Picking San Francisco for a travel location with kids is a great option. We went in April, the weather was great, not too many tourists at this time. Fisherman’s Wharf was covered in beautiful flowers. The city is friendly and clean. There was a baseball game about to start when we arrived. We got to see all the fans heading to the game.
I traveled to San Francisco for a meeting and wanted to stay and explore a few extra days, I brought along my 3-year-old son and Grandma. This would be one of our first solo trips without the rest of the family. Concerns I had at the time were what essentials would I needed to pack for him. I wanted to make sure I didn’t have too much, to make getting from one place to another manageable. I have some recommendations of helpful travel items for families with small children below.
Exploring the City
We spent 5 days exploring beautiful San Fran. If you are looking for something a bit fancier, for the meeting, we stayed 2 nights at Hotel Nikko. https://www.hotelnikkosf.com This hotel was great and had modern touches. The shower was a walk in with multiple heads. Very spacious rooms with a spa like bathroom. We opted to move hotels for the remainder of our stay because I wanted to be closer to Fisherman’s Wharf as it provided walking access to tourist sites. The 3 following days after the meeting we stayed at Hotel Zephyr https://www.hotelzephyrsf.com Such a fun, cute, eclectic hotel in a great location near Fisherman’s Wharf, walking distance to great shops and food. I would definitely stay there again and recommend it. We bought the 2 Day Deluxe Hop On Hop Off bus pass and we really enjoyed it along with taking some time to walk around at some of the stops. We saw all the highlights and used the night tour for a different prospective of the city. Each tout guide tells you different facts so you don’t feel like it’s being repeated. We also did the Muir Wood tour. This allowed us to cross the Golden Gate bridge and stop for photo ops. The trees were huge and just what we needed to complete our California vacation. At Pier 39 there are seals that have their own docks for lounging. There is a carousel to give the kids a chance to play. You can also see some amazing views of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate bridge. I couldn’t leave without taking an Uber over to the Palace of Fine Arts. It is such a beautiful building and landscape! On the way back we passed by Lombard Street “the crookedest street in the world”. On the bus tour we were able to pass by the “Painted Ladies” and stop for a photo along with the back side of the Golden Gate Bridge. These are the iconic houses shown on Full House’s intro. One thing that has to be on your to do list is to ride a cable car down the steep streets. It was very easy to get around and fill our days with things to do. There are also many museums and an aquarium if your kids may enjoy that. One of my favorite sites to book tours and activities is GetYourTour.com. You can compare tour operators, mark favorites, and keep all your tours in one place. They have an easy cancellation if needed.
If you are looking for all an all-inclusive agent to help plan your perfect vacation try the agents at LBAC Travel. I have worked with them to create memorable vacations. https://www.lbactravel.com
Flights
We flew to San Francisco on Southwest, pretty easy direct flight from Austin. Before a trip I try to make sure I have one or two movies downloaded prior to leaving so Caden can watch them when internet is not available. I have gone through so many pair of headphones but I think we have found the all purpose ones we have been looking for:
Caden can use the mic to ask Alexa to play a specific song on his Kindle, Kids’ Messenger, and games. Nothing big or expensive but comfy to travel with. He uses these for school as well. I always pack his little backpack with a few snacks, an empty water container, his Kindle with headphone, a small blanket, and a few toys. I pack my backpack with travel documents, wallet, my (DSLR) camera and travel camera, wipes, snacks, my Kindle and headphones, empty water bottle, and any other items that are important. I use this as my purse item. I make sure that it can easily fit under the seat in front of me for easy access and to always have it in sight. Traveling with a child I would take the diaper bag as well. I’ve tried so many different models but the expandable sling bag is my favorite go to bag. I could wear it across body to keep from falling and it has stroller straps.
I used a JJ Cole diaper changing clutch in my diaper bag so if I wanted to only take my backpack I could have diapers and wipes easily handy.
So now I had my personal item, diaper bag, and I was still allowed a carry on for Caden and I. From the time Caden first started traveling he’s had his own small suit case. You want to make sure it has spinners so they can easily maneuver. You also want to make sure it’s easily attachable to your luggage or easy for an adult to add to their load.
Using a Car Service
Going to the meeting we had a car service that was expecting a child so they had a car seat for me. I knew using the bus system did not require child seats but getting back to the airport and any Ubers we may need would require a car seat. For an easy travel car seat my dad bought us the Mifold booster.
They have since come out with a convertible seat as well for smaller kids. Here is the Hifold.
If I were going to rent a car this would not be my choice but this is perfect for putting in your backpack when you need an Uber to a restaurant or something easy. Some Ubers have let me in without a car seat but some have declined to take me as well.
Items to buy when traveling with young children
I did a lot of research for the perfect light weight stroller that would recline and had a decent sun cover. With all strollers there are give and take features. The one that had the most of what I wanted was the City Jogger.
This stroller has excellent reviews, has a large canopy, fully reclines, and only 14 lbs. I knew taking a lightweight stroller would help getting on and off the Hop on Hop off bus we planned to take. There are attachments and a rain cover if needed. I took the rain cover to New Orleans and used it daily! Then you can add a universal mommy holder for cups, snacks, keys, phones.
Another helpful item if traveling with small kids that I used in my home and travel was this inflatable bath. I took this on many trips when he was younger because I could easily pack it up and it didn’t take up much space. It made bath time easy. I could put it on the counter and stand or place it in the tub to give him a secure area to avoid slips and falls.
If you are looking for a baby wearable carrier the best one is Ergo, it is multi-positional and has a seat cushion.
If your kids need a straw, I recommend these Contigo water bottles. You can easily put a caribiner and attach it to their bag and then fill it up at the airport after security.
If you don’t need straws, I recommend these Contigo Autoseal water bottles.
I always kept some disposable place mats in my diaper bag. Great for little ones who love to put their food everywhere!
If your child is like mine, they are heaters when they sleep. I used to always carry a stroller fan with me. I have recently discovered this one and it’s amazing. It has a long battery life, you can use it for endless possibilities, it oscillates, and it is super quiet. I even took it to the beach and had it clipped on my chair. It is multi rotational to get the perfect angle, it is speed adjustable, charges with a USB, and if you are into essential oils it has a sponge you can add. I personally bought it to take to the gym after I showered I could never get cool enough to put on make up but with this I could get ready without sweating. It could easily clip on to the stroller or car to cool down you little one. I have used it plugged in all night without any issues.
Electronics for travel
For young children if you want a tablet of some sort, I recommend the Children’s Edition of the Fire Tablet. Primary reason for Kindle vs. Ipad if something happens to it, it’s not going to break the bank.
- Save up to $94.98 on a full-featured Fire HD 8 tablet (not a toy), 1 year of Amazon FreeTime Unlimited, a Kid-Proof Case with built-in stand, and 2-year worry-free guarantee—versus items purchased separately.
- 2-year worry-free guarantee: if it breaks, return it and we’ll replace it for free.
- The included 1 year of Amazon FreeTime Unlimited gives your kids access to over 20,000 apps, games, books, videos, Audible books, and educational content from PBS Kids, Nickelodeon, Disney, and more. Your subscription will then automatically renew every month starting at just $2.99 per month plus applicable tax. You may cancel at any time by visiting the Amazon Parent Dashboard or contacting Customer Service.
- Over 20 million kids (and their parents) have enjoyed the award-winning Amazon FreeTime service. Amazon FreeTime parental controls allow you to set educational goals, create time limits, and filter content.
- Stream over wifi or view downloaded content on the go with 32 GB of internal storage and up to 12 hours of battery for reading, browsing the web, watching videos, and listening to music. Add a microSD card for up to 1 TB of additional storage.
- Now with USB-C for easier charging. Includes a USB-C cable and 5W power adapter in the box.
- FreeTime Unlimited includes thousands of Spanish language books, videos, apps, games, and Audible books.
If your kids are older go with the Fire Tablet. My son has a designated log in but he can also log in as me to watch Netflix, Disney+, or download some games not available on the kids’ side.
If you are looking for a good travel camera with a flip screen and excellent zoom I recommend the Sony DSCHX80/B. I love it so much I thought I lost it and bought another one to replace it, then later found it so now I have 2. The picture quality is great! The battery life is quite long and I can send pictures directly to my phone to upload to social media sites. I don’t always want to take my big camera on vacations, this is the perfect fill in.
I always keep extra batteries handy, this is the set I chose to go with. Wasabi power batteries last longer, charge faster, and hold the charge. I carry around an external battery charger for all my accessories. This charger can plug in by usb so you can take it anywhere to charge on the go.
I keep this device on my nightstand with all the cords I need, when I travel, I unplug this device and take it with me. This keeps me from leaving cords that I need and makes it convenient to only need one outlet for all my separate devices to charge. I have all my charging cables in one place: my phone, camera battery charger, Fire Tablet, Fitbit, an extra micro usb cord, and my external battery charger. This way I don’t have to worry about adapters. The nice thing about this USB tower is that it has a smart sensor that charges each device to its optimal speed. I put everything on the charger at night and load it all in my backpack in the morning.
For a good external battery charger for your backpack I’d look at this one. It can charge all your devices has multi in so you can use whatever cord you have to charge it and multi out so you can charge multiple devices at one time. Especially walking around the city using your phone for navigation and pictures you will want a charger with enough capacity to charge multiple times.
Here are some great ear buds for adults and can work for kids as well. The ear piece is very small so it doesn’t press on little ears. The case holds 12 hours of charge and the earbuds have 3 hours of continuous playtime. Honestly when I travel I use them in the terminal, put them in the case, fly watching a movie without issue, put them away, each time you put them back in the case they charge back up. The sound is great and with both in they are noise canceling. I have worn them in the shower at the gym. Also, answering calls and talking seems fine as well. I have the black ones but I see the white are the newer same price.
One last thing if you are looking for a great looking travel friendly purse, I have been using this one. It’s a simple cross body design. There are lots of pockets to keep whatever you may need. The zippers clip so you won’t get easily pick-pocketed. There is not enough room for my full size wallet but there are card holders it is RFID secure. I can put an external battery, phone, and camera in it. There are different sizes and bags if this one doesn’t work for you. I take this one anywhere I don’t take my backpack. It’s perfect for holding the phone and camera when I don’t have pockets like going on walks at the park.
This is a very complete list of things you may need when traveling with a toddler.