You girls will love it! I got some great advice here too. The muni pass was worth it for me and one of my friends. We spent one day tromping around old bookstores. The bus was kind of scary though in a few places.

We rode the trolley to Washington & Powel, walked through China Town to City Lights Bookstore. Out of the ordinary books, and there is a neat looking bar next door. Be sure to look at the alley between the bar and bookstore. Then we walked back to the trolley and rode it to Market street and took the bus to Mission & 21st and walked a few blocks to Dog Ear Books (that was the scary bus ride) but the area around Dog Ear Books is fine. There are some neat restaurants over there and thrift stores. There's another bookstore not far from there called Borderland, but it was closed the day we were there.

Here's a link to bookstores.

The guy at Dog Ear Books gave us directions for a short walk to the Bart and we rode it back to Union Station. That wasn't part of the Muni ticket but it was cheap for one ride. That was a fun ride. Union Station was neat too and there were a lot of vendors outside selling stuff. I bought a necklace.

We also did the Hop on Hop off and I think it was worth the money. That takes you closer to the Victorian ladies than anything other than the bus. The Victorian ladies was a disappointment to me. One of them was under construction and had tarps covering the outside.

We did go to Haight Ashbury on the Hop on Hop Off. That was fun. I think we went into nearly every shop, and there were some odd ones. We rode HOHO to Chinatown one night too. One HOHO ticket is for 24 hours, so noon to noon worked for us. It also went to the Golden Gate Bridge, China Town, and Lombardy St.

We stayed at the Wharf, so we walked to Ghirardelli. I wanted to go to Alcatraz but the majority didn't, so I missed that and Muir Woods. But I had been to Muir Woods before. It's beautiful, and a nice hike if you like hiking.

We also rode the ferry to Sausalito. The shops weren't all that unique, except one t-shirt shop, Crazy Shirts. I think I bought more souvenirs in Sausalito than anywhere else though we really went for the ferry ride.

What was fascinating to me were all the people from all over the world that we met. One lady in my group is a social butterfly and can get a rock to talk to her. We struck up conversations everywhere.

I took a sweater, windbreaker, and scarf in June, and wished I had ear muffs and mittens. It rained the afternoon we got the HOHO ticket and the lower part was full so we had to ride on top. They did give us rain capes, more like dry cleaner bags, which were not easy to get open and on in the wind.

When my kids were young, we went to SF in October and I wore my winter coat the whole time. Someone from SF will answer better though.

Have fun!

This post was edited by marti8a on Tue, Dec 10, 13 at...

I stay near the airport at a park and fly motel. That way my car is free and the nightly rates much more reasonable than downtown. Public transportation is much better for downtown travel. The parking is almost impossible to find, they tend to hide the 'no parking' signs and the tickets are costly.

I cracked up about your DD being a Vegetarian who hates veggies. What does she eat besides Carbs?

SF is home to the best Good Will Store I have ever shopped. I can find out the address if you are interested. I picked up a $400. pair of boots there for a few dollars. You will love the Height area and if it's nice, Golden Gate Park and the Tea Gardens are beautiful.

I would imagine your fleece jacket will be fine as long as it cuts the wind. Luckily comfy shoes are very much in style in SF. The Hill is a trip. Some stop signs make you feel like you are going to go over a cliff if you continue. I'd think you would be happy to have a car at times.

Others may know more things to do and know better where you should eat but generally summers are colder than the winters.

Here's a great link to all of the neighborhoods and their shopping and attractions that you might find helpful. It will open to the Marina District, but the other choices are along the left side.
http://www.sfgate.com/neighborhoods/sf/marina/

Here is a link that might be useful: The Neighborhoods

This is a sort of cool event.
http://dickensfair.com/

Here is a link that might be useful: Dicken's Fair

We were there in mid Dec. just last year on our way to Asia. We didn't want to drag around winter coats since we wouldn't need them again.

Walking around was okay with hiking layers, eg one for warmth and one for water proofness. But, we were pretty cold for a lot of the fun things you will want to do (cable car rides, Alacatraz tour, Sausalito ferry, Muir woods). If I were going just to SF, I would have packed a winter coat.
Maybe check the forecast right before you go?

Marti8a- thanks so much for the bookstore link. I dread parking in the city. I feel we'll spend more time looking for parking spots than seeing the sights. We could just rent a car for one day when we go to Muir Woods. We'd pick it up when we fly in that night, but Would have to go through the hassle of returning it to the airport and getting back to the hotel. I will look into the Muni Pass for sure. Chinatown is high on our list too.
Gold dust- yes DD is a carbovoire! She loves fruit too and will eat shrimp and sushi occasionally. She'll eat sashimi tuna but not chicken! We cook a lot of pasta and beans at our house. DD16 was thrilled about the Goodwill. An address or neighborhood would be amazing. I'm sure SF has more than one.
Fun2Bhere thanks so much for the links. I will check them out after work.
Mtnrdredux- thanks for the heads up about the weather. It looks like the mid 50's at this point, which isn't too bad. I don't mind being damp as long as I'm warm. I may need to introduce the concept of layers to the girls though!

Thanks for all the advice so far!

The great Good Will is on Van Ness.

I checked into doing a tour of Muir Woods that would pick up at hotel. I can't remember where I found it now, but I bet if you search a little you'll find several.

I thought BART had service to Muir Woods if you are there on a weekend. Might want to look at that or maybe it is just during the summer season.

BART is for the East Bay, SF and the Peninsula; get a clipper card for Muni - you can "load" it with different amounts of money. Parking is TERRIBLE in the city and I think the cheapest ticket is now about $65. Chrissy Field is a beautiful walk along the bay with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge. The Embarcadero is also a nice walk; the Ferry Building has a great farmer's market and fabulous restaurants along the bay; some of the piers were redone for America's Cup. The Marina is a great shopping district with a lot of good restaurants. Don't miss North Beach!

The best vinyl shops are in the Lower Haight, a pretty funky but fun area. Jack's Record Cellar and Rooky Ricardo's have been around since I moved here 27 years ago. From there, you can walk west about about eight blocks to Upper Haight where all the hippie shops are.

On your way from Lower to Upper Haight, turn right on Pierce Street to stop at Mickey's Monkey, a funky used stuff store. Then walk two more blocks down Haight and turn right on Divisadero. 1 1/2 blocks down on the left is a store called The Other Shop. It has mostly mid century mod stuff with some fun vintage clothes in the back.

Golddust mentioned the Goodwill at Mission and S. Van Ness. There is another one in the Upper Haight.

The Mission District has several used bookstores and another great thrift store called Community Thrift on Valencia Street.

Actually, the Mission District may be fun for both daughters. Used bookstores, used and new hip clothing stores, galleries with works by young artists very influenced by Japanese pop culture, Clarion Alley murals (see link below), and a comfortable lesbian presence on Valencia Street. As marti8a found out, the Mission Street bus can be real (ahem) urban experience. I would recommend taking a cab or BART.

You can easily rent a car from downtown for a day to go to Muir Woods.

Also, the Dickens Fair mentioned by Fun2BHere is really fun, especially if your daughters have read any Dickens in school.

Have a great trip!
Lisa

Here is a link that might be useful: Clarion Alley

Just a quick tip- if you are a light sleeper take earplugs! We stayed at the Ritz on a higher floor but the big city traffic noises were more than this forest dweller could handle.

My favorite neighborhood is Noe Valley, Eureka Valley, and that whole area of town. It is a great neighborhood to walk around and just has a good feeling. Your daughters would probably like some of the stores on 24th street.

Sorry wasn't BART but Marin transit

Here is a link that might be useful: Marin Transit see route 66

Oh, was that an "urban" experience? I'll have to tell my friend. lol