Las Vegas to San Francisco
Oct 4th, 2005, 08:06 PM
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Las Vegas to San Francisco
Hi, I am planning to take my sister visiting from abroad to Las Vegas & either LA or SF in late Oct but I am leaning towards San Francisco. Which would be a better choice as far as weather & more to see? We have a total of 5 days & we would fly into LV & leave from the other. Are there any cheap airlines bet Las Vegas & San Fran besides Southwest? Any suggestions as far as hotels in San Fran - looking for a 3 star moderately priced hotel in a central location. Is it necessary to rent a car? Any advice would be helpful.
Oct 4th, 2005, 08:17 PM
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After LV, SF is the correct choice.
Southwest airlines just might be the cheapest.
Not necessary to rent a car. SF is a great city to walk and to cab, rather than to drive and park for $20. Remember, it is built mostly on hills, so pack the right shoes.
3 star hotel...
Southwest airlines just might be the cheapest.
Not necessary to rent a car. SF is a great city to walk and to cab, rather than to drive and park for $20. Remember, it is built mostly on hills, so pack the right shoes.
3 star hotel...
Oct 4th, 2005, 09:54 PM
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Hello excited_confused. JetBlue (www.jetblue.com) flies from LasVegas to Oakland Airport. This is a low cost airline with larger then normal seats, leather, and an individual video screen. The flight, the last I heard, flies from LasVegas via LongBeach, Ca and then onto to Oakland, Ca. You the take the BART shuttle bus from the Oakland airport to BART. BART takes you into SF. No further going from SFO to SF.
A car is SF is a liability IMO.
If you want to stay at Union Square go onto the Kimpton Group Hotel sight. The VillaFlorence is right on Powell St., just one half block down from Geary St. Which means you are right there at Union Sq. Their restaurant, Kuleto's is attached. Not the absolute best restaurant in SF but they do have decent food and their breakfasts are very good. Lots of restaurants, cafes etc. in that area.
If you reserve a hotel in the Union Square area you will want to exit BART at the Powell St. exit. That is reached by going forward when leaving BART, up the stairs and you will be at the corner of Market St. and Powell. Turn left and go up Powell St.
There are many hotels in that area..you will have a good selection to chose from.
On Market St., you will find the streetcar that will take you down (east) Market St., and to the Ferry Bldg. That is probably somewhere you will want to check out. The Ferry's come in there and the Ferry Bldg. has been renovated and is filled with lots of wonderful shops, cafes etc. And on Saturdays and Tuesdays (think Tuesdays) the Farmer Market. The streecar (which is called the F Line )then swings left and goes down the Embcadero and will take you to Fisherman's Wharf.
Also at Market and Powell is the Cable Car Line. And the F Line will also take you west on Market...you do not want a car in SF., the parking will cost you up to $40.00 per night and the parking situation when you get from one place to another is a nightmare unless you really know SF (and sometimes then). And the taxis are always available.
Get a map of SF. You will find that from Union Sq. you can walk a few blocks east to Grant. At Grant & Bush is the start of SF Chinatown. Up Grant (but do go over to some of the side steets to get away from the strickly tourist area) will bring you to Broadway. Cross Broadway and you will be on Columbus, the start on North Beach. Or from the Ferry Bldg walk on the Embarcedero north (the odd #'s piers, #1, # 3, etc.) until you see Broadway. Turn left and go up Broadway until you get to Columbus, again you will be at the start of North Beach. If you walk all the way down Columbus you will be at Fishermens Wharf. Or walk all the way down and around the Embarcedero and you will be at Fishermens Wharfs. Personally it FW is not my favorite area but most new tourist do want to visit there.
Going south on the Embarcedero, ( the even #'s piers) and you will end up at the Ballpark, Willy Mae's statue is awesome. West is SOMA etc/
Market St., cross it at Powell St and you will be at the SF Centre, the mall where Nordstrom's and lots of smaller stores are plus the famous elevator.
Down Market (east toward the Ferry Bldg) turn right on 4th and there is the Sony Metro Complex. On 3rd is the MOMA.
All the way up Powell (north) , when you get to California turn left and a few blocks up California there is the Fairmont Hotel, the Mark Hopkins Hotel, and across from them Grace Cathederal. Worth seeing.
That is just a few suggestions for enjoying SF. There are so many other areas. You might want to do a search here for Stu Dudley's information. He does a much better description the I do of visiting various areas of SF.
Now, about getting home. I have no idea where you need to fly home to. Nor which country your sister needs to fly home to. I had friends from Italy that took JetBlue from LV to Oakland and then took BART into SF. After spending time in SF and with me they flew home from SFO to Italy on an international flight. They took BART from the Powell St BART station to SFO.
Are you and your sister going to fly back to wherever you live in the US? If so the question is what plane flies to your hometown or nearest airport. Southwest also flies in and out of Oakland Airport. Again, taking BART in reverse from SF to Oakland Airport would work for you. Best wishes.
A car is SF is a liability IMO.
If you want to stay at Union Square go onto the Kimpton Group Hotel sight. The VillaFlorence is right on Powell St., just one half block down from Geary St. Which means you are right there at Union Sq. Their restaurant, Kuleto's is attached. Not the absolute best restaurant in SF but they do have decent food and their breakfasts are very good. Lots of restaurants, cafes etc. in that area.
If you reserve a hotel in the Union Square area you will want to exit BART at the Powell St. exit. That is reached by going forward when leaving BART, up the stairs and you will be at the corner of Market St. and Powell. Turn left and go up Powell St.
There are many hotels in that area..you will have a good selection to chose from.
On Market St., you will find the streetcar that will take you down (east) Market St., and to the Ferry Bldg. That is probably somewhere you will want to check out. The Ferry's come in there and the Ferry Bldg. has been renovated and is filled with lots of wonderful shops, cafes etc. And on Saturdays and Tuesdays (think Tuesdays) the Farmer Market. The streecar (which is called the F Line )then swings left and goes down the Embcadero and will take you to Fisherman's Wharf.
Also at Market and Powell is the Cable Car Line. And the F Line will also take you west on Market...you do not want a car in SF., the parking will cost you up to $40.00 per night and the parking situation when you get from one place to another is a nightmare unless you really know SF (and sometimes then). And the taxis are always available.
Get a map of SF. You will find that from Union Sq. you can walk a few blocks east to Grant. At Grant & Bush is the start of SF Chinatown. Up Grant (but do go over to some of the side steets to get away from the strickly tourist area) will bring you to Broadway. Cross Broadway and you will be on Columbus, the start on North Beach. Or from the Ferry Bldg walk on the Embarcedero north (the odd #'s piers, #1, # 3, etc.) until you see Broadway. Turn left and go up Broadway until you get to Columbus, again you will be at the start of North Beach. If you walk all the way down Columbus you will be at Fishermens Wharf. Or walk all the way down and around the Embarcedero and you will be at Fishermens Wharfs. Personally it FW is not my favorite area but most new tourist do want to visit there.
Going south on the Embarcedero, ( the even #'s piers) and you will end up at the Ballpark, Willy Mae's statue is awesome. West is SOMA etc/
Market St., cross it at Powell St and you will be at the SF Centre, the mall where Nordstrom's and lots of smaller stores are plus the famous elevator.
Down Market (east toward the Ferry Bldg) turn right on 4th and there is the Sony Metro Complex. On 3rd is the MOMA.
All the way up Powell (north) , when you get to California turn left and a few blocks up California there is the Fairmont Hotel, the Mark Hopkins Hotel, and across from them Grace Cathederal. Worth seeing.
That is just a few suggestions for enjoying SF. There are so many other areas. You might want to do a search here for Stu Dudley's information. He does a much better description the I do of visiting various areas of SF.
Now, about getting home. I have no idea where you need to fly home to. Nor which country your sister needs to fly home to. I had friends from Italy that took JetBlue from LV to Oakland and then took BART into SF. After spending time in SF and with me they flew home from SFO to Italy on an international flight. They took BART from the Powell St BART station to SFO.
Are you and your sister going to fly back to wherever you live in the US? If so the question is what plane flies to your hometown or nearest airport. Southwest also flies in and out of Oakland Airport. Again, taking BART in reverse from SF to Oakland Airport would work for you. Best wishes.
Oct 5th, 2005, 07:03 AM
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Thanks a lot for the great suggestions. I will look into the suggested hotels. Jetblue is just over $100 per person, about the same as all the others. I would still prefer a lower cost option as there are 3 of us travelling but am not sure I can find one. Thanks again.
Oct 6th, 2005, 10:03 AM
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Any suggestions on low cost individual hotels downtown I can check on? The chains seem to be too expensive. My price range is around $150 per night. Anybody had any luck with Priceline? Thanks.
Oct 6th, 2005, 06:48 PM
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think I have narrowed down the hotels to Hotel Diva or the Holiday Inn Express Hotel, Fishermans Wharf. Anybody have any input as to which one would be better/more convenient to get around the city since we only have 2 days?
