trying to avoid the hassle of driving from north bay to meeting at Hyatt @ SFO...... 11 AM to 6 PM on a weekday
Using Bart sounds workable, however have no idea what station to use. Concord? Pleasant Hill? El Cerrioto (sp)Berkeley,? Have heard about parking problems(lack of spaces) & safety of some parking areas.
Any suggestions???

Hi traveler 24!

Are you trying to avoid the rush hour traffic on your return? Or are you trying to save on parking fees?

For your needs in SF, the cheapest parking that I know of are those parking lots directly under the freeway east of Market Street. Parking all day could cost you less than $10 - used to, anyhow, haven't parked there for awhile and rates may have gone up. You then have to walk a few blocks westward towards Market to catch BART. It's OK to walk that during the day, but I always wonder if the car is safe! LOL!

Otherwise, The SFO Hyatt has covered parking for about $1.50 an hour. Can't remember what the maximum parking fee is per day. Much safer.

The Hyatt is on the Bayshore, and I recollect that there was some street parking available. You may have to search a bit, it's a catch as catch can situation.

Good luck!

While I've never done the exact route you're asking about, I normally reference the BART map and time schedules here :

http://www.bart.gov/index.asp

Hi traveler, I can tell you this. Unless your are at any of BART stations you listed real early in the morning you probably will not find a parking lot. When you say you are in the northbay are you refering to Marin, Sonoma etc. counties or are you referring to Contra Costa or Alameda County (which is actually the East Bay). I ask because of the BART stations you listed. I have a couple of thoughts for you but not sure where you are located. Best wishes.

I think I need to start using the edit button, LOL. Yes traveler24, you will find parking lots, you may not find empty parking spaces.

The East Bay BART stations are full very early on weekday mornings because BART is how thousands of east bay residents get to work in downtown SF. I know people who end up driving to work because they can't find any legal parking after 7:30 am at some BART stations!!

Hold on a minute, I know that at least the Pleasant Hill station has an area for parking after 10am. I don't know about the Concord or Walnut Creek station. When I am at my parents, we wait til 10 and then go park and head into the city.

My main goal is to avoid driving Oakland-SFO..
Since i live only a few miles from Vallejo I plan to try the Ferry from there to Ferry Bldg. then Bart to Airport. Therefore can avoid most of traffic and parking fees...Also Hyatt has free shuttle rom Bart Station to hotel.. I will report back after return..
Thanks to you all for the ADVICE.....

Hi traveler, OMG, that is exactly what I was going to suggest to you if you lived somewhere around Vallejo! The ferry and then BART etc.

Another thought in case you are interested. Maybe this is the town you live in but did you know that in Benicia (about 7 miles east of Vallejo) you can take the bus from Benicia to the Pleasant Hill BART station? Only problem is that if you are coming back late at night the Benicia Bus stops running rather early, 7:30pm or so. If you go by ferry be sure to buy the Day Pass, it is cheaper then buying a one way ticket each way on the ferry. Take care.

Ferry is marvelous. We drive down to Larkspur Landing from Sonoma County to catch the ferry to SF. It IS the best way to leave the driving to someone else.
When I worked/lived in SF I had co-workers that used it, the Sausalito and Alameda ferrys to commute.
Heaven !
Another idea, there is the Marin Airporter bus that you could catch at the San Rafael transfer
station right at the downtown San Rafael
exit, I believe, as well as Larkspur Landing. That would take you directly to SFO
where you could catch the shuttle to the Hyatt.
R5

Hi mms, that is interesting about the Pl.Hill BART station. They never use to have a section for car parking after 10:00am. What a great idea. Thanks for the info.

LoveItaly--Yes, isn't that a great idea? It did fill up very quickly, but it was better than nothing at all. I should have asked me mom about the WC station. When we were there in March we used that station, but parked around 8 or so and actually there were quite a few spots available. Not sure why or if it was a fluke, but we were happy!

Hi mms, I think it probably was a fluke (and very good luck) with the WC station as I have a family member who use to work in SF and he walked from his house to the station and back again in the evening as he could never find a parking space at 7:30 in the morning. I will tell my friend in Benicia about the PH 10:00am parking situation, she will be sooo happy!
And give Scarlett a hug for me when you two get together. Happy weekend to you.

ADVICE, not advise! aaargh. See long post on this spelling problem.