SanFran Extended Weekend Vacation

[shagcarpetjesus]

Your post is a little difficult to follow as in, where exactly are you trying to get to and from?

You are correct that the furthest south the BART runs is SFO, but the Cal-Train goes all the way past San Jose and stops in Santa Clara and the San Jose airport.

Uber would be extremely expensive from SF to Santa Clara. If you aren't staying in The South Bay I'm not sure why you would fly into and out of San Jose though. If you plan on staying in SF and attending games in Santa Clara, fly into SFO, stay in SF and take the train to Santa Clara. I'm not sure how it will operate for Copa but during 49er games the train is a booze cruise and you're allowed to drink on the way down. (like they would ever stop it anyway)

I'm thinking about flying in to San Jose on Friday, go to the U.S. match, probably spend the night in a hotel near Santa Clara. On Saturday, head into San Fran for the weekend. Spend Sat and Sunday in the city and then head back south Monday afternoon for the Argentina match. Spend the night in Santa Clara/San Jose Monday night and fly out of San Jose on Tuesday. I was just curious what options there were to get to SF from the South Bay Area. I was unaware of the Cal-Train option so thanks for the heads up on that.

 

[1Nation]

I'm thinking about flying in to San Jose on Friday, go to the U.S. match, probably spend the night in a hotel near Santa Clara. On Saturday, head into San Fran for the weekend. Spend Sat and Sunday in the city and then head back south Monday afternoon for the Argentina match. Spend the night in Santa Clara/San Jose Monday night and fly out of San Jose on Tuesday. I was just curious what options there were to get to SF from the South Bay Area. I was unaware of the Cal-Train option so thanks for the heads up on that.

Got ya. Yea, stay in Santa Clara and catch the train for the weekend. Once you're in the City Uber is everywhere and very affordable. Cal-Train back to Santa Clara for Argentina match.

 

[sunset]

Some local things to do that some may not have heard of:

Buena Vista Cafe on Hyde St.--the best Irish Coffee $ can buy. Supposedly the guy who started this came from Ireland and this was the first Irish Coffee sold in America. Right next to the Hyde St Cable Car stop.

After Buena Vista go see Hyde Street Pier, and Chrissy Field.

Golden Gate Bridge--after crossing this drive up to the high point they call the Marin Headlands. Its on the pacific side and has an old abandoned US Naval compound. Most of the famous pics of the GG bridge are from up there.

Mama's in North Beach--the best breakfast. Have to get there really early though, lines usually form by 7 at the latest.

The Tonga Room & Sam's--Anthony Bourdain endorses them both!

The Cliff House--good place to eat and unbelievable views of the pacific.

SoMa Street Food Park--many different beer and food selections.

Take a Ferry across the bay from Embarcadero.

Dolores Park in Mission--5 tiered famous park, good sights and people watching.

Haight--my favorite neighborhood. Haight Ashbury and an eclectic collection of bars.

Marina--go here only if you hate yourself. People here is like being in Paris.

If you only have a few days you are going to have to really prioritize, there is so much to do. Definitely agree with the highlighted above. I lived down the hill from Cliffhouse restaurant and across the street from Golden Gate Park, great part of town.

A few I haven't seen mentioned yet:

Golden Gate Park - SF version of central park.

Haight - Ashbury if you are into people watching (which you can do in most areas of SF)

Tiburon - Quiet little village across the golden gate bridge. Nice restaurants and great views of the city.

The Ocean - We are in an El Nino year, if you make it out west take a stop by to watch the ocean. There is a pretty good chance there will be massive swells. If you stop by the Cliffhouse you will have great ocean views. On a solid winter swell it will be between 10-20ft, I once saw 30-40ft waves breaking at Ocean Beach.

Half Moon Bay - If you decide to take the coast to/from Palo Alto (You'll have to hop over the hill between coast and PA) then stop by Half Moon Bay. One of my favorite places.

My favorite restaurant is on the edge of Chinatown, near the Transamerica Pyramid. Called R&G Lounge. Order the special beef.

Have fun.

Stay away from the Tenderloin.

 

[Buster28]

Stay away from the Tenderloin.

For those who don't know, the Tenderloin is a not-so-nice area near the Civic Center and Union Square areas (not a sandwich). Good things do not happen there, so make sure you know your surroundings and if things start to look seedy while walking about, turn around and go back. Trust me. Most other areas around downtown are fine/safe.

 

[ceeboe]

Went there on our honeymoon, but probably wouldn't be a great recommend-er as I'm vaguely familiar with everything there. We tend to just drive around and experience an area versus setting an agenda for things to do. We did do Muir Woods, but also drove as south as Montery Bay...so we didn't just stick to San Fran.

Recently I received an email from Tested.com, a site I visit based off the hosts of Mythbusters, and they created a run down of what to do on a weekend. Maybe this will help as well.

http://us7.campaign-archive1.com/?u=ef42b5bfa949ce0d6fa27310e&id=2953af176c

The thing I find is this city so diverse and awesome that frankly I don't think you can go wrong no matter what you do.

 

[ceeboe]

For those who don't know, the Tenderloin is a not-so-nice area near the Civic Center and Union Square areas (not a sandwich). Good things do not happen there, so make sure you know your surroundings and if things start to look seedy while walking about, turn around and go back. Trust me. Most other areas around downtown are fine/safe.

This is what I recalled as well. We had looked at the Hilton in Union Square as well and opted not to for this reason.

Mission District - although hipster, I heard is a great place to go!

 

[thatguy]

i stay in that Hilton in Union Square semi regularly. Its real nice and has a bar. I work for a Napa winery so in and out of San Fran quiet a bit. Like others said if you want to go get a meth fueled numby hummer head on down to the Tenderloin. I've seen some really distrubing things in the middle of the day just driving through there.

 

[Antihawk240]

Awesome, my wife and i went there last summer. Alcatraz was pretty cool, but we BOTH are huge history nuts. BUT....getting tickets is extremely difficult. You will want to get them well in advance and to be honest you may be pushing it. I just remember seeing a sign on the box office that they were sold out until 8 days later. But that was summer, 2 years ago.

Since it is Valentines day, walk on the golden gate after dark. It is safe and that is what my wife remembered most about the trip. We are half way across the bridge and they turned the lights on and at that time of the night it was only about 10 of us on the bridge (9:00pm or so).

 

[carvers4math]

When we went to walk across the Golden Gate, it was so foggy, you couldn't even see the bridge until you were right next to it! Glad it cleared up the next day so the kids could see it in its full glory.

 

[BeachAve]

We went for a week in July 2014. Was concerned after research in that July was typically cooler and foggy. We arrived to sunshine and mid 80's all week! Amazing weather

Alcatraz? Take a jacket . Didn't need one last time, but the bay is cooler

MUIR WOODS. Yes

The Drisco Hotel in Pacific Heights-- fabulous

We bought Giants tickets 5 months in advance. Amazing Friday night with the Dodgers.
The ballpark was simply awesome. Sold out and on ESPN. Views of the bay make great seats.

 

[TOFB4ISU]

Driving in the City can be a ***** so buses are your friends. One might think Muir Woods, meh, they are just trees but WOW. Get an Irish Coffee at the Buena Vista, just off the end of the cable car line at Fisherman's Wharf too.