This will be my first trip to San Fran as a driver. (I was 15 last time we went) I am VERY anxious about driving in the city. Being from a small town, traffic around here is at a minimum.

We are planning on flying into Oakland and staying in the Fisherman's Warf area. We will stay in San Francisco for 3-4 nights. Then we would like to drive along the coast and eventually end up in Carmel and make a day trip to Hearst Castle. We would like to stay in Carmel/Cambria 1-2 nights and then head back to Oakland/SF to head back for our flight home.

I have major questions/concerns about a car rental here. How difficult is it to rent in San Fran proper? How hard is it gonna be for us to get out of town and back into town? Then i wonder about dropping off the car on that last day and getting back to the Oakland airport or stay another night in San Fran just to make sure we don't miss our flight. Any suggestions would be appreciated....

Alohaaa...
I recall seeing some major car rental locations like Enterprise in FW area.

You may wish to take BART from Oakland to SF then maybe taxi it up to FW hotel and then rent a car on your last day there so you won't have to drive in the Bay Area maze and get stuck w/ parking fees.

See if you can then arrange a drop off the the Oakland airport location?
The charge for a split drop off might be cheaper than renting in Oak...the driving hassle to SF...parking fees etc.

San Francisco is not harder to drive in than other big cities, but you don't want to pay for parking while you are there. It will cost you $40+ per day. There are lots of places to pick up a car in the city or you can take BART to Oakland airport and pick up and drop off the car there, driving into FW only to pick up the rest of your party.

...unless you have a clutch!

You don't need a car for the days you're just in San Fran. You can bart from Oakland airport cheaply, then cab or bus or trolley to your hotel. Rental in downtown San Fran is easy (Hertz, National, Avis are all downtown) and you can book it with return to Oakland airport if you like.
If you do pick up the car in Oakland, book a hotel in San Fran with free parking (Columbus Motor Inn is the best located). The drive from Oakland airport to your hotel will depend on time of day. But you'll probably just park the car the whole time you're in the city. If the rate is a lot cheaper from Oakland airport though, you might as well do it. 7 day car rental rates are usually about the same as a 4 day rate so might be easiest for you to just pick up the car on arrival.

I guess I should have clarified this in my original post. We won't rent the car until we are ready to travel south. The days in San Fran we really won't need a car....

....too late!

Gee, I thought by her saying "then we would like to drive" after talking about their stay in SF, that it was clear they'd get the car when they left.
We rented a car from Dollar at Fisherman's Wharf -- rather than downtown. I think the hotel it is located at is the Sheraton -- Fisherman's Wharf and it was easy. We dropped it off at San Jose Airport. You can easily get one and drop off at Oakland. We checked prices and found we still saved money by not picking it up at the SF airport!

They will provide a map and getting out of San Franciso, especially from Fisherman's Wharf area is a breeze. Picking up a car there will also be easy if you can just take your luggage to their pickup point, or go get the car and come back to your place to pick up the luggage.

awesome to know that there is a rental place at Fisherman's Warf..that will be convenient...thanks!!!

Actually I think there are several in the neighborhood. We've just been getting the best rates and good service from Dollar.

I have a car booked from Hertz for the opposite for an upcoming trip to SF. I get the car at SFO, spend my 3 days vacationing, then drop the car at their FW location when I go to my meeting. Surcharge : $34.60 plus then I'll have to get a shuttle or taxi to airport upon departure. I will stay at the FW hotel for 4 nights, so I still save money over paying for parking those nights for a car I may or may not use.

There are many car rental establishments and branches all over the city. You can choose one that is most convenient for you.

If you can bear with the heavy traffic during rush hour along 101 and 280, it's not hard to get in and/or out of the city.

Rented a cool Porsche from Hertz near downtown and drove to Napa. I would suggest that you turn the car in the night before you leave for the airport. And...unless you are a great driver...get an automatic. The clutch was scary....we don't have hills like that in Texas. hahaah Call ahead for a reservation...and don't forget to bring your car insurance card with you. Most people forget (like me)....luckily my friend works for my agent and she faxed my proof of insurance to the rental company.

SuzinTexas, I'm curious about that insurance card bit. I have rented cars a lot of places for a lot of years and I've never ever been asked for proof of my own insurance. In fact my credit card is providing all the coverage that I decline from the renter.

Neo........they would not let us have the car until we provided proof of insurance. Maybe because it was a Porsche?? I thought it was weird too.

Oh, well, with a Porsche, I wouldn't be suprised if they required a blood test!

I thought I was going to have to roll up my sleeve for a minute...........but it was so worth it. It was a convertible Spider S and it was fantastic. Took it though Oakland to Napa and back across Golden Gate. I hated to give it back, but it would have been a long drive back to Texas! ahahah

We too rented from Hertz I believe less than 2-3 blocks from Union Square.

Ask specifically for a GPS. Driving in SF is easy.