npiazza

My husband has a conference and I am tagging along, also our 18 year old son since he has fall break and will only have to miss 1 day of school! I need help planning an itinerary that will keep us entertained during the days while hubby is working. We will be at the Fairmont, and though we will have a rental car I would prefer not to drive around very much. Can someone recommend a good tour company that would pick up at hotel? Interested in doing Alcatraz, Chinatown, Muirs Woods, all the usual SF touristy stuff. OK with walking tour and maybe OK with public transportation (have used it in Europe but not real comfortable with it).

It will be my son's first trip to CA. I'm more interested in the restaurants, spas and wine country, but will skip that this time to keep 18 y.o. interested. He likes history, sports, music (but I'm not taking him to the hippie area!).
Think uptight suburban soccer mom not really comfortable with big city but looking for fun and easy way to enjoy it for a couple of days At least I'm honest!
Can't wait to hear some suggestions!
Joanie

nytraveler

SF has a great public transit system - and you can easily do most sights by yorself. (Really don;t let yourself be overfaced- get a teeny bit of gumption and set an example for your son.) Just get out in the street and do it. (There are bus tours to Muir Woodsif you don;t want to drive.)

One of the real benefits of a city is the street life -and taking a lot of torus will rob you of actually getting a felfor the city.

sf7307

Well, that is honest. Maybe foolish, but honest

To some extent, it depends when you're coming (weather). But in general, you absolutely do NOT need a tour within the confines of San Francisco, especially if you're going to limit yourselves to the main tourist attractions.

1) Get tickets for Alcatraz in advance. Take the cable car (you'll want to take it anyway, since it's a San Francisco "thing"). To avoid lines and crowds (again, depends when you'll be here), take the California Street line to the very bottom of the hill (the Fairmont is at the intersection of Mason and California), which is the end of the line. From there, either 1) cross the Embarcadero (along the bay) and walk (weather again) along the Bay toward the pier with the boat that goes to Alcatraz (there's only one), or 2) in front of the Hyatt Regency, which is next to the cable car stop, and grab a taxi (they line up, just go to the first in line). You could also take a pedicab along the Embarcadero if you're so inclined.

2) Will you be here during baseball season? If so, catch a Giants game at AT&T Park. If not, you still might want to take the tour of the stadium (one of the best in the country). It's on the Embarcadero in the other direction (that is, turn right on the Embarcadero to go to AT&T, turn left to go to the Alcatraz Pier).

3) At the foot of California Street, but on the Embarcadero is the Ferry Building - the farmer's market, particular on Saturdays, is fantastic, but the permanent market inside is also great. You can eat there, too -- upscale Vietnamese, burgers & fries, Mexican, great coffee.

4) You can walk to Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf from the pier for the Alcatraz boat. Just keep walking in the direction away from California Street.

5) From Fisherman's Wharf, you can walk through North Beach (the Italian area) to Chinatown. The main "tourist" street in Chinatown is Grant Avenue, but the better street is Stockton. Either way, from there back to your hotel is very close, either walk (but it's up a very steep hill) or grab a cab.

npiazza

Thank you sf7307, that is just the kind of info I'm looking for. Since we only have 2 days I thought we would just hit the highlights, but I'd love to hear about things to do that might not be in the tour books! The market sounds like fun. We will be there mid October, so hopefully the weather will nice and fall-like, I'll have to check the baseball schedule as we would all love to see a game.

Do you have any ideas for late night dining near the Fairmont, other than room service. (Our flight gets in about 9:30, so by the time we find hotel, etc it could be getting late). We like most kinds of food and I'll be checking out some foodie sites. Thanks so much!

sf7307

>>

The last regular-season game is Sunday, October 3rd. Right now, the Giants are a half-game out of first in the West, and a half-game out of first in the Wild Card standings. It'll be another week before we know whether they will still be playing in October

As for dinner, if you go to your hotel first, you'll be hard-pressed to find much in the neighborhood, since it's mainly a residential neighborhood with a few hotels. If you want to go out, though, North Beach, Chinatown, the Financial District and Polk Street are all within a 5-10 minute taxi ride. For sure, you'll find something open and lively in North Beach, don't know about the rest since I'd rather eat a snack than a meal at that hour! (you won't get to your hotel until 10:30-11:00, between disembarking, walking to the front, collecting your bags, getting a cab, and driving in).

SAB

Hippie area? Do you mean the Haight? Except for suburban kids (and runaways) who hang out on Haight Street looking and acting like punks and people looking for signs of the 60's, the Haight itself is far from a hippie area. Think multimillion dollar Victorians, bankers, lawyers, couples with kids.

Centralparkgirl

The California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park is amazing - wonderful aquarium, planted roof, 3D film, planetarium and a lot more cool stuff with cafe or nice restaurant for lunch. I second Muir Woods, Alcatraz and Ferry Bldg on Sat morning. Your son might like Betelnut for dinner - delicious Asian; also consider a dim sum lunch at Yank Sing.

Kailani

Very good ideas. Here are some more things of the random variety, not knowing his particular interests. (I do have a son who still acts like an 18 year old, though.)

The Cartoon Art Museum. http://cartoonart.org/

I have heard the movie tour is very good. If your son is interested in film, or if the weather is poor this might be a good choice. http://sanfranciscomovietours.com/whatyousee.html

There is a Segway Tour around Fisherman's Wharf, and the people on it look like they are having a blast. Sometimes half price tickets are available through Goldstar.

I just had a fun day walking along the edge of Fisherman's Wharf, as I love the Maritime Heritage Museum building, and the old ships. It's free, too. http://www.maritime.org/index.htm The first Saturday of the month is the famous sea chantey sing. http://www.nps.gov/safr/historyculture/chantey-sing.htm

Your son is too young, but an Irish Coffee at the Buena Vista is delicious and authentic. http://thebuenavista.com/index2.html

The Exploratorium is interesting. It's thought of as a museum for kids, but the science is very sophisticated, and most parents enjoy the museum too. http://www.exploratorium.edu/ The area around it, The Palace of Fine Arts, is a beautiful place for photographs. http://www.palaceoffinearts.org/

Musée Mechanique. I haven't been to the new location, though. http://www.museemechanique.org/

Fort Point http://www.nps.gov/fopo/, or the Marin Headlands for WWII historical exploring. http://www.nps.gov/goga/marin-headlands.htm

Although you'll have to drive, The Cliff House http://www.cliffhouse.com/home/index.html and The Beach Chalet http://www.beachchalet.com/ are interesting places to eat with a view.

Maybe he would like to look for the Parrots of Telegraph Hill. http://www.wildparrotsfilm.com/

North Beach is a fun area to explore, including City Lights Bookstore http://www.citylights.com/ and the variety of coffee houses nearby http://www.vesuvio.com/index2.html. I like Spec's Twelve Adler Museum & Café http://www.fodors.com/world/north-am...iew-93568.html across the street.

Not too many tourists go to The Colombarium, which this website calls "A San Francisco Treat." http://www.californios.us/columbarium/

Maybe he would like the Pirate Store at 826 Valencia, run by author Dave Eggers. http://www.826valencia.org/store/ Mission Dolores and some great murals and restaurants (Tartine & Buy-Rite) are nearby.

The Castro Theatre has interesting programing, and the theatre is beautiful. http://www.castrotheatre.com/p-list.html

There are so many fun things to do in SF, so this is a good time to let your son browse through a guidebook and see what appeals. I guess these are better suggestions for an eccentric hippie mom instead of an uptight suburban soccer mom, but SF will do that to you.

cferrb

When we were in Golden Gate Park at Labor Day Weekend there was a massive line outside the Academy of Sciences.

Centralparkgirl

cferrb - I'm not surprised. The two times that I went, I bought tix on line ahead of time and arrived when they opened and walked in. I hate lines. An 18 yr old might not want to get up that early, but it worked for me.

npiazza

Thanks everyone, those are just the kind of suggestions I need...I think he would love the Acadey of Sciences and exploring North Beach, and thanks for the suggestions of Betelnut and Yank Sing. The movie tour also sounds like fun! I'm looking forward to exploring a new city and now I don't feel so compelled to just hop on a tour bus. I'm going to have my son log in here and take a look at some of the links you guys have provided. I'm a big believer that half the fun of travel is in the planning. And that suggestion about the Irish Coffee is on my must-do list...he can have a caramel macchiato!

DebitNM

I will through in 2 things that are quick and free and if he is a transportation buff, he might like: hop off the cable car at the Museum to see how they work and then hop back on. Also, the trolley museum near the Ferry Building for lots of great info on the Historic F Street car.

I don't think anyone has mentioned this, buy a "Passport" to use on the public transit. Buy a 3 day pass for each of you and it will get you almost everywhere you want to go. It is less expensive than 2 single day passports each.

http://www.sfmta.com/cms/mfares/passports.htm

DebitNM

I meant to include links:

http://www.cablecarmuseum.org/

http://streetcar.org/museum/

And there are great tours given by volunteers of the San Francisco Library that are free and meet many different likes and we have enjoyed lots of them:

http://sfcityguides.org/

npiazza

Great suggestion DebitNM, with a Passport I would be much more likely to feel comfortable using public transportation since I wouldn't have to be fumbling for change or buying tokens, or however it works there. Thanks!

npiazza

I went to the sfmta website and I'm a little bit confused about the various forms of public transportation. So is the Metro the subway system? Also, it says...

"Muni Passports are good on Muni only. They are not valid on BART, other transit systems, tour buses, or for transportation to or from San Francisco International Airport (SFO)." Also, I'm not clear on the distinction between historical street cars and cable cars. For example, to get from the Fairmont to the boat for Alcatraz, on the California Street line, would that be covered with the passport?

DebitNM

BART is more of a commuter train, linking SF with other cities. {There are several stops in SF, but most folks don't use it for intra SF transportation due to cost}

The Passport includes: the cable cars [a big saving for that since EACH ride is $5 and there are no on/offs allowed]; the historic F street car , the metro [like a subway] and buses.

The historical F car runs a large route from Fisherman's Wharf, to Ferry Bldg, all along Market St. up to The Castro where it returns along the same route. The Cable Cars run from Union Square To Fishermans' Wharf [2 different terminus at FW] and a third cable line runs along California down to Embarcadero.

Even the buses are pretty easy to use. We always walk or use public transit when in SF.

npiazza

Thanks for the clarification on the varous forms of transportation, very helpful!
One last question... my husband has fond memories of an area not far from the Fairmont that he describes as having a very European feel, small, narrow streets, several bistros with outdoor seating. I know that's kind of vague, but any idea what he is talking about? Dining recommendation in that area?

Kailani

Pretty sure that is Belden Alley (or Belden Place). (I don't have a recommendation, though.)

http://www.belden-place.com/

DebitNM

Plouf is most likely the restaurant. http://www.ploufsf.com/

sf7307

There are several good restaurants on Belden Place -- all with a European vibe. Plouf is the place to go for mussels, but there's also B-44 and others. I was going to recommend it to you for the night you arrive, but they close around 10pm.

One thing Debit's very thorought transporation response did not answer - the line I was referring to from the top of Nob Hill to the bottom of California street is the cable car -- the kind you see in the Rice-a-Roni commercials, and in this link:

http://tinyurl.com/26m4ox4