Things to do in San Francisco?

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Smpl Mnmlst
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#2038914 17-Jun-2018 02:10

sonyxperiageek:
eracode: One time we were there we did a road-trip of a week or so - an anti-clockwise circuit - south through San Jose > Yosemite > circumnavigated Lake Tahoe > Sacramento > over to the Napa Valley then back to SF. Calistoga and St Helena in the Napa are really lovely places.

We just totally winged-it for accommodation each day - using booking.com on the fly from the car - but that may not work so well during peak vacation time.

Where did you hire your car from?

Avis - 333 O’Farrell St but we dropped it off at the airport on the way out. It costs a bit more to return the car to a different point but it made things easier/we didn’t have much other choice. I guess we could have dropped the car back where we got it and then caught BART out to the airport (which actually works OK) but not so easy if you’re lugging suitcases etc. Or caught a cab for $$$.

Actually BART to (and from) the airport does work exceptionally well - the trains go right into the terminal - get off the train, walk through sliding glass doors and you’re right at the check-in desks.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

youngs

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#2038916 17-Jun-2018 07:11

The Cheese Cake Factory in Union Square

Brunzy

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#2038967 17-Jun-2018 09:24

The Rugby Sevens if your interested and still there, 20/22nd July at AT&T Park down near the Bay Bridge. +1 for Alcatraz and the Cable car museum.

Walk through Chinatown to North Beach , lots of nice cafes.

If driving Monterey, Carmel ,Pebble beach are south, Napa Valley, Bodega Bay where they shot The Birds movie are north

networkn

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#2038987 17-Jun-2018 10:08

Fishermans Wharf is a reasonable place, but I realized just now the last time I saw it was 18 years ago! Holy Crap!

Brunzy

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#2038993 17-Jun-2018 10:17

Great view from the Cheesecake factory , but for an amazing view try and score up the Bank of America? (huge brown marble building) , there is a restaurant up top and all the other skyscrapers are tiny in comparison from up there.

Fishermans Wharf is very popular ,good Clam Chowder and where you get most of the ferries, pier 39 etc.

Scott3

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#2038994 17-Jun-2018 10:17

We visited San Francisco on the 4th of July weekend a few years back.

First thing you should know is that San Francisco is really cold at that time of year, despite it being summer in the rest of the USA. (like the depths of Auckland winter... They have some weird cold micro-climate). Our first activity was going jacket shopping for my partner.

Frankly 4th of july weekend really sucked as a time to visit San Francisco. Our holiday just happened to be over those dates (I had planned to be in Yosemite, but the website had a big warning on the homepage to avoid 4th of july weekend, so I fingered a city would have more capacity, and be a better alternative). In short, Hop on, hop off buses were allways full. 1 hour wait for cablecars during the day. 30min wait for in an out burger etc.

I was really disappointed with Public transport in downtown San Francisco. We got rid of our rental car when we arrived, and stayed in china town. Getting the the "fisherman wharf" area where the main tourist hub is was hard by public transport. There wasn't really an alternative to the cable-cars (which go direct, but had a long wait). At the time we didn't catch taxi's to save cost. Paying for taxi's would have made our holiday a lot better.

Things we did:

- Jacket shopping (luckerly winter gear was on sale due to it being "Summer")
- Alcatraz tour (Booked well in advance)
- Walk the tourist strip by fishermans wharf.
- Rented a Tesla for 5 hours (ours was from "getabout", a Turo competitor), and drove the golden gate bridge, and stopped for ice cream in Sausalito. Drove up the national park hill on the far side of the bridge to take photos of it.
- Went to cheesecake factor in union square (fun fact, the giant monument to the victory of manila bay actually corresponds to a mock battle)
- Lombard street (wanted to drive it, but they had it pedestrian only for that weekend, was sweet.)
- Ate out at a few nice restaurants - used trip-adviser to find.

Things I would have liked to do if I had time:
- Visit Yosemite for 3 nights or so, stay in one of the heated tents, a mate said this was the highlight of his USA trip.
- visit the national park on the city side of the golden gate bridge, bike across the golden gate bridge.
- visit Nappa (wine area)
- drive out to silicon valley, and look at the campuses from the road (not much to see really as you are not allowed to enter anywhere obviously, but I think it would still be cool)
- Visit the Tesla factory (again, not much to see, only people who have brought cars can get on tours, but I would enjoy it anyway)

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JeremyNzl

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#2039002 17-Jun-2018 10:45

Re Alcatraz went there in 2012 went to buy tickets on the day to be told they were all booked out. Then asked if they had standby tickets surprisingly they said yes and sold us 2 tickets after telling us they had none.

There was a submarine you could tour at fishermans wharve there was also a penny arcade with all the historic mechnical arcade machines, which were operational.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/Attraction_Review-g60713-d104530-Reviews-USS_Pampanito-San_Francisco_California.html

http://www.museemechanique.org/

sonyxperiageek

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#2039056 17-Jun-2018 12:55

Thanks for all your tips and suggestions, am adding them all to my word document now! I will be working at the Rugby Sevens so can tick that place off the list!

Sony

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#2039106 17-Jun-2018 13:36

There are lots of bike hire places and cycling to and over the Golden Gate bridge is also highly recommended.

Brunzy

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#2039159 17-Jun-2018 16:29

sonyxperiageek: Thanks for all your tips and suggestions, am adding them all to my word document now! I will be working at the Rugby Sevens so can tick that place off the list!

Ok, see you there ;-))

Kiwifan

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#2039201 17-Jun-2018 19:01

We have done most of the above and have really enjoyed our stays in the city. We took a trip out to Muir Woods which is an easy car ride or you can do it via the shuttle.

Sausalito is a nice stop for lunch after biking, walking or driving over the bridge. The year we walked we caught the Blue and Gold ferry back and then checked out the Jeremiah O’Brien which is a Liberty Ship docked at Pier 45 beside the submarine that was mentioned above.

Enjoy your time there!

Dyson

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sonyxperiageek

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#2039275 17-Jun-2018 21:16

Kiwifan: We have done most of the above and have really enjoyed our stays in the city. We took a trip out to Muir Woods which is an easy car ride or you can do it via the shuttle.

Sausalito is a nice stop for lunch after biking, walking or driving over the bridge. The year we walked we caught the Blue and Gold ferry back and then checked out the Jeremiah O’Brien which is a Liberty Ship docked at Pier 45 beside the submarine that was mentioned above.

Enjoy your time there!

Thanks! May I ask where you stayed during your time in San Fran please?

Sony

Peamsable

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#2039281 17-Jun-2018 21:44

Go to a baseball game. That’s what I’ll do next time I’m back in the US.

sonyxperiageek

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#2039326 18-Jun-2018 01:08

How much should I budget (roughly) for food and "things to do" for 7 nights? Not including airfares and accommodation. Are restaurants expensive there? Do I need to tip?

Speaking of costs, I am assuming it would be wise to convert some cash for stuff as well, as opposed to using a card?

Sony

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#2039328 18-Jun-2018 03:23

Tipping is a right royal PITA in US restaurants. Expectations are 15 - 20% of the cost of your meal. However whatever we think of the rights and wrongs, it’s their way of life and if we want to go there .....

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

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