I am going to San Francisco, CA in October for 4 days, can you give me some tips?

Question

I've never been to SF but always wanted to go, so I bought tickets at great prices and now I have to find a hotel and things to do there. I am going on a budget. So, I would love to read your comments and tips: what can I expect from the city in that month weather wise, cultural events, and of course, the classic tourist things to do, where to eat, where can I get better prices and the city’s little treasures that are unknown to tourists but well known by residents. Thanks to all.

Answer 1

October is the best month to visit SF. Bring a jacket, sunglasses and an umbrella, do not leave your hotel without all three, you'll never know which combination of them you may need. Also it is advisable to dress in layers because SF has micro climates all over the city and temps can vary as much as 15 degrees!



I personally would not want to stay in the Fisherman's Wharf or Marina as they are kind of out of the way to the city center.



For your first visit Union Square is probably the best place to stay. There are lots of good restaurants, shops, theaters and clubs in the Union Square area. It is centrally located with lots of public transportation options and within walking distance of most of the tourist areas.



Driving in the city can be confusing for visitors and parking is difficult and expensive so forgoing the rental car is a good idea. Muni offers multi day passes that are good for buses, trolley, light rail and the cable cars [unique experience but $5 per ride].

http://www.sfmuni.com



Joie de Vivre http://www.jdvhospitality.com has several hotels in the Union Square area in different price points. Each hotel is unique and they have a cool free program where they match you with a local person, called a Golden Gate Greeter, who shares your interests to spend a few hours with you and familiarize yourself with the city. http://www.goldengategreeter.c...



And for some great ideas of things to do check out these websites:

http://www.jdvhospitality.com/thingstodo...

http://www.mistersf.com

For cultural and music events check out

http://www.sfgate.com

http://www.sfbg.com

http://www.sfweekly.com

For theatre info check out

http://www.theatrebayarea.org



Food options are wide open, stay away from the chain restaurants eat in local restaruants, cheaper and better food. For specific referals check out the SF dining out section of Yahoo answers.



Best places to shop for souviners to take home is Chinatown, more choices and less expensive than in the "tourist areas."



Enjoy!

Answer 2

It will most likely be foggy (SF always is) and cool - probably not cold yet, but in the 60's I would say.



China Town is fun, and if you know where you're going you can get great food for very cheap. A great tourist spot is the San Francisco Fortune Cookie Factory - a place where they still make fortune cookies by hand. It's fun to go, and there are tons of markets around that sell fruit for very very cheap. I go once every two weeks to get my fruit.



Union Square also has some of the best shopping in the world. They have a flagship Nordstrom store that is only second to the one in New York City. October will probably have some really good sales, too. There is a BART station right next to the Nordstrom if you don't want to walk too too far.



One of the best restaurants I have found in ALL of SF is The Slanted Door in the Ferry building. It's Vietnamese fusion, so it is to die for...absolutley fabulous. It's not too expensive, either. Only about $50 for 2 people - and you're STUFFED afterwards.

Answer 3

If you're trying to go on a budget, I would recommend not actually staying in the city. There are places in the area by the airport that would be much cheaper than most places in the city. You probably don't need to worry about renting a car because between BART and MUNI you should be able to get just about anywhere in the city.



I haven't spend much time in the city as a tourist, but you'll probably want to check out The Palace of Fine Arts and the Exploritorium. Coit Tower is interesting and you'll probably want to see Lombard street. I don't know if the mint is still open as a museum, but I went there as a kid and thought it was great. You'll might want to check out Haite Ashbury street (?spelling) which is kind of where the hippie culture started but it's mostly just smoke shops and tattoo shops at least as I remember from the one time I went. You will probably want to take a ride on the cable cars and maybe take a cruise on the bay - maybe a trip to Alcatraz.



If you're into shopping, I know there are a lot of stores in the Union Square area and I'm sure there are a lot of local specialty shops worth checking out.



I know there is a lot more than that to do in the city, but that pretty much sums up what I know off the top of my head.

Answer 4

My number one piece of advise is to wear layers. The weather here is fairly unpredictable. Some days the city is locked in cold fog when you wake up but as it burns off it may get fairly warm. It is a good idea to bring a lightweight jacked or sweatshirt that you can peel off. Nothing is funnier to me as a local than driving across the GG Bridge and seeing all the tourists in shorts and t-shirts freezing in the fog.



I would suggest checking out Golden Gate park, the Botanical Garden's are free and it is really a beautiful park. Pier 39 is fun to visit, as is Fishermans warf, but they are tourists traps so they are expensive. You can go check out the sea lions at Fishermans Warf/ Pier 39. This is free, but is sorta tricky to find. Walk all the way to the back of the warf and there is a door on the left.



Ghiradelli Square, China Town and Nob Hill are also good places to walk and explore.



Alcatraz is a good trip, again is fairly expensive and it books up quickly so order your tickets in advance.



The Ferry Building is also a nice place to see, it is free. There are lots of shops/restaurants in there too.



Don't forget and don't be afraid to take BART either. The price to get from one place to the other within the city is extremely minimal. In fact, you can take Bart to different locations on the East bay for only a few dollars. Visit Berkeley and see the University or Telegraph Avenue by using Bart.



Muni (Busses) is also a good way to get around the city.



Check out this website for places to visit and things to see when you are here.



http://www.sfgate.com/traveler/



Good luck and have fun

Answer 5

It's cold in October. No really. It's right on the water.



I know you're on a budget but there's a restaurant called Trader Vic's that's supposed to be amazing. It looks right out onto the golden gate bridge. . .



There's a huge gay presence there so you could explore that like no other city. . .



There are museums: MOMA is fun.



Food in SF is amazing. I'd make reservations NOW for anything five star (and --why not. carpe diem and all that. you could just get appetizers. that's what a chef friend of mine does. . . ).



take a tour of alcatraz --I think you can maybe order tickets in advance (I've gone in person and they were sold out).



There are parrots that fly around at sunset in one certain park. I can't remember where. That's on my list of things to do. . .



There are Buddhist Temples and Zen centers that you might want to visit.



There are all kinds of vegetarian, vegan places. . . that might be more Oakland, Berk., ect.



But have fun.

Answer 6

I grew up in SF. Love it there.



Oct is SF's summer. The best weather is during Oct.



- Go to Pier 39 and get fresh crab off the pier. They steam it and crack it for you.

- Go ride on a cable car or go help turn the cable cars downtown. It's free!

- The japanese tea garden in Golden Gate park or the flower garden are nice, and only a couple bucks

- Of course walk the golden gate bridge. Free

- The palace of fine arts is a really nice place to relax and it's near the exploratorium.



Have fun and eat a lot!

Answer 7

Check out the Alcatraz tour! It's interesting and creepy. You have headphones on with the tour information, so you can go at your own pace....and the sounds you hear are like as if the inmates are still there...whistles, cat calls, etc... (Unless they have changed it, I went there in 1997)

Either way, it's a great bit of American history.



http://www.alcatrazcruises.com/



Have fun, whatever you chose to do! :)

Answer 8

There is really good food in the Down Town Ferry Station Market. Talk to the hippie kids bumming money in Haight Ashburry, they can get you things..

Answer 9

k you go to pier 39 and its really fun and theres a hobo that tries to scare [people by jumping out of a bush and you have union square and little italy and little mexico wich is reallllllllly ghetto k thats about it oh yeah san francisco is like the best city ever and you wont know what to do first

Answer 10

Weather will be beautiful and sunny during the day - probably in the 70s and cool and breezy at night.



Whatever you do, you MUST have breakfast at Dotties! It freakin rocks. Neighborhood is not great, but the clientele comes from all over the city just to eat breakfast there. YUMMO!



When we go back up there to visit, we either stay with my old roomie OR stay at our favorite very inexpensive hotel on Lombard Street. Its clean, it has parking, and its super close to Union Street, Chestnut Street, and not far from Fisherman's Wharf and Ghirardhelli Square. Its called the Coventry Inn:



http://www.coventrymotorinn.com/



I lived in SF for 3 years and looooooooooooove it there. Here are some really fun things to do:



RESTAURANTS



Izzy’s Steaks & Chops (on Steiner)

Marina District

http://www.izzyssteaksandchops.com



Beach Chalet

Sunset District

http://www.beachchalet.com



Boulevard

http://www.boulevardrestaurant.com



The Fly Trap

Downtown

http://www.flytraprestaurant.com



Dotties True Blue Café

Downtown

http://www.mrbreakfast.com/r_display.asp?restid=3533



The Stinking Rose

North Beach

http://www.thestinkingrose.com



Hawthorne Lane

South of Market

http://www.hawthornelane.com



The Buena Vista

Marina District

http://www.thebuenavista.com



Osaka

Marina District

http://www.osakaonfillmore.com



HANG-OUTS



North Beach (fantastic eateries and coffee houses)

http://www.sfnorthbeach.org



Union Square

Downtown

http://www.sfgate.com/traveler/guide/sf/neighborhoods/unionsq.shtml



Golden Gate Park

Richmond District

http://www.sfgate.com/traveler/guide/sf/neighborhoods/ggpark.shtml



Haight-Ashbury

http://www.sfgate.com/traveler/guide/sf/neighborhoods/haight.shtml



Vesuvio

North Beach

http://www.vesuvio.com



Union Street

Marina District

http://www.unionstreet.com



Chestnut Street

Marina District

http://www.chestnutshop.com



Fillmore Street

Marina District

http://www.fillmorestreetsf.com



Twin Peaks

http://www.sftravel.com/twinpeakssanfrancisco.html



Pier 39

Marina District

http://www.pier39.com



Japantown

http://www.sfjapantown.org



HOTELS W/ GREAT TOP FLOOR LOUNGES



Grand Hyatt – Union Square

Downtown

http://grandsanfrancisco.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp



Mariott Hotel – Downtown

http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/SFODT

Answer 11

go to the warf see the seals then shop and see gradillia square where chocoalte is made , alcatrza is great go to camel and montary, also robin william lives theere and guy from dirty jobs mike rowe. also see the sister houses that was on full house and the crooked st, and chinatown, little italy

i mam dislexic sorry for spelling

Answer 12

Go to the 7 story mall! BEST mall ever! and also go to Chinatown. Their are many ways of transportation there so don't bother taking your car, it's wayyy too crowded and busy, the streets there. just take taxis, their charter buses, and the bart to get there.

Answer 13

If your going to San Francisco, Be sure to put some flowers in your hair......

Answer 14

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Search?returnTo=__2F__Hotel_Review__2D__g186364__2D__d191799__2D__Reviews__2D__Novotel_Sheffield__2D__Sheffield_South_Yorkshire_England__2E__html&geo=186364&q=coventry+san+francisco+california&submit.x=0&submit.y=0



Coventry looks like a good choice.

Answer 15

Bring LOTS of money!

Answer 16

I ENVY U. UAHHHHHHHH......uahhhhh.

Answer 17

have fun