LOT of homeless residents. This may undoubtedly be a little bit of a tradition shock. Please understand that the parents experiencing homelessness are our neighbors, and never a blight or an eyesore. Most of the of us that you will notice are additionally scuffling with psychological diseases, and you might even see individuals who seem like speaking to themselves or to skinny air. Though this may be startling, keep in mind that these individuals are in way more hazard than you’re, and are unlikely to hurt you in any means. Homelessness is traumatic, significantly for the mentally ailing, whose circumstances may be exacerbated by the stress of homelessness. Additionally, as a result of there are too few public restrooms in San Francisco, you’ll scent some disagreeable issues throughout your keep. Maintain your breath and keep in mind: you get to go house and use a rest room or take a bathe everytime you need. They don’t. Have compassion. There’s a unbelievable useful resource for the way to answer the homeless in San Francisco on SF Gate.
• Don’t keep in a short-term rental. Regardless of Airbnb being headquartered within the metropolis, quick time period leases in San Francisco have traditionally contributed to the housing disaster, which in flip impacts homelessness. Through the years, strict legal guidelines have been established, limiting the quantity and sort of AirBnBs discovered within the metropolis. Whilst you can nonetheless discover just a few non-public rooms for hire in SF, with the intention to be a extra accountable traveler, we advocate that you just select to remain in inns as a substitute. We’ve acquired a whole information to where to stay in San Francisco – and where not to.
• Benefit from baggage storage. In case your check-in and check-out instances don’t sync up along with your have to roam the streets and also you want a spot to retailer your baggage take a look at LuggageHero, a service that helps you discover a secure place to maintain your baggage when you’re operating round! Use the code PRACTICALW for two hours of free baggage storage on us.

We’ve acquired some extra useful – and a few solely mildly useful – suggestions for visiting San Francisco in our information to things nobody tells you about San Francisco!

What to Put on in San Francisco

One widespread piece of recommendation you’ll at all times hear about packing for San Francisco is to at all times, at all times, at all times convey a jacket. Y’all – THIS IS ESSENTIAL ADVICE.

The important thing to packing for San Francisco is to assemble a rigorously thought-out system of layers, beginning with one thing you’ll be able to strip all the way down to when the blazing solar feels about 80 levels (which is the way it feels in San Francisco when it’s about 60) and layered as much as face up to arctic windchill ranges of 30 levels, which is how San Francisco feels at 6pm on the dot when the solar all of a sudden vanishes and takes all the heat of your very bones together with it.

You see, San Francisco isn’t a heat metropolis. And it’s particularly not heat in the summertime, which is definitely the coldest season of the 12 months. We like to quote Mark Twain, who supposedly stated “the coldest winter I ever skilled was a summer time in San Francisco.” After all, he never actually said that, nevertheless it’s caught within the San Francisco lexicon and we’re sticking to it, revisionist historical past be damned.

San Francisco is usually warmest in the course of the month of October, throughout Indian summer time, which can be fireplace season, so … you may get beautiful scorching sunny climate throughout your journey, however you additionally may get choking smoke. It’s a tossup.

The one factor you’ll be able to rely on – aside from smoke between August and November, and rain between December and February – is that you just’ll have to pack layers. Each single day, there’s a considerably predictable sample: it’s freezing chilly till 10am, then you definitely’ll have just a few wonderful hours of heat and probably even sunny climate, after which 6pm will hit and it will likely be instantly freezing once more.

So. Worry not. You are able to do this. All you want is a few good planning (and a day bag for the additional layers). Listed here are the precise objects of clothes we advocate packing on your journey to San Francisco:

• The Good Strolling Sneakers: San Francisco is a strolling metropolis – and a metropolis stuffed with hills, so it’s like, strolling plus climbing, too. And when you wouldn’t look too misplaced within the Bay Space in a pair of mountaineering boots, likelihood is you kinda wish to be cute, proper? Effectively, we gotcha coated: the right pair of sneakers for San Francisco is a pair of Allbirds Tree Skippers (his, hers): they’re breathable, light-weight, sustainable, go along with every part, and comfy sufficient to stroll in for miles. The mesh higher retains your toes from getting scorching and sweaty, however because of the wool insole, your toes received’t get chilly, both. Learn extra about our favourite journey sneakers for women & men.
• The Best Travel Jeans: If we needed to choose one merchandise that you just’ll probably be sporting each single day of your journey, it will be a pair of those. Why? For starters, they’re comfortable as hell, light-weight, and actually cute. However extra importantly, there SEVEN. GIANT POCKETS. Together with not one however two zippered/hidden again pockets and a “coin” pocket so massive I can match my telephone in it – important in a spot like San Francisco, the place pickpocketing and telephone snatchers are undoubtedly a priority. We convey a pair of stretchy, cozy, pockety Aviator denims with us on each single journey! Learn extra about why we love them and our different favourite pairs of pants for journey for women & additionally for men.
• Cozy Leggings: For days whenever you don’t really feel like sporting denims, these additionally perform as pants. As a curvy woman, this Amazon model is my favourite – they don’t slip down when you stroll, don’t snag simply or stretch out over time, and have a pleasant thick waistband and TWO pockets. In addition they make fleece-lined leggings that I put on when it’s chilly! FWIW, I put on a dimension XXL.

• Wool T-Shirts: In a spot like San Francisco the place the local weather and temperature shifts wildly all through the day, it’s unbelievable to have clothes that’s naturally temperature regulating. Merino wool is a miracle cloth. It retains you cool when it’s scorching AND heat when it’s chilly. When it will get moist (say, in a very gnarly fog cloud) you’ll keep comfy whereas your clothes dries. It naturally resists the expansion of fungus and micro organism, so it by no means smells – that means no mid-trip laundry to do! Efficiency wool isn’t just like the itchy wool of the previous – it’s skinny, stretchy, and tremendous mushy to the contact. We put on wool on each journey whether or not we’re going someplace chilly or heat! For San Francisco, we advocate packing wool t-shirts (hers and his). They’re the right base layer – they’ll preserve you cool in the course of the warmth of the day and heat you again up once more beneath your jacket when the temps drop. We additionally actually love hemp, which is equally anti-microbial and temperature-regulating. Our favourite hemp journey clothes is made by prAna – browse their assortment for women and men. Their complete “Cozy Up” line is unbelievable and we’ve acquired an entire bunch of stuff from it.
• Center Layer: Someday between the warmth of the day, whenever you’ll strip all the way down to your t-shirt, and the freeze of 6pm whenever you’ll throw in your down jacket, you’ll need one thing that’s in between. Like a light-weight jacket, a sweater or cardigan, a sweatshirt, or a button-down shirt. Seize one thing out of your closet – that is most likely what you’ll be sporting for many of the day (and subsequently in most of your images).

• Warm, Packable Jacket: Ah, right here it’s: the jacket of “at all times convey a jacket” fame. The one we advocate is a packable down jacket. They’re extremely light-weight and pack down into virtually nothing, which is ideal since you’ll be carrying it round in your day bag for many of the day. However the insulating properties of down are unimaginable – they’ll preserve you heat under freezing! And they’re undoubtedly as much as the duty of the 6pm fog chill. Be sure you get REAL down, not polyester – it’s heavier and fewer insulating. Listed here are probably the most inexpensive and light-weight ones we’ve discovered: women’s, men’s. They’re cheaper and lighter as a result of they’re made with out hoods (you don’t want a hood – it most likely received’t rain throughout your journey until you’re visiting within the useless of winter).
• Gloves, Hat, and Scarf: A heat jacket designed for the useless of winter is nice and all, however belief me, the chilly in San Francisco is actually chilly. Certain, certain – you’re coming from the midwest and your home is commonly coated in 6 toes of snow and also you assume you realize chilly. I hear you. But additionally? When the wind is blowing at 25mph and it’s stuffed with moisture as a result of all the metropolis is shrouded in a thick layer of fog, 50 levels feels loads nearer to -50. So pull out a pair of gloves (light-weight cotton is okay, simply one thing to cowl your fingers) and a hat and a shawl, and throw them in your day bag. Sooner or later, you’ll be actually glad you could have them.
• Lounge Pants: You’ll wish to put on these on the aircraft and as PJs pants. Earlier than I found the Outdoor Voices CloudKnit pants, I assumed all stretchy lounge pants have been the. similar. I used to be mistaken. These light-weight, super-stretchy pants look superior and really feel superb. They’ve 3 roomy pockets and so they’re good for every part from sporting on 20-hour flights to sleeping to mountaineering via the jungle (true story). We every have a pair that comes with us on each journey, and we put on them on each flight. Learn extra about our survival tips for long-haul flights!

And there you could have it. Your good outfit system for on daily basis in San Francisco: journey denims, insulating t-shirt, center layer for cuteness, heat down jacket for the morning and night chilly, and a comfortable pair of strolling sneakers that goes with each outfit. Simple, proper? 😉

Journey Necessities for San Francisco

There are just a few important objects I’d ensure to pack on your journey to San Francisco that can make your all-day adventuring extra comfy, and some issues to scale back the ever-present threat of theft (which, frankly, is one thing we take into consideration in each main metropolis we go to – not simply San Francisco).

• Day Bag: If there’s one factor I’ve most likely talked about 10x already, it’s day bag. You NEED to convey a day bag when you’re out exploring the town as a result of it holds your down jacket and your hat/gloves/scarf. It’s additionally a useful place to retailer an external battery on your telephone, sun shades, and no matter souvenirs you may choose up on the course of your adventuring! I like this cute day bag as a result of if it’s going to be in each image, it would as nicely look good.
• External Phone Battery: Your telephone is crucial for getting from place to put in San Francisco, whether or not it’s utilizing Google Maps or a digital Clipper card or calling Lyfts to get you round. You want it to remain charged! This small however highly effective exterior battery will preserve your telephone charged all day lengthy.
• Hand Sanitizer: We strongly advocate taking public transit reasonably than renting a automotive, and we additionally strongly advocate sanitizing your fingers afterwards. As a result of BART and Muni trains are gross. I imply, they’re cleaned commonly all, however nonetheless. We’ve seen sufficient. Stick some in your day bag and use it commonly!
• Travel Umbrella: You most likely received’t want one throughout your journey until you’re visiting between November and February, however this one is so small and light-weight it simply lives in my day bag for each journey. These teeny tiny journey umbrellas pack down right into a palm-size case and weigh hardly something. We preserve them completely in our day bag, which signifies that at any time when it begins raining, we at all times have an umbrella able to go! They’re the right set-it-and-forget-it day bag important.
• Popsocket for your phone: These telephone equipment have been all the craze in some unspecified time in the future just a few years in the past, and I now contemplate them an important theft-deterrent gadget on your telephone – which is a serious theft goal. Telephones are most likely probably the most generally stolen objects in San Francisco (aside from actually something left within the backseat of a automotive) and it’s just about all alternative theft – specifically somebody snatching your telephone proper out of your and when you’re in the midst of utilizing it, as a result of they’re straightforward to seize and arduous to carry onto. I can’t inform you what number of buddies have had their telephones stolen whereas utilizing them on public transit – somebody nabs it proper because the doorways are closing, and bam, no extra telephone and no option to get it again. However the popsocket makes your telephone actually, actually tough to seize out of your fingers (which additionally means you’re much less prone to drop the dang factor on the bottom and break it!) I discover them extremely handy – and cute, too!

• Toiletry Case: We preserve all of our toiletries organized into this useful dandy hanging toiletry case. It suits into all of our baggage simply and hangs on any accessible hook within the rest room. It’s so handy that we by no means hassle to unpack it; we depart it hanging up in our rest room at house in between journeys!
• Sunscreen: Solar safety is crucial whenever you’ll be out exploring all day lengthy. We advocate Mineral Sunscreen, which is best for the atmosphere and protects your pores and skin with a bodily zinc oxide barrier reasonably than chemical substances that soak into your pores and skin. My favourite face sunscreen is this one.
• Packing Cubes: To maintain our resort room wanting considerably organized, we roll up our clothes and manage them in packing cubes.
• Reusable Water Bottle: Don’t go on the lookout for water bottles in San Francsco. Very similar to public restrooms, there aren’t many, and those that do exist, are gross. Deliver your individual reusable water bottles as a substitute – it’s not solely an environmentally pleasant alternative, however they’ve a serious benefit over low-cost, clear plastic water bottles: they really preserve your water COLD.
• Away Carry-On Suitcase: You don’t need massive heavy suitcases in San Francisco – there are means too many hills to navigate! This lovely carry-on suitcase isn’t solely beautiful, nevertheless it’s extremely high-tech. It’s acquired two compartments: one for mushy clothes, and one for arduous stuff, like sneakers and toiletries and 18 hair instruments although you swore you have been going to attempt to not be additional this journey. It features a built-in transportable charger, which implies no extra preventing over shops or digging round on your charger. It’s acquired a built-in laundry bag, with a built-in compressor, in an effort to ditch the wadded-up plastic bag and truly have room in your suitcase after you’ve delay doing laundry for a strong 2 weeks. It’s extremely harm resistant and received’t crack beneath the stress of everybody else’s stuff, retaining no matter’s inside secure too. And naturally, it does lock issues and wheel issues and all the opposite stuff that grown-up suitcases do.
• PacSafe Carry-On Backpack: When you’ll be taking public transit and strolling to your resort, it’s frankly loads simpler to be carrying a backpack reasonably than a rolly bag. This PacSafe bag ticks all of my containers: loads of area, extraordinarily theft resistant (that’s like, the entire PacSafe factor), extremely comfy to hold (it’s acquired all of the consolation and ease of a much bigger pack, with a great deal of adjustable straps) and with sufficient pockets and sections to maintain you nicely organized in your journey. I convey this on most journeys, and it’s one of the comfy backpacks I’ve ever carried!
• Knack Carry-On Backpack: This nifty bag carries like a backpack however opens like a suitcase, making it the right in-between for whenever you’re not fairly a backpacker, not fairly a suitcase….er? The bag is mainly like a giant rectangle that opens precisely the way in which a suitcase does, permitting for A TON of area.

What NOT to Pack for San Francisco

Locals in San Francisco have a operating joke: how do you determine a vacationer in San Francisco? They’re straightforward to identify in a crowd – they’ll be sporting shorts, flip-flops, and a giant, outsized San Francisco graphic hoodie that they purchased in an overpriced vacationer store as a result of all they packed was shorts and flip-flops. Now, I do know you’re not going to be a type of vacationers since you’re studying this submit and following our recommendation, so as a substitute you’ll be able to be part of us in figuring out them round Union Sq. and Pier 39 and chuckling to your self.

So, first issues first: you don’t want shorts. Don’t pack shorts, you’ll by no means put on shorts in San Francisco. Within the decade I spent dwelling there, I feel I wore shorts perhaps twice. And I largely lived throughout the Bay in Oakland. The place it’s a lot hotter.

You additionally don’t want tank tops or sandals. As a result of 55 levels in San Francisco appears like -55 when the marine layer hits.

I wouldn’t hassle bringing a swimsuit. Your resort received’t have a pool and the Pacific Ocean is the coldest physique of water in all the world (OK, no, not likely – nevertheless it may as nicely be whenever you’re making an attempt to swim or surf in it). When you do find yourself going within the ocean, for like … scuba diving with nice white sharks or no matter, you’ll be sporting a wetsuit and your face can be numb. So that you don’t want a swimsuit.

Depart behind bug repellant, too. We don’t have mosquitos! They only aren’t a factor right here. Possibly it’s too chilly. Possibly they don’t just like the marine layer. Most of California doesn’t have biting bugs, however there are completely none in San Francisco.

Oh, yet another tip: I requested Jeremy – native Californian and longtime San Francisco resident – for his suggestions, and he wished me to incorporate this: don’t convey something with a Dodger’s brand on it. You’re in Giants territory now 😉 For actual although, sporting a Dodgers hat means inviting soiled appears and poor service, so … at your individual threat, I suppose.

Able to pack your down jacket and favourite sweater and dive into some clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl? What questions can we reply that will help you put together on your journey to San Francisco? Drop us a remark under!

Psst: Planning to go to the Bay Space? We’ve acquired a ton of weblog posts about our adopted house metropolis of over a decade! Listed here are just a few of our favorites that will help you put together on your journey.

When you’ll be visiting San Francisco as a part of an extended journey to California, check out a few of our different posts or browse our California travel guide:

Searching for extra San Francisco inspiration? Now we have a self-guided strolling tour of San Francisco which visits 6 of our favourite native neighborhoods. Click on the hyperlink under to subscribe and we’ll ship a printable model proper to your inbox!

We even have a Podcast episode about San Francisco! Discover out what to eat, the place to drink, & one of the best issues to do, plus solutions to questions you by no means knew you had… like whether or not there may be weed in all places (sure) and if you happen to’ll by chance see nudity (double sure). We’re additionally spilling the fair-trade, natural, ethically sourced tea on our lesser-known lifetime of crime.

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