SF. Car-less first timer suggestions. (San Francisco, Stockton: car rental, rental, hotel)

[mamajoy]

Hello! I'm planning a girls trip to SF in March. Everyone says "You don't need a car in SF". But none of us has ever traveled without a car before...so this is a little out of our comfort zone. We don't use public transit either, so that's not something we're familiar with.

We're going to be staying in the Marina district. Taxi estimates it to be around $70 for a ride from the airport. Are there other options? Would uber or other services be cheaper? Are there any other alternatives that I'm might not be aware of?

We're renting a car because we are planning a day trip to Napa and we want to hit a couple of malls. But we're trying to save as much as we can were we can so I'm starting to look into this. Maven car sharing is right around the corner from us, but I haven't read much positive reviews. Any other suggestions?

Thank you!

[bmw335xi]

Just use Uber... it's cheap, easy, fast, safe... I'd never use a taxi in SF, bunch of con-artists taking the long route when they know their passengers aren't familiar with the streets

[mamajoy]

Thank you for your reply.

Is Uber as dependable as a taxi service? We will be traveilng with 5, so I'm not sure if it's harder to coordinate for a bigger group.

As you can see..we aren't familiar with Uber either. :-)

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by mamajoy

Thank you for your reply.

Is Uber as dependable as a taxi service? We will be traveilng with 5, so I'm not sure if it's harder to coordinate for a bigger group.

As you can see..we aren't familiar with Uber either. :-)

It's the most reliable thing out there haha because you can track where they are before pick up, the fastest route when you get picked up, and where you are while in the car so you know you arent going somewhere else or whatever. Lyft is also good, its the exact same as Uber pretty much.

[Maceart]

Uber, duh. It's headquartered in SF and is basically the way to get around if you don't have a car.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by mamajoy

Hello! I'm planning a girls trip to SF in March. Everyone says "You don't need a car in SF". But none of us has ever traveled without a car before...so this is a little out of our comfort zone. We don't use public transit either, so that's not something we're familiar with.

We're going to be staying in the Marina district. Taxi estimates it to be around $70 for a ride from the airport. Are there other options? Would uber or other services be cheaper? Are there any other alternatives that I'm might not be aware of?

People who say you don't need a car in SF don't know what they are talking about and generally limit themselves to the tourist areas east of Van Ness Blvd. If your hotel has free parking in the Marina I would get a weekly car rental. The rental rates are about $200-250/week cheaper if you rent from a non-airport location.

I see Uber as a potential problem if you have 5 passengers since most vehicles have room for four passengers. You could book an Uber SUV but that will cost more.

In order to use public transit you must research the system and find out which bus lines to take. The 30 bus will be your most useful bus if you stay in the Marina area.

https://www.sfmta.com/sites/default/...20Stockton.pdf

Attractions in the western part of the city like Twin Peaks,Legion of Honor, Land's End, Ocean Beach & Golden Gate Park are best accessed by car. Also it is great to drive down the coast highway to Pacifica, Montara Beach, Pillar Point Harbor and Half Moon Bay. Muir Woods is also a great place to visit but only on a weekday due to weekend crowds. I suggest using public transit for the tourist part of the city east of Van Ness and driving to attractions in the western part of the city.

[LiveUrban]

You can take the BART (a commuter rail train) from San Francisco's airport deeper into the city. I think the Embarcadero Station is the closest to where you are staying. https://www.bart.gov/guide/airport/outbound_sfo

[ssxa]

We just got back from a family trip to San Fran a few weeks ago. You can walk to a lot of places, and for everything else we used Uber. Far better than a taxi! They have different levels of Uber (both for number of passengers and for luxury level). You choose that on the app when you request a ride.

[Strigoi]

With 5 people rent a car.

[tikkasf]

On any given day, there are a estimated several thousand Lyft & Uber cars prowling the streets of SF. Last time I used Lyft, 2 or 3 min after I ordered the ride, the car showed up. If you don't use a SMART phone, there are services, for a modest fee, will order the ride for you.

Report finds 5,700 Uber, Lyft drivers operating on San Francisco streets during typical weekday | abc7news.com