Driving to San Francisco

Hi,

My boyfriend travels regularly to Silicon Valley with work (we live in the UK) and I%26#39;m thinking about coming with him next time and staying in his hotel in Palo Alto and travelling into the city while he%26#39;s working. What are my options for getting there? I%26#39;m quite happy to hire a car (although I%26#39;ve never driven on the right - could be interesting!) and drive but is it easy to park in the city or are there any good places to park outside with good transport links? Or are there any public transport options from Palo Alto.

Also I was thinking about other good places to visit within driving distance of the valley. I%26#39;d quite like to go to the beach or maybe another city - any ideas?

Driving to San Francisco

I wouldn%26#39;t try to drive into the city if I were not used to the traffic, in addition to having to drive on the ';wrong'; side of the road. And parking is difficult.

There is a commute train between San Francisco and Palo Alto...at least there used to be. I think it%26#39;s called ';Caltrain';. Somebody here can confirm.

Driving to San Francisco

Finding parking on the street in most of San Francisco is difficult and near impossible in the downtown area. Parking garages are expensive. If you want to visit the downtown, north beach, Chinatown areas of the city, the best thing to do would be to take the train from Palo Alto. On the weekdays that run about every 1/2 hour and takes about 40 minutes to reach the station in San Francisco.

For more info about the train check here --%26gt; www.caltrain.org

From the CalTrain depot, you%26#39;re fortunate to have a number of Muni (Municipal Railway) lines to get around S.F. Lines 15, 30, and 45 go to (or within a short distance of) Chinatown, North Beach, and Fisherman%26#39;s Wharf. Line 47 skirts the downtown area and goes through Civic Center, also ending up at the Wharf and Aquatic Park. The 15 or 45 also go to the Union Square shopping area.

From Palo Alto, both Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz are a nice day trip to the beach. The Half Moon Bay coast has good surfing. It is usually cooler and foggier than Santa Cruz. The town itself has lots of little shops, restaurants, and fine architecture. Santa Cruz is a ';classic'; American beach town, with great beaches, a half-mile long wharf with shops, restaurants, fishing, and a big sea lion colony. Santa Cruz also has a boardwalk amusement area. There are also many older Victorian houses to see.

P.S. the Muni fare is $1.50 for everything but cable cars. The $1.50 includes reboarding or transfer within the time indicated on your transfer (typically 90 minutes).

Cable cars cost $5.00 a ride, with no reboarding or transfer.

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