San Francisco Travel Forum

Hi All,

I will be travelling to San Francisco on the 23th May, as this is part of an extension of the original trip, below are the additional places not covered under the tour. PLs help me take a look and provide advice on the transport and also if I should be covering other places instead of the below. Thanks so much in advance.


Day 1 (half day)

1)Union Sq
2)Alcatraz
3)Ghirardelli Sq


Transport:S.E corner of Powell Street and Beach Street and take Bus # 47 (Headsign is Caltrain Depot) Alight @ North Pt St and Larkin St and walk to Ghirardelli Square. Takes abt 5min


Day 2:Day Tour to Monterey / Carmel.


Day 3:

1)Chinatown (Transport: take Bus no 30 or 45 and stop at Stockton Rd)Eat dim sum @ Dol Ho. Address is 808 Pacific Ave (@ Stockton St)or Hang Ah Tea Room. Address is 1 Hang Ah Alley .Walk ard Chinatown visit the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory


2)Lombard Street (Transport: Take cable car from corner of Powell St and Bush St (Headsign is Hyde & Beach) and alight at the top of Lombard St

3)Coit Tower @ Telegraph Hills.

4)Proceed to North Beach for lunch (Transport: Take Bus no 39 and alight at Union St and Columbus Ave (near Washington Sq) Famous cafes are Cafe Marcoroni @ 59 Columbus Ave / Rose Pistola @ 512 Columbus Ave / Calzone's @ 430 Columbus Ave.

5)Haight-Ashbury. (Transport: Take Bus no 9ax from Corner of Broadway and Grant Ave (Headsign City College) and alight at 4th St and Market St. Walk to North corner of Market St and Stockton St and board Bus no 71I (Headsign 48th Avenue) and alight at Haight St and Clayton St)

Famous pts are 710 Ashbury St (House of The Grateful Dead) / Red Vic Movie House / Corner of Haight and Ashbury (where Ben&Jerry is)

After which,
2 choices:

1) Continue onto Golden Gate Garden

2) Proceed to Golden Gate Bridge
Transport: Go back to the bus stop where we alighted earlier and board bus no 71I to alight at Lincoln Way and 19th Ave (Headsign 48th Avenue). Take ard 10min. Walk to S.E corner of 19th Ave and Lincoln Way and board bus # 28 (Headsign Fort Mason) alight at Golden Gate Bridge Parking Lot. Take ard 10min

Couple of things. Book your Alcatraz tickets now. These get sold out fast.

Also, SF is a walking city. Forget that bus transfer and see one of the most spectacular views of the bay as you crest the hill in your original itinerary. But you're backtracking a bit. Coit and Lombard could be combined with your visit from Union Sq to Ghirardelli.

Here's what I'd recommend for Saturday:

Get up early and head to the farmers market at the foot of market's Ferry Bldg. A well-spent couple of hours. Very picturesque and you can fuel up on some really great food and get together a picnic for later. Walk to Coit directly, climb Telegraph hill and get knocked out by the view.

From there, you could go to N Beach, but I'd save that for night time. Instead, head down the hill to Pier 39. Yes, it's touristy, but appealing. Wander through Fisherman's wharf and Ghirardelli before doing your Alcatraz tour.

If you're a good walker, book your ticket to press on to Sausalito and then WALK BACK across the Golden Gate. If that's too much, return to the SF side, and walk to the bridge. It's not that far, and you get to see a bit of the Presidio, as well. You can also visit Fort Point right under the bridge and catch a bus out.

This is a really packed day. Rest for a while, then do North Beach by night.

I think Carmel Monterey's a bit of a longish drive (2 hours each way) and may not be worth it. Santa Cruz and Capitola are close and appealing, too.

Do your Haight Street thing and GG Park on the 23rd, then stick in Haight for the night scene.

Sunday, you could hit up Union Square and cruise around like the locals. If you like shopping, Union STREET might also be worth your while.

Thanks so much for your reply. Will definitely take your advice into serious thinking and planning for our trip.

Cheers,
Chermaine

There's a VT Meet on May 23, in North Beach, San Francisco. Look it up and be there. (Be there or, be at Union Square?)

As for your plan... holy cow! That's some planning.

If you go to Coit Tower be sure to see the murals inside the building. Also, take the Filbert steps down the hill on the Bay side. Look for the famous Parrots of Telegraph Hill while walking down the steps.