geordias7

Can anyone tell us if the Sunset District in San Francisco is a relatively safe neighborhood?. Our family is vising SF in November and found a really nice condo on 25th Ave between Irivng Street & Lincoln Way for a 3 night rental but we don't know the area. This is our first trip to California. We were going to stay at the Best Western Tuscan Inn but the rates jumped up to $479 per room per night and we need two rooms. Yikes !! Is there transportation available from the Sunset District to the main sightseeing attractions?

ellenbw

I haven't lived in that neighborhood in a long time but it used to be pretty safe. You will need to take a bus/cable car to the major attractions, except golden gate park - you are right there! So the museums in the park and the Japanese tea garden and other areas are right there, but everything else will be a trek.

Rastaguytoday

It's an odd place for a rental. All of the houses are pretty much old and probably have been broken up into apartments.

You can catch the N Judah street car downtown. Hiking to GG park will take many minutes. Look at a map before you decide.
Bring the google map down to street level before you decide.

Lincoln is a very very busy street and Irving is also, but with local traffic.

I used to live at 19th and Anza and know the area well.

sf7307

There's nothing wrong with the neighborhood - it's very "workaday", but it's far from anything you'd be visiting as a tourist other than GG Park.

kayd

Check to make sure the VRBO rental is legal in that area (many large cities ban rentals for less than 30 days), and that the owner's condo rules also permit it. Chances are you would not have trouble even if it is illegal, but best to go in with eyes open.

newtome

Seriously this is why I never post anymore about SF. So much misinformation.

25th av between Irving and lincoln is an excellent location. With the N Judah and 71/71L buses you can be downtown in 30 min or so - just try and avoid rush hour. Lots of new construction and older building condo conversions there, very safe albeit boring.
If all your attention is to union square and the wharf it's not the closest area by far but it has lots of public transit options and will me more pleasant than lots of other areas.

I think it's a great option and I have never heard of individual owners being hassled about a rental in SF. So unless the condo rules absolutely prohibit it AND. Someone complains (,which I think is unlikely) you should be fine.

And 19th and Anza is not really the same neighborhood at all- across the park makes a big difference ESP with public transport and parking .

StuDudley

>> So much misinformation.

janisj

>>So much misinformation.any misinformation. And because one lived at 19th and Anza, why wouldn't they know a LOT about the other side of the park?

There is transport - sure. But it will take over half an hour and transfers to get anywhere most visitors are wanting to see.

Hershey

I may have stayed in the VRBO you're looking at. ( http://www.vrbo.com/436730 )
We loved the apartment. Well worth it and much cheaper than 3 hotel rooms! My sister had a car so we traveled a bit in that but I also took off on my own several times on public transportation. I took the N Judah and I took a couple of bus lines that were about 2 blocks away (can't remember the numbers). I walked around the neighborhood a bit. It's not touristy and I felt very safe.

aprillilacs

The Sunset isn't the most exciting area, and it will likely be more overcast and colder than some other parts of the city, but it IS safe and DOES have public transportation to more touristed areas, as noted in other posts. Irving has shops, cafes, and restaurants and is particularly active north of 19th, within walking distance of your rental. And access to GG Park is excellent.

The Sunset was one of the neighborhoods my husband and I considered during our recent apartment search (less expensive than some other areas), but we ended up elsewhere, mainly because of the overcast conditions that hover over the area on many days. But who knows, you may get lucky and get 3 gorgeous days--besides which, you'll undoubtedly be exploring other, sunnier areas of the city as well.

StuDudley

>> is particularly active north of 19th,

sf7307

OT, Stu, do you remember the name of the fern bar that occupied the space where the original Henry Africa's was (Polk and Broadway) after Henry Africa moved to Van Ness?

aprillilacs

"Huh????? 19th runs north & south. You may mean east of 19th."

My bad -- my mental compass has to be reset, since it obviously doesn't match the actual map. Don't know how I came up with "north". I think I should stick to "inbound" and "outbound" like the Muni does!

"at that time of year the Sunset pretty much gets the same weather as other parts of The City"

That's good news for the OP. Hopefully it means it's going to be sunny, not gray, throughout the city in November?

StuDudley

>>OT, Stu, do you remember the name of the fern bar that occupied the space where the original Henry Africa's was (Polk and Broadway) after Henry Africa moved to Van Ness?

geordias7

Thank you all for taking the time to help me out with this question. Now, I need to look through all the previous threads for helpful hints on lodging in the Monteray area and what not to miss in the areas we are heading. We are flying into SF, renting a car and heading down to Monteray, spending 2 (maybe 3) nights, then down to Paso Robles Inn for 3 (maybe 2 nights), 2 nights in Yosemite Lodge, and then SF for 4 nights. I am wondering about the weather. We're from Florida and November is one of our nicest months. They did tell us that we need chains for our tires in Yosemite. Didn't expect to hear that but whatever. We'll go with the flow. Haven't seen snow in years. 11/14/13-11/25/13 is our travel time. Hoping for the best. Any suggestions for Monteray area lodging in the moderate range. (below $200 a night). If you have any thoughts, let me know.

sf7307

>>

Who is "they"? I ask because rental car companies usually prohibit chains on their cars.

geordias7

Reservation folks at Yosemite Lodge said we needed to have chains for our tires if we wanted to enter the park in November, including a rental car. Will have to check with the rental car companies, now that you mentioned this issue.

Underhill

For lodging in the Monterey area, consider staying at Asilomar. That's a large conference/vacation center at the bottom of Pacific Grove, and it's quite wonderful. If you're lucky, you might be able to snag a room when you'll be traveling--and while there you might see the deer wandering through the dunes between the complex and the Pacific.

Pacific Grove is another nice small town in which to stay.