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Visiting San Francisco
Septus
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I'm planning on making a trip to SF this summer, possibly around July 4th, though if I can swing it with my work schedule, I'll try to shoot for September so I'm not so hot and there's actually some visibility on the bay.
Can anyone recommend a particularly good travel book for the city?
Any personal ideas for places to go(including areas within driving distance of the city, I may rent a car for a day or two)?
Which, if any, possible attractions would I need to make arrangements for beforehand?
Can anyone recommend a particularly good travel book for the city?
Any personal ideas for places to go(including areas within driving distance of the city, I may rent a car for a day or two)?
Which, if any, possible attractions would I need to make arrangements for beforehand?
PSN: Kurahoshi1
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Most people like to see Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz, the Golden Gate bridge, stuff like that. You can google all of these, and as far as I know they don't require any advance tickets or anything. (Not positive about Alcatraz)
And summers in SFO are long-pants and sweatshirts weather.
Dem's fightin' words, boy.
Septus, some questions:
What kind of food do you like?
What do you like to do for fun? (Do you like nightlife?)
How long will you be staying?
Will you be staying in San Francisco proper or somewhere nearby?
Will you be renting a car?
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
I think I recall them being described to me as a bit muggy, and reaching the high 70s and low or mid 80s.
I'm fairly open on food. I like Mexican(but don't expect to eat any there), Americana, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Brazilian and French to a lesser extent.
I'm not a big fan of bars or nightclubs, but I'm open to whatever Theatre is available.
I expect to have either 4 or 5 days there, depending on whether there's enough that I want to do for a fifth day.
I plan on staying somewhere actually within San Francisco. I think I remember seeing acceptable single hotel rooms, within the city, for $90. If not, I might stay in a hostel for a night or two or maybe stay in a hotel further out.
I'm interested in renting a car, more for driving along some nice ocean-side highways and through the redwoods, but I'd probably visit some wineries as well.
It will most likely be a tourist zoo around the 4th, but if you do head across, check out Sausalito. Beautiful little town with a lot of cool shops and a great view of the city on a nice day.
If you're at all into food, there are some fantastic restaurants in the city and surrounding area as well. Alcatraz is touristy, but it's very cool all the same. I think Angel Island is a great place to spend half a day or so walking around. Lots of interesting history there. Mt. Tamalpais is Marin is worth checking out as well, if you're into hiking and cool views.
What else... Napa and Sonoma are great for day trips. Sonoma is somewhat less expensive, but it depends where you go. Berkeley's cool too. If you can, check out Amoeba Records (there's one in Berkeley and one in the Height too).
As supabeast mentions, it's generally pretty cold/windy here in the summer. If you can swing it, I think September is a better time. The weather is usually much nicer.
What sort of things do you want to do while you're out here? Might be able to give you more specific suggestions.
There's some great Mexican food in the Mission district of the city. Just don't get stabbed.
Also, the drive down to Half-Moon Bay is nice, as is the town.
Eh, it's not muggy. When the temp goes up the humidity goes down. It can be misty and foggy but it'll never be muggy.
Get a Zagat restaurant guide or just hit citysearch.com when you get an idea of where in town you're going to be staying. There are a ton of excellent little restaurants in the city.
I think A Bronx Tale and Chorus Line are the only major plays showing, but there might be something smaller being put on somewhere.
When you get in town, go to a coffee shop and pick up an SF Weekly free newspaper. That's your easiest bet to know what kinds of shows are going on.
BTW, the San Francisco Symphony is pretty good if you like classical music.
The hotels don't get much cheaper further out until you get annoyingly far out from the city. but you should be able to find a single bed for $90 or so.
Do it! Highway 1 is beautiful.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Second. Some cool stuff in September - they're doing Beethoven's Ninth on the 10th through the 13th if you're into that sort of thing. I'm going next month for Dvorák, which should be awesome.
Stop by Stanford if you find yourself south of the city. It's worth spending an hour or so there, especially if you go to the Cantor Museum on campus (which is really nice and free).
Go to Booty if you like unpretentious clubs.
Go to Biscuits and Blues (http://www.biscuitsandblues.com/). Even if you don't like blues (or biscuits) you'll have a really, really fun night.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Alcatraz is cool to tour, I'm told, but it's very visible from most anywhere around fisherman's wharf, and that was neat enough for me.
Yelp.com is key for finding restaurants, in my experience. Guide books don't cover enough, and are often out of date even if they stay current. Get a bus map if you can, and use that to zip around -- it's very efficient, and an excellent way to zip around the city.
The food was really really good, and the floor show was ongoing, and highly entertaining.
http://www.asiasf.com/index.php
You're not missing much. Take a trip around the bay on one of the boats at the wharf. Do a little shopping when you get back. The zoo is pretty good, you might consider that.
Also the weather this summer has been a little strange. Heat one week, chill the next, sometimes it changes from day to day, sometimes from hour to hour. Dress comfortable and bring a sweater, and you should be good to go. It won't get so hot that you'll hate your life for not wearing shorts, but it also doesn't get particularly cold either. Or maybe that's just because I'm used to it.
Can I just go to the wharf and get a boat ride without a long wait?
Am I correct that I can just walk into a winery in Napa and get on the next tour without hassle?
Depends on the winery. Most of them don't have tours, just tastings. Those I've never had an issue just walking in for. Of the places that have tours, the bigger touristy ones (berringer, sutter home) I think you can just walk in. Others you might need advance set up or might even be "by appointment only" sort of things. Oh and Sonoma is cheaper than Napa by a long shot - most I paid for a tasting in Sonoma was $10, napa averages like $20 or so. No difference in quality that I could detect, either.
I also recommend a day at Muir Woods. It's just across the Golden Gate. They have several hiking trails with gorgeous views.
For a Hotel, we stayed at Hotel Carlton, and we had a fantastic stay. I think it's a little pricier than what you said you wanted to spend, but it's well worth it. It's in the Nob Hill district, just 4 blocks from Union Square, very close to China Town, and a short Trolley ride to the Wharf.
If you're going to rent a car, I recommend ponying up the dough for valet parking at whatever hotel you stay at. It's great piece of mind, and you KNOW what hours valet is available.
Oh you'll have plenty of parking.
Sunlight, on the other hand...
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Yeah probably. There are multiple boats doing multiple trips throughout the day. Should be able to catch one without much hassle. If anything you'll probably just have to walk around a bit until the next boat boards.
It's a trap!
Enjoy your trip - the weather has been great all week.