Visiting San Francisco (aka, SF. San Fran is for out of towners)
Getting Around
Arrival
Most people generally to fly into the Bay Area via San Francisco International Airport (SFO). There's the Oakland Airport as well, but I haven't been there before. From either airport, public transportation is very accessible. There is the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) that serves as the train in the Bay Area. The route from SFO to SF is easy peasy while OAK to SF is a bit more hassle. Renting a car is also an option. The advantage of car rental is that getting around is easier, but parking in SF will be more of a hassle and most likely cost more, rental and parking fees vs. public transportation. Since you have kids, I'm guessing everything is easier with a car, but I'll still lay it all out for you to decide.Information
A smart phone is a god send in the land near Silicon Valley. Google Maps and Yelp are your friends, as most everything is pretty on point (directions, restaurant reviews).Public Transportation
Within the city of San Francisco, there is the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (Muni for short). There are visitor passes available, but make sure to read all the rules and follow them to the dot. The system run here is designed to extract money out of everyone; instead of preventing people on public transportation, everyone is free to get on and payment is "on the honor system". However, there will be ticket inspectors to check tickets, and a violation will result in 100x citation cost compared to the fare cost. Yes, not paying a $2 ride results in a $200 dollar citation. Long story short, read the rules and follow them. If there's ambiguities, error on the side of caution.So as a list, from smallest area to largest area coverage, the major players are the Muni (within SF, like CTA), BART (most of the Bay Area), Cal Train (commuter, like Metra in Chicago to suburbs). Also for tourists, there are the cable cars within SF that have separate fees even though the cable cars are run by Muni. Each of the players collect different fares, even if using the same card or pass. That's the important thing to know, so you can plan travel costs as needed.
For parking - memorize the locations of these city-owned lots:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sfmta.com/cms/pgar/garages.htm
Rates are way cheaper at these lots than the privately owned ones - most are 2-3 dollars per hour.
Thanks for the tip! I'll get around to making a map of the parking garages so no more memorization!
DeleteFirst time I used CalTrain, I forgot to use checkin machine, but my clear accent saved me this time - conductor told me to use the Clipper card at the nearest stop. Total fare was around $15 I guess, so x100 would be devastating.
ReplyDeleteHunters Point is also kind of shady:)
Thank you for sharing!