San Francisco Girls’ Trip

If you’re planning a San Francisco Girls’ Trip, you’ll love reading my trip recap from a recent weekend getaway! 

I recently took a San Francisco Girls’ Trip and even though it was a few weeks ago now I am still living in the memories. As a busy mom, allowing time to get away with my girls is good for my soul. When’s the last time you took a trip with some girlfriends? Is it something you make time for?

It started for me three years ago when one friend had a 40th birthday party in Nashville. That weekend was so amazing that we decided a girls’ trip needed to be a yearly thing. Last year we went to Denver and this year our destination was San Fransisco.

Instead of keeping all of these great memories for myself, I thought I’d share some highlights from our trip and  inspire you to take a San Francisco Girls’ Trip!

Who’s going to make it happen? Here are the details from our fun trip to help you plan!

Where to Stay on Your San Francisco Girls’ Trip

Our first two girls’ weekends we spent at Airbnbs and we loved the set up of having a house to share. This didn’t work out in San Francisco because we had nine girls and any houses big enough to fit us were either not in the area we wanted to be in or way too expensive.

We settled on Hotel Zoe and it was everything we could have hoped for. It’s located in the North Shore Little Italy neighborhood and was walking distance from Fisherman’s Wharf and the famous cable car turnaround.

We loved the location of this hotel and the rooms were nice. The hotel has a great little outdoor space that was perfect for gathering.

We are missing a few ladies in this photo, but it shows the patio area.

The decor was funky and modern.

There were outdoor games for guests to play.

Hotel Zoe also has complimentary bikes that you can take on a first-come, first-serve basis to help you get around San Fran. How cute are they?!

We didn’t get to use them because there weren’t enough to accommodate our group, but I love that they provide this for smaller groups, couples, or families!

What to See in San Francisco

For many of us, it was our first time in San Francisco. So, yes, we wanted to do and see the standard tourist attractions. Some of them we loved, and some of them we’d skip next time. Here’s a peek at what we did!

Fisherman’s Wharf

Visiting Fisherman’s Wharf is the classic San Francisco experience and something you can’t miss if it’s your first time in San Fran. It was just a few blocks’ walk from Hotel Zoe, so it was easy for us to visit multiple times.

We didn’t visit Alcatraz as there was only so much time on our weekend trip, but at least we got to see it!

Our first evening we all arrived at different times, but went to Scoma’s together for dessert and drinks. It’s a historic seafood restaurant that’s been family owned for over 50 years. Next time, I’d love to grab lunch or dinner there.

It’s a favorite of tourists and locals alike and has beautiful views.

Also part of Fisherman’s Wharf, Ghirardelli Square offered some great views and there were some fun shops, too.

“The only reason I workout is to live longer so I can eat more cheese and drink more wine.” Word.

We were hungry after biking around San Fran all day and ended up eating an impromptu meal at The Pub at Ghirardelli Square. It was a good place for a casual meal. I had the Quinoa Kale Burger and I liked it. No pics of this place though.

We visited Peir 39 and found it way too touristy. There were a few interesting shops, but it was super crowded when we went. Seeing the sea lions made it worth checking out, though.

Cable Cars

Riding the famous cable car in San Francisco was definitely on our list of things to do. When we bought tickets to ride on Saturday afternoon and found out that the wait to ride was over an hour we were bummed.

So we saved the tickets and decided to try again on Sunday morning. It was a good call as we hopped right on Sunday morning and I’m so glad I got to experience it.

Painted Ladies

As one of the most-photographed locations in San Francisco, we felt we had to go and see what the Painted Ladies were all about.

This tight row of escalating Victorian houses was…underwhelming. We would probably skip this next time, but at least I can say I saw it in person!

Golden Gate Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge was further from our hotel, so we rented bikes so we could see it up close. The bikes also allowed us to have some time enjoying the outdoors while getting some fitness in. Win-win!

We stopped for a bit once we had a decent view of the bridge to take pictures, but we kept going from there.

Once we got to the park at the base of the bridge, some of the girls kept going to actually go over the bridge.

This is where I admit I have some fears when it comes to high bridges. I’m an adventurous person in so many ways, but heights can get me. It was a windy day and I just didn’t want to ride my bike on the Golden Gate Bridge. I didn’t really want to walk on it, either. But hey!

I have close-up pictures from my friends!

Cobb’s Comedy Club

It just so happened that Tom Green was staying at Hotel Zoe the same weekend as us. Our first night we shared an elevator with him and I had no idea who he was. He looks different than how I remembered him! My friends told me and we ran into him a few more times throughout the weekend. He told us he had a show at Cobb’s Comedy Club, so we decided to go check it out.

This is a cell phone pic in a dimly lit club; sorry about the quality. Cobb’s was walking distance from our hotel and the show was really funny. Tom’s brand of comedy has definitely grown up with him and I appreciated a lot of his jokes.

Before the show we went to the Top of the Mark for drinks and were excited we got a great table.

As you can see from the background, the views were amazing. This place is worth going to for the views, even if you just grab a drink.

Another great place for views was MKT Restaurant on top of the Four Seasons. We went there for brunch and had a great meal along with our views.

Day Trip to Napa Valley

As we were deciding on our destination, we heavily considered a trip to Napa or Sonoma. In the end, we decided to experience the best of both worlds and take a day trip to Napa Valley during our trip. I’m so glad we did it this way as I got to experience both San Francisco AND wine country.

We took a ferry to meet the driver we hired to take us to Napa.

We used Green Hills Tours for our day trip. It was a fantastic experience. The vehicle was super cool, right?

Our driver, Jenson, was incredible and so helpful.

It was about an hour ride and although the top layer was pretty breezy, it was a fun ride.

We has four stops on our tour, Trefethen, V Satturi, Chandon, and Jesup Cellars. They all had different vibes and there wasn’t one I didn’t like.

This photo would be super cute if I didn’t have my giant camera backpack on. HA!

This one is way cuter, even if the quality of the photo isn’t that great.

Now this photo? Oh, it’s completely natural, not staged at all. Just a group of girls laughing in Napa. Someone just happened to capture it on camera.

Trefethen was the only winery where we all got to sit at a big table and do the tasting together.  It’s on the National Register of Historic Places as the only 19th-century, wooden, gravity-flow winery surviving in Napa County. Another fun fact: the table we were sitting at was constructed from a large oak tree that came down during the 2014 earthquake.

I wish I could tell you more about all of the wines we tasted, but we weren’t the most serious wine tasters.

It was such a fun, memorable day, and I know I enjoyed all the wines, even if I can’t specifically tell you which ones were my favorite.

I’m so glad we were able to combine a day trip to Napa with our San Francisco girls’ trip.

What I Wore in San Francisco

Because this picture-heavy, lengthy blog post isn’t long enough…I’ve got to tell you about my clothing choices!

Even though it was mid-August, it was chillier in San Francisco than I expected! Thankfully I packed layers.

Layers are key in San Francisco. This jean jacket made an appearance every single day. Jean jackets are versatile like that.

We were being silly while waiting for our table at Top of the Mark here. But back to the jean jacket. I can’t link to it for you because I’ve had it since 2004. And that’s not a joke. It was over $200 and I was teaching then, so it was way out of my budget. But look! I’m still wearing it 15 years later. My point? Invest in quality, timeless pieces that will last and it’s worth sending more.

These white jeans from AG also go with everything and are a staple in my wardrobe! AG jeans are my favorite. They fit me so well.

This isn’t the best picture because we aren’t all looking, but it was the only one I could find that showed my pants well. This is Lombard Street, by the way. Another attraction we quickly checked out.

Anyway, I’m wearing my Luxe Cargo Leggings from ZYIA and they were absolutely perfect for our biking and site-seeing day. They are, BY FAR, the most comfortable leggings I’ve ever worn. So soft, stretchy, and just plain comfortable. They have a cargo pocket, which makes them look like regular pants. They don’t FEEL like regular pants though! The forest green color I’m wearing (find the green color here) are lower stock, but they are currently fully stocked in Eclipse, a navy-gray color. (Find the navy color here)

I’m also wearing the Gray Perfection T  here with, of course, my jean jacket.

The jumpsuit I wore in Napa was from Kate + Grace Boutique. It’s a super cute online boutique where everything is under $50! This Aqua Striped Jumpsuit is currently on sale for $28! There are a ton of fun choices for fall, too.

This sun-drenched picture doesn’t show my outfit that well, but I’m wearing the gray and white striped tank I got in this Stitch Fix box and my Black Summer Shorts from ZYIA. I know summer is ending, but you should totally snag these for next year. I wore them 1-2 times a week all summer long and I’m still wearing them. They are the cutest casual shorts that are designed to feel as comfortable as athletic shorts but they totally don’t look like gym shorts. The best.

The last day in San Francisco (I had the red-eye flight Sunday night….eeek) I wore my Olive Everywhere Pants from ZYIA along with the Black Go To Pocket V t-shirt.

If you’re familiar to the On the Fly pants from Lululemon, these are super similar, except that ZYIA’s are $21 less. They are the perfect stretchy, traveling pant that looks polished but feels way comfortable. They also come in black and navy. I also absolutely love the go to t-shirts from ZYIA. So soft, great fit with just enough stretch. The black wedges from Tom’s looked cute, but were a mistake. I should have worn flats as we did more walking the last day than I expected.

After writing all of this, I want to go back! Why do I have to wait a whole year for my next girls’ trip?! I hope you enjoyed reading about our San Francisco Girls’ Trip and I sure hope it inspired you to take a trip of your own!