Will be flying into SFO on a Sat early afternoon and need to get into the city ( haven't yet booked hotel) Have been advised on this forum not to rent a car for the city so what options are available to get from the airport into downtown. We will probably be staying in Union Square area but not definite. thanks

was there recently, stayed at Palace, cheapest was taxi, cost us (4) 45 bucks.

Might give SuperShuttle a try. http://www.supershuttle.com/htm/cities/FAQ/SFOFAQ.htm

I believe there are a lot of options and you can probably decide after you land.

Smart move not renting a car. Union Square's an excellent central option, and has a great choice of lodging.

Please spell SAN FRANCISCO correctly! Geez

I believe that many of the nicer hotels have an airport shuttle service, so that might be an option depending on where you stay.

When I was there last November a driver offered me and my mom a flat rate of $30.00 to drive us from the airport to the Fairmont Hotel in a Lincoln Town Car.

Hi Cammie,
I found Super Shuttle to be convenient, reliable and reasonable. When you exit the terminal building, you'll see lots of shuttle vans lined up. Walk until you find the one you want, and check fare before committing. You can't make a reservation going into the city with Super Shuttle, but you can returning from your hotel.
Some people are concerned about how long the ride will take since the shuttle transports more than one party at a time, but my husband and I enjoyed our free tour of the city; on the return trip, our gregarious driver even provided free commentary! The transport either way was not overly long in any case.
Have fun in San Fran!

Cammie, first of all check with your hotel if they have a complimentary shuttle to pick you up.

Taxi - depending on how many people travelling with you it may be cheaper and faster then a shuttle.

Shuttle - no need for advance reservation, as easy to get in as a shuttle, charge per person.

BART - Powell street station is the Union square area station. You need to take a shuttle to BART - not the city shuttle.

SamTrans bus to SF - not sure if now they run all the way in the city or only to BART.

Agree with the Super Shuttle - we used that, no problems. Have to share with other travellers and maybe go via their hotels, but who knows, you could be the first stop! But even with not being the first stop, we were at our hotel well within 30 mins of leaving the airport.