San Francisco Day Trips in 6 Days on a Budget
Six days: city, wine country, and two coastal runs
Six days is enough to string Half Moon Bay and Point Reyes together into one coastal rental block instead of two separate pickups, since they sit on opposite sides of the city but are both car-only trips. Everything else nests the same way as the 5-day version : city day, Muir Woods and Sausalito plus wine country on a two-day rental, then a transit-only neighborhood day before the coast. Add a day and Monterey becomes possible on the 7-day plan ; cut back to 5 days if Point Reyes isn’t a priority.
Book these before you go
- Reserve Muir Woods parking or a shuttle seat at gomuirwoods.com : required year-round, no walk-ins, no cell signal on site.
- Book the Muir Woods/wine country rental (days two-three) and a separate coastal rental (days five-six) through Discover Cars, from around $37/day.
- A full-day Napa and Sonoma wine tour covers day three if you’d rather not drive that leg yourself.
| Day | Focus | Distance/drive time from SF | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | San Francisco on foot and Muni | - | $20-35/person food, $9 cable car |
| Day 2 | Golden Gate Bridge, Muir Woods, Sausalito | ~12-17 miles, 20-40 min | Rental (2-day block), $10 parking or $4 shuttle |
| Day 3 | Napa or Sonoma wine country | ~45-60 miles, 1-1.5 hrs | Tastings $35-75 Sonoma, $50-100+ Napa |
| Day 4 | Golden Gate Park, Mission, Haight | - | $15 Tea Garden, $15 de Young, transit fares |
| Day 5 | Half Moon Bay | ~28 miles, 45 min | Rental (2-day coastal block) |
| Day 6 | Point Reyes | ~37-63 miles, 1-1.5 hrs | Same coastal rental, gas only |
Day 1: San Francisco without a car
BART in from SFO (~$10.30-11.15 plus the $5.51 airport premium), Clipper card at the machine. Alcatraz, if it’s on your list, needed booking through Alcatraz City Cruises around 90 days out. Pier 39 sea lions are free; walk to North Beach for lunch rather than eating at the Wharf. Afternoon: Powell-Hyde cable car ($9/ride, board mid-route to skip the 30-60 minute Powell queue), Lombard Street, then Chinatown’s Grant Avenue and Waverly Place. Dinner in North Beach or the Mission, where a $12-16 La Taqueria burrito is the budget standard.
Day 2: rent the car, Muir Woods and Sausalito
Economy rental (~$37-70/day), Golden Gate Bridge northbound for free, Marin Headlands for the photo, then Muir Woods, where a parking or shuttle reservation is required year-round with no cell signal on site. Afternoon in Sausalito, then keep the car overnight into day three.
Day 3: Napa or Sonoma wine country
Car or tour only, no BART or train, about 1 to 1.5 hours each way. Designate a driver; tasting fees run $35-75 a stop in Sonoma and $50-100+ at name-brand Napa wineries. Two or three wineries, not five rushed stops. Drive back that evening, when the bridge toll applies (currently $10.25 with FasTrak), and return the rental, since days four and five don’t need it.
Day 4: neighborhoods on foot and Muni
Golden Gate Park in the morning: the Japanese Tea Garden ($15, free before 10am Monday/Wednesday/Friday) and the de Young Museum ($15, free first Tuesday). Mission murals or Haight-Ashbury in the afternoon. Castro or North Beach for dinner, Chinatown dim sum ($15-25/person) if you skipped it earlier.
Day 5: Half Moon Bay
Pick up a fresh rental for the coastal run, about 45 minutes south on Highway 1. Book it through day six as well rather than as a single day, since tomorrow’s Point Reyes trip needs the car too and one two-day rental beats two separate one-day pickups. Spend the day on the coastline and in the small-town center; plan lunch there instead of rushing back.
Day 6: Point Reyes
Same rental car, now heading north past Marin instead of south. Point Reyes is a full car-only day: the lighthouse, Tomales Bay’s oyster farms, and Drakes Estero are spread out enough that transit isn’t a realistic option, and cell service is spotty to nonexistent past the gateway town of Point Reyes Station. Road access to the lighthouse and Chimney Rock has changed in recent seasons, so verify current conditions on site before you commit the whole day to that end of the peninsula. Leave nothing visible in the car at any trailhead or overlook lot. Return the rental that evening and spend your last night on a proper sit-down dinner.
Is two coastal day trips in a row too much driving?
Not really. Half Moon Bay is a 45-minute drive each way and Point Reyes runs 1 to 1.5 hours, so neither day involves more than about two hours behind the wheel round trip, leaving most of each day free once you’ve arrived.
Should you book Half Moon Bay and Point Reyes as one rental or two?
One two-day rental, booked through both days from the start. Splitting it into two single-day pickups means paying two separate rental fees and losing time at the counter twice, for a route that doesn’t require returning the car in between.
One opinion worth defending: Point Reyes over a second day in Sonoma if you have to choose. Wine country is repeatable on a future trip; a full day at Point Reyes without the crowds of Muir Woods is harder to recreate anywhere else near the city.