My wife and I will be stopping over in San Francisco for one day/night in January on our way to Hawaii. Neither of us have been there before. We will be arriving at noon and fly out the next morning. I was thinking of going to Alcatraz, Union Square and Fishermen's Wharf. Not much time for anything else.

Any suggestions on what we should do/see, where we should eat dinner and where we should stay for the night? Probably looking at spending approx. $100 on dinner and $150 - $200 on hotel.

A post just like yours appeared earlier this year and received a lot of responses. See if you can find it.

I would not try to visit Alcatraz. It will consume most of your available time, and it's only one thing - and not even in San Francosco. If you get nasty weather, the views might not be that great also. Unless you like real tacky/touristy things that don't resemble the rest of San Francisco at all, don't visit Fisherman's wharf.

I would stay near Union Sq & visit that area first. Then take the Hyde St Cable Car, sit on the east side (right side once the car is turned around) and take it past the sqiggley portion of Lombard St, and get off at the Wharf (but don't visit). Walk through Ghiradelli Sq & west on Bay St to Gough, then south on Gough to Union St. Walk west on Union & visit this nice section of the City with shops, cafes, etc. Return to your hotel via taxi, freshen up for dinner, and have dinner in North Beach - perhaps at North Beach restaurant. You can take the Taylor St Cable car there. If you don't need to freshen up for dinner, visit Chinatown before dining in North Beach.

Stu Dudley

If you only have one day, I'd probably skip Alcatraz although I found it interesting, the time spent getting there and back as well as the tour will take up a lot of your day. I'd spend more time walking through the city including Chinatown and just people watching.

For hotels, Best Western Tuscan Inn has a good location, but is nothing too special. The Archbishop's Mansion might be something a little more fun for you and your wife.

I agree with previous posters about skipping Alcatraz...definitely a day in itself. StuDudley's walk sounds like a good plan to me.

Every time I go to SFO I have Irish Coffee at the Buena Vista Cafe (www.thebuenavista.com) on the corner of Hyde and Beach Streets. I usually sit at the bar as it is fun to watch the bartender make the coffees. The food there is pretty tasty as well.

As for hotels, one of my favorite boutique chains in SFO is Joie de Vivre Hospitality (www.jdvhospitality.com). Each of their hotels are different and they have this great Hotel Matchmaker program on their site that asks questions about your style and such and then recommends the best hotel for you.

Enjoy your trip!

Thanks for the tips.

Any specific thoughts on the Maxwell Hotel or the Inn at Union Square?

Any other restaurant recommendations?

Although I have not stayed at either hotel, we are in San Francisco for a weekend several times a yearf, and I keep my eyes open. We did stay at the 'Maxwell' several years ago before it was refurbished and renamed. The location of both is excellent.

Oh, I agree with the idea of skipping Alcatraz this time...the boat ride and the tour take up time. Fisherman'w Wharf is worth walking through, but that is about all.

I haven't stayed at Maxwell house, I'm more Hotel Bijou, Hotel Drisco and Hotel Rex.

Not sure if you're into trying Vegan/Vegitarian/Organic foods, but the restaurant at the Savoy Hotel call Millennium is very good...ironically the night I had dinner there, I had a big ol' burger from In 'n Out Burger for lunch!

Another restaurant is Franciscan...it is down at Fisherman's Wharf area. The food is average but if you get a window seat, the view is very nice. There are definitely more upscale restaurants in SFO...check out tripadvisor.com for suggestions.

Topping to topple those who would ruin this forum with childish protests. Ban them all!

Great place for dinner....Farallon
Convenient hotel....The Sheraton on Fisherman's Wharf

Agree with Farallon, we had a very nice meal there in June. The Inn @ Union Square looked very nice when we peeked inside while walking around the shops. ***kim***

I have never stayed at The Inn at Union Square ***Kim*** but I can assure you that peeking into the lobby of a hotel does not give you any clue what the actual hotel rooms are like.

Have a wonderful time in SF Jimbob!