Do we need a car in San Francisco, CA?
This will be our first visit to San Francisco, we will be staying at the Omni Hotel in the financial district, do we need a car to get to most tourist locations? also if anyone has any tips on that area, is there any parts we should avoid?
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NOPE. ive lived in san francisco for 7 years without a car. you can get ANYWHERE in the city by public transportation. just make sure you get a map of where all the busses go. feel free to ask locals for directions. for example say you are waiting at a bus stop, instead of asking the bus driver for directions and holding up the bus for everyone trying to get to work, chances are the other people who are waiting at the bus stop can answer your question and give you directions better than the bus driver can. locals are very friendly and happy to help you.
No Car. The nightly parking fees at your Hotel would be $25 to $75 a night.
You are staying at a fairly nice hotel, use the front desk/concierge often for help.
Below are some very good options for you.
DO NOT take a taxi from SFO to your hotel. It will cost you $75 plus tip. Take BART instead. Fairly easy.
The world famous cable cars. Lines get long in the afternoon and on weekends.
www.uber.com is yet another car service and is BETTER than lyft and a taxi
www.googlemaps.com
www.waze.com
Are also very good.
SF is a very walkable city. Be aware of your surroundings, stay off your phone
No car. You would pay a fortune to park near that hotel. You can get buses, cabs, cable cars, the light rail (runs underground in SF), the streetcars and your two legs. San Fran is not that big. Just avoid the outlying districts like Bayview, Hunters Pt, the Tenderloin and Civic Center at night. Just be careful when you walk at night.
Good advice above. I wanted to add some transportation options.
Taxis can be affordable for around town, since it's only 49 square miles. However, it can sometimes be difficult to get one.
Another service is Lyft, a smartphone-based service where people sign up to be temporary drivers with their own cars. You join, call with your address and they put out the location to prescreened drivers who are driving in various locations around town.
You don't pay the driver, you pay through Paypal after the ride.
http://www.lyft.me/
I would stick with public transportation, the car will be a liability.
Get a muni pass for 7 days. You can use it on trolley cars, buses and cable cars, it will pay for itself in a day. Use ferries to do the Alcatraz tour, or to Sausalito, tiburon/angel island. You will have more fun.