Would like to visit San Fran for a day. Home base is Monterey. Is there a way of driving partially to San Fran and then taking public trans. (Caltrain?), into the city. Would rather not have to deal with traffic & parking in the city. Is there a good way to do this? Suggestions? Thanks

There is a Caltrain or Amtrak bus to Caltrain station in San Jose, you pay on the bus. Then Caltrain into the city.

Or ride up to San Jose Caltrain (check parking options on-line).

From Caltrain in SF you can take buses and underground line N, where will you be going first?

Maybe you want to stay overnight? The city is very worth the time!

I would drive to Colma or Daly City and take BART the rest of the way.

Caltrain is an excellent option. You could drive up to any one of the stations along the way.

Another option would be BART - you can drive to Fremont or Colma (I think Colma is the furthest south on the peninsula) station and take BART into downtown SF.

I'm with cuthbert. Park at BART stations at Colma or Daly City and take the BART in. If you decide to do this, take I280 from San Jose instead of 101.

www.caltrain.com is the website.

The southernmost stations (nearer to Monterey) like Gilroy and Morgan Hill have service only during commute hours.

There are express trains with limited stops that will shave off some time to SF.

If you go on a weekend, be sure to note that service is not as extensive as Mon-Fri.

Going Caltrain, depending on where you want to go in SF, you might consider transferring to the BART system at the Millbrae Station -- that would give you more station options in the city.

Also, United Express (operated by SkyWest) has about a half dozen flights a day to/from SFO and Monterey. In SFO (International Terminal - northwest side of ticketing level concourse) is a BART station for transport to the city.

www.bart.gov is the Bay Area Rapid Transit website.

Thanks for all the input. I think I'll try the BART from Daly City or Colma. Only have a day to spend in SF, as I will be visiting family in Monterey (I'm from NY state)Again, thank you!!