<p>^^^
oooh … that’s going on the list. :)</p>
<p>zebes</p>
<p>Wow, great suggestions. I’m going to print this out and take it all in. No need for Macy’s or any other NYC type stuff. Ethnic restaurants would be great. Ferry rides sound wonderful as does the Alcatraz tour and a quaint tourist town with beach. Not a massage type vacation. Moderate would be in the ballpark of Holiday Inn prices. We’ve whale watched in Maine, but never would have thought of doing so in San Francisco!</p>
<p>Keep the suggestions coming.</p>
<p>Is SF the new CC vacation hotspot? We’re also going this summer. It’s been 24 years since we’ve done the tourist thing there, but I’ve been to the Tiburon Lodge & conference center for business multiple times (and agree it’s a beautiful, quaint town).</p>
<p>Any specific suggestions for great Chinese, Dim Sum, Sushi, and/or California Cuisine restaurants?</p>
<p>We had a lovely meal at Two in SoMa. Save room for dessert.
Try the Thirsty Bear for a unique tapas/brewpub experience.</p>
<p>I forgot two cool things to pick up somewhere at fishermans’ wharf. They have little electric bananna cart (like go carts, electric I think) rides to rent . two people, biker helmets required. I have no idea of the price but often see them going on the 49 mile scenic drive. And this may be over, but for a while you could rent segways (sp??) and scoot around.</p>
<p>Again, airport is a distance from the city (although now you can get BART…sort of) so you do not want to go back there to rent the car.</p>
<p>And since this is CC after all … take BART over to Berkley and tour the campus!</p>
<p>Ethnic restaurants -</p>
<p>Coi Palace in Daly City for Hong Kong food, or R&G Lounge in Chinatown. For Shanghainese I actually like Shanghai East in San Mateo…
Yank Sing for unusual but expensive dim sum.
Mochica in SF for Peruvian.
Bodega Bistro in SF for high end Vietnamese, unless you want even higher end and a little more fusion at Slanted Door.
Go to Chowhound.com and look for a burrito thread, that will tell you where to find the best Mission burrito/taqueria.
Ferry Building market is critical.
Have to go wander Chinatown.
Swan’s Oyster Depot for seafood, or Tadich’s if it’s sand dab season.</p>
<p>Mostly SF IMO is a walk around and see the sights, then take mass transit and see the scenery kind of place. </p>
<p>If you want to cross the bridge, you can also go to Sausilito. Great sushi at Sushi Ran, also fun but expensive comfort fish at, yes, Fish:).</p>
<p>
You can almost always rent the car from an in-town rental location and turn the car in at the airport if you want. I do this all the time although not in SF. I routinely use rental cars just for transport to the airport (which is about 40 minutes from me) - I rent a car from an in-town place a few mile away, load it up with the family, drive it to the airport, and drop it off after having sometime had the car for only an hour. Sometime I rent the night before since it doesn’t cost any more. I do the revers on the way back. It’s often more convenient and less expensive than airport parking or the airport shuttle. I’ve done this a lot between San Diego and LAX as well and there’s no dropoff charge (with Avis) even though it’s about 120 miles apart. Back in the olden days I used to routinely fly out of SJC but fly back into SFO (unplanned flights), rent a car at SFO, drive it straight to SJC in less than an hour and turn it in and then go pick up my car in the airport parking. I got some funny looks from the return rental people sometimes.</p>
<p>Major hotels in major cities (like SF) often have car rentals available from the hotel. Just make sure you tell them you’ll be dropping off at the airport and that there’s no dropoff fee. If you go to the websites for Avis, Hertz or others just put in the city rather than the airport and it should come back and show you where the rental places are. In a place like SF I wouldn’t think you’d be too far from a rental place in town.</p>
<p>Alumother,</p>
<p>Thanks for the recommendations. Will definitely be hitting some of those!</p>
<p>Just a heads up…yes, Muir Woods is stunning a definate must if you have the time. However, you must head up there from the city early otherwise you will find NO parking. Don’t plan on arriving at noon for a leisurely hike and expect a place to park the car. After Muir Woods I would suggest stopping in Sausalito (also on the north side of the GG Bridge) for drinks and dinner…very romantic.</p>
<p>I like staying in one of the hotels in Japantown. Muir Woods is a must see; We took a Segway tour of the waterfront-enjoyed it.</p>
<p>If you like walking and are in good shape, visit Coit Tower and then take the Filbert Steps down Telegraph Hill. The steps are a wonderful steep passageway along houses without street access but with great gardens complete with wonderful views and wild parrots in the trees. One of the apartments appeared in Bogie and Bacall’s Dark Passage. The Filbert Steps are one of SF’s hidden gems.</p>
<p>Alcatraz is a must (headset tour) and we also enjoyed a short visit to the Cable Car Museum. Walking across the GGB and back was a cool experience although I’m not crazy about heights :eek: and was very glad when I was safely off the bridge. If you rent a car, the view of SF and the GGB from the Marin Headlands is fabulous. Have a great trip, we just love SF.</p>
<p>A warning about visiting Alcatraz in the summer - don’t expect to just walk up to the ticket booth and get right the next couple of boats (like I tried once). Make sure you plan it enough in advance that you can get a boat when you want it. I’ve been on the tour before and I enjoyed it and definitely recommend it but the last time I tried was too last minute and exceeded my patience limit.</p>
<p>Zebes- Hearst Castle is a looong drive from San Francisco. I wouldn’t group it with the San Francisco trip unless you are driving up from So. Cal anyway.</p>
<p>Is it worthwhile to stay in San Francisco and do a day trip to the wine country - or better to spend a night or two there? </p>
<p>Also, regarding the recommendations NOT to stay near Fisherman’s Wharf … is that because it is more expensive or because it is not centrally located?</p>
<p>There is something to be said for overweighting in Napa, especially if you are into wine and restaurants, have more than three wineries you want to visit, or if you want t to do Napa AND Sonoma. Adds quite an expense, though. My problem with the Fisherman Wharf area is, is it’s so touristy. Nothing really good around. I wouldn’t assume it was more expensive than Union Square, which is my preference. Near shopping, Chinatown,shopping, food, shopping. Oh, and shopping.</p>
<p>So staying in Napa is really expensive?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I actually don’t agree with this advice. It’s touristy, of course, but it’s actually pretty convenient, public transport (F-line trolley cars are awesome) and of course cablecar, and you can walk to chinatown and north beach (“little italy”). You can rent a bike and ride across the golden gate bridge too if you want from there, through the Marina district which is nice.</p>
<p>Some of the downtown hotels are pretty dicey at night, actually. Maybe not dangerous in reality, but kinda scary to the uninitiated.</p>
<p>If you’re there on a weekday (weekend too crowded), Mama’s [in north breach across from washington square park] for breakfast on Stockton and Filbert, also the Focaccia store (Liguria Bakery) across the street, ask them to cut it up for you, I like olive and raisin green onion is good too.</p>
<p>Maybe someone mentioned it but if you like baseball SF Giants game is really fun, beautiful stadium.</p>
<p>Brother’s for korean bbq.</p>
<p>So staying in Napa is really expensive?</p>
<p>Actually I don’t think I’ve done it , but the finest places seem to be. A night in San Francisco seems so much more exciting, but I spend plenty of days in Napa. I do overnight in SF a lot though, and midweek packages (look for a parking package if you must have a care) are pretty okay.</p>
<p>I live in SF (but am only 18), so here’s my two cents:</p>
<ul>
<li> Staying around Fisherman’s Wharf is probably better than downtown, but I’d recommend picking a neighborhood and finding a smaller hotel there to get a better sense of the city. The city really is pretty manageable, so it won’t be too difficult to get to the tourist-y areas.</li>
<li> Stay overnight in Napa. It’s kind of close, but not THAT close. It is pretty expensive, but I’m sure there are exceptions. If you’re looking for a nice getaway area that’s a little cheaper and closer (but without all the wine), check out Half Moon Bay. It’s right south of the city on the ocean.</li>
<li> For nice scenery, head right across the bridge into the Marin Headlands. There are beautiful paths that look over both the ocean and the city.</li>
<li> Alcatraz…eh. If you’re into prisons, go for it, but book it way in advance. It’s one of those things that no local has ever done. I’d recommend the one hour bay cruise instead, or the ferry to Tiburon (right in Marin, nice place for lunch, less crowded than Sausalito). No reservation necessary.</li>
<li> Japan Town is really neat, and less crazy than Chinatown (though that’s probably the appeal).</li>
</ul>
<p>Oh, and check out [City</a> Guides: Free San Francisco Walking Tours](<a href=“http://www.sfcityguides.org/]City”>http://www.sfcityguides.org/) There are a million tours, it’s completely free, and my mom’s one of the guides. :)</p>
<p>Star Alummother’s post, I love everything in SF she does. I’ll especially second Yank Sing for the earth’s best dim sum. I love the Ferry Building and especially the outdoor farmer’s market next to it. The NY Times had a recent article about SF’s amazing markets, you can get it free on their web site.</p>
<p>During our last visit we stayed at the White Swan which is a reasonably priced B & B near Union Square. It has the charm of an English Country Inn. It’s owned by a chain that has several reasonably priced themed small hotels in the city, Joie de Vivre, which you can google for info and rates.</p>
<p>In Union Square my favorite restaurant is Scala which is owned by the people who own Masa, one of SF’s best and most expensive restaurants. Scala has many similar dishes at reasonable prices.</p>
<p>Go to the Mission for amazing burritos dirt cheap.</p>
<p>Hearst Castle is about 3 hours from SF, and personally I think that area and Santa Barbara are more interesting than Napa. Of course I can’t drink wine…but the coast is so beautiful and you get to drive on beautiful Highway 1 through historic Steinbeck country, see Carmel, the castle and then the amazing city of SB! Awesome trip!!</p>
<p>I will live in SF one day! Have fun!!</p>