Myself, 27 yr old South African, and a friend, 47 yr old American, are planning a trip to San Francisco for the SF Fetish Ball. We'll be there from 8 pm Thursday night 10 Mar to 11pm Monday night.

We are needing advice on a well priced hotel (read cheap) that is well located for public transport and any good suggestions for free or cheap sites to see.

Also please recommend good places to eat.

I really would appreciate any help anyone can offer

Thanks
Bianca

SF is a great city for walking and, for a reasonable price, you can buy a pass that is good on all buses and the cable cars for a three-day period.

We stayed at the Comfort Inn @ 2775 Van Ness Ave. in 2003. It was your basic hotel with continental breakfast at a decent price for SF. A bus stop was right outside the hotel and we took the bus everywhere. We had never used a city bus before and found it very easy with a map. We bought a pass at the airport so we didn't have to worry about having the right change for the bus every time. The pass is also valid for cable cars.

See the city. Its free. Lombard St, Golden Gate Bridge, Fishermas Warf, China Town and North Beach. Coit Tower gives a nice view of the city and cost only $3.75. The Japanese Garden in the Golden Gatepark was $3.50. Free samples of chocolate at Ghirardelli Square

Really cheap would be a hostel. I think you have to be a member of Hostel International, and it's cheap. And you can get a room for yourself with shared showers and kitchen.

In SF there is a well located hostel on Mason st (at O'Farrell) and a new one, I don't remember Post or Sutter, Union Square area.

All parks except the Japanese Gardens in the Golden Gate park are free. Coit Tower - go there for the view and take the stairs down, you don't have to pay to up the tower.

The tourists love cable cars and historic trolleys. If you buy a MUNI (buses, metro) pass these are included. BART - metro out of San Francisco - not included.

In addition to what others have said, you can walk across the GG Bridge for free. There is a group called City Guides that give free walking tours. We took the Chinatown one and it was great. They ask for a small donation to offset costs - we saw most people giving $5/person, so we did too. Walking down the crooked part of Lombard street is fun. Then there is Mission Dolores, which is either free or very inexpensive to tour.

HI!! My husband and I have stayed at the Pacific Heights Inn every time we have visited SF and love it. It is a cheaply priced motel that is very clean, has big fluffy towels in the bath, large shower, refridgerator, free parking (not that you would have a car, but it is amazing that they have FREE parking). We haven't stayed here in a couple of years, but when we did it was great!! We walked everywhere from here. It is located just west of US 101 (Van Ness Ave) address is 1555 Union St. You can definatly walk to Ghirardelli SQ, Fishermans Wharf, ect...their number is 800-523-1801. Hope it is still as wonderful as in the past, have fun, would love to know how this place is, if it is still great.

Well it costs a couple bucks, but you MUST ride a streetcar. It's really a fun thing to do! I like the line that starts at the main turnaround at Market and goes thru Chinatown & down to Fishermen's Wharf.

For cheap places to stay you might also check over at www.lonelyplanet.com their BB like this one is called The Thorn Tree. Many experienced low budget travelers there.

Oh, yes, the bridge!

It's a shame to be in SF and not to take a boat! Take a MUNI bus to Golden Gate bridge, walk to Sausalito, take a ferry boat back.

What is Fetish Ball? Should I even ask?

Try the www.hotels.com website for info and pricing on hotels. I found the Adante Hotel there, just 3 blocks off Union Square, and enjoyed my stay there. Free breakfast, and there's an internet cafe attached to the hotel for coffee/wine/sandwiches.

The price is under $100 a night or you could even get a suite there for about $125.

Have fun SF is a great city.

If you have money for a spluge, take the trip to Alcatraz. It will give you a good boat ride in the bay and very interesting experience. If the season is foggy, go in the afternoon.

The Museum of Modern Art is great.

Our favorite free experience is walking through the neighborhoods. Get a guide map.

Definitely ride a cable car. There is also a line of old street cars that runs down Market St and the Embarcadero that is a lot of fun. Both of these are included in the transit pass mentioned above. Check out the MINI web site for all the info you want about public transportation: www.sfmuni.com

Thanks Everyone for all the responses.

We definitely are going to get the Muni pass and ride the cable cars. We were thinking of getting the City Pass. It looks like the most reasonable and best. Any view on that would be appreciated.

Having the MUNI pass which is the easiest way to get from SFO to downtown?

Thanks Again.

SFO is outside of San Francisco, the transportation is not covered by a MUNI pass. You will have to use another transport system called BART.

Yep - take BART. It will take you right into the heart of downtown. If you get off at the Powell Station, you will find a vistors center as you leave the station. You can buy your transportation passes there and find information on just about every sight and attraction in SF.

Check the MUNI site, but I think there are 2 types of city passes - one that is just a transportation pass and another more expensive one that covers entrance fees to several museums and places of interest.

Thanks again - just to let you all know we have booked a hotel - the Embassy on Polk str.

Has anyone done the Taste of the City tours? They look really good - the tour is $49 with an optional dinner for $20. Would like to know if this is a good price and if they are worth it. I like the idea of local inside information which this tour seems to give.

Thanks
Bianca

Maybe someone else will have some more specific information on that tour, but for $98 for the two of you, I hope you get a lot. You mention you're on a budget. With a good guide book and striking out on your own, you can save about $85 of that amount. And it is doubtful that on a tour you're really going to get a worthwhile $20 meal for that extra $ 20.

My best advice? Walk. Then walk. Then walk some more.

As I never heard of hotels on Polk Street I did a little search. It's at 610 Polk Street @ Turk. Well... let me put it this way: for my family I would pay them to stay in a different area.

I too want to know what the Fetish Ball is????

I was also interested to know about the Fetish Ball. Just googled it...oh my! I think I have other plans that night!!! Have fun......

OHHH! I do know what what a fetish ball is but didn't know there was one that weekend. We are going to be there also (from Florida) and would love to go!!!!