I found San Francisco to be a really fun and dynamic city, with a lot to do. I visited in June 2023 and again in May 2026.
There are a surprising amount of nature areas for such a large city. Overall you can find locations and activities to fit any interest.
In recent years there has been a concerning reputation for safety, however in my opinion, I noticed an improvement in this between 2023 and 2026.
In this post, I summarize my experiences traveling in San Francisco as an environmentally perceptive person (who has recovered from environmental illness).
I include information on airports, hotels, and any noteworthy locations with strong harmonious energy.
When planning travel, I use Home Harmony Assessment to intuitively choose places that may be less likely to have environmental problems like mold or chemicals/fragrance. In the past few years I have went on over a dozen trips (within the US and internationally) without encountering any problematic mold in my vacation stays.
If you’re planning a trip to San Francisco, I hope you find this post helpful! If you want to visit any other cities/locations, I am happy to help you with Location Assessments so your trip has the best chance of going smoothly.
Disclaimer: Any comments regarding hotels or locations are from my own intuitive assessment and do not represent any formal claims regarding any given establishment, nor do they represent formal building inspection results.
Airport
San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has been fairly clean in my experience.
I have not perceived mold there during my trips to San Francisco. Chemicals/fragrance range from moderate to low levels which is typical for an airport.
Transit
Subway
The Muni Metro is San Francisco’s subway system. In my experience it is convenient and clean (at least cleaner than the New York City subway!).
I did not perceive mold at any of the stations or subway cars I went through. Chemicals/fragrance range from low to moderate levels.
The lights in the subway cars are a pretty harsh white, so if you have sensitive eyes, it could be helpful to bring blue-blocking glasses.
Note, the most convenient way (in my opinion) to pay on the metro is to use the Digital Clipper card which can be loaded onto a smartphone wallet. I didn’t quite have the time to figure out how to get a physical Clipper card from one of the machines, but if you’re EMF sensitive this is an option too.
Buses
I took a few buses in San Francisco. I did not perceive any mold on them. However, the chemicals/fragrance can be moderately strong, and there can be some EMF associated with the harsh LED lights that some of the buses have. The lights can have a subtle flicker.
Ferry station
I have personal experience with the San Francisco Ferry Building. I did not perceive mold there. Chemicals/fragrance ranged from low to moderate levels, higher near certain shops selling scented items..
The ferry itself did not have perceivable mold, and I perceived low levels of chemicals/fragrance. The ocean air felt fairly fresh on the day I went.
Rideshare
San Francisco has a reputation for carjacking issues, and as of 2026 this risk is still real. Given this, I did not want to use a rental car, and took Lyft when needed.
As of early 2026, Lyft Comfort rides are marketed as fragrance free. Reports from passengers with chemical sensitivities are mixed, though generally most report the amount of fragrance is at least less than standard Lyft rides.
At the time of writing, Uber does not offer any low or no fragrance ride options.
I have no personal experience with Waymo, however there are some reports that they are relatively low fragrance. Since they are electric cars there will be some EMF involved that some people may be sensitive to.
Hotel
Overall, my impression when doing location assessments for hotels in San Francisco is that quite a few may have mold issues, at least in a certain percentage of guest rooms. A lot of them may have quite strong chemicals/fragrance as well.
I have personal experience with two hotels in San Francisco.
I stayed at Hotel Zoe Fisherman’s Wharf in June 2023. I did not perceive mold. Chemicals/fragrance felt at moderately low levels. The room was clean, including the bathroom (which can be a common problem area in hotel rooms).
At the time of writing I looked at the latest online photos of this hotel and it looks similar to what I experienced during my stay. Some rooms may have slightly moldy bathrooms, but this is common in hotels, even overall clean hotels.
In May 2026, I stayed at citizenM San Francisco Union Square. When I was planning my trip, this hotel stuck out to me for looking much more harmonious than most hotels in San Francisco.
This hotel ended up being one of the cleaner ones I’ve stayed at during my travels within the USA. I did not perceive any mold. Chemicals/fragrance only were at trace levels.
Overall, the energy there felt peaceful. There was an option to only have a reddish purple light turned on, which I really enjoyed for the night-time (note the view!). Note that the rooms can be on the smaller side!
Restaurants
I don’t always highlight restaurants in these travel reports, but I felt these were worth mentioning.
4505 Burgers and BBQ serves meat sourced from humanely raised animals. The barbecue is cooked well, and the prices are quite reasonable given the meat quality. There is outdoor shaded outdoor seating, with heaters turned on when it gets too cold. I made a point to visit during both of my trips to San Francisco.
Burma Superstar was highly recommended to me during my most recent trip, and it did not disappoint. The food felt very fresh with a clean energy. I sat in the shaded outdoor terrace, but from what I could see the indoors (at the Clement St. location) was pretty clean too.
Noteworthy locations
I was initially surprised to find that there are quite a few lovely nature spots in San Francisco. There are more nature areas here compared to most large cities.
Any of these could be a good place to go ground or meditate to help overcome jet lag.
I did a scenic hike starting at Land’s End, with the intention to hike all the way to Golden Gate Bridge.
I went through the Batteries to Bluffs trail. Google Maps was sufficient for navigation (you can also use Alltrails). There are many gorgeous coastal views!
Eventually you will end up at the Presidio of San Francisco, where you can see the Golden Gate Bridge and walk through park grounds. Other highlights include the Palace of Fine Arts, and the Yoda statue (I’m guessing at least some of my readers enjoy Star Wars!).
Angel Island State Park is accessible by Ferry, departing from the San Francisco Ferry Building. On the ferry ride I saw a grey whale surfacing to breathe!
The air on the island is quite fresh, much cleaner than the main city. I did not perceive pesticides/herbicides (which can be used in some state parks). There are some historical buildings on the island that I did not go to. Instead I focused on hiking up Mount Livermore, the island’s central mountain.
The gardens and parks in San Francisco are also quite lovely!
Golden Gate Park is a large park in the middle of the city. The environment is quite clean and refreshing for a park in the middle of a large city. Though at times in certain areas I perceived low levels of pesticides/herbicides (it probably depends on when you go). There are many walking trails amongst the trees.
Within Golden Gate Park are the San Francisco Botanical Garden and the Japanese Tea Garden. Both are very calming places to visit, though a similar point about possible pesticides/herbicides applies.
Also in Golden Gate Park is the California Academy of Sciences. It has a very distinctive rainforest dome exhibit where you can go up for four stories in a recreated tropical rainforest. Despite the high humidity, I did not perceive any mold in this exhibit, or at the Academy in general.
One of my trips to San Francisco was for a work conference. The convention was held at the Moscone Center. I did not perceive mold there. Chemicals/fragrance were present at moderate to moderately low levels.
Outside the Moscone Center is a nice little park with a large terrace where I would go to take a break from the commotion of the conference.
If you are energy sensitive, I would recommend avoiding visiting Alcatraz. In my assessment there are a lot of energies that could be described as “dark” or “low frequency/vibration”.
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