san francisco/oakland vacation

cdnlngld

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Feb 24, 2012
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Ames, IA
Any tips pointers to staying in San Francisco? Where is a good place that's relatively affordable to stay?

What are the best things to do there?

obviously golden gate and Alcatraz are on the docket.....
 
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Any tips pointers to staying in San Francisco? Where is a good place that's relatively affordable to stay?

What are the best things to do there?

obviously golden gate and Alcatraz are on the docket.....

Enjoy the smell.
 
Hotels were expensive IIRC. We stayed down near China Town (can't remember where) but be prepared to pay fairly heavily for parking (valet or otherwise). Hopefully someone can recommend a cheaper option. I didn't have much luck.

Fisherman's Wharf is touristy, but it's hard not to go there. The street performers and sea lions would be fun for your little one too. A trolley ride is also touristy but fun.

If you need to get out of the city, the Muir Woods just north of the Golden Gate Bridge is a good little getaway as well. Sausalito is pretty neat too.

Have fun. I haven't been back there in a few years, but the wife and I have both talked about going back.
 
I'm curious why you have Oakland in the title. It's the dump of the bay area. My tip is not to go there.
 
The Haight-Ashbury area is kind of cool to see if you're into that kind of thing. It was kind of the center of the hippie movement. You can see the Grateful Dead house and there are good places to eat.

The painted ladies are worth seeing if you ever watched Full House.
 
I'm curious why you have Oakland in the title. It's the dump of the bay area. My tip is not to go there.

No - just wear a Dodgers hat and you'll be fine...... :rolleyes:

I'd say take in some food down at Fisherman's wharf and check out Redwoods National Park
 
Stay in Monterrey. Much cheaper, but relatively close. I used to live with my grandma in salinas as a kid. San Francisco is just too busy. We visited her a couple years ago and didn't even have kids at the time and were totally turned off by the hustle and bustle, overall uncleanliness and dense population. We cancelled our reservation after two days there and stayed in Monterrey. We drove and did another day trip in San Francisco. Didn't have to deal with the expensive hotel, but had to pay for parking. We had to pay for parking at our hotel in San Francisco anyways, so if was a push on the parking.

some fun things we did was an urban trek. The guy was really cool and was a fun tour.

http://www.urbantrekusa.com

we also went and toured Alcatraz (of course) and anchor brewery. If you decide to get out of the town some fun things to do are to go to the Monterrey fishermans wharf (much less busy), Santa Cruz beach boardwalk and Winchester mystery house.

some other good things are the 17mile drive between Monterrey and Carmel. While in Carmel you can visit the mission that is there and brush up on some california history.

hope this helps. Have fun.
 
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I went about 4 years ago and stayed in San Rafael which is about a 10 minute drive north of the Golden Gate Bridge on US 101. It's all interstate highway and for the four days I was in town I never really ran into any substantial traffic issues. Actually I thought San Fran was a pretty cool price to drive around as compared to some other cities where driving is a nightmare.
 
I'm curious why you have Oakland in the title. It's the dump of the bay area. My tip is not to go there.

Lived in SF for the past seven years, moved to Oakland this year. It's great. Parts are still a little stabby (stay away from downtown & west oakland), but Piedmont, Rockridge & Lake Merritt are all excellent places without the techdouche stench that San Francisco has rapidly acquired.

Stay the hell away from Fisherman's Wharf. It's nothing but a tourist trap.

Check out the mission/Valencia Street for good restaurants & nightlife. The presidio & baker beach has good hiking if you're by the golden gate bridge. If you're in the upper haight, Golden Gate Park or Sutro Forest offer some good views/scenery as well.
 
I was going to say this in general, but out of respect for sdillon, go to West Oakland, smoke crack and get shot and die!
 
Make reservations for Alcatraz in advance or it's unlikely you'll be able to go when you want. Walk out onto the GG Bridge, especially if it's a nice day. It's the best way to appreciate the sheer size of the span.

If you've made no hotel reservations yet, try to avoid staying in the City itself. It's either way overpriced or so nasty that you wouldn't want your 4th worst enemy staying there (1-3 would probably deserve it). I usually end up staying closer to SFO in one of the moderately priced hotels. Also, looking across the Bay in Emeryville or in Marin County would be decent as well. Remember you will pay tolls on every bridge, including the $7 electronic toll on the GG Bridge (google 'GGBridge' toll to find out how to pay for those).

Having a little one will make some of the sight-seeing more difficult, but there are still plenty of places to visit. There are lots of park and beach areas around, including Baker Beach, Ocean Beach, Crissy Field, Golden Gate Park, etc. Muir Woods in Marin is fun also, plus Rodeo Beach and Point Bonita in the Marin Headlands, just across the GG Bridge. The Embarcadero is a nice area to walk (as long as it's not overly crowded). You get to see the wharf area, which will take you down to Pier 39 if you are inclined to go there. It IS a tourist trap, but you can certainly find souvenirs galore there.

Twin Peaks offers the best views of the entire city, including the GG Bridge, Bay Bridge, downtown, the Bay, Oakland, etc. Absolutely worth looking up how to get there for a little bit. It's spectacular at night as well. There are countless museums in and around San Francisco. Some are worth it, some not so much. A list of what you'll find:

http://www.baycityguide.com/museums.html

I am not that familiar with San Jose or the South Bay, in general. If your focus is going to be SF, don't stay all the way down there or near Santa Cruz. If those areas are what you're planning on seeing, it would be great. Otherwise, you're spending too much time in the car. Not fun if traffic is heavy (which it frequently is).

If shopping is the wife's thing (or yours, for that matter), you might want to spend some time around Market Street in SF from Powell to the Embarcadero. Lots of department stores in the area and fun to walk around. Emeryville has an upscale outdoor mall as well, with an Ikea at the far end of it.

Don't be afraid to take BART places, but it only travels southwest-northeast in SF itself, but will get you to SFO, Berkeley, and Oakland (other places also).

Also, be prepared for different microclimates everywhere you go. That means bring clothing that will allow you to prepare for anything. It can be quite chilly in the City, especially near the ocean. But you can drive across any bridge for about 15 minutes and temps can jump 20 degrees. Keep an eye on the weather forecast so you know what to pack. Finding a local tv station's weather report will show you expected temps on the coast, on the Bay, and inland. Shorts are still usually good for time spend away from the ocean. But jeans will be appreciated as well as sweatshirts/windbreakers for the chilly areas.
 
I concur. The only reason to visit Oakland is if you want a sweet new bullet hole or knife wound. May as well just go hang out in Stockton and Modesto while you're there.
 
One spot you can also visit is take a 1-2 day trip down to Yosemite. If you don't have a car, there are bus trips from the hotels. Yosemite gets crowded, so the trips or any lodging there may be tough to come by.

Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks are further south and less crowded.
 
Hotel is booked! Sounds like we will be in the San Mateo area. The more I look the more it sounds like we will not have any trouble finding nice things to do. Car is rented and I think we will try to balance half of our time in the city and half roaming out and about along the coastline. Neither my wife or I have seen the west coast, but it sounds like the area is quite beautiful and scenic. Really looking forward to going!
 
Need to lunch at Napa, go to Stinson Beach, view from El Diablo, see Berkley, go to the Computer Museum near Google, Winchester House in San Jose, golf near Half Moon Bay, Monterrey Aqauarium, Pebble Beach, Presidio area, and go Uber.
 
Hotel is booked! Sounds like we will be in the San Mateo area. The more I look the more it sounds like we will not have any trouble finding nice things to do. Car is rented and I think we will try to balance half of our time in the city and half roaming out and about along the coastline. Neither my wife or I have seen the west coast, but it sounds like the area is quite beautiful and scenic. Really looking forward to going!

I've always said the Pacific is so much better than it's slutty, filthy half-sister the Atlantic.
 
Hotel is booked! Sounds like we will be in the San Mateo area. The more I look the more it sounds like we will not have any trouble finding nice things to do. Car is rented and I think we will try to balance half of our time in the city and half roaming out and about along the coastline. Neither my wife or I have seen the west coast, but it sounds like the area is quite beautiful and scenic. Really looking forward to going!

Sonoma County (just north of Marin) has amazing beaches as well. Might be worth a little extra drive to visit.

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=451 (lots of great aerial photos)

http://www.yelp.com/biz/sonoma-coast-state-beach-bodega-head-bodega-bay
 

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