1st day itinerary - GGB walk to Sausalito?

I need help planning our first full day in SF. It%26#39;ll be a Sunday - 10/15 and we%26#39;re staying at the JW Marriott in Union Square. I thought it best to stay clear of Fisherman%26#39;s Wharf /Alactraz tour on the weekend.

So my first thought was to walk thru Nob Hill, North Beach, Telegraph hill, Chinatown..but I read somewhere that not all the stores will be open on a Sunday, especially North Beach area.

Second thought came to me after reading a prior post is to take a bus/streetcar to Golden Gate Bridge, walk over bridge then walk into Sausalito, have lunch at Horizons, check out the shops and take the ferry back.

So my questions are: (sorry so many but would love to know)

What bus/streetcar do we take to get to GGB from Union Square ?

Do you think walking GGB be crowded on a Sunday?

Approx. how many miles from GGB to Horizons...or how much time to walk there? We%26#39;re %26#39;seasoned%26#39; walkers but hope it %26#39;s not more than 4-5 miles.

Where does the ferry take us back to Fisherman%26#39;s Wharf or Ferry Building area? Or do we have a choice?

Any other thoughts or suggestions are welcome..in fact encouraged~

Thanks

1st day itinerary - GGB walk to Sausalito?

Just about everything is open on Sundays. Some stores may open later (noon) than on weekdays.

If you still want to take the bus to the bridge the easiest route would be to walk over to Stockton and Sutter streets and catch the #30 Bus (by the entrance to the tunnel) to Laguna and Chestnut streets. From there catch the #28 Bus which will take you to the south vista point at the bridge.

There will most likely be lots of other tourists on the bridge that day as well but it%26#39;s never anywhere near an overwhelming amount of people (the bridge has enough room for everybody)

From the south vista point it about 5 miles walking across the bridge and onward to Horizons restaurant in Sausalito. Taking bus into Sausalito is also possible form the north of the vista point on the Marin side of the bridge. There is a Golden Gate Transit bus stop. You would want to catch the number 10 bus (I think its the only one that stops there) into Sausalito. They stop there about every hour on the hour.

The ferry goes from Sausalito to the Ferry Building in San Francisco

1st day itinerary - GGB walk to Sausalito?

';I thought it best to stay clear of Fisherman%26#39;s Wharf /Alactraz tour on the weekend.';

Good thinking--but still, be sure to reserve your Alcatraz trip in advance. Don%26#39;t take a chance on showing up at the dock and hoping for a seat, because the trips often sell out. As you know, admission to Alcatraz is free; you are paying for the boat trip and optional audio tour.

This is the only time I know of when it was too crowded to walk on the bridge. www.fotosearch.com/bigcomp.asp鈥?/a>

On its 50th b%26#39;day, it was closed to cars so people could walk on it. An estimated 800,000 people did (about equal to S.F.%26#39;s population), and it looked like this from end to end.

There are actually two ferry systems that go from Sausalito to SF, from the same Sausalito pier. Golden Gate Ferry returns to the Ferry Building, while Blue %26amp; Gold returns to Pier 41, near Fisherman%26#39;s Wharf.

blueandgoldfleet.com/SausalitoSchedule.htm

goldengateferry.org/schedules/Sausalito.php

I stayed close to Union Square as well last year and can recommend getting the cable car down to the end of line from Powell Street and walking to Sausalito from there.

It takes for an average walker maybe 3 hours with lots of stops to take in the sights and you can follow the shore all the way to the bridge, over the other side, underneath then around to Sausalito for lunch and the ferry back, it%26#39;s not to hilly either.

The Ferry back is in the centre of Sausalito you can%26#39;t miss it and you can get it straight back to Fishermans Wharf if you like.

Consider the nightime Alcatraz tour, if they are still doing it in October. It%26#39;s really spooky.

vb