San Francisco transit options
 

I'll be visiting San Francisco for a week at the end of December, traveling solo, arriving at and leaving from SFO and staying at the Hotel Griffon on the Embarcadero. I plan to do most all my exploring via a combination of walking and public transportation.

I've been looking into the various options for passes, and I'm just not sure what makes the most sense. I expect I'll use BART to get to and from the airport, but other than that, will I rely more on Muni buses?

-- I can get a 7-day Muni pass for $40, but that doesn't include BART
-- I can get a 7-day CityPASS for $94, which gives me the Muni pass plus some tourist attractions.
-- I can get a Clipper Card when I arrive at SFO and use it for all my transportation, but I'd have no idea how much to load on it and risk leaving some unused value.

Can anyone help me sort this out and figure out what might make the most sense? Thanks!

We often stay at a hotel on the Embarcadero. We use BART to get to and from the airport. We get MUNI passes for the appropriate number of days (usually at the Walgreens across the street from the hotel).

Within the city itself I have rarely, if ever, used a BART train; usually use the streetcars; sometimes the cable cars; occasionally a taxi provided I can actually find one.

Are you going to actually GO to any of those attractions included on that CityPASS and if you do, how much are you actually going to save?

The buses are the most convenient. There is usually one from where you are to where you are going. I find I use them even more than the Muni trolley/streetcar.
There used to be a paper map sold that had the bus routes (and numbers) printed over the road map, which I found very handy. Maybe there is now an app that does this or the paper maps are still around.

Since there are more buses and they go more places I'd say that makes sense.

Since the one-time fare on the bus is $2.25, you'd have to take 18 trips to make the weekly pass worthwhile. I'd probably get the Clipper card with $40 on it (enough for 9 trips plus the round-trip to the airport). Add more if needed.

Lots to consider. Thanks for all your input.

18 trips in a week is only 2.5 legs every day and that means one complete trip is 2 of those legs. I think that's a bargain.

Do they still do "transfers" on the buses? Used to be that you could ask for a transfer (a slip of paper with the time printed on it) when you paid your fare and you could change buses for free when going in the same direction, within a certain time period.

Yes, still applicable - it's something like 90 minutes or 2 hours, not sure.

I would get the Clipper card with $40, unless you know you will take more than 2 trips per day.

Also make sure to download Lyft and Uber to your phone for those times when you don't want to bother with public transit.

I would do the $40 muni pass. This way you can use the cable cars too... as many times as you want.

I wasn't aware the muni pass (I have a monthly pass) was good for the cable cars - I haven't been on a cable car in years, but sure, for tourists, it's a good idea (the cable cars don't work for locals much because there are only two perpendicular lines), and the per trip ride on the cable car is very costly. You'd have to add enough to the pass (which you can put ON a Clipper Card, I assume), to cover your BART trips to and from the airport (or just pay separately for those)

Thanks for the additional responses here! I think I will probably end up with the muni pass and just pay for single tickets on BART to and from the airport. It'll be worth the convenience not to worry about paying fares just to have the pass, I think. And covering the cable cars (which are $7 a pop) will be nice. I am a tourist, after all. :)

I think that's the right solution! Have a great trip.

I just returned from a week in SF and purchased the Clipper Card (for $3) and loaded it with the 7 day pass ($40). The passport thing looked like a bit of a PIA to carry around. The card went in my wallet and since I'm pretty sure I'm returning to SF in the spring I hope to be able to reuse it.

Didn't use BART except as transport from the airport to the hotel.

While your there, you'll most likely want to go on one of the ferry excursions. We used to live in the Bay area and instead of spending a fortune on the tourist ferries we always took our guests on the ferry that runs from SF to Vallejo. It's much cheaper and you get to see a LOT more. All of our guests love it! Just a thought. Also, the Hop on and off double decker buses are a great way to see the popular tourist sights. Have a great time, SF is a great place to visit. Also, if you get a chance to take a drive down Hwy 1 (Coastal Hwy) great restaurant near Big Sir on the right just before the bridge, it was always one of the things our guests loved the most. Everyone's favorite restaurant in SF was always the one at the end of Pier 39 on the upper level far left side, be sure to ask for a table with a view also the Clam Chowder is very good and their prices are reasonable. Same kitchen as the very pricey one on the right. :-)