San Francisco Travel Forum

My wife and I will have an entire day to tour San Francisco on November 11 (Veteran's Day). We ae thinking of taking a 3-hour bus tour. However, we came across a company called Silver Lion private tours, where we can hire a car and guide for a minimum of 4 hours. That sounds appealing. Please suggest the best use of that amount of time.

Or . . . .should we rent a car and do our own tour?

Any suggestions would be appreciated. We are staying at San Mateo Marriott.

Also, any suggestions for a good steak dinner in the area?

Thanks to all!

Check over on www.tripadvisor.com to see if any of these (or other) tours are reviewed.

You might want to check out http://www.sfcityguides.org/. These folks run free walking guides of different neighborhoods, along with some special events. A few years ago they had a "Haunted SF" walk tour through the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood which was a lot of fun. There are also books and websites devoted to exploring SF on your own. You do not need a car for the majority of SF sites that you would want to see... most are available via walking, some you could use a bus or BART or MUNI for if you wanted to save your steps. I've walked from the Haight to Pier 39 to downtown in a day, it is definitely doable. Have a good map. A car, in many cases, is more hassle than it's worth... parking is scarce and expensive.

As for a steak dinner, it depends on your budget. If you're really looking for a treat, try the ACME Chophouse. It is located next to AT&T park, but it is a first-class steak house. The cuts are wonderful, and the atmosphere is great. It is expensive (appetizer+main+wine can run about $60 a person), but it is of a quality you will enjoy. Other than that, you can try some of the restaurants in the Pier 39 area. I'd avoid ones which are overly touristy (Rainforest Cafe and Hard Rock Cafe are both there), but some of the local ones serve a variety of seafood and steak. Or for a more Italian flair, head down Columbus to North Beach to get a steak+pasta dinner. Enjoy!

Renting a car and driving might be a little stressful - that would be up to you. If you're on a tour you won't need to worry about parking and one-way streets, etc. I'm a little on the crabby side, so if I could afford it, I might opt for the private tour.

Izzy's (in the Marina) is my favorite place to go for a steak dinner.

House of Prime Rib
1906 Van Ness Ave
San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 885-4605

If your'e staying in San Mateo your'e about 20 miles from the City so I would suggest a private driver and guide. Previous poster suggested Izzy's in the Marina (which is good) but my favorite steak house in the city is Harris' on Vanness Ave. Pricy but the best aged beef in town. The new Calif. Academy of Science is great but takes almost an entire day to tour it. Stay away from Fishermans Wharf...tourist rip-offs and not a decent restaurant on the Wharf. Too bad you have only one day to see our lovely city. And remember, above all, don't call it FRISCO! Enjoy your short stay.