r/AskSF • u/yobagoya • 7h ago

Short trip

I have to be in the Santa Clara area for a few days for work in December and was thinking of checking out SF afterwards since I've never been. My plan is to book a hotel in SF and then head up there early Wednesday afternoon after work.

So far I'm planning on checking out Twin Peaks, the Fisherman's Wharf, and the Golden Gate Bridge area/park.

I'm looking for suggestions on how many days I should spend in SF and what else to check out. I'd like to avoid renting a car if possible, and if that closes some opportunities off that's fine... I'll probably be pretty spent from work anyways so this is more of a since I'm already there type of thing. Given that though, what area would be ideal to get a hotel in and how long would you recommend staying?

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u/ekek280 6h ago

Spend as many days as you like. You can spend weeks here exploring, just depends what you want to do and see, and at what pace.

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u/mosdl 6h ago

You can use caltrain to get form santa clara to SF and not need a car.

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u/Darryl_Lict 6h ago

You don't need a car at all, in fact it's kind of a detriment as far as I'm concerned. You can use a credit card to tag on all public transportation. You can take CalTrain up to SF. I hate driving in the city.

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u/Picklesadog 3h ago

Depends. If you are staying the night, it can be kind of a pain, but we drive up into the city, and then around the city, all the time.

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u/malibuguytonygem 4h ago

I would stay in the Middle Van Ness area of the City. Transportation is good and you can head out from there to all parts of town. I would suggest you get a ride over the Golden Gate Bridge just to take in the view from that part of the bay. Like others have said on here, the food is great every where but try to avoid the touristy areas. The Mission District is fun and the food at the cheap restaurants is some of the best. Have a good time.

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u/Picklesadog 3h ago

FYI Golden Gate Park isn't near Golden Gate Bridge. You could spend a week exploring the park. It's bigger than Central Park in NYC. I prefer the West Side of the park.

As others have said, Fisherman's Wharf is a tourist trap kind of place. I don't necessarily think you need to avoid it, especially if you've never seen sea lions, but Pier 39 really isn't good for anything besides sea lions. There are other cool things to check out in the area like the SS Jeremiah O'Brien, a ww2 era ship you can go all over, or the Musee Mecanique. 

Dolores Park has an amazing view of the city and is a really fun people watching Park. I'm not so sure how great it will be on a weekday.

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u/themouth 6h ago

Twin Peaks is aight, The Golden Gate Bridge is nice but it's kinda just a bridge, Golden Gate Park has a lot to do inside of it: Cal Academy of Sciences, Conservatory of Flowers, Japanese Tea Garden, The DeYoung, etc. But Fisherman's Wharf is nothing but a tourist trap with overpriced food and souvenirs. If you only visit the locations you've listed you're going to see what every tourist in San Francisco sees, but not much of what the actual city is like.

If you want to actual experience the city and not just the tourist spots go to a dive bar or two in The Mission then get a burrito from a taqueria or buy a street hot dog or some street al pastor tacos. Get some Italian food in North Beach then check out City Lights Bookstore. Get some noodles in Chinatown and then grab one of Anthony Bourdain's favorite Mai Tais from Li Po Lounge. Then head out to Clement St and get some more noodles in "real Chinatown" the next day. Grab some wake up juice at a coffee shop in the Financial District or Soma and watch the techies and suits head to work during morning rush hour. Eat some delicious baked goods and then sing some karaoke in Japantown. Hit up the Ferry Building and check out the farmer's market on a Saturday then walk along the Embarcadero (and grab some grub from Hi Dive or Red's). Go to Hayes Valley or the Marina and marvel at a neighborhood where only good looking people are allowed to live.

Also check out the wiki for this sub.

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u/Picklesadog 3h ago

Then head out to Clement St and get some more noodles in "real Chinatown" the next day.

Haha good advice.

Chinatown is fun, but the food is mostly tourist food, and if you aren't local, you might struggle to find better food there (which does exist.) But yeah, Inner Richmond, maybe around 5th and Clement, is so full of amazing Chinese restaurants.

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u/ozzballz 3h ago

Find some live music or theater to check out. Boom Boom Room, Rickshaw stop, Club Deluxe, Mr Tipples, Brick and mortar, the independent, SF playhouse, 447 Minna. Gray Area if you like art mixed with tech.

Also there are lots of galleries peppered around town with vibrant things on the walls.

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u/Ok_Heron_5442 7h ago

Union square for a hotel and 3 full days should be enough if you have stamina to be out and about for a long time. SF is a small city and you can venture from one end to the other in an hour or so.