Going to San Francisco over Memorial Day weekend (4 days). Staying at SF Hilton & Towers on O Farrell St. Parking fees are $33.00 per night.

I am not familiar with SF or the area we are staying. Do I need a rental car or will public trans/cable car/taxis be sufficient to get around to restaurants/sights.

visited SF in September and did not rent a car until we left the city for Carmel. We either walked or took a trolly car to get wherever we went. Also took the bus. As I remember we purchased a three-day pass and used it all three days. Enjoy your visit. We had a ball!

A rental car would be a waste of time IN the city. It will take you longer to drive and park than to walk or take public transportation. Even to go to other places in the area you can use ferries, BART, or CalTrain. If you want to go to the wine country or Muir Woods you'll want a car.

We have stayed at the Hilton. Great hotel and location, two blocks to cable cars, tons of restaurants and shopping. There is absolutely no need for a car.

Personally, I would rather have a car. You have alot more mobility and you do not have to depend on the unreliable buses. I have had to wait for an hour for a bus that was supposed to come every 15 or 20 minutes. Public transportation is also not very clean, and you encounter some really strange people. Drivng in SF is really not as bad as many people make it out to be.

Mike, it's hard to believe that Jeff's post above isn't a deliberate attempt steer you wrong. I would guess there's no one else on Fodors who would advise you to rent a car in SF. Driving is horrible (and I have driven in Italy) and the expense of parking is out of sight. If you're staying three nights, parking would cost you $100 at your reported $33/night, not considering the cost of the rental. You can ride a lot of cable cars, taxis, buses and BART for that amount. The Hilton is very well located for using public transportation. You need a car in SF like a fish needs a bicycle.

Thank you all for your inputs. I think I'll take the shuttle to the hotel and cable car/taxi it around town. I want to go to the wine country for one day. Is there a convenient place downtown to rent a car to go up and back? Where/what is Muir Woods? Is it worth a day trip?

DON'T RENT A CAR. We did and it was a pain in the butt. Besides- anywhere you want to go you can basically use public transportation. We took a day trip to Muir Woods- It was awesome. You walk through the woods, which consists of HUGE trees and beautiful greenery.
http://www.visitmuirwoods.com/
I recommend it.

There are several car rental agencies on Mason St., less than a block from the Hilton.

I agree with Jeff, renting a car is your best bet. I can't believe that some people on this board find the idea of driving in SF to be so absurd. People drive in Sf all the time. As far as the cabs are concerned, you cannot hail a cab in Sf as you would in say New York or Chicago. You often have to end up waiting for a half hour or more for one to come after you call them.

Its not the driving that's bad in SF its the parking. Fees are outrageous. We regretted renting a car and were lost all the time. Next time we went we used the cable cars and a bus occasionally, never needed a taxi as they went everywhere we wanted to. The city is not that big.

There are plenty of places in SF that have reasonable parking fees. There are even locations that have free parking, believe it or not. I can't figure out all these scare tactics that people use on this board to convince people to not rent a car in SF. I have a feeling that alot of these people posting this garbage are either the bicyclists who stage these critical mass protests against automobiles, or people who drive into SF everyday and are just trying to keep a few less cars off the road to make it more convenient for them.

Confused???

I lived in San Francisco for 12 years and never owned a car, and I am thankful for it. You really don't need one to get around. You can walk just about anywhere, and where you can't walk, Muni busses will get you there. The city's neighborhoods and small and close together. If you're in the Mission District you can easily walk to the Castro. If you're in Chinatown, you can easily walk to Fisherman's Wharf and Pacific Heights and Downtown. The only far-flung places are Land's End and the Legion of Honor Museum. Both are accessible on the 38 Geary bus line. Parking in SF is horrible and there isn't enough room for all the cars. Do yourself a favor: get a map and learn the bus routes.

I drive into SF all the time, and although parking is sometimes a bit of a challenge,I always seem to manage to find a spot. It is really not as bad as some people make it out to be.

I drive into SF sometimes as well, but I think the point is that a car isn't really needed in SF because the public transportation system will get you pretty much any place you want to go so it's not worth the extra expense of renting one and paying for parking.

I rented an apartment in Cow Hollow area for a full month a few years ago, and left my car in my garage except when going out of the city. I chose to take the bus instead -- so quick and easy and no parking difficulties or expense. I have done the same several times since. It seems that every time I did take the car out to drive to dinner or somewhere, it was a lot more effort and expense than it was worth. The bus is so cheap and hassle free, and parking is so expensive.

I noticed that SF has a 3-day Muni pass for public transportation throughout the city. Does this include the bus, Cable Cars, and Bart? What is Bart?

The MUNI passes include MUNI buses, lightrail, historic street cars (F line) and Cable cars - you can buy 1, 3, and I believe 7 day passes.

The BART is the Bay Area Rapid Transit which is a rail system that connects most the the Bay Area - perhaps one day it will actually go to San Jose - LOL. It is a seperate system requiring seperate fares.

I live just outside of SF and drive in frequently. For years I worked in SF and drove daily. That said, if I weren't familiar with the city and used to driving on crowded STEEP hills with one way streets everywhere and nutso drivers and trucks double parked everywhere and pedestrians who don't look both ways..... I would MUCH rather take public transportation. SF is a small city. It's very walkable. And where you don't want to walk to it's very easy to take public transit. You would be so sorry if you were stuck with a car.