Pier 39 in San Francisco was so much fun to visit. We spent 3 days in San Fran and everyday was spent at this pier. The very best part was watching the seals! There were dozens of them - and they would play sort of 'king of the mountain' on the planks. You have to visit the seals if you are in San Francisco - it was a riot!

We visited San Francisco for 4 days during September 2004.

We found the Pier 39 area to be quite stereotypical of an over developed tourist area, with its cheap knock off souvineer shops and over priced restaurants, but we would still encourange anyone to visit it at least once. Those with a good experience of these type of attractions will know you can no doubt score a good bargain or meal if you look for it.

We knew we had to come to this area to catch the ferry over to Alcatraz, and would advise that you come early, as the line up for tickets can get quite long by late morning, and the daily tours seem to sell out around lunch time. You can't come here without experiencing Alcztraz!

The nearby sea lion colony is pretty cool and good for a laugh at the sea lions antics.

Be warned though, this is not an area to not be mindful of your valuables. Several times we spotted "locals" (two in particular who seemed to be regulars) clearly staking out people flaunting expensive cameres or other items. Beware of teams of two which seem to operating on the basis that one distracts whilst the other gets up to no good. Be wary of those that approach you with what seems like strange comments/requests - for example, one of the regulars we had observed earlier approached me and asked if I would like a shoe shine. Pretty stupid request considering I was wearing a pair of old sneakers. However, those with the usual street smart should have no problems in this area.

Having never been to San Francisco it was a great place to go. The main reason is that there is so much to see around the area. You drive through part of downtown to get there, see Alcatraz, there's neat shops and pubs in the area. We only spent a few hours there and left on the Golden Gate Bridge. Parking was too high, but it was enjoyable and we and a very jam-packed few hours. PS...if you park in the parkade, go to the very top and enjoy the view.

Pier 39 is such a low-brow attraction, it amazes me people even go there... Dont waste your time, there is so much else to do in this beautiful city. It is full of overpriced restaurants serving only pizza or hot dogs, which you could find much better and cheaper anywhere else in the city. The shops represent the worst of Fishermans Wharf, which is a pretty awful area itself (If you ever find any locals hanging out down there, you would be among the first). Save your time and money by staying away from this tourist trap, and if a tourist area is what youre looking for just go to Golden Gate Bridge already. I know I would rather jump off the bridge than spend five minutes at the pier. And I am allowed to say this because Im a local.