San Francisco: Leave heart, not wallet
| • | Stepping it through San Francisco |
By Kristin Jackson
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
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Whether you're going to San Francisco for a weekend or a week, here are ways to save money:
Flights: Check airfares to Oakland as well as San Francisco; Oakland flights sometimes are cheaper, and the airport is just across the Bay Bridge from San Francisco.
Ground transport: BART trains (Bay Area Rapid Transit) serve both airports; BART has a station in the San Francisco International Airport. At Oakland International Airport, an AirBART shuttle bus takes travelers to the Coliseum/Oakland Airport station. It's about a half-hour ride from either airport to downtown. The one-way fare from San Francisco airport to the downtown Powell Street station is $5.15; from the Coliseum/Oakland Airport, it's $3.35. Information: www .bart.gov/ (click on Airport Connections).
Car rentals: Don't rent a car. Hotel parking can cost $30 a night or more in the city center, and street parking is tough to find during the day. Public transit is excellent — and you can walk almost anywhere in the heart of the city. If you want to take a day trip out of town, or explore farther-flung neighborhoods, rent a car just for a day.
Getting around: Walk. Take BART, city buses, cable cars (maybe just once, since it's $5 per ride) and the vintage F-line streetcars that connect the Union Square area, Ferry Building and Fisherman's Wharf. Many companies offer bus/van tours of the city and farther-flung sights; hotels have brochures.
Where to stay: Hotels are the big budget-buster, and San Francisco has many $250-plus per night. Some ways to find better deals:
Two hostels are near Union Square; the third is just west of Fisherman's Wharf in Fort Mason, a waterfront former military base that's now home to nonprofit groups. All three hostels have dorm and private rooms. They're nothing fancy, but the price is right. A bunk in a shared room begins around $23 a night ($3 more per night if you're not a Hostelling International member); private rooms begin at about $60 (more for rooms with a private bathroom). The hostels have self-catering kitchens and TV lounges/common rooms. Information: sfhostels.com/; (888) 464-4872. Annual HI membership is $28.
A good source of travelers' opinions on C-Two hotels (and hotels worldwide) is TripAdvisor, www.tripadvisor.com. Search by hotel name, and you'll find individuals' comments about their stays.
Try for a high-floor room; the views stretch from downtown high-rises to Alcatraz Island and the ocean. In fall, rates for a one-bedroom suite average around $195 a night, but there's a $20 online rebate for the first night and $25 for following nights; there's also a free continental breakfast. www.grosvenorsuites .com; (415) 421-1899.
I've stayed at its Hotel Palomar, a great location near Union Square shopping action and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Rates often are above $200 a night, but watch for specials sometimes posted on its Web site, www.kimptonhotels .com. The Palomar, with its stylish restaurant, lobby and room, was much fancier than Grosvenor Suites, but I preferred the space and views of the Grosvenor.
CityPass: The San Francisco CityPass gives admission to selected museums and also includes a bay cruise and a seven-day transit pass (for buses, cable cars and streetcars). It's economical if you go to at least several museums; it includes the excellent San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Exploratorium, a kid-friendly science center. It costs $49 for an adult; $39 for a youth. www.city pass.com; (888) 330-5008.
Boat tours: The big tour boats of the Blue & Gold Fleet offer an hour-long bay cruise from Fisherman's Wharf to Golden Gate Bridge and back for about $18. Small boats cover the same route for less.
I hopped aboard the Bass-Tub, a fish boat that offers bay tours when it's not doing fishing charters. It cost $10 per person for the hour ride; only a dozen of us were aboard on a foggy afternoon.
Find it (www.basstub.net; (415) 456-9055) and other fish/tour boats at the small-boat dock by Jefferson and Jones Streets in the Fisherman's Wharf area.
