HELP needed by fish-out-of-water questions for trip to San Fran (San Francisco: rental, crime)

[joe_obody999]

Hi
Traveling to San Fran around July 6 for 2-3 nights to see Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz, Golden Gate Bridge. From the midwest, Minnesota, nervous about the traffic and costs and as always crime/safety. Planning on getting an airbnb apt/house rental in Oakland/Berkley area as I am traveling with a friend and need two bedrooms and wow hotels are expensive in San Fran. I know NOTHING about the area, ever been to California let alone San Francisco!

Two Concerns
1) Crime / safety: are there areas of Oakland/Berkley general area i should stay clear of when booking a vacation rental apt/house? Every area has its crime usually clustered in a small area, I don't want to end up in such an area!

2) Parking in San Francisco. What is the best way to park in San Fran to see the typical tourist sites? And is there a toll (and how much does it cost?) to cross the bridge from Oakland/Berkley over to San Francisco? I figure we have to rent an airbnb and then drive across the bridge (20 minutes?) then park in San Francisco to see Chinatown, Wharf, Alcatraz, but I have NO IDEA where we should park, or could we park somewhere to get on a tour that would show us all that? Is parking in the $30/day places I see on google maps safe? Should we park an entire day or just do hourly and move around park at various places? I don't want to walk across San Francisco to see tourist stuff, a 10 block walk and back from parking is doable.

Any help greatly appreciated!

[daepro]

Hi You will no doubt be quite favorably impressed with this trip. Suggest you leave the car in Oakland when you come to SF and take the Ferry from Jack London Square into SF. This gives you an amazing view of the city and puts you pretty much where you want to be in SF. You can then walk to all those sights you listed saving you the headache of finding parking which really sucks
in SF.
Enjoy your visit and I bet most likely you will want to come back.

[Charles22]

Bring a jacket.

[jade408]

I agree about the ferry! Great tourist experience.

Do you have basic urban street smarts?

Generally I'd say don't stay west of MLKish in Oakland. You also want to stay above the lake or it just gets too far and not walkable enough. And west of Sacramento in Berkeley, unless you are north of University. But in reality those locations aren't super convenient anyway.

Also look at the Marriott in Oakland. Ideal location for touristing to SF. Right above BART and about a 15 minute walk to the Ferry (there is a free bus as well).

P.S. You do not want to drive to SF to park in those areas. Parking is a pain in the butt. You can always drive to the Ferry at Jack London Square, and park there. Remember if you happen to miss the last Ferry, it is about a 12-15 minute walk from the 12th St BART to the Ferry.

[zitsky]

You don't really need to worry about safety in most places. Most tourist areas are safe. Don't get freaked out by homeless people.

Driving is not a big deal in SF if you have an automatic transmission, just a pain if you drive a stick shift. Finding parking is a pain, but you can usually find a parking garage a few blocks away from where you're going. That said, I would agree with the folks that say take public transit if you can.

[joe_obody999]

Originally Posted by daepro

Hi You will no doubt be quite favorably impressed with this trip. Suggest you leave the car in Oakland when you come to SF and take the Ferry from Jack London Square into SF. This gives you an amazing view of the city and puts you pretty much where you want to be in SF. You can then walk to all those sights you listed saving you the headache of finding parking which really sucks
in SF.
Enjoy your visit and I bet most likely you will want to come back.

Oh my thor that would be so awesome to not have to drive to San Fran , to just park and take a ferry! I am going to look into that, see where that Jack London Square is. Would save on parking, save not having to maneuver traffic, etc!

Is parking free where we would go to catch that ferry?

[joe_obody999]

Originally Posted by jade408

I agree about the ferry! Great tourist experience.

... Right above BART ....

Can i buy a vowel, lol? BART ?!?

[PBob]

Originally Posted by Charles22

Bring a jacket.

I had to laugh; you're telling a guy from Minnesota to bring a jacket. But you're absolutely right. People visit San Francisco expecting beach weather...and sandy beaches.

To the OP, BART is Bay Area Rapid Transit, light rail connecting Oakland, Berkeley, San Francisco and selected parts of the Bay Area (minus Marin, most of Silicon Valley...) Bay Area Rapid Transit | bart.gov Kind of like MSP's METRO (Blue, Red, Green and, someday, Orange) though much of BART is underground. It's a good way to get around broadly, but coverage within San Francisco or Oakland or Berkeley is spotty. You'll need a bus for that. In San Francisco, its MUNI, which also has a light rail component. https://www.sfmta.com/ MUNI is skankier than MSP Metro Transit buses, but safe...if you hold on firmly while standing.

If you use Uber within the city, it works pretty well. Uber Pool is pretty cheap.

[humboldtrat]

Don't try to drive or park in SF.

Use BART to get from Oakland to SF Station List | bart.gov The ferry is OK too.

In SF, use the Muni Metro light rail and/or ride on a cable car. I think you can still get 1, 3 or 7 passes for unlimited rides. UrbanRail.Net > North America > USA > California > San Francisco Muni Metro and Cable Car Routes & Maps

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by joe_obody999

Hi
Traveling to San Fran around July 6 for 2-3 nights to see Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz, Golden Gate Bridge. From the midwest, Minnesota, nervous about the traffic and costs and as always crime/safety. Planning on getting an airbnb apt/house rental in Oakland/Berkley area as I am traveling with a friend and need two bedrooms and wow hotels are expensive in San Fran. I know NOTHING about the area, ever been to California let alone San Francisco!

Two Concerns
1) Crime / safety: are there areas of Oakland/Berkley general area i should stay clear of when booking a vacation rental apt/house? Every area has its crime usually clustered in a small area, I don't want to end up in such an area!

2) Parking in San Francisco. What is the best way to park in San Fran to see the typical tourist sites? And is there a toll (and how much does it cost?) to cross the bridge from Oakland/Berkley over to San Francisco? I figure we have to rent an airbnb and then drive across the bridge (20 minutes?) then park in San Francisco to see Chinatown, Wharf, Alcatraz, but I have NO IDEA where we should park, or could we park somewhere to get on a tour that would show us all that? Is parking in the $30/day places I see on google maps safe? Should we park an entire day or just do hourly and move around park at various places? I don't want to walk across San Francisco to see tourist stuff, a 10 block walk and back from parking is doable.

Any help greatly appreciated!

Between Oakland or Berkeley, I would definitely choose Berkeley. Have you looked around Millbrae, Daly City, San Bruno, South San Francisco? I really hate dealing with the Bay Bridge.

1) Use common sense about crime, it's not a big deal unless you stay in the ghetto, but just make sure the airbnb has good reviews. If you have a specific address, you can post it here.

2) There is a toll going from Oakland to San Francisco, but no toll going from San Francisco to Oakland. It ranges from $4 to $6. San Francisco has parking garages in the downtown area that are easy to park. When you venture out toward Golden Gate Park, Marina District, Golden Gate Bridge, Twin Peaks, Fort Funston etc you will have street parking. Most people in San Francisco have cars and drive, but you can get around on foot and public transportation as well. I personally drive everywhere in San Francisco. You could take BART to downtown and then ride the cable car and then walk back to BART. They sell MUNI passes as well for unlimited riding (excluding BART). I would highly recommend spending a day going across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito and Mt Tamalpais.