There are a couple of different passes that allow you to save some money when visiting attractions. I have used the Museum Pass in Paris but I never had used one elsewhere.
I tried the Go Family Card from Smart Destinations in San Francisco. Several options are offered: from 1 to 7 days.
We picked the two days at $75.99 per adult and $52.99 per child.
That gave us access to 50 sights and attractions in the whole San Francisco Bay Area. So for all these, we got to see as many as these 50 attractions as you wanted, a free color guidebook (that I still continue to use as a guide), some shopping and restaurant deals.
So off we went during a week-end and here is what we ended up visiting:
DAY 1
We arrived very early at the
California Academy of Sciences
Adult ticket: $24.95 Child ticket:$14.95
You need to arrive early to avoid the crowds. That’s what we did and we visited everything but the planetarium. Fine place but not great as we expected.
Then at noon, we had a picnic in the park
de Young Museum
A $11.75 C: free
Children will like that museum, it is not too big and has very interesting primitive pieces and a beautiful collection of glass art creations that my daughters love to admire. The view from the tower is phenomenal: a not miss. You can go to the tower without paying the Museum entrance.
We headed up to a tour at the
Hass-Lilienthal House
A: $8 – C:$5
Tours are guided and we were lucky to arrive as a tour was about to begin. I would not go with toddlers or with children who are not good listeners as there is quite a lot of information to listen to. We all loved it and found the whole tour extremely interesting.
The tour lasts one hour approximately.
We then headed to the
SS Jeremiah O’ Brien
A: $10 – C: $5
With two daughters, this was not the highlight of the day but there were more interested in the visit that what I would have thought. Going into the heart of the engine room was impressive. There is a model of the Normandy battle. Lots of learning!
and finished our day with the visit at the
Wax Museum
A: $14 – C: $7
This was really tacky and my children loved it. They did not mind that the wax bodies were not perfect. They found the whole thing very exciting.
before heading to the cafe to pick our cable car tickets included with the card.
Cable Car tickets
A:$ 5 – C: $5
We could have visited the Aquarium of the Bay but we forgot to remind them (wink).
Day 2
We stayed in downtown San Francisco and started our visit with the
SF MoMa
A: $15 – C: free
I would like to see so much more in this museum but well, it is what it is. We always have a nice visit and the roof garden is nice.
then down to the
Cartoon Art Museum
A: $7 - C: $3
It is a small museum. We do not know much about American cartoons (being French) but we recognized some of them and we had a nice time. The gift store has really nice books, comics, and accessories.
And a little hop in our of my favorite little museum:
Contemporary Jewish Museum
A: $10 – C: free
We love it, they always have nice exhibitions and we visit it several times a year.
We finished the day with the kids favorite:
Zeum
A: $10 – C: $8
The highlight of the two days: my children love the Zeum! They get to dance, sing, play with clay, do animations. And that day, we met a French dad and his son, who had just moved to the Bay Area from Paris so we ended up getting new friends out of the visit!
Zeum Carrousel
1 set of ticket per card: A: $3 – C: $3
We wanted to include a hop on hop off bus but the person at the register at the Fisherman’s Wharf swiped the card before we could confirm what we wanted. The option she picked was not convenient at all for us time wise and you can swipe the card only once a day for that activity. We would have to wait 24 hours but we had a two days card so it was not a possibility. I would be very careful before handing my card again to them!
In conclusion: is it worth it?
The final cost of the activities for an adult was118.70 and we paid $75.99 for the card, for a saving of $42.71 per adult.
The final cost of the activities for a child was $50.95 and we paid $52.99 for the card,costing us $2.04. Shouldn’t we had the mishap at the hop on hop off bus, we would have ended up with a saving for the child card and a higher saving for teh adult.
So I would definitely recommend the Go card for San Francisco, Especially if you decide to visit high price tickets like the Academy of Sciences. It allowed to visit activities that we had never thought of visiting like the Wax Museum that ended up being something that our children really enjoyed. It also allows you to skip some lines at certain attractions.
You can also customize your card online making yourself your customized Explorer Pass picking the attractions and tours that you are more likely to use.
Right now, you can enjoy 15% off on selected San Francisco Cards.
These cards also make wonderful Christmas, birthday, wedding, or anniversary gifts.
The card is also available for Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Maui, Miami, New York City, Oahu, Orlando, San Diego, Seattle, and Toronto.
Smart Destinations gave my family two adult tickets. I paid for the children tickets. I received no other compensation besides the tickets, and the they did not express any requirement that I express a particular point of view.
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