Finecheapboxofwine

I'll be travelling to San Francisco with my sister and my kids for a short trip of sight seeing in June. Arrive on Saturday afternoon and depart on Wednesday 6 p.m. My teens have never been and its been a while for me so am looking forward to the trip.

We will take public transport or taxi from the airport to our hotel in Japantown. We thought to rent a car and check out some sights outside of SF like Muir Woods and Sausalito for a day. That day would be our last day since our flight leaves at around 6 p.m.

Question is: Would we have time to rent a car and visit Muir Woods and Sausalito before having to be at the airport for check in? We'd have to allow time to pick up the car in the city and could do that the afternoon before. We'd also have to allow time to drop off the car. I'm not sure what the suggested airport check in time is at SFO now and if it would be worth the potential hassle for us.

Alternative on a different day: Is public transport reliable and available to Muir Woods? I don't think we need a tour since we just need to get there and walk on our own. We would not have time to do a public transport trip on our last day.

Last question-
Since we're staying in Japantown we'd like to dine there for a couple of meals. Does anyone have any recommendations on Fillmore Street? We are aiming for a Sunday brunch there. And Japanese food in Japantown is another request.

Thank you!

StuDudley

That's a lot of stuff to do on your last day with a "deadline" looming at 6PM (right at rush hour). I would not do it. I would instead take a bus tour to Muir Woods on some other day. I've seen lots of buses departing from Union Sq. You could take a ferry to/from Sausalito at the Ferry Bldg at the foot of Market St.

"Normal" public transportation (BART) does not go from SFO to Japantown - take a taxi or a van service instead.

There are dozens & dozens of restaurants of every category on Fillmore, if you are willing to walk about 3-9 blocks north between Bush & Jackson. The places we go to on Fillmore are probably not "kid friendly" - but about 70% of the restaurants there are (many pizza/burger places).

Here some ideas of things to do & see.
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...mendations.cfm

Stu Dudley

sf7307

Uber is much less pricey than a taxi or van from SFO, so that's what I would use (and do, every time I fly out of SFO now)

I don't think I would do the Muir Woods thing because 1) it's in the opposite direction from the airport (north vs. south) and 2) you'd be heading back toward the airport in rush hour traffic. I'd either stay in the city, or head south somewhere (Half Moon Bay, Stanford University/Palo Alto).

Actually, I agree with Stu - why not rent a car one of the other days, and just stay in the city the last day, then Uber to the airport? (For a 6 p.m. domestic flight, we usually arrive 1:15 minutes prior to the flight, but we always have TSA Pre, so we usually have 45 minutes to spare).

Dayenu

How early the rental car places open? You will have only a few hours before going to the airport. I would plan something in the city.

There is public transport to Muir Woods, first you take Golden Gate transit bus to Marin city, after that take a shuttle to Muir Woods.

Dosa on Fillmore is a really nice restaurant, great food - if you like Indian food.

cicchettigirl

I agree with other's suggestions regarding public transport to Muir Woods. June is high season, and even during the week, the parking area is swamped by mid-morning. Cars try to park along the road shoulders, and it is very typical for people to walk well over a mile just to reach the park entrance.

Finecheapboxofwine

Thanks for the replies. I guess we'll rethink the Muir Woods trip and perhaps do that on a different day, if at all. I don't want the last day to feel too stressed and we will need to allow for airport time. Oh, cicchettigirl, It almost doesn't sound fun with so many people!

Stu, I read your San Fran guides when we started planning our trip. What a wealth of information! I'll have to print that out and highlight what may be applicable to us. I appreciate the transport tips.

Dayenu, I love Indian food and will look up the restaurant to see if they have an online menu so I can start drooling now! I appreciate the bus tips.

SF, I've never used a uber but my sister has and wants to use it during our trip. Good point about the airport and Muir Woods being in opposite directions. I need to look up Half Moon Bay as an alt.

Thank you!