SAN FRANCISCO – A new analysis ranked San Francisco as the number one, most popular U.S. vacation destination for 2025.  

The global car rental and travel site SIXT conducted its research by analyzing Google travel search trends.

What we know:

San Francisco had the most searches, with more than 2.7 million hits.  

“San Francisco topping the list of 2025 travel destinations comes as no surprise—it’s a city that perfectly blends culture, innovation, and iconic landmarks, making it a must-visit for travelers worldwide,” said SIXT Director of Communications Joseph Gerbino.

Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming (and extending into Montana and Idaho) and the Grand Canyon in Arizona came in 2nd and 3rd place, respectively.

Yosemite National Park also made the list. 

“Yosemite National Park, ranked as the seventh most popular travel spot, highlights the natural beauty that’s just a few hours drive away from the city,” Gerbino said.

California was the most represented state on the list, with two other cities named among this year’s top U.S. destinations.

San Diego came in 9th, and Anaheim, home to Disneyland, was ranked 12th.

San Francisco also ranked by Tripadvisor  

San Francisco was also ranked in another, more comprehensive analysis– one by Tripadvisor, which analyzed thousands of reviews shared by its global community of travelers.

The site’s annual “Travelers’ Choice Awards Best of the Best Destinations” listed the City by the Bay as the 7th must-visit city in the U.S. this year. 

New York City (1), Hawaii’s O’ahu (2), and Las Vegas (3) topped that list.  

San Francisco also made Tripadvisor’s best food destinations rankings, coming in 10th place after San Diego. 

The site noted that travelers across the globe were “most excited” about the culinary offerings as part of their vacationing experience.  

New Orleans, Charleston, S.C., and New York City were named the top three best for food destinations.

Dig deeper:

The Travelers’ Choice Awards Best of the Best Destinations also identified the top “trending” vacation spots in the world, which was Osaka, Japan.

In the U.S., it was West Palm Beach, Florida.

And to mark its 25th anniversary this year, Tripadvisor named the top travel destination of the last quarter-century.

London took the crown, with the capital U.K. city also being named as 2025’s top must-visit destination in the world.