Visiting SF for a week from NY. (San Francisco, Oakland: rentals, condo)

[jaelambert1]

Hello,
First post here and was looking for helpful advice as I dont have much experience traveling. SF is a city Ive always been intrested in and possibly have the opportunity of visiting this coming August. I will be going with my mom and sister and have found airplane tickets for about 1300 for the three of us. Not sure if thats a good price? Or where can I find cheaper?

Also where would you all recommend staying at? Hotels, hostels? Would be looking for a safe place and with good night life and not very expensive because we will stay for a week.

For the most part I have the places I want to go covered, mostly want to see the bridge of cource and muir woods and several other great spots. I have an idea of the places I want to avoid also. A question I have though is, is the trip worth it, it looks like kind of a small city and also been reading on one of the other threads about "not feeling SF" and other run down spots. I know its common in cities, being from nyc I know all the less liked spots, but for sure I want to know first hand experience and more suggestions on where we can visit doesnt have to be limited to just the city.

Thanks.

[Chava61]

Plenty of places to visit within San Francisco: the Cable Car Museum, Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz Island, Coit Tower, Lombard Street, the Japanese Tea Garden and more.

[LittleDolphin]

Definitely worth it!

Here are some off-beat ideas that will give you the flavor of the City known as San Francisco:

Cheap Fun | Quirky San Francisco

20 quirky, fun and trendy places to explore in San FranciscoTravel Photo Discovery

quirky/bizarre/hidden places and things to do | San Francisco | Yelp

[Ruth4Truth]

Pick up the Sunday SF Chronicle, and look at the Entertainment section (pink pages). You'll find listings for free concerts all over the Bay Area, and many other events.

Outside the city, off the beaten track: Fort Ross State Park. This is a Russian fort dating from the time the Russians were in Alaska. They'd come down to northern Cal to trade for supplies with the Mexican authorities at the Presidio (in SF--also worth a visit, good to combine with a walk part way across GG Bridge). Getting to Fort Ross involves a scenic drive through the countryside north of SF. En route, you can divert to Muir Woods, a redwood forest (you MUST experience redwoods while in the SF area!), and if time allows and you like historic sites, to General Mariano Vallejo's home. Vallejo was the last Mexican general to govern California.

Golden Gate Park has a number of attractions: the flower conservatory there, the Japanese Tea Garden, and the California Academy of Sciences, which has an aquarium. The park ends at the beach, also worth a nice stroll, if the sun's out. NOTE: the fog usually burns off by about noon or earlier, depending on what part of town you're in.

http://www.fortross.org
www.sonomadocents.org/vallejo.html
www.nps.gov/muwo/

[LakeLifePA]

Make sure you take the time to really walk the city. In my opinion it's the most walkable city in the country if you enjoy that type of thing. When I lived there and had my kids visit, they absolutely loved walking all over. They still talk about it to this day.

[Ruth4Truth]

OP, it's not clear whether your $1300 = total for 3, or if it's per person. If that's for 3 people, you got a steal on the airfare.

Better book your hotel NOW for the very busy August tourist season. SF can book out very fast. What does "not very expensive" mean to you? You can get hotel rooms for between $50-$90/night, but they're not in good locations, and the cheaper rooms are booked out already. Google B & B's in SF, and see what comes up. You're getting a late start. I wonder if you'd be able to rent a condo for a week for all of you. It might be cheaper at this point, if you can find one.

You can try this site, they have several apts. http://www.flipkey.com/san-francisco...entals/g60713/

[jaelambert1]

Thanks for all the great replies. The 1300 would be for the three of us but now im worried about the hotel bookings I better start today.

And yes we chose SF as the place to vist because it seems we can walk to most parts and because it is foggy and chilly in august compared to our unbearable NY heat

[GalacticDragonfly]

Originally Posted by jaelambert1

Hello,
First post here and was looking for helpful advice as I dont have much experience traveling. SF is a city Ive always been intrested in and possibly have the opportunity of visiting this coming August. I will be going with my mom and sister and have found airplane tickets for about 1300 for the three of us. Not sure if thats a good price? Or where can I find cheaper?

Also where would you all recommend staying at? Hotels, hostels? Would be looking for a safe place and with good night life and not very expensive because we will stay for a week.

For the most part I have the places I want to go covered, mostly want to see the bridge of cource and muir woods and several other great spots. I have an idea of the places I want to avoid also. A question I have though is, is the trip worth it, it looks like kind of a small city and also been reading on one of the other threads about "not feeling SF" and other run down spots. I know its common in cities, being from nyc I know all the less liked spots, but for sure I want to know first hand experience and more suggestions on where we can visit doesnt have to be limited to just the city.

Thanks.

It is a small city, however its really connected with the cities surrounding like--like boroughs--staying just in SF is like staying just in Manhattan. There's great places to visit in Berkeley, lots of restaurants, scenic areas, and hippie shops. This can be accessed by the BART subway. Great restaurants in Downtown Oakland as well. But yes, SF is a small city, so you might want to explore the great city regions of the San Francisco Bay Area.