My hubby and I will be vacationing together in San Francisco from Friday night- Sunday evening. We splurged and will be renting a Go Car (www.gocarsf.com) for the whole day on Saturday, 9 a.m. to dusk. (note to self: find out what time dusk is in San Francisco...) Anyway, below are the sights that are included in the ';tour';- in other words, they have recorded information and street directions to these locations. We will try to see as much as possible, but don%26#39;t want to waste our time with overly-touristy sights. Instead, we%26#39;d rather check out the stuff that makes for ';real'; San Francisco. For example, thru the advice of the Seattle TA forum, we skipped the Space Needle and visited Fremont instead and couldn%26#39;t have been happier! When looking at this list, are there things that you would recommend we pass on or that you consider a must?
Many thanks!
Fisherman%26#39;s Wharf
The Cannery
Ghirardelli Square
Fort Mason
The Marina District
Crissy Fields
Fort Point
The Presidio
Golden Gate Bridge
Baker Beach
Sea Cliff
Legion of Honor
Lands End
U.S.S. San Francisco War Memorial
Cliff House
Sutro Baths
Ocean Beach
Golden Gate Park
Lincoln Park Golf Course
Conservatory of Flowers
Japanese Tea Gardens
Haight Ashbury District
Inspiration Point
Palace of Fine Arts
Chestnut %26amp; Union Shopping Districts
Lombard Street
We got a Go Car! Woo hoo... Now, tell me where NOT to go!!
I have mixed feelings about advising destinations. The Go Cars looked fun, cute and so adorable when I first saw their brochures. Some travelers have reported back that they had a great time in them.
But they are so little. And so open. And I worry about safety, after other local poster Sean pointed out their vulnerability....
So ... I think I%26#39;d avoid places where the traffic speed is fast, for starters. I don%26#39;t think I%26#39;d go near Ocean Beach, the Cliff House or the Golden Gate Bridge.
Perhaps Crissy Field, the Presidio and Fort Point, Golden Gate Park along the quieter streets, the Japanese Tea Garden (of course, just getting to GG Park would require a lot of on-street driving among drivers not used to little tourist vehicles.
We got a Go Car! Woo hoo... Now, tell me where NOT to go!!
The ';Go'; cars are extremely dangerous. I used to drive a tow truck in San Francisco. We contracted to do the towing with one of the outfits that rented something similar to the ';Go'; cars. They are so low to the ground and not visible to other drivers, especially buses and trucks. The bus drivers in San Francisco are always in a rush to keep on schedule and they often pull out of the bus stops without looking (if they could even see you anyways). I towed quite a few of these mini cars that were involved in accident including one fatality where the rear end of a truck completely ran over the occupants of the ';go'; car and killed both occupants.
DONT RISK IT!
I don%26#39;t have first-hand experience with the Go Cars but I have seen them around the city-they are very small and look like they could be potentially dangerous because they are so low to the ground. As the previous post mentioned, I would think it would be hard for regular vehicles to see them. Just an observation!
I don%26#39;t know about the Go Car. My recommendation about your list assumes you want to avoid touristy stuff and concentarate on a more authentic experience. I%26#39;ve lived in the Bay Area for many years and continue to enjoy lots of things that visitors come to see.
Fisherman%26#39;s Wharf - Forget it
The Cannery - A lot of mediocre shops but nice location
Ghirardelli Square - next to Cannery
Fort Mason - Not worth a detour
The Marina District - Warmer than most of SF, lots of traffic Marina Blvd, nice residential streets
Crissy Fields - Nothing special, a beach on the bay
Fort Point - Spectacular, at the base of GG Bridge
The Presidio - Finest real estate in SF, people in Pacific Heights are fighting development, worth a drive through
Golden Gate Bridge - Walk across is fabulous, dress warmly
Baker Beach - A beach in the Golden Gate, way nicer than Crissy Field beach
Sea Cliff - Very expensive nieghborhood, overlooks the Golden Gate, tourists not welcome
Legion of Honor - Best Place to visit in SF whether you go into the museum or not
Lands End - near Legion of Honor, Cliff House, etc.
U.S.S. San Francisco War Memorial - Never heard of it
Cliff House - Expensive tourist restaurant
Sutro Baths - In ruins, near Cliff House and Lands End
Ocean Beach - A ride along the Great Highway with stops at the Beach worthwhile, Can very very foggy and windy
Golden Gate Park - See the new DeYoung Museum and the Japanese Tea Garden, quite pleasant despite touristic nature, windmills down by the beach are cool, Conservatory very nice, Spreckles Lake worth a look
Lincoln Park Golf Course - adjacent to the Legion
Conservatory of Flowers - see GG Park
Japanese Tea Gardens - see GG Park
Haight Ashbury District - Almost impossible to park, no big deal
Inspiration Point - I don%26#39;t know this place
Palace of Fine Arts - Quiet pleasant, in Marina District, has theater
Chestnut %26amp; Union Shopping Districts - Lots of shops
Lombard Street - crooked part not worth a detour, main Lombard St. is pretty ugly
So just considering the things on your list, I would suggest definitely skip Fisherman%26#39;s Wharf and Marina. Go to Fort Point, Presidio, Legion of Honor, Baker Beach%26amp; GG Bridge. If you have time also see GG Park sites. Take warm clothes.
KJinINDY,
My wife and I spent a day in a Go Car not so long ago. We had a great time, in fact, it was one of the high points of our trip.
Sure the Go-cars may not be the safest vehicle on the roads, but anything else would not be anywhere near as much fun. We didn%26#39;t stop laughing the whole time.
We just took our time and payed attention to what other drivers were doing around us. We had absolutely no problems at all.
You should not let other people put you off. You will enjoy the whole day, we sure did. In fact, we are planning a repeat performance on our next trip to SF.
I have to add my vote *against* those awful GoCarts. If you want a ';real'; San Francisco experience, I can%26#39;t imagine a worse way to try and have one. Please please keep them out of our neighborhoods!
Soory to be a wet blanket, but they are annoying as hell to us residents. Loud, tacky, road hazards, you name it. I was almost run off the road by one while i was running in the Presidio.. the driver thought the shoulder was a special GoCart lane, apparently. I also have seen them break down more than once. This one convoy of 4 were stuck outside my window for about an hour one day...
Anyway, (now that you hate me :).....) my votes for sights from your list:
Crissy Field
GGB
Presidio
GGPark
Sutro Baths
Definite misses:
FWharf (gag)
Cannery
Ft. Mason
USS SF War Mem.
Actaully, if you want a real SF experience, take an urban hike thru the Mission, Castro and Noe Valley. You%26#39;ll see some beautful buildings, parks and cafes. You%26#39;ll get a flavor of the real city. Just don%26#39;t tell all those other tourists at the wharf. You could have tea at Samovar on 18th or take a picnic to Dolores Park for a nice view of the city. but still see the bridge and GGPark. Oh.. and for a quick free view, be sure to go up to the observation tower at the deYoung Museum in the park....
Or take a hike from the Ferry building thru North Beach/Coit Tower... there are some cool stair hikes there.
I hope you enjoy your trip!
We have just returned from 4 days in San Francisco and can say that most places are fantastic and well worth seeing. The exception is Fisherman%26#39;s Wharf and The Cannery area which is trashy in the extreme. Avoid!
For actual driving routes from one place to another, I recommend studying your maps and stay on the main routes on the maps for San Francisco. It%26#39;s not just a matter of safety, but for viability. There are many one-way streets. Although San Francisco%26#39;s streets are laid out more-or-less orthogonally in most places, the topography is not. Some of those streets get steep, too steep for reasonable car driving. If you stay on the main routes, you should be fine. Others get very narrow or simply blocked, especially when trucks start double parking to unload things.
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