San Francisco Travel Forum

I'm visiting SF with my father in June and am curious how much I can rely on BART to get around. I will be in and out of business meetings (mostly along a 3-mile stretch of the Embarcadero) during the day and we want to go to one Giants game and one A's game at night.

It would be nice to stay in the city, but prices seem high and parking is over $50 a day! How realistic is it to stay in South SF near SFO and use BART to get everywhere vs. renting a car? Is driving/parking worse in SF than in LA?

Thanks

I would not stay in South San Francisco.
Why don't you stay in San Francisco but without a car? You can rely on the bus system which is very good in San Francisco. Even taking a cab occasionally will be cheaper than renting a car and parking it :-)
I've had very good luck with priceline.com to get inexpensive (under $100) for 4 star hotels such as the Hyatt at the Embarcadero.
Good luck
Jeannette

Yes, stay in the City and use public transit. BART will get you over to the Coliseum for the A's game (Fremont or Dublin/Pleasanton lines go directly to the Coliseum station; transfer to either of those at West Oakland if you take a Richmond or Pittsburg train across the bay). See

http://www.bart.gov/stations/map/systemMap.asp

for a BART map. MUNI is the public transit in the City and of course if you're in the City the Giants ballpark is close to the Financial District and Embarcadero area in and around the Bay Bridge.

Another option would be to stay in Oakland or Berkeley and still use public transit although if things are the same as when I lived in the Bay Area many years ago, there's not a lot of great areas in and around the main Oakland BART stations. What is your lodging budget? Isn't work paying for it?

The transportation system in the bay area is fabulous. The combination of light rail, buses and BART can get you to virtually any street in the city or region, for that matter. BART runs on time nearly always and is a clean and efficient way to get around.

You could even think about not even renting a car, if you're planning on just staying in the SF area. You can use the public transit to visit both an A's game and an SF Giant's game, plus all the neighborhoods (Castro, Chinatown, North Beach, Japantown, Fisherman's Wharf, the Embarcadero, etc.) you would want. Unless you're going to drive up to further places (Marin) or have extenuating circumstances (I don't know how old your father is and whether the walking is amenable with him), I'd counsel to forget the car altogether. Things take a bit longer, but you'll save money on the rental, gas, insurance, and parking (which is not only expensive, but hard to find... trust me).

Even getting from the airport (Oakland or SFO) you can use BART quickly and efficiently to arrive at whatever destination you choose.

As to where to stay, I would not necessarily recommend staying in South SF for your visit. If you're anxious to get out of the city, try something in the East Bay... Berkeley and Oakland have some hotels/motels within walking distance of BART stations. You can visit 511.org to plan out itineraries on BART/MUNI/AC Transit.

If you have any problems, just drop me a line. I lived in the bay area for 7 years, 4 of which I didn't own a car, so I got to know the transit system pretty well. Enjoy your trip, it's a gorgeous city!

When I want to do business in SF on the cheap, I pick an old motel on El Camino Real in the San Mateo - San Carlos area, park the car there, then take caltrain into the city. Public transportation is very good there.

If you are used to driving in LA, you will hate driving in the bay area. The idea of 'slower traffic keep right' seems to be alien to the progressive, egalitarian spirit of the place, so the freeways move relatively slowly even when the traffic is light.

If I wanted to really torture a tourist, I'd force him to spend three days trying to find parking along the Embarcadero.

BART and MUNI and your TWO FEET will be your new best friends in San Francisco.

Ditch the car, and only rent for a day trip LEAVING the city, not for travel within the city. If you really hate to walk, and public transportation isn't your thing, spring for cab!

Spend a few dollars extra to stay in the city, there are affordable/budget places here. The money you save by staying outside of the city will be spent on time commuting into the city.

Use TV for your research for hotels, things to do etc, such a great resource.

Thanks for all your help. I did eventually decide against South SF and found some decent hotels in the city. I'm in my 20s, so no mobility issues, and we both love walking, so it seems going car-free is the way to go.

Now I just need to find the best hotel in the city, closest to the Bay. I'm self-employed, so work is paying for it... unfortunately, "work" and I are the same person. I'm pretty cheap when it comes to hotels on business trips; not so cheap I want to stay in a flophouse, but it seems like SF is not quite up to par with NYC in terms of expensive hotel rooms in the city.

I've always wanted to stay here:

http://www.harborcourthotel.com/

It should be close to your business meetings and definitely close to the ballpark.