East meets West...

April 11, 2008 9:23 AM

Last minute San Francisco/Silicon Valley travel advice...

I'm going to be in Santa Clara for business next week, and I'd really like to take in some scenery and touristy stuff but I'm worried about the feasibility of it. I arrive in San Francisco about noon on Monday (the 14th) and leave about 1:30 pm Thursday, and my work commitment is during the day Tuesday and Wednesday. I'd really like to spend my free time Monday and Thursday in San Francisco, so here are my questions:

-What do I do about my rental car? Pick it up, drive into SF, and then drive to Santa Clara in the evening? Or take public transport into the city, and then back to the airport to get the car in the evening? I have it reserved at noon, will they hold it for me until the evening?
-What are some good things to do in San Francisco for a few hours in the morning or a few hours in the afternoon/evening?
-Is there anything to see in Santa Clara in the evenings? Any good places to eat?

I must confess I'm embarrassingly ignorant of the West Coast, so any general insider advice would be appreciated.

posted by backseatpilot to travel & transportation (13 comments total)

The two times I've toured SF, I drove most places. I can't remember one way or another if it was difficult to park, and I usually do remember such things, so it was probably not a big deal. I did the standard touristy stuff--Golden Gate bridge, China town, rode a street car, drove down Lombard street--and really enjoyed myself. If you're so inclined, hit Toys in Babeland--it's the most comfortable adult toy store I've ever been to.
posted by MrMoonPie at 9:46 AM on April 11

re: food in Santa Clara, if you like Korean food, you're in the right place. Otherwise you'll probably end up taking a little trip. Yelp is great, in either case.
posted by sergent at 9:56 AM on April 11 [1 favorite]

Don't drive into SF. You'll waste your time and pay for parking.

Are you looking to see things? Eat things? See weirdness?

Personally, I'd take the BART from the airport. If you want museums, get off at Montgomery. That's where the Cartoon Art Museum, SFMOMA, African in Diaspora museum, etc. are. There's also the geek shopping mall, The Metreon.

If you're looking for the tourist experience, ride the F line (from Powell, Montgomery or Embarcadero BART stations) to Fisherman's Wharf (see Alcatraz from afar. Getting to the island takes a while and an expensive ticket). You can also get off at Powell, hop a cable car and ride it to the Wharf, but the lines are often long (if you do it, stand on the outside. It's totally worth it.)

The Ferry Building (just across from the Embarcadero BART station) is all fancy pants gourmet food, but lots of people seem to like to see it. Perhaps looking at expensive cheese is exciting. And Taylor's is awesome if you don't mind a $20 burger.

All the good expensive restaurants in The Mission are closed Monday night, but if you're into more of the wackiness, take the BART to 16th Street Mission, walk up to Valencia and wander. Book stores, good food, music stores and weird crap. As well as Indian ice cream. I could spend hours wandering there, but nothing opens around there before 11 am.

There are bars and things to do in Santa Clara, as there are engineers and students with money around there. The good Indian and Persian food is down near there. Yelp is your friend.
posted by Gucky at 10:01 AM on April 11

They will not hold the car for you. Pick it up, then drive it over to long-term parking. It's $12 a day, but if you drive into San Francisco and park more than once, you'll likely spend more than that. Take BART from the airport into the city. Get off at Embarcadero, where you can strike out in almost any direction and find stuff worth seeing.

San Francisco is miserable to drive in for out-of-towners -- very little free parking, narrow one-way streets, no turn lanes, lots of unpredictable places where you can't turn at all (God help you if you find yourself going west on Market from Embarcadero and need to make a left turn). You can get practically anywhere you (as a tourist) would want to go by public transit, though not necessarily quickly or on a particular schedule.
posted by jjg at 10:06 AM on April 11

if you can postpone picking up your car until evening, you can take the bart train into downtown directly from the airport. From the powell or montgomery stations you can walk up to chinatown or north beach; from embarcadero station you can see the ferry building and walk along the waterfront; from 16th or 24th street you can walk about in the mission. You could also do this by car, but weekday parking in the city can be a huge pain in the ass. Also, driving out of the city to the peninsula at the end of the day is a nightmare.
posted by gyusan at 10:09 AM on April 11

I recommend driving as much as possible given the short time you have here. Parking is something of an acquired skill in the city but there's a great garage just west of the Metreon.

Street parking during mid-day is relatively easy to find in the city. Golden Gate Park will be accessible and a fun way to kill an hour or three.

If you like street hiking, parking the car just above Japan Town (Geary & Fillmore) should be easy to do on a weekday. Then you can strike out to the tops of Pacific Heights, Russian Hill, and end up at the world's first Swenson's.
posted by tachikaze at 10:15 AM on April 11

i drove around SF in September, had never been there before. Had no trouble finding parking anywhere I went. Downtown, golden gate park, chinatown

just found spots and parallel parked, or parked at the park
posted by Salvatorparadise at 10:22 AM on April 11

just rent a small car and bring lots of quarters
posted by Salvatorparadise at 10:23 AM on April 11 [1 favorite]

If you want to do BART and have to pick up your car, you can park it at the Millbrae BART station for free. It's right by the airport. They have a huge garage, but I'm not sure how full it gets on weekdays.
posted by zsazsa at 10:31 AM on April 11

Depending on how much city driving may or may not freak you out, and where you want to go in the City, I would consider picking up the rental car, parking it at the Colma BART station, and taking Bart into the City. This works well if you want to see Downtown, Embarcadero, and/or Mission Valenicia street. My job used to entail a lot of driving in SF, and I prefer to take Bart and not deal with parking/driving crap even now. It's a lot more relaxing, and you get a better taste of the City on foot, IMO. Ferry Plaza is near Embarcadero, Mission/Valencia has great food and little shops, and if you really want to go to Golden Gate Park, you can take the N Judah to 9th and Irving from Civic Center Bart station.
posted by oneirodynia at 10:41 AM on April 11

Ah, if you live in Boston city driving won't bother you.
posted by oneirodynia at 10:43 AM on April 11

With your schedule I would skip mass transit. There is bad traffic here, sure, but 101 is nothing compared to the horror show that is the mass pike during rush hour. You can also take I-280 into the city which is always less congested than 101.

[nightmare flashback interlude]

Ignore the folks talking about what a pain it is to drive in SF. If you know how to get around in Boston by car, SF will be cake. It's a fun city to explore by car as well as on foot. The 49 mile drive does a good job of sending you to the interesting points around the city.
posted by MillMan at 11:45 AM on April 11

If you're going to go do sightseeing before going to your hotel, you're going to end up leaving your stuff in the car. Dunno how valuable it would be or how comfortable you'd be in leaving it in the car. While you're at the airport, pick up a copy of the Guardian check it out for nightlife / eatery. Similarly, pick up a copy of the Metro once you're in the South Bay. The difference in things to do should be obvious.

It's about a 30-45 min from SFO to Santa Clara. I'd get the car, go drop off your stuff at the hotel, then take caltrain to the city. The hotel might have a shuttle service, I'd call and check on that.

At this point you're already at mid afternoon, maybe instead of San Francisco, you could instead head down 17 to Santa Cruz for the afternoon/sunset/evening. The weather's been really nice lately.

For real nightlife, head up to to the city. For small time drinks and dinner, each of the surrounding towns has a small pseudo-downtown strip which are fun. Sunnyvale's Murphy Street, Mountain View's Castro, Palo Alto's University, etc etc.

fwiw, half a day or half of two days isn't nearly enough time to see all that can be seen in San Francisco. Here's an idea for Thursday morning if you can get out of the hotel early enough. Head down to Santa Cruz and up Highway 1 for the super-scenic drive up to the city. You could shorten it also by driving up 280 to 92W to Half Moon Bay, then north from there. From there, either take the golden gate bridge across and go to Muir Woods, or just take a picture at the tourist parking lot on the Marin side of the bridge. From there, go back across and head either to Lombard St (easily accessible from the bridge), or maybe to the Castro for brunch if that's your scene. From there it's a quick drive back down 101 to SFO and away you go.
posted by Andrew Brinton at 3:11 PM on April 11