San Francisco Kites & Toys

It looks like a tourist trap from the outside, but go to the back of the shop and you’ll find a great selection of serious kites. The staff is knowledgeable and friendly, and the prices are shockingly close to a large online retailer. Not only do I give them an easy five stars, I made two large purchases here recently (voting with my dollars).
As a bonus, grab some delicious salt water taffy on your way to the register!

Are you a kid at heart? Do you love seeing what the wind can do? This place is for you. Come inside to see all sorts of kites, wind socks, whirly gigs and other sorts of toys. We had fun looking around and checking out the video demos for some of the toys. They also have salt water taffy for sale.
Right out front of Pier 39, it’s a great way to start your exploration!

My friends came here to buy a wind spinner. They have a huge selection of wind spinners here. Fanciful animals, twirling hot air balloons, wheeled vehicles, as well as airplanes and pirate ships.
These aren’t the cheaply made items you find at Wal-​Mart or Target, which may fade after just one summer. These wind spinners are of much higher quality. The fabric is fade resistant, and the supporting rods are made with fiberglass. But they’re not cheap!

Really sweet kite shop with kites for the novice, intermediate and pro! Kites range from a few dollars to several hundred. They range in all colors of the rainbow.
They have TV’s with video loops going showing how the intermediate and pro kites are used.
They also have some unique toys that fly, such as a flying saucer. There’s also some other toys that are different like the pop out crazy looking squirrel and the two other variations thereof.
This little shop is across from the ticket booth for the trolley.
The staff on hand were really friendly and super happy to answer any questions.
We’d definitely come in here again to buy a kite and fly it over the bay!

My 8 year year old likes the kite. Good prices for the location.

The young man out in front of the store doing awesome tricks on the super yo-​yo sure worked on us. We need a motivator for the 10 year old to learn his times tables better, cue the yo-​yo. Only wish we had more «resources» to get more things in this store. Lots of really great stuff and very knowledgeable staff

This place is smart — they draw you in by entertaining your kids with bubbles! This is a fun and colorful store. Although we visit it quiet often (whenever we visit Pier 39 with my son), we have never purchased anything there. However, as our son gets older, I can see him somehow convincing us to buy him something from them!

lots of kites and wind blowers. id say a bit pricey but the quality is good and strong in the wind. plenty of different sizes to choose from and variety. big store. quick and easy transaction. now in the front yard i see my lil pirate blowing in the wind. hope no one steals it!

They’re prices are about the same as China Town for the kites! We were walking around on the pier and saw the store. It’s very organized and the employees are really nice. Too bad earlier that morning, we already purchased 3 big kites from China Town Kites (about 2 miles away). They are approximately the same price; probably just a few dollar difference. If you’re in the China Town area, then I would stop by China Town Kites — but if you’re shopping around on Pier 39 — I wouldn’t make the special trip to China Town — unless you’re looking for more oriental kites (such as fishes/​turtles, etc).

Lots and lots of kites. Not sure what else to say on this one. Seems like you should be able to find just about any kite you want. Plus there’s plenty of other toys as well.

Incredible selection and service. I found an awesome windsock, «It’s five o’clock somewhere.» Even more impressive is after I accidentally dropped my wallet near the store, the owner found it and called me to make arrangements for its safe return. Can’t beat service like that!

My husband and I were involved in sport kiting for many years, so we know what to look for in a kite store. This store definitely has what it takes.
Located in the tourist-​infested Pier 39 area of San Francisco, SF Kite Company has one of the most complete inventories of kites and wind accessories in the Bay Area.
You’ll be amazed when you see all the colorful wind toys, spinners, single, dual and quad line kites, attractively displayed and ready to take home and crash… err. FLY.
Even if you have a bit of CHARLIE BROWN sydrome, the folks at the Kite Company will get you off the ground and gently into the world of kite piloting.
WARNING: Be prepared to be frustrated with parking and INSANE lost tourist drivers,
This area is a pain in the butt when you drive. And it isn’t as accessible as it should be via public transit. However…
If you are clever and plan ahead, you can actually take advantage of the monstrous inefficiency called MUNI and rely on public transportation.

such a fun store!
They had every single sort of kite, pinwheel, windsock, decorative items, garden accessories… the list goes on and on. The most striking thing when you first walk in is all the colors floating around and spinning and flying.
You can certainly find something to buy here, from inexpensive to expensive. The quality seemed really high too, but not the price. A typical kite was around 15 – 30 bucks and went up substantially with the more experience needed kites.
The staff were all very friendly and informative, helpful when trying to find something you see on the wall, they knew where every kite I asked for was located. We spent a good 45 minutes in this store just browsing.
Ultimately, I decided against a purchase, simply because I didn’t want to haul it along with me all day. Next trip there will be more planned and I will be sure to stop there before going home.
If you like the outdoors, I highly recommend stopping in and getting yourself a little treat to play outside with every day. The wind in SF certainly isn’t lacking, so it is the perfect place for a kite store.

A fantastically fun store to buy a kite, a pinwheel, a windsock or puppet. The store staff was friendly and non invasive.
I bought a USA flag windsock to replace my husbands torn 3’x4’ USA flag that has been flying from my bedroom balcony for 15 years.
I also bought a small cute rainbow daisy pinwheel that I installed at his grave site yesterday afternoon.
SF Kite company I definitely will be back soon.

They lured my boys into this store with the bubbles blowing outside the store. Of course we had to go in because my youngest was inside looking at all the kites. The look on his face was priceless. It was the same face he made when we took him to Toys R Us for the first time.
The selection of kites in incredible. Everything anyone can imagine is here. I like the quality and feel, these aren’t your Walmart or Target kites. They are pricey but well worth the cost.
Staff was cool and friendly helping us with our selection. We purchased a little pirate kite that all the boys agreed was the coolest. The family and I can’t wait to take out pirate kite to the beach and let it fly.

Totally helpful staff. Answered all my questions and didn’t try to sell me the most expensive kite. Awesome selection!
The kites are a little on the pricy side, but they are of VERY high quality. They also can ship your purchase back home for you at a reasonable cost.

I’ve live in the bay area practically all my life trying to avoid every crowded tourist trap like it’s the plague. Today, I challenged my limitations and conquered the fisherman’s wharf area. I’ve discovered, that I want to come back, and next time with kids!
On our walk down the strip this morning, we couldn’t help but pop into this kite shop. They’ve got MORE than a huge selection, they’ve got everything from extreme kites to, outdoor windsocks. The husband traveled to the back of the store, where the walls were lined with huge parachute like kites and I had to shew him away before he got any ideas. I don’t know about some people, but being pulled along the ground via skateboard while hitched to a kite doesn’t seem like a way to enjoy a windy April weekend.
On short news… feeling guilty that we didn’t bring the kids this weekend, we’ve left SF with 2 kites for both children. Our only issue was choosing the right ones. We went with a shark and dolphin. Now that I’m thinking about it… maybe extreme kiting might sound like a good idea. It would definitely be thrilling to see a a six year old launched into the air on a kite. Hmmmmm???

They practically have everything that resembles a kite, and even some special ones you can stick in your garden, and even ones big enough to make you fly. I enjoyed everything about this store, everything about this place is inspires one to pick up a kite and rush outside and play with it.
The kites seemed to be fairly expensive than one would normally expect, but given that it is in a touristy location and their selection is far more than any Target or Walmart could ever have, this place is great location to look for a badass kite to fly.

San Francisco Kite Co.
This place is awesome especially if you like kites. Here it’s all about the wind and what you can do with it. There are so many kites and wind related items. They have
Butterfly kite
Expandable Object (Box kite)
Stunt Kites with 58 inch wing span
Power /​Traction kites
Wind Toys
If you have the love of an outdoor sports this might be one of them. Check it out… an awesome store!
Will return here to buy my kite…
Service here was good. The folks came and explained the various kites to me… place is clean… and nicely spaced for browsing
A fun place for everyone.