I'm gonna be taking a trip to California in June and will be spending about three days in San Francisco during the trip. Trying to decide what area to stay in while there, so I figured I would see if anyone on here had advice. We'll be renting a car for the trip, but would probably like to use public transportation as much as possible in the city. Is there an area that's best for access to muni transportation to take you to most of the main tourist attractions? Been trying to read up on which lines travel to certain locations, but kinda hard to get a handle on it. We're going to do a morning tour to Alcatraz and hope to check out all the other major tourist hot spots, but what else should we see? Restaurant recommendations, etc.? Never been to SF before so any info would be appreciated.

Also gonna be checking out Yosemite NP, Sequoia NP, Death Valley NP, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa area. Any info for those places would be great too.

House of Nanking is a place that was recommended to me before my first trip there. It was worth the visit so I've gone back every time I visit SF.

If you end up at the Ferry Building stop in at Recchiuti Confections and get some S'more bites.

Calling COA

Go to Russian River Brewing Co. and get some pliny.

In regards to Alcatraz, be sure to go online and get your tickets ahead of time. Golden Gate park in pretty cool to walk through on a nice day and there's a decent pub called Kezar Pub, across Stanyon Street from the old 49er's stadium (Kezar stadium). Inside the pub theres a bunch of old NFL memorabilia. Lots of homeless people walk San Francisco.

Just a heads up, San Fran kinda smells like a toilet. It's a cool city, but it stinks.

Thanks for all the input so far. Already purchased the tickets for Alcatraz, so we're good to go there.

When I visited New Orleans, Bourbon Street smelled awful. I would imagine SF and NYC are something similar to that.

I know it touristy but I really enjoyed renting a bike and riding across the golden gate bridge. Lands end is a cool place to see and walk around as well.

For transportation in the city Uber works well. It's not geographically very large, so it's not too expensive. Also what seems like a short walk can sometimes be pretty brutal with the hills.

Zoltan;1845394 wrote:I know it touristy but I really enjoyed renting a bike and riding across the golden gate bridge. Lands end is a cool place to see and walk around as well.

For transportation in the city Uber works well. It's not geographically very large, so it's not too expensive. Also what seems like a short walk can sometimes be pretty brutal with the hills.

We walked from Ghirardelli Square to Haight-Ashbury. Do not recommend.

justincredible;1845398 wrote:We walked from Ghirardelli Square to Haight-Ashbury. Do not recommend.

still hippyville (homelessville)?

Sounds like you got a pretty good intermarry already. Getting out to Yosemite, Napa, etc... will be the highlights for sure. I actually know Oakland waaaay better than SF, as I only work in SF. Avoid the Tenderloin, Fisherman's Wharf, check out Haight Ashbury and Golden Gate Park. Someone above mentioned Land's End, and I'd agree. Baker Beach is cool and get some solid views of the GG Bridge. In terms of food, I'd try and stay out of the touristy areas (Fisherman's Wharf, Embarcadero, etcc) and instead go to the Mission and pick a Taqueria. My personal favorite with Taqueria Cancun.

Went over the Golden Gate and around to Tiburon, and had lunch outdoors on the water with a view looking back across the bay at downtown San Francisco ....that was good. A drive north of Frisco on the Pacific Coast highway might be good, if there is no fog.

Thanks for all the advice from everyone.

Also keep in mind that San Francisco can be cool and damp, even in June.

My favorite day of our week's trip to California 20+ years ago when we flew in and out of SF was our morning drive across the Golden Gate bridge to see the majestic redwoods of the Muir Woods National Monument(I liked them much more than the Sequoias we saw in the national park a couple days later) and then took in the beautiful scenery of Point Reyes.

Been a while since I've been on here. But just moved from there. Stay in Union Square if you can find a room. There are usually plenty of deals out there. You're close to the Bart, Uber is everywhere, the trolleys, and the bus system is super easy. There are apps for the bus and Bart that I'd recommend, even only being there for 3 days.
As far as places to go, hit the touristy spots. The painted ladies (full house houses), golden gate Bridge, fisherman's wharf, alcatraz is an absolute must (it's under some construction, and if it says it's sold out, just go to places in the wharf that say they have tickets, it'll just cost you 40 instead of 30... still worth it), Coit tower has some awesome views of the city and alcatraz, Muir Woods(if you've wanted to see the big redwoods, this is the place, nice mile in and mile out hike, not the HUGE ones like you see in pics but still massive)

That's all off the top of my head at the moment. Things you should know, San Francisco is colder than everywhere else in the bay. It'd be 110 at our house north of SF, but 75 in SF in July. So make sure you check the weather and if it says 60, it'll feel like 55 and damp a lot with the fog. This is about the time when some whales will be venturing into the bay, so you may get lucky and see some. Traffic blows, big time, so again I'd use public transportation.


Have a great trip. It's an awesome city.

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What commander said is legit. Do NOT go to the tenderloin area. At all.

Napa was blah for us. We don't really drink, and it's such an uppity place. Didn't feel like we fit in much there. But if you like wine... you'll be in heaven.

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CenterBHSFan;1845742 wrote:Also keep in mind that San Francisco can be cool and damp, even in June.

Yeah, we were there over 4th of July and it was COLD. They were selling hot chocolate at the ballpark.

On Friday evenings at Fort Mason Center, there is a food truck roundup with 30 or more trucks/tents, live music or DJ, and local beers. We ran into it by accident and had a great time.

Went to SF > 25 years ago......the BEST seafood restaurant I have ever been to is on the Wharf. Not sure it is still there, But Scoma's was the GOAT

wkfan;1846367 wrote:Went to SF > 25 years ago......the BEST seafood restaurant I have ever been to is on the Wharf. Not sure it is still there, But Scoma's was the GOAT

Scoma's is still there, and still amazing

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Also, if you're going to be in Napa on an evening, and money is not an obstacle, you can dine at the French Laundry. It's $$$ but the experience is unique, especially if you're a foodie. If you do decide that you're interested enough to check it out, make your reservations now. Not kidding.

Thanks for the additional input from everyone. Gonna finish our San Francisco planning this weekend, and then should be set for the entire trip.