My husband and I are going to San Francisco for 5 days and will be staying by the airport. I’ve heard that there is great public transportation but does it go that far? Do we need a car to get to downtown ect? I don’t want to be paying for taxi’s everywhere.
I’m sure the Mayor of San Francisco considers it "beneath him" to answer phone calls from random tourists regarding public transportation. Considering 700,000 passengers ride MUNI buses and about 350,000 passengers use BART trains daily, that’s a lot of phone calls.
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission does maintain a traffic and transit hotline though. Just dial 511 from any local telephone for assistance.
The BART subway system serves the airport (International Terminal – Concourse G) and the surrounding communities (Millbrae, South San Francisco, and San Bruno). Travel time to Downtown San Francisco is roughly 30-35 minutes. However, your hotel has to be within walking distance of a station. Or if they provide a free shuttle bus to the airport, that could work too.
http://www.bart.gov/index.asp
February 5th, 2010 at 4:00 pm
can you give the SF mayors office and ask them if the public transport goes to the airport and return.
Reception should know that at the town hall or mayor’s office.
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February 5th, 2010 at 4:45 pm
I’m sure the Mayor of San Francisco considers it "beneath him" to answer phone calls from random tourists regarding public transportation. Considering 700,000 passengers ride MUNI buses and about 350,000 passengers use BART trains daily, that’s a lot of phone calls.
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission does maintain a traffic and transit hotline though. Just dial 511 from any local telephone for assistance.
The BART subway system serves the airport (International Terminal – Concourse G) and the surrounding communities (Millbrae, South San Francisco, and San Bruno). Travel time to Downtown San Francisco is roughly 30-35 minutes. However, your hotel has to be within walking distance of a station. Or if they provide a free shuttle bus to the airport, that could work too.
http://www.bart.gov/index.asp
References :
February 5th, 2010 at 5:29 pm
There are no hotels in close (and safe) walking distance to a BART station in the SFO area, but don’t bother renting a car. That would be one of your largest expenses, one you add the price of gas and parking (assuming you can find any available parking near where you’re going – NOT!).
Your hotel’s concierge is the best resource for determining the easiest means of getting from the hotel to BART and back. Once on BART, the trip to downtown San Francisco is easy, but if you’re going to be going all over the city, then you will want to get a $24 MUNI 7-Day Visitor Passport for unlimited rides on all busses, light rail, underground and cable car routes within the city on 7 consecutive days.
MUNI Visitor Passports may be purchased from any of the vendors listed at http://www.sfmta.com/cms/asystem/fareprimaries.php?prod=7-Day
For an additional $30 (total $54 per adult), you could purchase a CityPass, which is good for 9 days and includes a MUNI 7-Day Visitor Passport, plus admission to the new de Young Museum, the Legion of Honor for free on the same day; SF Museum of Modern Art; Blue & Gold Fleet Bay Cruise Adventure from Pier 41; the Aquarium of the Bay on Pier 39; and an option ticket to visit either the Exploratorium in the Presidio near the Golden Gate Bridge OR Asian Art Museum.
For the CityPass, see http://www.citypass.com/city/sanfrancisco/next.html
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February 5th, 2010 at 5:56 pm
If you are visiting San Francisco you should really stay IN THE CITY. It’s $5.35 each way into the city on BART so between the two of you would be spending over $20 each day going back and forth. The problem with staying by the airport, is that you miss out on the city life outside your hotel, all the feel and the bustle and the charm of the city. For a tourist, this is part of the experience.
If you’re staying in the city, let’s say you’ve had a great day touring and you go back to your hotel for evening. Turns out you’re not so tired after an hour of relaxing, and so you wander downstairs and into the local pub or coffee house where you hear some music. Or maybe you wake up really early in the morning and sneak out the room and have a quiet cup of coffee on the sidewalk near your hotel and greet the morning, see the city coming to life, and enjoying just every day life here. If you were staying out at the airport, you’re pretty much stuck in your hotel in a dead zone.
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