Honeymoon in San Francisco

[AlohaKeke]

Hi Everyone!

My Fiance and I are thinking about going to San Francisco for a few nights for our honeymoon I am trying to figure out the best place to stay so that we wouldn't need to rent a car and could also have great views. I read good things about the Huntington Hotel, but I am worried that the views might not be the best. Does anyone have any recommendations for not only hotels but also what we must see or do while we are there? We are only thinking about staying there for three or four nights.

Thanks so much!

 

[bamagirl@hrt]

We stayed at The Argonaut on our trip in October. We had our kids with us, but it was very much a place I would've loved staying at without kids. The theming is great! We didn't pay for a water view, but we had one from the side. We overlooked the aquatic park area, the cable car turn about, and could see Ghiradellu Sq up the hill. You could see Alcatraz if you were on the front of the hotel.

 

[bcla]

San Francisco Marriott Marquis. It's exterior styling has been controversial, but the location is central to all public transportation (MUNI, BART, cable cars, Amtrak service, etc). Here's a view from a room:

 

[Purrkins]

The Fairmont is one of the nicer hotels in the city and central to downtown.

The Claremont resort in Oakland (across the Bay) is also lovely.

You might also want to VRBO a house in the City and splurge.

Congrats!

 

[bcla]

The Fairmont is one of the nicer hotels in the city and central to downtown.

The Claremont resort in Oakland (across the Bay) is also lovely.

You might also want to VRBO a house in the City and splurge.

Congrats!

I don't know about the Fairmont being that central to downtown. It's certainly very nice and an historic hotel (as the the Mark Hopkins across the street), but it's closer to Chinatown than downtown. It's also one heck of a walk (all uphill) from downtown to the hotel, unless you want to stand in line for a cable car. It's certainly very doable if one rents a car or is willing to take taxis.

 

[Zerosinthecloset]

We're an Omni couple. Always get great service such as morning beverage service delivered to room every morning...a benefit of their Select Guest program. If you mention you are on your honeymoon, probably get a complimentary bottle of wine/champagne and probably some chocolate dipped strawberries.

The Omni is right on the California cable car line, and just a couple or three blocks to our favorite restaurant, Tadich Grill. Other places we like are Sotto Mare in North Beach, Rocco's on Folsom, Buena Vista for Irish Coffee, and House of Prime Rib for great Prime Rib.

A three day Muni pass is $22, and is good for unlimited rides on cable cars, Muni buses, and Muni subway...not BART. From the Omni, we usually take the cable car to Nob Hill and transfer to another one going either to FW or Union Square. The #1 bus goes up Sacramento and you can get off in Chinatown, or head up to Nob Hill and get on the cable car. The #30 Stockton bus goes through Chinatown, North Beach and the end of FW where Ghiradelli's is. It can also get you to the Exploratorium.

 

[larina]

I really enjoyed my recent stay at Parc 55. We love the Sir Frances Drake (multiple stays there) and the St.Francis is always nice. All three have great views of the city and all three are in Union Square.

 

[AlohaKeke]

Thanks everyone! I will be looking into all of these suggestions! It seems like a pretty easy city to get around in without a car. I also just heard about the lights on the Bay Bridge so we are very excited to see that one night!

 

[bcla]

Thanks everyone! I will be looking into all of these suggestions! It seems like a pretty easy city to get around in without a car. I also just heard about the lights on the Bay Bridge so we are very excited to see that one night!

As someone who visits San Francisco a lot, I wouldn't say it's easy to get around without a car. It can be done and is probably advisable for certain events (Fleet Week or baseball games) but it's not what I would call convenient. You'd be limited to what you could get to by public transportation (which can eat up valuable time) or by taxi (which can eat up cash). A lot of the more interesting places in the area aren't in San Francisco - especially Sausalito or other parts of Marin. Some of the best parts of San Francisco (Presidio, Palace of the Legion of Honor, Golden Gate Park) can be reached by bus, but it can be tricky. The reliability and safety of the city's public transportation system is a big local political issue, and there's an organization called Rescue MUNI.

But if you're really intent on getting around without a car, then I'd advise staying somewhere next to the F streetcar line. Cables cars are fine, but the line to get on can be ridiculous during the peak tourist season, and you might need to walk a while before they'll let you on at a normal stop. Buses work fine (if on schedule), but I don't know about public buses on a honeymoon. The streetcars are actually rather cool, and they get you to places where you can transfer to other public transportation options.

 

[larina]

What/where is the F line? Where does it run?

 

[bcla]

What/where is the F line? Where does it run?

http://www.sfmta.com/cms/mfleet/histcars.php
http://www.sfmta.com/cms/asystem/routedesc.php?rted=F
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F_Market_&_Wharves

The description is "Market and Wharves". It runs along Market Street starting at about Castro, goes along the Embarcadero, and ends at Fishermans Wharf. It runs completely on historic streetcars loaned or purchased from all over North America, and ones that were previously in service in Milan. They also have a few from England, Russia, Japan, Australia, and Portugal, but they only take passengers for part of the route. Occasionally they might run the route with diesel buses. It doesn't go anywhere where a bus couldn't go.

It's rather convenient because it connects to the rest of MUNI. A lot of these still have various signs and advertisements from their native countries or cities in the US.

Here's one of the former Milan cars:

 

[larina]

bcla, thank you for the links and pictures. I grew up in SF, but have been gone for over 16 years.i visit a lot, but never take public transportation when there. I think I'll have to check that out next visit (we were just talking about going to the Disney Family Museum).

 

[AlohaKeke]

As someone who visits San Francisco a lot, I wouldn't say it's easy to get around without a car. It can be done and is probably advisable for certain events (Fleet Week or baseball games) but it's not what I would call convenient. You'd be limited to what you could get to by public transportation (which can eat up valuable time) or by taxi (which can eat up cash). A lot of the more interesting places in the area aren't in San Francisco - especially Sausalito or other parts of Marin. Some of the best parts of San Francisco (Presidio, Palace of the Legion of Honor, Golden Gate Park) can be reached by bus, but it can be tricky. The reliability and safety of the city's public transportation system is a big local political issue, and there's an organization called Rescue MUNI.

But if you're really intent on getting around without a car, then I'd advise staying somewhere next to the F streetcar line. Cables cars are fine, but the line to get on can be ridiculous during the peak tourist season, and you might need to walk a while before they'll let you on at a normal stop. Buses work fine (if on schedule), but I don't know about public buses on a honeymoon. The streetcars are actually rather cool, and they get you to places where you can transfer to other public transportation options.

I can't thank you enough for this info! I started looking into all the various methods of transportation after I posted that and I quickly realized I would have to do a lot more reading if we do plan to do it without a car. There's so many different methods - cable car, bus, streetcar, ferry, etc - that it seemed like it was geared towards pedestrians. It might be difficult and potentially time consuming trying to get around on public transport, especially without knowing the area at all. And I definitely don't want to end up in an argument over something silly on my Honeymoon!