PLANNING A TRIP TO SF FOR FIRST TIME IN AUGUST. HELP ME BROS.

[chino905]

So my cousin and I are planning to go to San Fran for 5 days/4 nights in the beginning of August. We are coming from NYC and want to hit up as much things as possible. Just a few questions I had before booking the vacation:

1-Is it a good idea to rent a car? I'm not sure how the parking is around the tourist areas such as Chinatown, the Golden Gate Bridge, Cable Cars, etc. Would you recommend renting a car or just take cabs/public transportation?
2- What part of SF would be best to book a hotel in? I was looking online and a lot of nice places are located Downtown SF. That's probably where i will book it, but just wanted to get the perspective of fellow SF NTers.

3- What are some places/stores that I should definitely hit up? I'm trying to do a beach one day, shopping one day, and sight seeing for the other 2. My cousin is a wanna be photographer, so he also wants to hit up places to take pics for his portfolio.

Thanks in advance!

 

[anchorblue23]

If you're planning on staying in the downtown area, you're better off just taking the MUNI around the city because it's pretty convenient and parking is expensive.

Stores: Undefeated, Benny Gold, Niketown, the Hundreds

Places to see: Baker beach is probably a better beach to check out instead of Ocean beach which isn't that great, it all depends on the weather though because San Francisco is usually foggy. Try the mission district, preferably walking along Valencia St. , there a lot of great places to eat such as Bi-rite creamery and plenty of taquerias. If you are renting a car, you can do a quick day trip to Napa or cross the bridge to Marin.

 

[chino905]

Thanks anchor for the reply.

How much is it to take the MUNI? I decided not to rent a car because i'm afraid of the parking expenses. I'll probably be staying at the W Hotel in San Fran, so i assume everything will be walking distance/public transportation distance. How far is the Golden Gate Bridge from South of Market District?

 

[shaunhillftw49]

It's about a 25 min ride from SOMA to the Golden Gate Bridge.
The Hotel is also near BART so you should maybe check that out, it can take you from the restaurants in the Mission to the shopping areas in Powell (where you can hope on a Cable car) and back to the hotel for about $10
Beach is nice around Cliff House. The Sutro Baths there are a great scenery

 

[anchorblue23]

Muni is $2 including a 1.5 hour transfer period in which you can take any bus within that time. Yeah, the lands end area next to the sutro baths is good for pictures and hiking. Also be sure to check out Crissy field which is near the golden gate bridge, the beach and fields there are nice.

 

[chino905]

so i officially booked the trip for August. Can't Wait.

How is the weather there usually during that time?

 

[wcghost]

August to October are the best times to visit SF, IMO. I think average temp should be between 65-75 F, so you're in luck.

Baker Beach is probably the nicest beach, with views of the Golden Gate to the East. Also in that direction is the "nude section". Expect a 90/10 (male to female) ratio

If you plan on using Muni and hitting up some touristy areas, check out www.citypass.com. $69 - Discounted bundle for unlimited Muni/Cable Car transportation and admissions for the:

• Aquarium (never been)
• California Academy of Sciences (dope!)
• Blue & Gold Fleet Bay Cruise (tour around the SF Bay waters, should be solid)
• SFMOMA -Museum of modern art (never been either, but heard great things)
• de Young or Exploratorium (if you plan on going to MOMA, go to the Exploratorium instead)

 

[chino905]

^ yo good looking on that city pass link! just purchased it. i figure i'd bang out the Aquarium, Bay Cruise and Fisherman Wharf on the same day. And the MOMA is a block from the hotel i'm staying at, so that's going to be maddd convenient.

 

[38816]

eh, its chicago niketown thats closed till fall. SF is open.

go to mission to get messican foods.

 

[n1co86ya]

if u plan on coming during a weekend i work at the hornblower cruises nd events, come saturday or sunday brunch, full buffett, live band, nd a tour around the bay nd all. 3 hour trip in a boat. prices go between 70-100. i can get you in at half of that. pm me if is something u r trying to do...

 

[iamyourfather]

if money wasn't an issue i'd recommend a car. just more convenient. and public transit here is nothing like it is in nyc or dc. 

i always take ppl to a lot of lesser touristy areas, or at least places where not that many tourists go to. and its usually places that are dope to take pics at, me being a wanna be photographer i prefer these scenic places too, i know your cousin would dig these.  with that said, here are some places i'd recommend (including tourist type areas), in no order:

1. twin peaks (scenic spot, seen below at night. just as nice during the day. i dont know if buses go there and if they do its probably a hassle). u get a sick view of all of down town, the bay bridge and even oakland and the east bay

2. dolores park (scenic spot) 

3. alamo park (full house houses... everyone likes going to this place. seen below at night, just as dope during the day)

4. grizzly peak park in berkley. just across the golden gate bridge, probably 35 min drive on good traffic. probably the best viewpoint evar:

you see berkeley, oakland, emeryville, the bay bridge, treasure island/yerba buena island, att park, downtown sf. if there are no clouds n its a clear night, the sunset/night pics here >>>

5. take the first half of the bay bridge into treasure island for bad *** pics of downtown SF.  there is no toll unless you go all the way to oakland and drive back:

(buildings wont look like exactly like that, cuz they do that for the Christmas season)

7. i take ppl here (legion of honor museum) just to take pics from the outside and for the view of downtown sf and the golden gate bridge. some ppl dont like museums and rather do tourist trap type of crap but even if they're not into museums, the outside of this place + views of downtown sf/golden gate bridge.>>> has cool statue of rodin's the thinker also. 

8. this place is like 5 min or so from place #7. the palace of fine arts:

9. sf city hall, just as nice inside as it is outside:

i usually only take people that haven't been to SF to fisherman's wharf if they insist on it. its just a big tourist trap to me, like hollywood blvd and times square. 

union square in downtown is nice, a lot of shops and boutiques. niketown is there, they have neiman marcus, macys, barneys, etc and theres nice indoor mall like 2 blocks down on market. 

i dont know ur budget so i dont know what to recommend for hotels. but downtown/union square hotels are usually more expensive but the most convenient. stay as far away as possible from hotels near the tenderloin district. 

TL;DR: THESE PLACES ARE DOPE AND SCENIC AND FREE, RENT A CAR MUNI SUCKS.

 

[chino905]

^ thanks for the input.. I booked my hotel at the W located Downtown San Fran. As far as my budget goes, I don't really have one, but me and my cousin don't want to spend more than $1,000 each. We opted to not rent a car bc I read that its madd expensive to park the car downtown..

 

[iamyourfather]

the w is dope and that location is nice too. hopefully you're able to get around to the non-downtown areas witih no problem

i think all W hotels have that complimentary shuttle service with Acura, where they take u anywhere in the downtown area for free in a acura MDX. aka u can get shtfaced and not worry about driving or callin a cab to get back to ur room. 

 

[carlosar33]

How was the vacation?

 

[chino905]

Man, the trip was exhausting! We walked a ton each day, and the 3 hour time difference made me even more tired.

First day that we arrived, we went to the MOMA since we had tickets from city pass and it was right next to our hotel, the W. Afterward, we took the complementary Acura MDX to Lombard Street for some pics, and to Pier 39. Pier 39 was really dope, bought some souvenirs and explored. Then did the one hour cruise around the golden gate bridge and Alcatraz, followed by the aquarium on pier 39. Afterward, we hit up fisherman's wharf. Had a blast tryin out food from all the little shops and restaurants. Even met some random chick working at one of the restaurants who I think was down to smash since she gave me her number after speaking to her for a good 10 mins, but my cousin was being a wuss about it smh. Even after a full stomach, my cousin and I hit up in and out burger since we don't have any on the east coast. I might be biased, but I didn't think it was as great as people make it out to be. I personally think 5 guys burgers are better. Took cable car back to downtown. Then at night we explored union square area, only to find out most stores close at 8pm. Then my cousin got us lost and we ended up at the tenderloin district. It was freaking nuts over there. Madd sketchy, but thank goodness i found our way back to the hotel before we got robbed/stabbed.

2nd day we biked from downtown all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge, and then back downtown. It took us the whole day basically, but we did it. Afterward we just got dinner at Fang's restaurant and then jumped into the hotel pool lookin for chicks.

Third day we were tired as hell, so we just explored Union Square, little Saigon and Chinatown, where we had lunch and dinner at. Chinese food in San Fran is not quite as good as in NYC, but I still enjoyed tryin different things. Did more souvenir shopping in Chinatown.

Fourth day we went to golden gate park for the de young museum and the California academy of sciences. Then had dinner at some expensive restaurant in downtown, and the portions were small so I wasn't even full smh. finally just went to a bar downtown and then a bar at the lobby of the W hotel. My cousin and I wanted to hit up a few clubs that we found on yelp, but they were all located near tenderloin, so we weren't with it..

Fifth day we just finished shopping at downtown area, then hit the pool and gym at hotel, and then the bar again one last time before we had to pack, check out and fly back to NYC.

Overall a good but exhausting trip. It would have been better if we knew people in San Fran who could have helped with getting to all the places. And the sun is so much stronger in the west coast. I got Sun burnt on my face the first day smh lol. And the weather is crazy. Cold in the morning, hot at noon, getting cooler at the early evening, and cold again at night.

Thanks to everyone who helped me with my trip throughout this thread and through PM. I really appreciate it!

 

[luong1209]

Hope you did enjoy yourself. Chinese food is gonna be hit or miss, gotta find the good ones.

Vietnamese is pretty good, the banh mi in the tenderloin (Saigon Sandwiches) - Cheap and goood!

Which clubs were you looking at?

I feel "The Parlor" has good music and an enjoyable atmosphere. The Grand is probably most Vegas like, but it plays EDM.

Sorry this is kinda late, but again, hope you did enjoy yourself.