amapati

We are a family of 4 with 2 girls (19-16) and a Grandmother (75), we are planning a trip to San Francisco for tourism in the second week of february 2011. Our older girl is now in Vancouver so she will arrive from there.
Im asking for a good and no so expensive hotel ,or an apartment for rent for a week for 5 people. And also I would like to know wich is the best area in San Francisco to stay if we will not rent a car.
Could We have day trips to yosemite or napa valley?Its worthy? or possible?
Thanks a lot for yyour advice

janisj

"Im asking for a good and no so expensive hotel "

Not so expensive could mean almost anything. What is your actual hotel budget? There are rental apartments but they are pretty rare - hotels/motels are more common.

"wich is the best area in San Francisco to stay if we will not rent a car."

You would not need or want a car almost anywhere in San Francisco so that is not a problem.

There are guided day tours to Napa or Yosemite - but they are pretty expensive. A lot of folks rent a car for one day to drive up to Napa/Sonoma, if that is a possibility.

120aks

My wife and I stayed at the Sheraton Fisherman's Wharf last February and used Priceline for the hotel. We bid fifty percent of a usual four star rate and it was immediately accepted. We got a rate of $69 per night. The hotel is very well located for the " F " trolley as well as the Bay street cable car turn around. Although the wharf has a reputation for being touristy we spent little or no time there so it didn't matter.When you are in the city be sure to get a MUNI passport for around $40 per person. It allows you unlimited rides on the cable cars, trolleys and trains and will save you a fortune.You can purchase the at the magazine kiosk downstairs at the Embarcadero BART stop. Just go there and ask someone where the kiosk is.

DebitNM

Lots of conferences in SF in February, hotel rooms are going to cost $$$$. There are some deals, but need to book sooner rather than later.

joesorce

Day trips to yosemite in February could be fraught with weather problems/ snow. You can rent a car for 24 hours from Avis or National or Hertz, they all have locations downtown, however they do not allow snow chains on their cars and snow chains would probably be required for Yosemite. Not to mention that you'd need to pack lots of warm winter clothing/ boots etc.

janisj

The suggestion for priceline won't work for you -- it only offers 2-person rooms in SF, so you'd have to get 3 rooms.

Before anyone can make useful recommendations, we do need to know how much you want to pay for the hotel.

bigbomoho

Thru this site we stayed at the Cow Hollow Inn--they have very nice suites,almost like an aprtment.My 2 daughters with husbands and 4 kids stayed in one with 2 bedrooms and a very large living area and a full kitchen with refrigerator etc. Good local restaurants and we ate at Mels diner evry day for breakfast.Plus they have their own parking garage under the hotel.Weloved it,and prices were reasonable

wrestlpsu

rent car
drive down to cambria to see the elephant seal pups.
spend the night in the area....then go to hearst castle
next day.
back to san fran for a few hours seeing haight and
the fabulous architecture of the homes there.
go to cliff house for a meal and a view.
head across the bay bridge to spend some time in
point reyes natl beach....go to the northern end to
see mcclures beach....you will see the roosevelt elk there.
then you must go to muir woods.
that should be enough for 5 days.
napa is boring.
[email protected]

sf7307

If you want to see elephant seals, Ano Nuevo is a heck of a lot closer to San Francisco than Cambria is!

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=1115

Many tourists love visiting Napa/Sonoma, which is a beautiful area (maybe not as much in winter as in summer) and has tons of wineries. We go up there to visit friends, but have no interest in the wineries. It depends on your interests. There are fantastic restaurants in the wine country. We do love some of the small towns, such as Healdsburg and Sonoma, just to poke around in.

How much time do you plan to spend in the city? Have you seen Stu Dudley's list of things to do and see in San Francisco?

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...mendations.cfm

janisj

Hope amapati comes back to answer our questions about their budget and such.

wrestlpsu's post is a bit confusing. "rent car. drive down to cambria to see the elephant seal pups. spend the night in the area....then go to hearst castle next day. back to san fran for a few hours seeing haight and the fabulous architecture of the homes there. go to cliff house for a meal and a view. head across the bay bridge.... . . . " etc etc.

None of that addresses the OP's questions/issues.

kathym11

Do a search in Google for 'vacation rental in san francisco'.Owners use many websites like Vrbo.com to rent their condos and houses privately.
Fisherman's warf is packed with tourists and restaurants are overpriced, try to stay in Union Square instead. Buy a Muni pass to get around the city and if your budget allows, take a a walking food tour. Be aware that parking in San Francisco is challenging and expensive.

easytraveler

There's a website called

airbnb.com

which lists apartments and rooms all over the world.

I have not personally used this site, but know of someone who recently did in San Francisco and she was very satisfied with the place that she got.

If you do decide to use this site and find something suitable, please come back and ask about the location, as it may not be the safest, especially for young girls.

KTtravel

Yosemite really is too far to be enjoyable in a day trip. If you are interested in visiting the park, I would try to stay there two nights, if possible.