Sao Francisco Parking
 

Hey my friends from Fodors.

I´m going to stay 2 nights in San Francisco, arriving by car from Yosemite Route. I´m looking for a Accomodation with parking, just find some in expedia and other sites. Expensive ones.

So, Is SF a easy place to parking even paying? i just have 1 full day to have a tour around the city and i´m really confused, i dont know if i could make this by car or public transportation.

Some tips?

tnkssssssssssssssss,
Juliano.

Try the Columbus Motor Inn http://www.columbusmotorinn.com/ and its sister properties. I believe they all have free parking and are fairly reasonably priced.

Lee Ann

Tnks.

and about get the car during the day to drive to main tourism points. like peer wharf ... its easy to park?

Juliano

Are you asking if it is easy to find paid parking in SF or whether you can find a place to stay with parking? Your question is somewhat confusing. If it is a place to stay see Lee Ann's post. If you are asking about parking in general, the answer depends on where you are. In downtown and areas popular with tourists you can usually find parking IF you are willing to pay. In many neighborhoods that don't have parking garages or lots, street parking can be hard to find at times (i.e. Haight, Cole Valley, Noe Valley, Pacific Heights, Alamo Square, NOPA).

Park the car at whatever hotel you stay at and then either walk or take public transit to go see the sights. You will waste a lot of time [and money] looking for places to park near popular tourist spots, like the wharf.

While that is true that parking is sometimes hard to find, and can be expensive when you find it, it is also true that there are parts of the city that are much easier and faster to get to with a car than by public transportation (although public transportation in San Francisco is generally excellent). If you are going to spend you time downtown and at Fisherman's Wharf, then by all means, park the car at a hotel and take public transportation. If you want to go across the Golden Gate Bridge, to the Marin Headlands, Twin Peaks, Land's End, even Golden Gate Park, having a car is much much easier. Also, if you want to criss-cross the city (go from place to place) it might also be easier if you have a car.

So, what do you plan to do with your one day here?

I really don't know.

Just figuring out some places to visit, i wanna visit Wharf, Golden Gate, Alcaltraz and other places. My wife is looking for some places. :-)

I just reserve a Hotel in Mission Street, the cheapest hotel with parking.

At night its easy to park in the city? i will have 2 nights and wanna go out to some disco or pub.

I have just 1 day, so i wanna take the car if its necessary pay to park, its just for a day. i need do this to save tim.

Some tips Fodorits?

tnkssssssssss,
Juliano.

"I just reserve a Hotel in Mission Street, the cheapest hotel with parking."

Exactly which hotel and what is the address?? There are some not very good areas on Mission.

Deb, you beat me to it!

not by much, sf!

Deb and sf The Vitale is on Mission, so there is hope.

Good responses by the SF crew. As for going out clubbing at night - best you get there one way or another - say public transportation earlier in the night - and then take a cab home. You don't want to be nabbed for drinking and driving - a very stiff fine/penalty, etc.

And personally - I would say check out the other hotels down on Lombard v. staying in the Mission. Easier to catch a bus to downtown, the wharf, etc, and there are some nice places to dine, drink, etc on both nearby Chestnut and Union Streets.

A number of them include parking.

http://www.lombardstreethotels.com/

Hotel Mission IN
5630 Mission Street
San Francisco (California), CA 94112

I wont drink and drive.. :-)

Now i´m going to search this places and try to find a good place to stay, i can cancel my reservation, i just travel in mid August.

Other hotels or motels?

Omg, I hate to overact, but there is no way in hell I would stay there!! Did you look at pictures and reviews on Tripadvisor?

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...a.html#REVIEWS

Best bet -
http://www.columbusmotorinn.com/

And if you are still considering that motel, it is pretty far removed from the sites in SF.

How much are you willing to spend a night? Check out my favorite Motel in the Lombard St. area - which costs a bit more but I think it is worth it.

It's called the Coventry Motor Inn at Union and Lombard.

You are close to both Union
St and Chestnut, and it has good bus service, or one street away, etc.

Didn't hear any traffic noise when I spent 3 nights there, and I remember it being built - way back in the late 70's was it? - replacing a Doggie Diner of all things. :)

http://tinyurl.com/8992h3u

There are actually 5 "sister" properties owned by the same company - Coventry and Columbus being 2 of them; Cow Hollow, Chelsea and Lombard being the others.

Between these 5 you should find a clean, safe, reasonably priced, well located room and I think they all have free parking.

Oh my goodness!! ;-)

I can cancel my reservation.. tnks

So, i need a place to park and i wanna spend around 70-90 u$ a night for a couple. This motel i reserve for 65 one night.

Sorry - but your budget is not realistic. San Francisco is a pretty expensive hotel city. Even 'cheap' motels can be expensive. You haven't said what the rest of your itinerary is, but REALLY consider dropping your rental car when you get to San Francisco. Especially if you are flying home from there.

Use the savings from the shorter rental to raise your budget to at least $100 a night.

Ohh my god... :-)

i cant drop my car, i´m going to LA and arriving from Yosemite by car.

Ok, i can pay 100 u$ or more, but i´m looking for places just to sleep and take a shower.

This is a good hotel, great location [parking is extra]. Try for a room with a shared hall bath [which are kept VERY clean].

http://www.themosser.com/queensuite.php#sharedqueen-tab

tnks. i´m trying expedia.com , priceline.com and other ones :-)

Juliano

Did you even look at the links that have been provided here?? You ask for suggestions and then don't even follow up - ok. Good luck.

i just find this, reading some comments.

Hotel North Beach
935 Kearny Street, North Beach, CA 94103 São Francisco

Sorry. i had check every link, but for now i´m looking for some cheaper than this ones, for this cause i´m checking expedia and priceline.

tnks,
Juliano.

priceline is no good except for the "name your own price" bidding section. And you can't check prices for that. Though you can use sites like betterbidding.com to see what sorts of bids are being accepted. Priceline's rates on the other side of the site (where you book directly) are no better than booking through hotels directly.

Juliano, you may just need to change your expectations. I'd love to be able to stay in SF for $75-$90 a night - but even bidding on priceline, that is nearly impossible. And hotel taxes are very high in SF so even a $90 room if you can find one, will be over $100 when they add the tax.

Save money in other parts of your trip and splurge a bit in San Francisco. If you do find a place that is really cheap -- there will be a reason. And often the reason is an unsafe location or a really nasty property.

Here's another possibility. We stayed there about four years ago, so I don't know if it's still decent, but try http://www.marinamotel.com/ on Lombard. Free parking, breakfast is included, and it's very easy to get on public transportation. You won't need to drive your car in San Francisco, really.

Another option is one of Hostelling International's properties, though I don't know if any of them besides the Fort Mason location offer parking. http://www.hihostels.com/dba/Hostels...city=US%7C0059

Lee Ann

Please check the recommendations we have given you. You don't want to go too cheap in SF. You will get bad, worse, and unsafe.

Marina motel its around 200 u$ a day.

So, now i´m looking for anything safe and good for my 1 day tour, using my car or public transportation.

Hostels it´s my favorite places for many reasons, but now a place to park the car it´s going to main point in next accommodation.

Now i´m reading some comments in tripadvisor about some places near downtown, Soma and Marina.

tnks a lot
Juliano

What are the exact dates you need a room?

18 to 20 august, arriving at 18 from Vegas, depart vegas around 6 a.m, drive trough Death valley and yosemite.

tnks,

The Mosser has a deluxe full room with private bath for $169. It has a queen with a shared, hall bath for $119. I have stayed there, it is a really good location, nice place to stay. I doubt you are going to find anything better at any where near that price. Parking is $33 plus tax. I'd grab it if I was you.

AAA or AARP rate for room is under $107 if you should be a member of either.

Elendilpickle has given you the best recommendation to meet your budget price.

Try the Hostelling International hostel at Fort Mason. It's in a beautiful location and it has free parking, which is VERY RARE in San Francisco.

Here's their website:

http://www.hihostels.com/dba/hostels...-060001.en.htm

They have private rooms if you want to have a place just for yourself and your wife. It's called "HI Hostel at Fisherman's Wharf", but it's a bit further west in Fort Mason, which is really a lovely place to stay.

I'm not much of a fan of the Columbus Inn et al motels because they are located on Lombard Street which is VERY NOISY. In the same area, you might want to try the Hotel Del Sol, which is "off" Lombard, is quieter, and offers free parking.

Here's a list of SF hotels from Yelp with free parking. Please check and make certain that whichever hotel you choose from the list still has free parking, as the situation changes from time to time.

http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc...rancisco%2C+CA

Welcome to California! You are from Brazil or Portugal? Love the way you spell the name of our favorite city! :)

"<i>depart vegas around 6 a.m, drive trough Death valley and yosemite.</i>"

Whoa!! You have a much bigger problem than finding a cheap room w/ parking.Your plan is next to impossible. That is nearly a TWELVE hour drive <u>without any stops</u>.

In reality it takes about 2 full days to drive from Las Vegas > Death Valley > Yosemite > San Francisco

Now I am still sometimes a "Road Warrior" - but even so - it would be a very long day driving from Las Vegas - up through Death Valley and 395 - thru Yosemite and on into SF.

It's 8 hours to get to the Yosemite Village/floor alone - and then 4 more into SF - assuming you don't hit traffic.

Suggest you try to get a room http://www.nationalparkreservations....FcYBRQodC3IAZA - or even a campsite if you have a sleeping bag - or blankets. Even if you don't have a tent - you could sleep in the car one night even if it's not the most compfortable - or totally legal - but the Rangers usually don't hassle you if you are just doing it one night. Just don't have a lot of open food in the car - as if you do - the bears might come pay you a visit. :)

Check both Tuolumne Meadows or the Village at Yo for campsites - or Curry Village even for a tent cabin - and enjoy that and don't try to press on into SF - again - another 4 hours from the Valley floor, and during which time - you might fall asleep at the wheel.

I´m from Brazil ;-)

About travel from Vegas to SF, i´m really analyzing the fast way, wont pass in Death Valley and Yosemite. Or depart vegas around 3 a.m a day before my plans and sleep near yosemite.

I just check Hi Hostel Wharf and have just shared rooms. Where did you find information about parking in this hostel?

Now i´m analyzing the hotels in yelp.

I´m really thinking about pay get a hostel near Downtown and pay to park.

My plan is to get up early, get the car and go to Golden Gate, after that stops near Wharf region or Downtown and just walk around or get public transportation.

I do not advise getting a hostel in the downtown area as they are usually in a bad neighborhood.

Would suggest that you bid priceline and pay a bit more but get a decent room with paid parking. Try bidding Union Square EAst or Fisherman's Wharf. Check out biddingfortraveldotcome or betterbiddingdotcom for the current winning bids before you make a bid.

If you are willing to go up a bit in price, then check out DebitNM's suggestion of The Mosser, where, I believe the less expensive rooms have shared bathrooms. You will need to pay for parking.

It's too bad the HI hostel at Fort Mason doesn't have any rooms left for couples.

Another resource is airbnbdotcom. I recommend that you use EXTREME CAUTION when using this website. You will be staying in someone's private home/apartment. Try and get a room with at least several reviews. Don't go with a brand new listing with no reviews, if you have never used airbnb before. Also make certain of the location - some places may be very far away from where you want to be.

Good luck! Brazilians are among the friendliest people I've had the good fortune to meet in my travels!

"<i>About travel from Vegas to SF, i´m really analyzing the fast way, wont pass in Death Valley and Yosemite. </i>"

That is not a better option.

The 'fast' route still takes 10 hours plus stops -- so in reality about 11 or 12 hours . . . and it is mostly HOT, <u>UGLY</u>, and <B><u>BORING

If you want to zip it in 10 hours - go for it, but I would get up at 3 AM - go via Death Valley (hey - it would be under a 100 when you go through) - and then enjoy the beauty of Yosemite - even if you have to poach (sleep) in the parking lot for a few hours.

You could pull in between some cars - and put the seat back and grab a few hours shuteye - and then be on your way to SF without worrying about falling asleep at the wheel. You could also take a shower at Camp Curry, etc - and freshen up. Much better way to go IMO.

Tnks.

I just decide to keep my choice and stay in Mission In at Mission st. just talk with my wife and read some comments at tripadvisor, i need a room just to sleep, i will use the car around this 1 day and pay to park at downtown.

Many tnks for the tips. :-)