We're picking up a rental car at SFO and driving south for about a week. My plan then is to return the car in San Francisco before going to Hotel Vitale where we plan to stay for 4 day's. It looks like my best options for the drop off would be back at the airport, Ofarrell St. at the Dollar Rental location, or at the Sheraton at the Wharf. We'll probably be driving in on a Monday around 12 PM. Any suggestions on which location would be the easiest for me to drop off the vehicle and then get transportation to the hotel? Thanks in advance for the help.

From the airport, you could take BART to within a block of the hotel. You would have to take the airtrain from the rental car facility to the BART station. From the other two locations, you could easily take a taxi to the hotel.

is there a drop-off fee if you return the car in town instead of back at the airport?

check into this, because it's not worth it to be charged a huge drop-off fee.

In my experience Dollar always has the best rates at SFO (I rent there 5-6x per year) and doesn't charge drop off fee (1-2x/yr).

I would just drop off at Dollar in SF proper at the most convenient location.

You could drive to hotel, unpack, then take the family to Fisherman's Wharf & drop off the car at the Sheraton.

Public transportation along The Embarcadero is easy and would take you right back to your hotel, or a taxi.

We used Dollar's O'Farrell street location in March. It was very convenient. We picked up car there and used if for the day. Got a great price, since it wasn't at airport.

We then picked up a car the following week at O' Farrell and dropped it off a few days later at SFO. Again no fees other than the daily rate and some taxes.

They had the best rates and didn't not seem to have any 1 way fees in SF.

We got cars in very good condition both times.

Deb

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I think my best bet will be to use the Ofarrell Street location. Can anyone give me directions to the Dollar Rental office if I'm coming into town by way of RT 1 and Int 280? Thanks

Coming into San Francisco via Highway 1 is not the same route as coming in via 280.

I-280 is the easier route. Just follow all the way until almost to the end. Get off at Sixth Street (the freeway ends on Fourth Street). Follow Sixth Street all the way, cross Market Street, try to stay in the middle lane beause once you cross Market you'll be on Taylor Street. Go down Taylor four blocks and turn right on O'Farrell.

Coming up Highway 1 and entering the City on Highway 1, you'll be heading straight north on surface streets. This stretch of Highway 1 is also known as 19th Avenue. Go all the way north to Geary Street, turn right. Go all the way down Geary to downtown, make a right on Jones and then a left onto O'Farrell. This is a heck of a lot of city surface streets to be driving on.

Thanks EasyTraveler. I'm not sure why I typed Rt 1. All along I've been planning on coming up 85 to 280. You're directions from 280 look great. Thanks again.

In case you or someone else enters the City via Hwy 1/19th ave - when you get into GG Park on 19th, the road makes a turn to the right and exits the park on Park Presidio ave - not 19th ave. Turn right on Geary from Park Presidio.

Also don't take Geary all the way downtown or you'll be going the wrong way on a one-way street (shame on you easytraveler - can't blame it on the Processo this early in the day). When you pass Gough St, Geary will "split" in a Y and you will end up on O'Farrell St - a one way street.

Stu Dudley

Easy's suggested 6th st route into the City may be the fastest & easiest, but it takes you through the worst part of town - lots of vagrants, drunks, sleezy places, sleezy people, etc. I would not take anyone through this section on 6th if I wanted to impress them with The City.

Instead, 280 will dump you on Hwy 101. Stay on 101. Very soon, Hwy 80 will go straight & 101 will go to the left. Take 80 towards the Bay Bridge (stay in the right 2 lanes). Get off 80 at 4th street (last SF exit). Get in the left lane of the freeway exit ramp & kinda go straight from the exit ramp on to Bryant St (don't turn left on 4th - which you can't do anyway because it's a one-way in the wrong direction). Continue east on Bryant for one block - staying in the left lane. Turn left on 3rd St, and keep in one of the two left lanes (it's a wide one-way street). You will pass the Moscone Center to your left. Get in the left most lane. Soon you will cross Market Street and the traffic will veer to the right slightly onto Kearny St. Immediatly after you cross Market, turn left onto Geary St. Continue west on Geary, past some elegent shops, then Union Square on your right & Macy's on your left. Just past Union Square, you'll pass Powell - where the cable cars go down (actually, up), and then the St Francis hotel where Presidents get shot at. Go a couple of blocks past the St Francis & through our theatre district. Then make two lefts and you'll be on O'Farrell.

This route, IMO, is a much better introduction to San Francisco. My description may sound complicated, but just follow the traffic. The only place you need to pay much attention to, is when you cross Market St (turn left - but not ON to Market - get on Geary - a one-way st)

Stu Dudley

Hi, HowlerDad: you're welcome!

If you're not coming in via Highway 1, then skip those instructions. Stu's right, Geary branches off to O'Farrell just before Van Ness - but since you're not coming that way, don't worry about it. I've driven the road so many times I don't look at the names of the streets any more.

As for his other route - ah well - he's more under the influence of Prosecco than I am (just a little joke between Stu and me!). He's having you change the number of the freeways twice just when you get to the downtown area, not a time to be wondering if you've taken the right freeway or not! This just to avoid 3 or 4 blocks of the not so nice part of town. Those vagrants don't bother anyone and, if the light is green, you'll probably not even notice them but will be zipping by so fast in traffic.

I really suggest you take the 280 to the Sixth Street exit because once you're past Market you'll be on Taylor. 3 or 4 blocks down Taylor and when you make that right turn onto O'Farrell, the car return place is just a 1/2 block away.

Stu's way will put you on a merry-go-round of one-way streets once you're off the freeway.

Otherwise, Stu's our encyclopedia for information on San Francisco. He's even got a wonderful thread where he's described just about everything you'd like to see in SF. Maybe he'll be kind enough to pull it up for you.

You may want to keep the car at least a day more in order to be able to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge and around the Presidio and down along Ocean Beach and in through Golden Gate Park.

Thanks Stu & Easy. I have to admit I had to look up the definition of Prosecco. I'm the whiskey & water drinker in the family. My wife is the wine connoisseur. Hopefully after a couple of weeks in you're beautiful state I'll be a grape lover too. The directions look great. I'll probably still get lost at least once but I guess that's half the fun.

Easytraveler & I sat next to each other at a Fodors get-together in March. Lots of Prosecco was poured.

Stu Dudley

Yes, and Stu drank more than I did. (Just kidding! Ducking now! )