San Francisco - March or June?
 

My husband and I are planning our next vacation. This will be our first time in San Francisco. I'm a teacher so we're limited to spring break in mid-March or the last three weeks in June. Weather wise which is a better time?

Also, we prefer walking over renting a car, but realize SF is a big place. Is there a public transportation system that offers a 7-day pass for unlimited rides on busses, cable cars, etc.? We are not planning any day trips beyond the city.

Thanks!

You won't need a car. The public transport will get you everywhere. Buses, trolleys, Street cars, BART, cabs, walking, Cable Cars --you won't have any problems.

As for weather Mar and June are both a bit problematic.

March could be warmer than June and beautiful. But it is also the tail end of the rainy season so there could be storms.

June is not "summer" in SF. It is often cold/foggy- but you can luck out and have glorious clear days too.

There is a phenomenon called 'June Gloom' w/ overcast/foggy conditions that may not clear up all day -- or might.

April/May and Sept/Oct are really the best times weather-wise. Mar and June are sort of a tossup -- If I had to choose -- maybe I'd ever so <i>slightly</i> lean to June, but your chances for individual brilliant days are slightly better in March.

Since your choice is between March or June, I would say June. Although it may be foggy along the coast at times, it's better than rain, which is more probable in March. Also places away from the coast will be sunny. Sometimes the fog only effects the coastside of SF itself, so it can be sunny downtown or in the Mission, whilst the Sunset/Richmond districts are fogged in.

In June the days are longer, so I'd choose June.

Yes, we have 1, 3, 5, 7 days passes for MUNI buses including underground lines that have letters like K, J (not to confuse with BART) all buses and cable cars.

They are switching now to "clipper" - electronic card that works on everything, you can read more here
http://www.sfmta.com/cms/mfares/indxfare.htm

and look at the maps here
http://www.sfmta.com/cms/mmaps/official.htm

If you want to use buses and be well prepared, get the $3 MUNI map - the best map with bus lines in color. If you print off the Internet, it's too small.

I'd agree with June. Longer days, warmer temps outside SF in general.

Thanks for your replies. I think June it is.

Dayenu, I appreciate the transportation links. On trips to NYC, Boston, Vancouver BC we've relied on subways and buses, and really do like to do this instead of renting a car.