We’ve been to several marinas with restaurants, boat tours, and amusement rides over the years. Some that come to mind are the Navy Pier in Chicago, the  marina in Cabo San Lucas, and Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. We had a great time shopping, eating, and watching the sea lions while we were there. It is a wonderful place for the whole family as well as for couples with lots to do. The smell of the salt air, the fresh seafood, the views of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge all make visiting the wharf an amazing experience.

We ate incredible clam chowder for lunch with traditional San Francisco sourdough bread while we were at pier 39. For dinner we went to a very nice restaurant called Scoma’s, which was fairly expensive but well worth the money. There were several dinner cruise options that will take you out into the bay to see Alcatraz close-up, but we chose not to do that on this particular trip back in 2014.

Yes, it can be a little touristy, but we felt that it was still worth visiting. You can easily spend hours just watching the sea lions as they dive off of the docks or chest-butt each other to express their superiority over each other. The carousel and the arcades are certainly a lot of fun and there are plenty of shops to buy some souvenirs. The food, however, is the star of the show as far as we’re concerned. Fisherman’s Wharf is definitely worth visiting if you’re in San Francisco , you won’t be disappointed.