I used to live near Stu. There is no way I would recommend Burlingame, or Walnut Creek, to a 20-year old single woman. I wouldn't actually recommend them to any tourist, let alone a 20-year old single woman. Stay in the city, which is what you're coming to see, rather than staying in the suburbs, which you can see anywhere.

sf7307

We now have a Michelin 1 star restaurant in downtown Burlingame. Rasa. It was not here when you ere here. It is an Indian restaurant & occupies the space previously occupied by Roti and Buns a long before that. We've dined there 3 times - one of our rare dinners not in San Francisco.

http://rasaindian.com/

Stu Dudley

There are 3 HI hostels in San Francisco. When traveling solo I always check to see if they fit the budget.
http://www.sfhostels.org/?gclid=CLSq...FUGSfgodxQ8Azg
My favorite HI hostel is the one in Sacramento.

To clear somethings up about my trip, my plan is to fly to San Francisco and stay in the city so I do not waste most of my trip commuting into the city if I stay outside of SF. I plan to stay for around 5-8 days in mid-December. I want to be able to stay in a pretty decent hotel around $250 (or less if possible) a night. The hotel must be within the city near many things I can either walk or easily ride a trolley, or catch a bus to. I love sight seeing and people watching. Any neat historical museums are also something I would love to do. The Greenwich Street Stairs as well as Filbert Steps are something I would like to see. I would love to walk on the beach or visit the piers. Any small local restaurants or diners that you guys know of would be nice to know about as well. My plan is to be able to leave my hotel for the day and walk around the city and enjoy the sights and sounds and meet some new people. Are there any places that a first time visitor to SF must go to and see? Thanks for the input.

I guess you didn't read the link I provided above!!!

Stu Dudley

Kate, there is a walking map for SF that is available at most Barnes and Noble stores of any size. Its great; our sons and family friends have used it over and over. Since you have some time, you may want to get one and look it over to determine where will be the best location for you to stay.
Someone mentioned a number of good places to "do stuff" in a previous thread- I enjoyed the DeYoung Museum quite a bit myself, and the city walks are a fun thing to do as well.
Beautiful churches are not at all hard to find, either.
Have you looked at the online tourism site for SF? I think its called Citygate, or it may be SFGate, ( haven't used it for a while) and it is a good resource for places to go and inexpensive activities- we used it when we moved out there a number of years ago.
The 101 Things To Do Guide is another good resource, and I believe that there is a San Francisco version for that on line as well.

You could look into Air BnB listings in SF. The prices range on your preference. You could be staying in a guest house, or in someone's house. If you want more privacy, the price goes up. I would also look into staying in the city and using public transportation: BART, Muni, Uber.