San Francisco transportation

[ggadget5]

We are going to san francisco but we are thinking of staying outside of town and using public transportation due to traffic. We are thinking about Oakland or San Mateo. Is this a good idea? Is there transportation from there and are they good areas to stay at?

[alexfao]

You can may want to think twice about staying in Oakland.

[zgma]

Hi, I live in the San francisco Bay Area (in Berkeley) - here's my input: most of Oakland is okay but some areas are dangerous. More to the point, there's not really any good area to stay in Oakland, unless you happen to be staying with friends or something. No exciting area with hotels, particularly not next to the subway. San Mateo is not good because of lack of public transportation. Marin county is beautiful, but also no good public transport options (but really - it's beautiful. If you have access to a car, this is a great option). I would suggest Berkeley, because it's really nice, but I can't think of a nice hotel or inn next to the subway stations. You may find some if you do some research though. If I were you, I would just stay in SF and walk or use the bus or subway everywhere.

[zgma]

I forgot to mention - I think of traffic within San Francisco as no worse then in other areas around here, and I wouldn't hesitate to stay in SF, and even drive in SF, depending on what area you stay in. If you give me a sense of what kind of lodging you want, I could probably make some suggestions :)

[ggadget5]

We are planning to stay in Fisherman,s wharf. Any suggestions?

[zgma]

Ah, well that is one very trafficky and touristy area in SF. Also close to the cable cars, but not so close to the BART. I would suggest staying in North Beach or Union Square area, which are not very far from Fisherman's Wharf and much nicer. North Beach is pretty upscale. Lots of great restaurants and shopping, and pretty views, and close to a lot of the touristy things without feeling too touristy. Union Square area is close to the subway, and has lots of fun little boutique hotels that have more SF flavor than the chains. Both of these areas are close to chinatown too.

[ggadget5]

Thanks for all the help. I may have more questions.

[ggadget5]

We are thinking of staying at the downtown courtyard on 2nd street. Is that a safe and central location?

[zgma]

Downtown is mostly business. Central, yes, but not much fun. It is close to the Museum of Modern Art though, which is a great museum. Safety is block-by-block down there. I think right where the hotel is would be safe, but a couple blocks away is sketchy. One plus about staying there would be that it would be extremely easy to get other places in the city because the BART station is right there, it's close to cable cars, and all the buses go past there.

[zgma]

Check out the Hotel Triton www.hoteltriton.com... this is pretty funky; I don't know if it's what you're looking for, but it would definitely be a San Francisco experience.