Your best tips for San Francisco and San Jose

[tar heel]

I'm going to a conference in San Jose in November and DH and I are turning it into a vacation. We know we're going to spend most of our other days in San Francisco. I'd love your tips, advice, etc. on both cities and anywhere else in the area. I'm particularly interested in attractions not to miss and places to eat (we're adventurous). I also want your thoughts on whether we need a car -- had planned to rent one but am having serious sticker shock that the rental and hotel parking is almost $1,000.

Thanks in advance!

 

[TIAMOMMA]

No, you don't need a car, in my opinion it would be a hindrance. S.F.'s public transportation is terrific and part of the fun. You can even take a bus to the Pacific Ocean!

It's been over 11 years since I've been there but it was hands down my favorite trip. I can't recommend places in San Jose, but I can say that you can get a shuttle van from San Jose airport to San Francisco.

Go to the Exploratorium, Coit Tower, Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf, the Pacific Ocean, Golden Gate Park, Chinatown and if you have a chance take the Bus Tour (I think this is Grey's Tours) to Muir Woods/Sausalito - fantastic!!

Have fun. Can't recommend hotels, we stayed at a B&B and remember that bill being @ $800 for the week and that was a while ago.

 

[pixiewings71]

On the main Disboards there is a section for Disneyland, that section has a place for CA & the West, post this question there, there are a lot of great people who can give you great advice there. I do agree with the suggestions TiaMomma gave, those are some great places in SF.

 

[minniecarousel]

I second the suggestion regarding posting on the Disneyland, West Board.

A new attraction in SF is the Disney Family Museum at the Presidio. It has great memoribilia from Walt in his pre-Disneyland days and in building Disneyland. Well worth the time and great views at the Presidio (you might check on other things to see there, as the Presidio is undergoing a transformation, or re-purposing.)

Definitely ride a cable car and go to Fisherman's Wharf and Golden Gate Park - all touristy, but such an integral part of the City.

 

[laurie31]

We loved Alcatraz. We went on the evening tour and it was so fun/spooky. Buy your tickets from the website in advance! We were glad we did, but we were there in June.

We also loved Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, and walking on the Golden gate Bridge. We also liked the Ghirardelli factory. Fun and delicious!

 

[~Serenity~]

If you get the chance stop by the Japanese Tea Garden. It's absolutely gorgeous and has some really cool bridges and buildings.

 

[mamacatnv]

I've posted several itineraries of recent SFO trips on the Ca and the West board.

Question I have - San Jose is not nearly as public transportation friendly as SFO and they are a 45-60 minute drive apart. Are you planning to hop back and forth between them and how much time are you spending in the area.

I'm headed to San Jose this weekend with my DD, we are going to head to the Tech Museum and to the Rosicrucian Museum. If there is no snow over the Sierras. I grew up in San Jose and we go a couple of times a year. We have spent about 11 days in SFO this year also. We love the city.

If it were me, I would attend the conference in San Jose and have a car there if you are planning on sight seeing etc. while in San Jose. A nice drive to Big Basin Redwoods State Park http://www.bigbasin.org/to see some redwoods, or perhaps out to Santa Cruz http://www.explorer1.com/santacruz/attractions.htmfor dinner on the wharf or even just to catch an amazing sunset on West. Cliff Drive.

In SFO, ditch the car. Use Muni, cabs, BART and cable cars. Parking in SFO is spendy, plan on $25-35 per day and that includes at most hotels.

My favorite place to stay is a bit off of the beaten path, in the somewhat quieter community of Cow Hollow/Marina Dist. I like the Travellodge Golden Gate on Lombard and Steiner. Not fancy by any means, but it is clean and close to shops, restaurants and Muni stops. It does have free parking as a perk. We usually arrive, park and never take the car out until we depart.

What not to miss really depends on your tastes. For me it would be a walking tour of the Golden Gate Bridge via City Guides (free tours) http://www.sfcityguides.org/
I also love china town, I love the sights, smells and restaurants as well as the atmosphere and if you are really adventurous, get off of Grant St. which is the main "tourist" drag, go up a block to Stockton and explore the local markets. The fish/poultry markets are incredible to see. SFO has super strict health codes, it is safe to eat anywhere, you may not like it but it won't harm you so give it a try. Our favorite restaurant is the Washington St. Bakery and Restaurant on Washington Street just below Grant St. http://www.washingtonbakerysf.com/
Cable car riding IMO is a must, I like the California line, far less crowded with tourists and it goes up and over Nob Hill, past beautiful hotels (Mark Hopkins and the Fairmont) as well as Grace Cathedral on the corner of Taylor St and many beautiful homes. http://www.sfcablecar.com/routes.html
We always buy a Muni pass that is good for unlimited use of buses, trolleys and cable cars. FYI a muni pass is not good on BART, that is a separate entity.

The "Impressionist: Masterpieces from the Musee D'Orsay" currently on display at the DeYoung Museum is really beautiful and IMO worth the visit, we saw the first phase in July and will be returning in January to see the second phase. http://deyoung.famsf.org/

Then of course there is the tourist mecca of Fishermans Wharf which IMO is worth skipping, but if you have never been you might want to swing on by, have a clam chowder bread bowl so you can say you did and say hi to the sea lions. http://www.fishermanswharf.org/

Something else I would not miss would be an Alcatraz tour and I highly suggest you try for the one that is at night! Its amazing. http://www.alcatrazcruises.com/

The Walt Disney Family Museum is really quite an extensive collection and I suggest you allow at least 4 hours. http://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/familymuseum/index.html

Also refer to Yelp.com for great neighborhood restaurant reviews.

Again there are several of these threads over on the Calif & the west board. Check them out and enjoy SFO it really is a beautiful city. Also refer to Yelp.com for great neighborhood restaurant reviews.

 

[tar heel]

Thanks everyone -- this is a lot of help.

We will arrive in SF late Saturday night and my conference starts in San Jose the following Friday, so we have a good bit of time. We were thinking we might get a car Wednesday or Thursday and use it to see some redwoods and get to San Jose. I would love to not get one period if that's possible.

 

[mamacatnv]

Thanks everyone -- this is a lot of help.

We will arrive in SF late Saturday night and my conference starts in San Jose the following Friday, so we have a good bit of time. We were thinking we might get a car Wednesday or Thursday and use it to see some redwoods and get to San Jose. I would love to not get one period if that's possible.

Oh lucky you that is lots of time!
I would stay in SFO and I would take a shuttle/cab to the hotel from the airport since you are arriving late.
If you get a car on Thursday, you could meander down Hwy 1 from the Golden Gate to Santa Cruz then cut inland to San Jose via Hwy 17 (880) or take the scenic Route Hwy 9 from Santa Cruz, and head to Big Basin - Goggle it, this is memory based and it has been many years since I went out Hwy 9 and even more years since I was at Big Basin.

In San Jose depending on where you stay, you most likely won't face parking fees and then if you are flying out of SFO you can return the car to the same place you got it and not pay what can be huge destination fee's.

November can be a great time of the year weather wise, the fog is not as prevelant as it is in the summer.

If you are set on not getting a car, there are ways around it but it would make the outlying destinations like the redwoods hard to get to unless you took some sort of tour. There are tours that go North from SFO to Muir Woods but I don't know anything about them. We drove up there last spring in our car.

If you opt out of a car, do a bit of research on getting to the South Bay from the North Bay and visversa. I am thinking it would be best to take BART to one of the Train stations and then take the train into San Jose. My Brother used to commute from San Jose to San Bruno via train on a daily basis so I know it is very possible if not easy, I'm just not familiar with it. Perhaps the hotel in San Jose could help you with that one. I also know that BART does go to the airport. Depening on how late you get in and where your hotel is in SFO BART could also be an option for getting to your hotel.