San Francisco?

Matthew

Matthew

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Matthew
Looking for some ideas - anticipate spending about 5 days there in a couple months.

Would be flying commercial, and don't want to rent a car the whole time. Looking for ideas on where to stay in the city itself that is good for walking tours or maybe hops on any kind of public transit. I would like to rent a car or take a bus tour of wine country. And getting to/from Sausalito for a day would be nice.

The only time I've been there before this, we spent one day wandering around Fisherman's Wharf and nearby areas, then spent a couple days drivng up to Napa, over to the coast, down to Sausalito and finally back to the airport hotel.

Any ideas on best parts of town to stay for tourists, and ideas on how to get around either without a car, or a car for just a day trip, would be appreciated.

Thanks.
 
San Francisco is an easy city to get around in by public transit -- almost every city street has a bus or a tram. The major tourist areas are Fisherman's Wharf and Union Square (at either end of a cable car line). There are really nice hotels around Union Square. SoMa is a lot nicer than it used to be, and the business folks like it because it's close to the convention center. I prefer to stay in outer Sunset (Taraval or Noriega) if I have to lodge, as it's a lot cheaper and close to the Muni Metro lines, but that's only because I've done all the tourist things there.

Getting to Napa without a car is impossible unless you want to spend all day. Regional transit is highly fragmented and interagency transfers are a joke. But you can get to the East Bay and Peninsula fairly easily, including KSFO. It takes longer and costs more than it should.

All of the public transit converges in and around the Financial District. Generally, if you can stay in one agency, it's not THAT bad. Golden Gate Transit serves Marin County, SamTrans and CalTrain do the Peninsula, BART and ACTransit do the East Bay. If you're going further, rent a car. Amtrak runs a commuter all the way to Sacramento, but it's a four hour train ride and a 1.5 hour drive.
 
Matthew said:
Looking for some ideas - anticipate spending about 5 days there in a couple months.

Would be flying commercial, and don't want to rent a car the whole time. Looking for ideas on where to stay in the city itself that is good for walking tours or maybe hops on any kind of public transit. I would like to rent a car or take a bus tour of wine country. And getting to/from Sausalito for a day would be nice.

The only time I've been there before this, we spent one day wandering around Fisherman's Wharf and nearby areas, then spent a couple days drivng up to Napa, over to the coast, down to Sausalito and finally back to the airport hotel.

Any ideas on best parts of town to stay for tourists, and ideas on how to get around either without a car, or a car for just a day trip, would be appreciated.

Thanks.
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You don't need a car at all if you intend to stay in the metro area, between BArT, Muni, and other busses, the Bay Area has fine public transit. Stop by one of the many kiosks and stores and pick up a map and pass.
 
I live in the wine country. Public transit up here is near impossible. It is all aimed at commuters going into the city for the day and not for tourists. I recommend either a bus tour or renting a car. In good conditions you can get up here in an hour. In bad traffic conditions it could be 2.5 hours.

You can get a ferry to Sausalito, which is probably the best way to get there.

Enjoy!
 
MAKG1 said:
San Francisco is an easy city to get around in by public transit -- almost every city street has a bus or a tram. The major tourist areas are Fisherman's Wharf and Union Square (at either end of a cable car line). There are really nice hotels around Union Square. SoMa is a lot nicer than it used to be, and the business folks like it because it's close to the convention center. I prefer to stay in outer Sunset (Taraval or Noriega) if I have to lodge, as it's a lot cheaper and close to the Muni Metro lines, but that's only because I've done all the tourist things there.

Getting to Napa without a car is impossible unless you want to spend all day. Regional transit is highly fragmented and interagency transfers are a joke. But you can get to the East Bay and Peninsula fairly easily, including KSFO. It takes longer and costs more than it should.

All of the public transit converges in and around the Financial District. Generally, if you can stay in one agency, it's not THAT bad. Golden Gate Transit serves Marin County, SamTrans and CalTrain do the Peninsula, BART and ACTransit do the East Bay. If you're going further, rent a car. Amtrak runs a commuter all the way to Sacramento, but it's a four hour train ride and a 1.5 hour drive.
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Thanks -

"Getting to Napa without a car is impossible unless you want to spend all day." - the only other time we visited we had a car and had a great time spending the whole day there. We ended up staying the night in Napa. I thought there might be some kind of tour bus deal, but haven't looked into it yet.

I do have a Fodor's guide, but I really don't know enough to even know where to begin. It's just meant to be a nice, easy, trip, so we don't intend to pack a whole lot of stuff into it, but would like to be able to see some of the highlights. Having a lot of food choices nearby the hotel is going to be a big deal. Getting out of town for some sightseeing is a plus. I noticed that some hotels have rental car agencies on-site. I would think that would be convenient, don't have to pay for parking, but still have a car when you want it. I'm sure you pay a premium for them, though.
 
In San Francisco and around the Bay, Zipcar may be an option. Heck, there is even a Prius for rent on-demand at Half Moon Bay Airport (something I still find stunning).

If you haven't done Alcatraz, that's worth it. It's a brief ferry ride from Pier 39. Make the reservation NOW as they fill up.

San Francisco has some 2500 restaurants over 50 square miles. You will NOT have trouble finding very good food -- it is very definitely a foodie city. Don't hesitate to drop in some place random. Especially if they cater to locals, they really can't survive long without being extraordinary. Large tourist restaurants can be exceptions.

Last time I was in the city (at the Opera House), I wandered into a Syrian restaurant across the street from the main library. They had these rather interesting leavened meat pastries that I'd never heard of before. It was quite good. Just don't go to a chain you can get anywhere; it misses the point.

FYI, there is wine in all 58 counties in California, except San Francisco (because it doesn't have any farmland), and some of it is very good. You don't have to go all the way to Napa. You may have a much easier time getting to Livermore or the southern Peninsula. And many of those are still free like they should be.
 
My wife and I used to live in Sausalito and we return to SF at least twice a year to check on our rental property there. We usually stay at the Hotel Monaco. Nice property and walking distance to Union Square, great restaurants, and all the rental car agencies.

Two of our favorite restaurants: Tadich Grill and Shalimar. Shalimar has the best Indian/Pakistani food on the planet and is only 2 blocks from the hotel. Tadich Grill is a 15-minute walk tops and has the best Cioppino I've ever had. Of course, there are dozens of other great restaurants as well.

You can get a nice breakfast at one of the restaurants in the Ferry Building, than catch the Golden Gate Ferry to Sausalito. I used to commute on that ferry from Sausalito to San Francisco every day and it was heaven on Earth.

We try to go to Napa each trip and rent a car for the day to do so. Overnight parking at the hotels is quite expensive.

Have a great time!
 
colojo said:
My wife and I used to live in Sausalito and we return to SF at least twice a year to check on our rental property there. We usually stay at the Hotel Monaco. Nice property and walking distance to Union Square, great restaurants, and all the rental car agencies.

Two of our favorite restaurants: Tadich Grill and Shalimar. Shalimar has the best Indian/Pakistani food on the planet and is only 2 blocks from the hotel. Tadich Grill is a 15-minute walk tops and has the best Cioppino I've ever had. Of course, there are dozens of other great restaurants as well.

You can get a nice breakfast at one of the restaurants in the Ferry Building, than catch the Golden Gate Ferry to Sausalito. I used to commute on that ferry from Sausalito to San Francisco every day and it was heaven on Earth.

We try to go to Napa each trip and rent a car for the day to do so. Overnight parking at the hotels is quite expensive.

Have a great time!
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Thanks! That gives me some ideas. It's pretty overwhelming to just jump right in - it's a big place. I don't mind, on my own, just throwing a dart at a map and saying "OK, I'll stay there!", but that doesn't always work for others.
 
I cant remember the Sourdough restaurants name at Fishermans Wharf but well worth the visit. Delicious food at a great price. I found a limo/sedan service that took us from SFO to the Marriott at Fishermans Wharf $25/each way.
 
What I saw on one travel site - the Union Square area does have a pretty good night-life, so walking to a restaurant or bar in the evening isn't going to be too big an adventure?

Plus - the availability of transportation options to the Sausalito ferry, Fisherman's Wharf, or any other part of town is pretty good?
 
Honestly, when I'm in the City, I just dump the car off in a parking garage if I'm lazy, and just walk. If I'm not lazy, I'll find some free parking near North Beach and walk back in to town.

Also the Marin Headlands, which is opposite Sausalito on the other side of the 101 is a great place to spend an afternoon for some hiking and picknicking. You would need a car for that though. Another option for visiting either Sausalito or the Headlines is a rented bicycle. You can cross the Golden Gate on a bicycle. You can't do that on any of the other Bay bridges.
 
Matthew said:
What I saw on one travel site - the Union Square area does have a pretty good night-life, so walking to a restaurant or bar in the evening isn't going to be too big an adventure?

Plus - the availability of transportation options to the Sausalito ferry, Fisherman's Wharf, or any other part of town is pretty good?
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If you want to stay on the cheap and see some real nightlife, there is always The Tenderloin. :D
 
Matthew said:
What I saw on one travel site - the Union Square area does have a pretty good night-life, so walking to a restaurant or bar in the evening isn't going to be too big an adventure?

Plus - the availability of transportation options to the Sausalito ferry, Fisherman's Wharf, or any other part of town is pretty good?
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It's only 7 miles all the way across the city. I've walked from the zoo to the Ferry building before.

it is a city, and normal street awareness is a necessity for almost any city anywhere in the world (except maybe Tokyo). But I wouldn't -- and don't -- hesitate to go walking around there at night.

It's probably not a good idea to wander around aimlessly in Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt with your $5000 Canon SLR around your neck and a wad of cash hanging out of your pocket. Though you'll see people like that if you look for it.
 
Henning said:
If you want to stay on the cheap and see some real nightlife, there is always The Tenderloin. :D
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Too late.

The Tenderloin is now trendy. Go figure. Heck, my grandmother used to live just up the hill by the Cathedral, and I went walking through there fairly regularly with a 95 year old lady, not that long ago.

Now, it's the 3rd St. corridor, especially in Bayview, which no tourist has any reason to go to.
 
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I live in Sacramento and travel to SF about 10 times a year for the last 20 years. I love it. Always finding new places in new corners every time I go. It's amazing. You can get all the advise here, but no matter, you'll find something new and something wonderful that locals might not even know. It's constantly changing. However, of all things, just avoid the tenderloin district (google) - it's proven to be gentrification proof and is a very rough part of town.

Don't get a car in SF! You'll pay $30-60/night for parking. Simply take BART from the international terminal into SF. From there, walk to your hotel, take MUNI, or use Lyft. I use Lyft over taxi's any day now. My last Lyft ride was in a BMW 7 series. Drove ~5 miles and it cost me $16 with tip. For longer day trips, get a ZipCar or something. It's pay by the hour and locals use it. Can even pick up the zipcar in one location and drop it off in another to stop the timer. It's usually available when you want to get back.

Where to stay. For first timer, I'd suggest somewhere in Union square. Kayak.com or your favorite travel site will help. There's tons of transit from union square to get anywhere fairly quickly.

A few years back, I took a tour from this guy: http://www.architecturesf.com/ It was really neat and really amazing. I highly recommend it. It's a short couple hours. You'll see the worlds first glass exterior building that is now common on sky scrapers. You'll find 'secret parks' (know as privately owned, publicly accessible parks). It's just amazing. I went on this tour after going to SF 100 times, and saw mostly stuff I never knew.

Walk Haight street. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haight_Street

Check out golden gate park. Rent a row boat for a hour and relax. You can't row far, but it's pretty. Take a picnic to the park!

Check out local events. The SF orchestra has music in the park day. It's amazing. Nothing like seeing a couple thousand people in a park....quietly listening. Beautiful.

Walk down to the ferry building from Union square. Have a leisurely stroll and enjoy its recent renovation. Have a glass of wine if it's nice outside. Then take the 32 bus (I think it's that) over to fisherman's warf after. It's a nice ride along the water front...as far as public transit can go. When coming back over the hill on MUNI, and go through china town, you'll be in for an experience. This is where the busiest (packed!) busses are. Totally safe, just really packed. Get out and check out chinatown.

As far as food... You will not go hungry. It's every where. Yelp is your friend for food. Everyone in the city uses it and reviews are pretty accurate for SF..unlike Bend Oregon where big M hamburger joint gets 4 stars. :) Chain restaurants can't survive in SF..other than fast food and Trader Joes.

I can rattle a ton of ideas if you get stuck or need tips.
 
MAKG1 said:
It's only 7 miles all the way across the city. I've walked from the zoo to the Ferry building before.

it is a city, and normal street awareness is a necessity for almost any city anywhere in the world (except maybe Tokyo). But I wouldn't -- and don't -- hesitate to go walking around there at night.

It's probably not a good idea to wander around aimlessly in Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt with your $5000 Canon SLR around your neck and a wad of cash hanging out of your pocket. Though you'll see people like that if you look for it.
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I've seen it.

There was an episode of Top Gear (BBC version) where the guys were in Africa and ran across a tour group of Americans. They guys had to make some pretty funny comments about them.
 
Another nice place for hiking is the Lands End area in the northwest corner of San Francisco which is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. You can take the 38 Geary bus to the end of the line. The Lands End visitors center is there and you can hike on trails that follow the cliffs along the coast to the north and east. You can walk all the way to the Palace of the Legion of Honor (art museum) if you are interested in that kind of thing.

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The 38 Geary and 71 Noriega busses will take you many good places.
 
TazzyTazzy said:
Check out local events. The SF orchestra has music in the park day. It's amazing. Nothing like seeing a couple thousand people in a park....quietly listening. Beautiful.
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Not this time of year. That's a summer thing.

There are two sites for it, though, with their own avid fan populations. One is in Golden Gate Park near the Concourse. The other is in Stern's Grove off 19th and Sloat.

It's not just the Symphony. Stern's Grove in particular does something different every Sunday in the summer, and I've spent a lot of those mornings staking out turf with a picnic blanket.

The Symphony has its own house in downtown, and it's much improved from the old days, but still a little, umm, wacky. That's the standard case study about why numerical acoustics doesn't work. It SUCKS to play a pretty tone on that stage and listen to it echo back to you half a second later.
 
Flymeariver said:
I cant remember the Sourdough restaurants name at Fishermans Wharf but well worth the visit. Delicious food at a great price. I found a limo/sedan service that took us from SFO to the Marriott at Fishermans Wharf $25/each way.
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Just so you know, you can buy that sourdough at every supermarket in northern California. You don't have to go to Fisherman's Wharf for it. Heck, they even sell it at SFO….
 
Stay at the Hilton Unions Square or at one of the cheaper hotels nearby. You can get into downtown very easily from SFO on BART. Once in town BART, the Muni and the bus make things easy to get around. Cable cars are fun but expensive compared to other transport. Walking can be easy, but some of the hills are killers! If you want a day trip right across the street from the Hilton Union Square is a car rental garage with lots of choices. The only way to do Napa, Sonoma and wine country is with a car.

In town lots to see and do. Book a trip to Alcatraz. You need to do this early as the ferries will fill up quick. From Union Square a taxi is the easiest way there. Once in that area you can do the Fisherman's Warf too. There many things to do in San Fran. Good food and lots of fun.
 
Everskyward said:
Another nice place for hiking is the Lands End area in the northwest corner of San Francisco which is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. You can take the 38 Geary bus to the end of the line. The Lands End visitors center is there and you can hike on trails that follow the cliffs along the coast to the north and east. You can walk all the way to the Palace of the Legion of Honor (art museum) if you are interested in that kind of thing.
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Nice idea (and photos).

The Presidio is very nearby as well. There is a new Disney museum there that I haven't seen yet. The old (closed) Crissy Field airport is there. The Exploratorium is no longer in that part of town -- they moved to the Embarcadero recently. But the old building (Palace of Fine Arts -- which my son christened the Peach Building, as it sure looks like one from the Golden Gate Bridge) is very pretty and will probably be there until it falls apart.
 
Looks like a multi-day bus pass will come in handy.

Zip cars - you sign up, then just use one as needed? Pickup/dropoff at specific locations?

I just looked up Lyft. That sounds like an interesting idea.
 
Good question was also thinking of going there for the first in like a month or so..
 
MAKG1 said:
Just so you know, you can buy that sourdough at every supermarket in northern California. You don't have to go to Fisherman's Wharf for it. Heck, they even sell it at SFO….
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Lol maybe I wasnt clear :). The food we had wasnt just sourdough...I just remembered they had windows where could watch them make sourdough :)
 
The Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park is a great place to walk around when the weather is nice - and it is nice year round! Too bad you missed the adventures of the America's Cup last summer, the waterfront was full of high end sailboats there to watch the big races. There are lots of places to rent bikes, and the trip along the Golden Gate Promenade from the Hyde Street Pier to Fort Mason and then on to the bridge and back is fabulous, and mostly flat. Biking across the hills in the city requires some serious legs. When I'm traveling for business I usually stay in the financial district or Union Square areas, but when I'm paying out of pocket, I either stay in one of the trendy updated motels from the 50s down in the marina district, or in the rennovated area around Washington Square Park. Plan to walk and gawk a lot and leave some time for discovering things on your own while wandering. There are little gems scattered all over the city.
 
Henning said:
Oh, don't forget the maritime museum.
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And the cable car museum. And the new Exploratorium. Maybe the Bay Model in Sausalito. Angel Island (immigration station). Mt. Diablo (there is still a lighted airway beacon up there, though it isn't used).

A day trip to Lick Observatory can be cool (but you do need a car, or maybe a helicopter), especially at night if you can arrange it -- they used to have public viewings on the 36" refractor on the new moon; not sure if that's still done.

A drive on the Skyline (Hwy 35) is matched only by an airborne tour, but please get off the road if you're going to drive slow.

Maybe a run on the Dipsea if you feel like abusing your knees and ankles. It's a tough trail even walking, and Cardiac Hill is appropriately named.

There is no shortage of stuff to do.
 
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Chinatown is definitely walkable from Union Square too . . . then from there you can grab the cable car to the Wharf.

We stayed at the Kimpton Argonaut - free wine from 5-6 every night, or was it 6-7? I don't remember- if you want a classic old school SFO Italian, and I mean classic, North Beach Restaurant . . . .

Been there many times and when I go in GA land @ OAK or CCR - either one has about the same BART access - meaning the FBO needs to drive you to the station that is about 5 min away, 10 if you have someone who does not know how to drive.
 
MAKG1 said:
Nice idea (and photos).
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Thanks, this (Outer Richmond) is my other neighborhood when I'm not in Colorado. I'm very seriously considering retiring (or at least moving) there.
 
HWD also has similar BART access, and SQL does for CalTrain (PAO doesn't work for that). I.e., not all that good. But the OP said he was flying commercial. These days, SFO has much better mass transit connections than OAK and especially SJC, and there haven't been scheduled commuters to CCR in many years (even when there were, they were BAe146's, not 737s).

Note that OAK is physically closer to the city than SFO, something that really gets pounded home when you're lined up for takeoff on 28R (nee 27R). But the Bay is a big obstacle.
 
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MAKG1 said:
HWD also has similar BART access, and SQL does for CalTrain (PAO doesn't work for that). I.e., not all that good. But the OP said he was flying commercial. These days, SFO has much better mass transit connections than OAK and especially SJC, and there haven't been scheduled commuters to CCR in many years (even when there were, they were BAe146's, not 737s).

Note that OAK is physically closer to the city than SFO, something that really gets pounded home when you're lined up for takeoff on 28R (nee 27R). But the Bay is a big obstacle.
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PSA flew into CCR for a few years using 146's . . . I swear it took longer to start all 4 of those engines than the flight from LAX-SFO . . .

I prefer taking off from OAK into the marine layer - in the clouds and then you are blissly ignorant of how close the bridge and the docks are under you . . . .

OAK has a decent or at least much better airline terminal access from BART than it used to - those stupid buses were so kludgy - now they have a people mover type thingy. SFO now has direct BART service as well to the terminal - I've done both CCR and OAK - and I'm sold pretty much on OAK -no one who knows anything wants to be at the Hayward BART station after dark if they can avoid it . . .
 
Well, to be fair, the Coliseum BART station isn't exactly a paradise either.

The neighborhood around OAK isn't that bad, but the Coliseum is.
 
My wife and I were there around 25+ yrs ago. I remember we ate lunch in a place on Fisherman's Wharf and watched a carrier slowly sail past.

Another day we drove up and down Napa valley, stopping at every winery along the way. We ate lunch at some roadside place that was outstanding, then spent the night in Napa. Next morning we drive to the coast, then headed south. We stopped at Point Reyes. A whole bunch of people were wrapped in sleeping bags, waiting to see the whales. We walked up, just in time to see a pod. Thyen we headed back to Sausalito for dinner and watched San Francisco as the sun set. Finally, it was time to drive back to the airport so we could leave early the next day. It was a short trip, but one of our favorites.
 
MAKG1 said:
Well, to be fair, the Coliseum BART station isn't exactly a paradise either.

The neighborhood around OAK isn't that bad, but the Coliseum is.
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True - more people moving around and the cops patrol it pretty regularly - I'd rather cart around a flight bag with fancy electronics at the Coliseum station than Hayward . . .
 
Matthew said:
Looking for some ideas - anticipate spending about 5 days there in a couple months.

Would be flying commercial, and don't want to rent a car the whole time. Looking for ideas on where to stay in the city itself that is good for walking tours or maybe hops on any kind of public transit. I would like to rent a car or take a bus tour of wine country. And getting to/from Sausalito for a day would be nice.

The only time I've been there before this, we spent one day wandering around Fisherman's Wharf and nearby areas, then spent a couple days drivng up to Napa, over to the coast, down to Sausalito and finally back to the airport hotel.

Any ideas on best parts of town to stay for tourists, and ideas on how to get around either without a car, or a car for just a day trip, would be appreciated.

Thanks.
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Call me.

I can drive you around (for a half day or so).

I can fly you over the Golden Gate Bridge.

Free.

7077996314

I'm born and raised in SF for 20 years, wine country for 10.

I work in Sausalito.

Kimberly
 
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