san fran sightseeing
 

We (a family of 2 adults, 2 children) will have 2 full sightseeing days in San Fran. On the 2nd day we plan to see Alcatraz, do a cable car ride, take the day at leisure but the first day I was thinking of doing a hop on/off bus to see all the major tourist spots. Is this recommended or better to get our own way around places with public transport?

Isn't a Hoho bus and a cable car ride doubling up on the same stuff?

PS the cable car rides are expensive, as are the hoho buses. The first is unique to SF.

I would do the hop on/off bus. I've never taken it because we've lived in the area for 40 years & drive our car to the various sites. I don't think public transportation is a good idea if you are only going to be here for 2 days, because it is a tad confusing and you need about 30 different buses (just guessing) to go to all the major sites.

Pick up the Cable Car at the Hyde St turnaround at Fisherman's Wharf after your Alcatraz tour. That will ensure that you get on the Hyde/Powell line - which is the most scenic. Sit on the east side of the car for the best views. The other two cable car runs are not nearly as scenic as Powell/Hyde.

Here are some things to do & see

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...mendations.cfm

Stu Dudley

>>Isn't a Hoho bus and a cable car ride doubling up on the same stuff? <<

Huh???

The cable car goes on only 3 streets (unless you want to do all 3 lines - 2 of which have common first-halfs, and one only goes on Calif St - not a good idea). The bus goes to quite a number of different places in The City.

Stu Dudley

Correction, the cable car rides are expensive ($5 per pop) but that's way less than a hoho bus.

Yeah, but the cable cars go to downtown, Fisherman's Wharf, Nob Hill, Chinatown, so there's a decent # of tourist areas and unique SF covered. But they do only cover about 8 total miles in the whole city, which is a drop in the bucket.

You can't hop off/on a cable car unless you buy a milti-day pass (I believe) or pay $5 each time you get back on the Cable Car. And even then, you might be doing a lot of waiting of an "non full" cable car to let you on.

I would consider purchasing the 1 day Hop on/off pass that goes all over The City with 13 different & interesting places to get on & off.
http://www.sanfranciscoopencitytour....routes?route=4

$40 for adults & $27 for children. What does a ticket to Disneyland cost???

Stu Dudley

>>waiting of an "non full"<<

waiting for a "non full"

The queues for the cable car can be massive. We didn't bother with it having seen all the queues, and that was in November.
We used buses to get around the city, but we had a car too. With less time we would probably have used the Hoho bus instead. Certainly less scary than a bus through Chinatown on a Saturday :).

The Hyde Powell line is the busiest for good reason. If you just want the experience, try the California Street line up or down Nob Hill to the Embarcadero.

Cable cars are now $6 per ride. The Hyde-Powell line is a lot of fun. I take it every now and then (even though I live in the city) because it's so iconic and exhilarating, especially if you are hanging on the outside steps.

Here's a good site to look at for tons of information about seeing the city via public transit (including the cable cars): http://sfmta.com/getting-around/transit

Public transit is A LOT cheaper than the HOHO bus, but the latter does the planning for you, and the HOHO buses are open-air (great for a nice day, though be sure to bring your sweater/jacket/sweatshirt/all of the above).

Forgot to say, do get your Alcatraz tickets in advance. They often sell out days in advance. You can get tickets online through the National Park concessionaire here: http://www.alcatrazcruises.com/websi...g-tickets.aspx

Thanks everyone for the ideas. Think we'll do one day of HoHo bus. Definitely will get Alcatraz tickets in advance just wasn't sure which website as there's a few who sell them. Kids will be happy to just do one cable car ride just to experience it.

There are many resellers who bundle Alcatraz tix with other things and Overcharge you. However, there is only one official seller and that's the site that you were given above. If you can get your tickets in advance there will be no need to go to the resellers and overpay to go to Alcatraz and end up doing a side attraction that you have no interest in.

However, there is only one official seller and that's the site that you were given above

There's only one official seller, and only one boat --- the resellers do NOT get to dock their own boats at Alcatraz.