My first time on this part of the forum (being an Aussie I occasionally try to answer queries on the Australian board) so I am sorry if this is a much-asked question!

We fly into San Francisco in January on a Sunday morning and sail on "Oriana" back to Australia on the Wednesday, which gives us two full days, and we are wondering where to stay. Union Square and Fishermans Wharf seem to be the popular areas and, as we love the sea and ships, we are leaning towards the Wharf but are open to any other suggestions.

We are late 50's (certainly don't feel it, 'tho we're not into bungy-jumping!), enjoy good accommodation without paying a fortune, and are not dedicated tourists who "have to see everything". We would really appreciate some local knowledge on interesting things to do and places to go, not necessarily on the main tourist circuit.

We enjoy good, reasonably-priced, food in pleasant surroundings (with a view?) and if there was some jazz or blues playing in the background that would be the ultimate - although as we are only there on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights our options may be limited.

To help with packing, how cold is it likely to be in late January? (Living in the tropics anything under 65 deg F is chilly for us!)

We would really appreciate any suggestions - thank you.

Sounds like you will enjoy SF! It will be "chilly" and packing some layers is the way to go.

We've stayed at both the Hyatt at the Wharf (casual but nice) and Hyatt at Union Square (good location). The Fairmont is lovely and the service is great--prices are higher. There is a very nice smaller hotel just off Union Square called Galleria Park Hotel (it's been a couple of years, but I think that's the name) that has the feel of a Bed and Breakfast. Very friendly staff, and usually good deals.

There is so much to do in SF, it will depend on your tastes--museums, sightseeing,etc. I wouldn't miss Golden Gate Park.

Restaurants in North Beach are some of our favorites (Fior D-Italia is always good and is something of an institution)--restaurants on the Wharf have a good view. We like the Waterfront for reasonably priced and good views.

Have fun!

We stayed at the Argonaut. From our front-facing, top-floor room window we could see the Balclutha and other ships. My husband, a marine painter, also loves the sea and ships so he was in heaven. You can tour some of those ships for a small fee.

A cable car turnaround is just around the corner and the ride up the hill from there is an experience not to be missed. You can also walk to the pier to catch the boat to Alcatraz and to Ghirardelli Square. Fisherman's Wharf is horribly tacky but the Argonaut is at the end of it. Too bad you don't have more days in that fabulous city. Even though it was warm when we were there in September, it turned freezing cold in an instant when the fog rolled in.

OOOHH... The Oriana. All the way to Australia? I envy you!

Anyway, here's my fourpenneth - from a Brit who has just returned from our summer hols in San Francisco.

Don't stay at Fishermans Wharf unless you like tacky, you can do much better. We had a week in SF so we stationed ourselves at the Holiday Inn in the Financial District - it bordered Chinatown and Columbus Avenue and the Italian District. Nothing special - bog-standard Holiday Inn, but we asked for rooms high up and so were on 20th floor with spectacular views over the whole bay.

I know you don't necessarily want to do the usual tourist bit, but I can highly recommend the Alcatraz trip. Not the usual 'manicured' US history outing. They've pretty much left it as it was in '63 when it closed and the audio tour is great - narrated by ex-cons and guards! Pre-book your trip though. You can do it through the Blue and Gold Fleet website and catch the ferry from Fishermans Wharf.

Either way, you'll love it. It's one of our favourite cities in the world!

We loved the Argonaut. Though in the Fisherman's Wharf area, it's on the western edge, part of The Cannery. Half a block from the Powell/Hyde cable car turnaround, two blocks from Ghiradelli Square. It's very convenient for boat, island, motorized cable car tours, with many convenient bus and trolley stops nearby.

Daff-

Re: restaurants. If you do a search here on this forum (by typing "SF restaurants" in the search box above), you'll find lots of previous threads that discuss that topic. I've pasted 2 very recent ones for you below:

"Restaurant Choices in San Francisco"
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34517278

and

"Best San Francisco Dining"
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34517038

There's really no comparison between the Holiday Inn near Chinatown and the Argonaut. The Argonaut is much nicer, IMHO. You can't really go wrong with either!

You can get some really good hotels on Union Square via Priceline. $65 for the Hyatt is really a great steal! If you are going on Priceline, use the "Union Square East" choice.

Welcome to California!

I would recommend the Stanford Court Hot @ California and Powell - a classy and well located place just on the CC line and between the two areas you mentioned. Often good rates @ tripadvisor.com and the links to Orbitz, etal. You may want to call direct in January as rates may be lower.
Union Square and Fishermans' Wharf are not my idea of SFO - both are really tacky and full of "TT" imho.
M

Last month we spent four nights at the Orchard Hotel on Post St. What a perfect and central location! It's quiet even though the Powell St. cable car is one block away. Orchard is a boutique-style hotel built recently from the ground up. Healthy breaky held us all through the day. It's not a tower though, so no rooms with great views. Safe, evening walk to a number of great restaurants with outdoor seating.

Don't forget to buy a MUNI Passport if you want to take public transport: cable car, streetcar, and bus.

I'll just address the weather part: Dress warm!! I live in Hawaii. One year, I arrived in San Francisco on January 2. As I was walking down the street--briskly--I found I was going numb in my legs & feet. It was just so cold! Brr! Mainlanders may disagree with me, but I'm a wimpy tropical islander, so.....

Many thanks to everyone for your helpful comments, especially about the 'tacky' places! It's given us quite a few options to look into and of course we have plenty of time to finalise our plans. The Argonaut certainly looks good at the moment but we'll investigate all other suggestions.

Thanks again!

I agree that Fisherman's Wharf gets tacky & old quickly. Union Square is central and has fantastic shopping, if you are interested in that. We stayed in the Villa Florence on Union Square last month through Priceline for about $60.00 It was very nice. Later in that same trip, however, we stayed at the Stanford Court for about $70.00 and I liked the location of it better. It is located uphill from Union Square on Nob Hill. All three cable car lines pass in front of the hotel. Our last night there we walked to a local Nob Hill restaurant (I think it was called the Nob Hill Cafe?)and had a quiet dinner away from the touristy crowds. It turned out to be my favorite memory. I had been to SF many times before, so maybe I'm just a little tired of the Wharf scene.
Another thing that I had never done before was visiting Coit Tower. It was well worth the time--the view is fantastic, night or day, even from the parking lot.

Hello Daff,
Your trip is timed for the cold part of our rainy season. You'll be pleasantly surprised, however, at the "worst" weather we ever get. January will most likely be rainy, daytimes in the 50's and nights in the 40's. Occasionally we get a tiny bit of snow over night and wake up to white tops on Mt. Tamalpais and Mt. Diablo - but this only happens rarely. Air quality is great at this time of year.

I would choose a couple of neighborhoods which sound interesting to you and then take Muni out there for an afternoon walk. For instance, Cole Valley, the Castro, Pacific Heights, etc. Just ramble around wherever the view or architecture, etc. entice you. Given the choice, I would choose a hotel either around Union Square or on Nob Hill far rather than Fisherman's Wharf. The Stanford Court would be good. Just remember that whoever walks down hills has to come back up eventually!