hello. i'll be meeting up in LA with my teenage daughter as she returns home from a lengthy trip backpacking in China. I thought I would take her up to SF to, as she says "detox" from China, and reacclimate to the States, but also spend some time, check out Berkeley as a potential college, and celebrate good ol' mom's birthday. not too much in that trip, huh... My question is should we stay in SF and travel to Berkeley, or the opposite, travel to SF from Berk. and then the next q, any tips on where to stay? thanks in advance.

Definitely stay in SFO and commute to Berkley. BART crosses the Bay Bridge, so you don't really need to drive unless you want to. San Francisco has a myriad of options and price ranges.
Union Square hotels have access to the shopping district and you can walk to the Ferry Terminal. Fisherman's Wharf locations can walk to Ghiradelli Square and North Shore. No bad choices.

my daughter arrives in la on the 8th of aug, i was going to fly to sf from fla on the 5th to have a few days to myself. what do you recommend for going to la to get her?

Lot's of economic service from SFO to LAX. Alaska Air has affordable and frequent flights. If you go to Orbitz or Travelocity and test SFO to LAX you'll find that most carriers have competitive rates on this route. Southwest runs hourly shuttles from San Jose to all SoCal airports, but San Jose is a one hour or more drive from the city.

thanks, stump!!

Are you asking about modes of transportation to LA such as flying or driving. If so, you can fly to LAX and meet her--about a 1 hour flight-- and return to SF. Or since she is apparently savvy enough to backpack in China just have her fly to SFO and meet her there. Driving to LAX from SF is at least a 6 hour drive via the fastest route--I5.

Southwest is flying from Oakland airport, if you need to go from SFO to OAK, you can use BART (light rail train)

stump, is union square, whil it has shopping, but is it touristy. we live in tourist heaven here in south fla. is there somewhere in sf that would be close to transpo, have a sf "feel" to it, but not so darn touristy that we could stay? we get enough of them here from sept thru may....

SAB, yes she quite "Savvy" which i'm very proud of, but i miss her so i'll meet her in LA when she returns. thanks for the tip, tho

Unless your daughter wants to get a feel for staying around the campus area, I would also choose staying in San Francisco. The ride over on BART is quick and easy, and there are more options for hotels, shopping and restaurants in the city.

If you want to have a cheap student meal while in Berkeley, try Top Dog for a frankfurter, a local institution. You might think, a hot dog? Ick!

I had a friend whose son started in Berkeley last year. I told him about Top Dog and he looked at me and stated his family does not like processed meat. Next time I saw him he said he wished I never told him about Top Dog. Said he has been there at least six times since his son started school.

Good luck whatever you decide

Stay on the Embarcadero.

Check out the Hotel Vitale or the Harbor Court.

Curiousgeo, you are so right about Top Dog-- from another TD aficianado.

I vote East Bay! Stay There so your daughter can get a feel for the community.
Besides, it'll be sunny, not foggy. Take the train to SF.

Hi greentrtle, just so you are not confused, it is not a train per se but BART that you will take between SF and Berkeley.

Personally I would stay in SF and visit Berkeley as I think you will find the accomodations much better. Berkeley is so close via BART you could go there as many times as you wanted without spending a lot of commute time.

Best wishes, and enjoy being with your daughter..I know the feeling!!

If your daughter thinks she might attend Berkeley, then stay in Berkeley. The atmosphere is quite different from San Francisco. Berkeley hotels are older and not as luxurious but they will certainly seem upscale to someone who has been backpacking in China. The Hotel Shattuck is well located and there are lots of interesting restaurants within a few blocks. I think your daughter will find it easier to detox in Berkeley.

Is your main focus on visiting UC and getting a feel for the neighborhood? If so, definitely stay in Berkeley and commute to SF.

But if your main focus is a mother/daughter trip w/ sightseeing, dining, and "China-unwinding" and Cal is just a look-see - then definitely stay in the City and commute over to Berkeley.

thanks all, it is getting a bit overwhelming figuring out where to stay in sf, the tips about berkeley make alot of sense! so if we stay in berkeley, taking the bart to/fro sf is cool anytime of day/nite?

Hi greentrtle, here is the BART website which I hope will help you. It is: www.bart.gov

thanks love - how safe is bart at nite, and how late at nite, not that we're gonna be out at threeam, but how late can we safely take it?

BART stops running at midnight, it's safe enough, but don't go up to Richmond. The areas around the Civic Center and 16th Street stations are a bit dodgy, but nothing like Richmond. This is the city of Richmond, NOT the Richmond district of San Francisco, which is as safe as the safest areas of the City.

BTW, BART does not use the Bay Bridge it crosses under the Bay through the Trans-Bay Tube, a tunnel.