usf

I am a 55 year old woman, recently divorced, who wants to begin traveling again. I just can't find anyone to go with me. I've never been to SF so this sounds like a reasonable place to begin. Any recommendations on moderately priced hotels that are safe? Safety is of primary importance to me. Plus, I have Celiac Disease and would like to find restaurants that are gluten free or at least CD 'friendly'. I plan to travel in mid-August when it is almost unbearable down here in BEAUTIFUL (but hot) Savannah, GA.

Thanks for traveling tips....

janisj

"moderate" is a relative term - especially in SF. So what is your actual budget? Traveling solo to SF is no problem, easy to get around and we can point you to the best areas. Priceline is also a good option for SF.

Andrew

Tips: go to the Rick Steves website and look for travel buddies. Through that site, I found someone to meet up with in Budapest in 2005 and we wound up both heading to London on the same flight due to similar plans. It was great to have someone to do things with even though not every hour of the day.

If SF sounds overwhelming to you, consider Portland, Oregon instead. It's a much smaller city, quite safe, very easy to get around, and probably cheaper, too. There's incredible scenery here easily accessed by car, and August is a fantastic time to visit. I'm a landscape photographer here; check out my photos of Oregon at PortlandBridges.com .

I'd use Priceline for both cities, although I'm not familiar with the zones or hotels in SF. Try BetterBidding.com or BiddingForTravel.com for info on Priceline bidding zones.

A local radio host in Portland, Thom Hartmann, talks regularly about his allergy to gluten and how he has to work hard to find restaurants where he can get gluten-free food. But at least it's possible here.

Check out this site to search for restaurants in any city:

http://www.glutenfreerestaurants.org/adv_search.php

easytraveler

Bidding on Priceline is a good idea. You can usually get a pretty nice hotel for about $70-$85 plus tax and fees.

Bid USE (Union Square East) or Fisherman's Wharf.

If you haven't used Priceline before, take Andrew's suggestion and carefully read the two websites he gave you, then come back here and ask questions before you place your first bid.

My other thought is that you don't have to be alone. We here in the Bay Area just had a Get Together where three people were from distant parts of this country: Hawaii, etc. If you give us enough notice, we will be happy to meet you and at least one Fodorite will come. Fodorites are very friendly people!

stumpworks73

Trusting the hotel advise to the other correspondents, if you have never been to San Francisco, there are so many things to do that are no cost day adventures and wonderful, reasonable restaurants that you should absolutely go with San Francisco. You can extend to Sausalito, NAPA, or Monterey and never be bored. I agree with the Price Line suggesion. If you are off season and can get a great deal in Union Square or Fisherman's Wharf, go for it.

kleroux

We live in Healdsburg... about 1.5 hrs North of San Francisco. Its in the Sonoma Wine country. ITs lovely here, very safe for a single woman. Lots to see and do, and ALL the restaurants around here have Gluten Free menus!!!
You'd need to rent a car, or fly into Santa Rosa from LA, using Horizon/Alaska airlines. There are many B&B's, hotels. Aug. is a hot month and lots of tourists. So book early where ever you go. Good luck.

starrsville

Well, if I were taking the trip I'd spend 2-3 days seeing SF and staying at the Hotel Monaco (and eating at the Grand Cafe the first night).
http://www.monaco-sf.com/
http://www.monaco-sf.com/monmon_dining.html

I'd pick up a goldfish to take to my room to keep me company, but would be sure to come down to the lobby for afternoon drinks and to have my cards read (tarot). I'd probably also eat at the little non-descript Thai restaurant around the corner because it was very good the last time.

I'd ride the cable cars, eat clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl on the wharf and have a drink at Buena Vista. Oh, and nibble some chocolate at Ghiradelli's.

I would pick up a rental car at Hertz nearby and drive into the wine country and spend 2 or 3 nights there.

I've done both solo (before or after business trips) and felt very safe. Now, I'd put out a message and see if any Fodorites wanted to meet up for a meal and a mini-GTG.

Next trip, I'm going to a night in Berkeley and going to dine at Chez Panisse.
http://www.chezpanisse.com/

starrsville

Oh, I forgot your celiac disease. Still, lots of good options for eating in SF without gluten.

usf

I'm not sure how to post a reply to each of you personally but I do want to thank you for all of your helpful replies. Turns out I won't be traveling alone - my friend has finally indicated she's a 'go'. However, I will take everyone's advice and use Priceline's bidding program. I did this recently in Richmond, VA and was quite happy with the hotel and the price. I will also use the websites recommended by you very kind and helpful 'Fodorites'.

I'll check out the Savannah posts to see if I can be as helpful to someone as you have been to me.

LoveItaly

Hello usf, I truly believe that you and your friend will have a beautiful time in SF. If you like to walk SF in my opinion is a wonderful city to walk in and I agree that staying at Union Square or Union Square east is a very good location. You can walk to ChinaTown, NorthBeach, the Ferry Building at the end of Market, along the Embarcadero while you enjoy the lovely view of SF Bay, SoMa etc.

You would have a variety of public transportation also.

SF is a very friendly city and you will have an abundance of eating places and prices. And of course there is the shopping..best regards.

roothy123

I'm a 55 year old woman who goes each year to SF by myself for work and have a great time. I see you now have a friend going, so even better. With or without a friend, it's a great place to go. If you don't want to use Priceline, and think you'll have a car, there's a great hotel in the northern half of the city called Cow Hollow Motor Inn. (Weird name, great place.) It's not near Fisherman's wharf (which I personally HATE) but is close to a LOT of good restaurants, plus shops but bus stops. (Public tranportation in SF is amazing, but having a car allows you to drive to Marin Headlands, Battery Spencer (my favorite place - Conzelman Road) and do other stuff easily.) I think you can get a room for around $80, which is great for SF. Ask for a quiet one, however! Have fun - I absolutely love SF to death! Some of my favorite places are Alamo Square, Coit Tower, Marin Headlands, Tank Hill. I love driving down from Twin Peaks to Market Street at night - fabulous views. Don't stay in the NE corner the whole time - there is plenty to see elsewhere in the city, and you can get anywhere by bus or lightrail or sometimes Muni.

ice_leopard

I also recommend you look into Priceline. I got Westin St. Francis for $95/night. It's a 4-star and very safe on Union Square East. This is my first time bidding on Priceline after reading the instruction on BetterBidding.com. I'd never want to pay full price for a hotel room again.

j_4tay

You can stay at Hilton Hotel at Financial District. It should be less than $100 a night. Two blocks from Chinatown, 5 blocks from North Beach, and 10 blocks to Union Square.

You don't have to worry about the safety issue because most part of SF is safe.

KathyNZ

I am also around your age and was recently in San Francisco on my own. Initially it was a bit of a culture shock, I was appalled at the amount of homeless people on the streets everywhere, isn't it time the US government started to look after it's own in this beautiful country?
After getting over that I began to enjoy this city immensely and had a great time. I recommend the hop on hop off double decker, a day tour to the Napa valley with allsanfranciscotours.com and contrary to others I enjoyed Fisherman's Wharf especially the seals on the jetties. I enjoyed lunch there at Lou's restaurant and had another superb lunch in North Beach, Italian of course. I went by ferry across to Sausalito which I loved and also enjoyed the small museum there as well as browsing the shops. San Francisco is a great city, one I hope to return to. It is very compact and it's very easy to get around the inner area.Have a lovely vacation.

usf

Hi all,

I had a great vacation in SF. I stayed at the Hotel Fusion which is on Ellis Sreet about two blocks away from Union Square. The hotel was very reasonable (about $450 total for seven nights - they were running a 5 nights get two free when I went), clean and I felt safe. It had a coffee pot and a fridge so I was able to store my GF breakfast items. It also had a continental breakfast but it was extremely sparse. Just the usual coffee, juice, breads and apples. But it was breakfast and that was a big help.

If anyone needs comments on my gluten free experiences, just respond to this email and I'll let you know how it went.

Again, thanks so much for all of your help.

Linda in Savannah, GA

jtrandolph

Thanks for reporting back. It is helpful to others who see your question and the answers before they make plans...that is, to actually see how it all turned out.

FainaAgain

Linda, welcome home, and thank you for posting!

Dukey

I'm sorry I didn't see this post sooner or would have told you about Beach Blanket Babylon..so you HAVE to go back and see it the next time.

Glad your trip was great.