bbvb

Hello,

It's been 20 years since I've been to San Francisco and I was considering a trip there this summer with wife and two sons (12 & 10).

I am a little concerned after reading the Safety info in the Destinations section of this site.....seems like a lot of bad sections.

I'm not really familiar with the city but are these "bad areas" away from any of the "tourist" areas? Sort of like not going above a certain street in NYC?

We've been to a lot of cities (DC, Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Miami, etc) and have never had any problems.

Thanks for any and all comments!

tchoiniere

Its just like any other city. there are sections to avoid. I can't tell you any of the specifics. I would say its definitely safer than Philly and Miami.

sf7307

Can you point me to that section on safety? I'd like to see what it says before I comment (however, briefly, I live here, and sure there are neighborhoods that are best avoided, but if safety were such a big issue, do you really think San Francisco would always top the lists of best places to visit?)

montereybob

If you only go to the tourist sites listed in your travel guide, you will be fine in terms of safety. Like any city, the unsafe areas are not tourist sites. I've been to all the tourist attractions in SF many, many times and have never felt unsafe.

bbvb

Thanks.....that's what I was thinking....

here is the link to the info that I read:

http://www.fodors.com/world/north-am...ure_30009.html

Katie_H

I think bbvb is referring to this:
http://www.fodors.com/world/north-am...ure_30009.html

If you see anything here that seems overstated in your opinion let me know and I'll be sure to send your feedback (or this topic) to the editor.

Personally, I felt very safe on my last trip to San Francisco.

Katie_H

Sorry bbvb--we must have been typing at the same time!

sf7307

Most of it is generally correct, however, not with respect to Fillmore Street. That area used to be downright bad, but now its the home of Yoshi's (a great jazz club and restaurant) at Fillmore and Eddy, and other shops and restaurants. The "bad" part now starts further south than Geary.

Likewise as to the Mission District. There are many parts of the Mission District that are downright "customer friendly" at night. There are lots and lots of very trendy restaurants in the area (Foreign Cinema, Delfina, Bi-Rite Creamery, Farina, Limon, I could go on).

bachslunch

If memory serves, the main larger area to avoid in San Francisco is the Tenderloin, a really seedy section roughly bordered in triangle fashion to the southeast by Mission St., west by Van Ness St., and north by Geary St. A few things that might interest tourists border it (City Hall, Union Square, Davies Symphony Hall) and a few cheap Asian restaurants have set up shop in the area, but there's not really much of sightseeing interest there.

The Western Addition and Lower Haight areas immediately west of the Tenderloin are places to take care especially at night, as are a few isolated pockets of SoMa to the southwest and some sections of the Mission District to the south. But that leaves a lot of city to explore.

I've never heard of problems in Golden Gate Park before, but I'd think it's wise to avoid it at night, like most parks in the US.

Dayenu

Several times on a bus in San Francisco I told ladies their purses are opened. They only laughed, and didn't bother to zip them. Yes, we have pickpockets, name any city that doesn't!

Sure, we have homeless, and they ask for spare change. Most of them are non-agressive. I just say "sorry" and keep walking.

I am not afraid to walk through Tenderloin during daytime, but the area is unpleasant. Not something to show to your pre-teens.

dovima

The advice to avoid the Tenderloin during the night is quite right. If you should find yourself there by mistake, day or night, you'll be fine as long as you walk toward Market Street or toward Powell Street, as then you will be out the 'hood within blocks.

Here's some related advice - make sure you are going in the right direction when you board buses, trams, etc. I was recently on the M-line of the Muni Metro along with a couple of German tourists. It was my intention to ride this line to its terminus at Balboa Park Station, but it became apparent that it certainly was not the goal for these visitors - they thought they were headed downtown! Now, Balboa Park is not anything like a slum, but it isn't a neighborhood that you want to be walking around in willy-nilly. I put them on an inbound train, and I trust they got back to their hotel o.k. Always check the destination of your transport.

sf7307

If you should find yourself there by mistake, day or night, you'll be fine as long as you walk toward Market Street or toward Powell Street, as then you will be out the 'hood within blocks.

Well, yes and no. Head toward Powell Street is good advice, because you'd then be going in the direction of Union Square. But Market Street between about 6th and 10th is still pretty dicey, so even if you go to Market Street, you then STILL want to go toward Powell Street.