San Francisco in September.

shaun_from_Africa

If you do the bike ride as suggested by claire, you don't have to cycle back if you don't want to.
There are plenty of ferries from Sausalito back to SF and you can take your bikes on these.

The bikes all come with locks and Saulalito is a very nice area to lock up the bike and take a stroll around (there are plenty of small bars and cafe's.

I will also second the suggestion of the Alcatraz night tour. IMO, this is far better than the day trip but as already mentioned by others, booking well in advance is a must if you decide to do this as it is always fully booked and if you turn up hoping for space, you will be disappointed.

k12479

Personally, I think 7 days would be too long and would consider going somewhere else too - perhaps Los Angeles or Las Vegas, if you're so inclined. Southwest airlines are pretty good.

Lombard Street, famous twisty road, is worth a look. Also, as previously mentioned it can be windy.

Some sort of game: for NFL there's the 49ers in SF or Oakland Raiders across the bay, I'd look into tickets immediately if you're interested. For baseball, there's the Giants, tickets should be much easier to get.

If you haven't been to the US before, look into getting your ESTA soon (through the proper website, not an agent) and of course, make sure you have travel insurance that includes the US.

torbrex

The further out of the centre you go the cheaper the hotels are, its just like anywhere else in that respect but there are some good motels to be found on Lombard St and close to a cablecar so getting about is easy

Chinatown after dark is an experience :eek:
Exploratorium is a hands-on science and art museum that is good
North Beach (little Italy) has some great nightlife.
If you like architecture, the Grace Cathedral is a re-creation of Notre Dame.

I would have loved to visit the Giants home park but it was not built until after I had been there, it looks so good when I see the games on TV, tickets will be at a premium at that time of year so I would suggest booking early and have them left at the 'will call' window.

The football season will have just started so again tickets might be hard to get but for both sports, Oakland is just accross the bay and if you can't get into see the Giants or the 49'rs you could try the A's or Raiders.

ETA
The openly gay Castro District is also an experience, even just to walk through and 'people watch'

nickcc

Did the Titan west coast tour few years ago with my Wife, highlight of the whole tour was the stay in SF, also very envious.

martindow

SF (if you go around the edge rather than over) and much of CA is very cycle friendly. Buses have fold down racks on the front that hold two bicycles so you can travel on the bus with them.

lady1964

We spent 10 days in SF a few years ago with two teenagers and found things to do on every day that we were there.

We rented an apartment rather than stay in a hotel, great thing to do, having the self catering option and away from the main tourist places but a short 10 minute bus ride or a half hour walk.

We did all the things already mentioned, plus a day tour to Carmel via Monteray and Pebble Beach, that was really cool. Loved Carmel but could have done with being there for longer.

We pre-booked Alcatraz (we went in August) as had read about it getting booked up. We expected warmer weather but it was slightly chilly at times so layers are a must.

Second the trip over to Sausalito, loved walking round there. We went to see The Giants play baseball, thoroughly enjoyable.

Have a fab time

Dirk_Gently_2

Just been through this all as my September roadtrip from Utah ends with 4 nights in SF.

I've stayed in the Argonaut before, and whilst the location is great and it's a really nice hotel, it's got horrendously, horrendously, expensive, and already has limited availability then.

Also, I found myself spending most of my evenings in North Beach (my favourite area) on previous trips, so went for a character, retro hotel right on Columbus Avenue this time - Hotel Boheme, which looks to have so much character it's amazing.

No parking, and bound to be noisy, but I can stay in a faceless, corporate hotel anywhere in the world - and this I'm sure will capture the character of North Beach perfectly.

But I suppose it's really all about what you want and where you like - have previously stayed around Union Square and hated it (dead at night) and a few B&Bs - pot luck and not to everyone's taste, but if you can find a good one they can be superb. Found a brilliant one on Lombard Street with a roof garden a good few years ago and that was phenomenal.

lazyjack

Dirk_Gently wrote: »

Also, I found myself spending most of my evenings in North Beach (my favourite area) on previous trips, so went for a character, retro hotel right on Columbus Avenue this time - Hotel Boheme, which looks to have so much character it's amazing.

No parking, and bound to be noisy, but I can stay in a faceless, corporate hotel anywhere in the world - and this I'm sure will capture the character of North Beach perfectly.

Might be worth paying a visit to this place Dirk, just down the road from your hotel:

http://www.sfblues.net/Saloon.html

Bit rough and ready but they do have some good live music.

Dirk_Gently_2

lazyjack wrote: »

Might be worth paying a visit to this place Dirk, just down the road from your hotel:

http://www.sfblues.net/Saloon.html

Bit rough and ready but they do have some good live music.

Sounds great - will try and take a look (if I can persuade the OH, who *hates* blues with a vengeance!