San Francisco?

implosion07

Been a long while since I last logged on, but here I am again, implosion07 asking for help. Last year I went to San Francisco with a friend after I won £1000 in a competition. We stayed in a hotel just off Union Square, visited Alcatraz Island, saw the Pride Parade, got sunburned, met up with some slightly crazy American friends and generally had a good laugh.

I'd love to go again, but since it doesn't seem like a popular holiday destination (??? ) it's kind of hard to find cheap deals; a lot of holiday websites don't even list SF as a destination! And when I have found anything, most cheap hotel + flight combos involve 1-star motels, which are miles outside the city and/or in dodgy areas. :eek:

So, does anyone have any advice? I'm completely flexible for travel dates, especially if I put off the trip 'til next year (when I'll have graduated university, hopefully). What's San Fran like off-season? Are there any cheap hotels which are decent quality, and - may be worth noting here that I can't drive - centrally located ? Any other advice?

Cheers guys. :beer: (And yes I'm posting late...bit of a night owl.)

sturll

Every time ive been to SFO has always been a 2 night quick stop before i go somewhere else and ive always found that to be more than enough.
Especially when within a couple of hours you Lake Tahoe and Reno or even Sacramento.

It is usually cheaper to fly to LAX and maybe consider using Amtrak up to SFO.

Cheapest time of the year is after 21st August. The closest time to winter ive been there was March and it was very pleasant weather wise. I have always stayed at the Raddisson Fishermans Wharf and its a really nice place.

_Andy_

Hi

Good choice of city

OK well avoid July/August as flight prices are prohibitive. October's not too bad.
I usually go each year a week or two before Xmas - very cheap flights, great doing Xmas shopping at Union square etc.

I haven't stayed in a hotel in SF for ages, what we do now is book an apartment through

www.vrbo.com

- Much better value, you can get loads more room than a hotel (and as you said, any decent SF hotel isn't cheap).

SF off-season is fine - it's nice when there's not too many tourists around. It also depends how bothered you are about weather - I've been in February and that wasn't great, March was OK. September's probably the best month for weather but flights still aren't cheap that time of year.

Bob63

I lived there for a year and have been back more than 60 times since. April/May or September/October can be lovely in San Francisco and bizarrely can be warmer than June/July/August due to the fog which the city attracts in high summer. Winter can be wet but is still very pleasant. I'd encourage you to go back, spend a few days in the city and enjoy everything it has to offer, then rent a car and go north into wine country (Sonoma county is often overlooked but has some wonderful wineries) or south along the Pacific Coastal Highway to Santa Cruz, Monterey and even Big Sur.

Keep an eye on Virgin or BA for cheap flight deals or consider a different route such as KLM via Amsterdam. If you know anyone with Virgin Atlantic miles then you could book a miles+money flight which can be excellent value. As for hotels, do your own research and book direct. I tend to stay in 5-star hotels as my company pays, but on the rare occasions I have paid my own way I can find good quality accomodation in the centre of the city for around $85/night e.g. The Maxwell on Geary Street, which is right next door to the Westin St Francis and 200yds from Union Square.

implosion07

Thanks for the advice, everyone. Especially _Andy_ - those apartments look like really good value, especially if I wanted to stay a while. Using Amtrak is a possibility is LAX is cheaper, but as for visiting other places, I can't drive. I don't have a driver's license, and it's unlikely I'll be getting one in the near future. Just bolding that, since it seems I didn't make it clear enough in my first post.
Unless I bring one of my friends who can drive, I'll probably be fairly reliant on public transport. Can anyone recommend any 'hidden gems' that're within the city itself?

_Andy_

implosion07 wrote: »

Can anyone recommend any 'hidden gems' that're within the city itself?

Transport - get yourself either a Muni passport (http://www.sfmta.com/cms/mfares/passports.htm) or a Citypass (http://www.citypass.com/city/sanfrancisco.html) - both good value.

Other than that, there's the usual Alcatraz (night tour preferable to day IMO, and book early), walk over GG bridge, spend a day in GG park, check out Ocean Beach (good for a walk along and also nice running along it early morning), Sutro baths (www.sutrobaths.com), wave organ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_Organ), Crissy field, maybe a day tour to Yosemite (long journey but worth it), pop over to Marin, etc.

Bob63

Rent a push bike from Fisherman's Wharf, cycle across the Golden Gate Bridge then get the ferry back from Sausalito. It is a great half day out but you can easily make a full day of it if you want to. Not expensive either. For the really fit you can turn left at the end of the GG Bridge and go up the hill on the ocean side of the bridge - the Marin Headlands - and cycle right the way to the top at Hawk Hill. The view from there is stunning - I make a point of going up there on most trips.

If you like musical theatre then go see Beach Blanket Babylon, which has been running in SFO as long as the Mousetrap has in London, and is a very funny show about the city's culture. Exec summary: Snow White is looking for a man in San Francisco but can't find one.

Treat yourself to lunch, preferably Sunday brunch, at the Fog City Diner at Embarcadero and Battery. For cheaper food, the best fast food burgers are at the In N Out - there is a branch at Fisherman's Wharf. They have just three things on the menu - burger, cheeseburger and double cheeseburger. That's it. No veggie, no chicken or fish or salad. Just burgers and the most wonderful hand cut fries. Mmm....

Lynneth

The transport system in SF is very good.

You can check here http://www.sfmta.com/cms/mmaps/indxmaps.htm
to find the location of a prospective hotel and the transport routes available. My hubby and I were in SF a few years ago and due to budget constraints had to stay in a Travelodge type place away from the centre - can't remember what it was but it was cheap, clean, and had a bus stop on the doorstep. It'll probably be worth you getting a "passport", check here http://www.sfmta.com/cms/mrider/ridetips.htm