Going to San Fran soon - where is good to stay?

[Adam]

it's in the title.

We are landing SFO 5th March and we need to catch a train from Emeryville 7th (although we can get bus there from where we will be staying just don't want to be hours on a bus). Anyone any ideas? Areas to avoid? We're good walkers so we don't mind a 4 mile or so walk to main attractions.

Or if you want a a few beers in return for a spare room ;) ;) It's me and my gf staying.

They'll probably be more of these threads come up. We'll be in Boston by St Paddys Day and NYC and probably DC before that.

[Echewta]

OMG PIXAR

[MC Moot]

The Opal... (http://www.theopalsf.com/about_the_opal/)location,location,location...(y)

[Adam]

The Opal... (http://www.theopalsf.com/about_the_opal/)location,location,location...(y)

Does it pay to be central then rather than getting a ferry in from somewhere cheaper?

We're trying to do this as cheap as possible due to some recent financial setbacks. So rather than cancelling the trip we're using things like hostels, couchsurfing and Airbnb. Opal is out of our price range really.

[MC Moot]

Despite it's namesake San Fran is pretty expensive city...especially if you want to eat...and that's the best thing about the city outside of it's insane beauty,architecture,geography and climate...I've been lucky enough to have been there on my pops tab a few times and we had cousins who lived in Lake Merrit...maybe you can find some cool accomodations in the Castro...the Castro is rad...also don't get sucked into Alcatraz...but do Chinatown and Haight Ashbury even though it doesn't really resemble it's bohemian past much at all anymore...I would aslo suggest renting bikes and checking out the Bay Trail...It's a Mecca for mountain bikers...(y)

Must see: http://www.sfmoma.org/

[Adam]

Awesome, cheers for that info.

Looks like we are gonna stay in Larkspur first off, get the ferry into SF one day and check out the surrounding area the next day.

[NicRN77]

I'm heading to San Fran the last week of March. Probably check out Napa for a couple days too.

Maybe we can get a little BBMB meetup when you're here in Boston.

[Adam]

^totally.

[abbott]

hope you look me up if you go through NM.

[Adam]

We won't be I'm afraid. We're doing an epic train journey west to east without any stops. It's something I've wanted to do for a while. With america being built on the rail-road, going across the country seeing so much of it I think will be kinda awesome and frustrating (because of the amount of time spent on a train) at the same time.

I do love trains too. Even UK ones which are just horrible overpriced rickety petri dishes of people sneezing coughing and three days of rubbish piled up on each table.

So far we're kinda on a tight schedule but that is because we decided an extra day in SF area and yosemite. Decided to hire a car too while in CA just to make logistics a little easier.

[nodanaonlyzuul]

So when visiting in SF, are you staying in Emeryville or in Larkspur the entire time? Or you get getting to SFO then taking a train up to Larkspur or???

Sorry I'm not entirely clear on your plan. I can definitely help with recommendations and such (lived here for four years), but I need clarity before I can get specific. :)

[Adam]

Haha, we have no plan (or it keeps changing) and we'll be there in a week!!!

So far. We land in SFO and we have decided to rent a car instead of train to Yosemite. We are going to couchsurf in SF mainly. We had a couchsurfer up in Larkspur but it doesn't look like he wants us to stay now :( Although we have a more positive one come back to us who lives in Nob Hill. So it looks like we are going to stay there for the first two nights which leaves us one night to decide where to go before we go to Yosemite.

After Yosemite I drop the car off in Sacramento and I think we are going to get a flight to NYC instead of epic train journey across the country because we are running out of time.

So for CA now we need to sort one more night in SF & surrounding area/on way to Yosemite and one night in Sacramento & surrounding area. So I would really appreciate anything you may have on that.

NYC and Boston we haven't sorted yet. Seeing dropkick in Lowell on 17th but we realise trains back to Boston don't exist after gig which kinda sucks so if anyone has any ideas on that - they would be welcome. We're thinking of hiring a car but that is an expense I don't want just for a gig. Not sure if there is any buses or cheap taxis yet.

[nodanaonlyzuul]

Not sure if this is your plan already, but my advice would be to not rent the car until you are leaving for Yosemite. SF is tough for parking and you are going to get charged a ton of money if you cannot find street parking. You can easily take the BART (train) from SFO into the main area of the city and to Nob Hill.

Getting around SF via public transportation is really easy. 511.org (http://511.org/) is a great way to figure out which train and/or buses you need to get around. Another good resource, once you know which train/bus you need, are these websites to find out exactly when they are arriving: for the train, use the BART website (http://bart.gov/) and check the real-time arrivals section on the bottom left. For MUNI (the SF specific systems, this includes buses), use this nextbus MUNI site (http://www.nextmuni.com/service/redirect?command=CHECK_IF_USER_ID_COOKIE_SET).

As far as a third night, if you stay in San Francisco, my recommendation is to search websites for the cheapest hotels then double check the reviews on the site AND on yelp.com.

There isn't really anywhere in the city that is so sketchy that you should not stay there. Bay View-Hunter's Point and Excelsior are the two neighborhoods I could see being places that you want to avoid due to crime rates in the area, but it doesn't really have hotels anyway and it's so out of the way/there's no tourist attractions there that it shouldn't be an issue.

Some people might say that the Civic Center/Tenderloin area is bad, and it can be due to strung out druggies/bums, but it depends on which part of that area of the neighborhood you are in. That, and the druggies/bums mostly just constantly ask for change. They may seem intimidating but they are harmless. Again, this is something where if you find an affordable hotel in that area, just double check the hotel reviews and check the reviews on yelp.com.

I'm not familiar with the Sacramento area unfortunately, but that's what I can tell you about SF specifically. :) Best of luck and have a great time. (y)

[TAL]

Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.

[b-grrrlie]

Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.
Was just about to say the same.... :):p