Visiting the Bay and looking for travel tips.

[Athelwulf]

On Friday morning, August 8th, my friend from Germany and I roll into Oakland on the Amtrak. We are staying at someone's place nearby, and we will be there until Sunday night, the 10th.

Neither of us has been to the San Francisco area. I've only ever been as far south as Redding, myself. We would like to get the most out of this very short trip. I know about some of the tourist traps within Frisco (GG Bridge, GG Park, Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz, the painted ladies) and some of the neighborhoods (Chinatown, Haight-Ashbury, the Castro), but I know very little about the other cities around the Bay. Also, we would like to see places tourists don't go. We want to see the area how the people who live there see it.

Any suggestions would be helpful, but here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Our budget is tight. The cheaper, the better.
   
2. We will rely on public transit. If we can't get there by BART, Muni, or buses that are easy to connect to, we most likely won't go.
   
3. We arrive at 8:35 Friday morning and leave 9:47 Sunday night, plus or minus several hours depending on how Amtrak's Coast Starlate train is running.
   
4. My friend is 21, but I will turn 20 just before this trip.
   
5. We are very open-minded! :)

Tips are greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.

[roody]

1. I enjoy riding the Muni and walking around the many

lovely neighborhoods. Staying at a hostel is relatively cheap. Check out Hostelling International. They have 3 hostels in SF.

[Athelwulf]

3. Thanks for the tip.

We already have a free place to stay, through CouchSurfing.com. But it's good to know there are hostels.

[EFerrari]

2. Why aren't you guys doing Berkeley? That would be fun, too.

:)

But, if you have one thing you want to do in San Francisco, it would be easier to give you side dishes to go with that one thing.

[Athelwulf]

4. I never said we weren't.

I guess I gave too much emphasis on Frisco. Other places are perfectly good too. As long as we can get there by BART, Muni, or bus, like I said. :)

The main problem here is that I don't know much about the surrounding cities. I've been told Berkeley is lovely and downtown Oakland is dangerous. I've been thinking about the UC Berkeley campus and the Chabot Space and Science Center. I also considered Stanford's campus, but I don't know if there are connections from San Francisco to the South Bay. And it seems a little too far anyway. Perhaps another trip.

[EFerrari]

5. Cal is a lovely campus, from the part close to downtown to the

facilities up in the hills. If you like museums, there's a great anthro museum and the art museum on campaus. There are bookstores downtown, great restaurants in every price range and funny little stores. The East Bay Express is the local freebit and it has a schedule of events, iirc. www.eastbayexpress.com

In San Francisco, Bart is good for getting to the city center. If you want to go to a location inside Golden Gate Park, or out to the Haight or the Castro or up to North Beach, expect to take a connecting bus or streetcar.

Stanford would be a trick to get to and may be a little far away. And of course, BERKELEY is the place to go, NOT Stanford. :)

www.sfgate.com is the SF paper's website and I believe they have a schedule of events in categories, music, flim, art, comedy, that comes out on Sunday. :)


www.sfbg.com also has one, iirc.

[Athelwulf]

14. Good links.

Thanks.

[XemaSab]

8. Oakland's not that dangerous

Anywhere you would be interested in going in Oakland is pretty safe.

[proud patriot]

11. There's the grand lake theater marquee in Oakland

it's right next to Lake Merit and Childrens Fairy Land

Fun place that someone outside of the Bay Area to get their
picture taken in front of the Marquee.

http://commongroundmag.com/2004/03/dockofthebay0403.html

[XemaSab]

15. I used to have a view of their sign

the whole time I was growing up. :)

[Truth4Justice]

21. Downtown is fine in daytime, but at night Oakland is a pretty scary place.

As is Richmond too.

For East Bay visits I would recommend Alameda. Very nice and pretty damn safe too. Great view of the City across the bay.

[proud patriot]

7. Walking Telegraph ave is always a treat

I've lived in the Bay Area my whole life .
I'm a love child born to 2 Hippy's in 1969
so of course I love telegraph .

[proud patriot]

6. Have a Wonderful time

it's the perfect time of year to come to the city by the bay .

[XemaSab]

9. Why such a short trip?

Telegraph Avenue is a good suggestion.

Alcatraz is sort of creepy, but the boat ride is fun and the history is interesting.

Go to the Golden Gate Bridge. It's a tourist activity, but it's also a really cool bridge (and it's not a "tourist trap"). If you want a bit of a walk, you should walk across it.

Oh, and wherever you go: wear long pants and BRING A JACKET. It may look warm and sunny, but it can get cold and foggy quickly. Only tourists wear shorts and tee shirts. :P

[proud patriot]

10. that's what I was thinking

I hesitated recommending anything because it's such a short trip .

[Athelwulf]

13. It's okay.

I don't expect to be able to see everything in just under three days. But the Bay will always be there. So I'm still open to lots of suggestions. I'll just save places I don't get to see for the next time I go. My friend too.

I just explained to XemaSab why I'm not gonna be there longer. Really, I would be if I could.

Thanks for suggesting Telegraph Avenue. I'll see if we can check it out.

[Athelwulf]

12. Because,

my friend is traveling all over the West, from Seattle to the Grand Canyon, and neither he nor I can afford me going on such a long trip with him. I'm poor. He was generous enough to spend a few hundred on me so I could join him just in Portland (where he flies in) and the Bay (which I've always wanted to see). Plus, I'm taking classes over the summer at my college, so I have to be home Tuesday through Thursday. Plus, I still have to spend time to prepare for Burning Man later that month. Believe me, I'd spend much more time down there if I could!

I've been told the boat ride for Alcatraz gives you a good view of the bay and the city. I'm frankly not interested in an old prison, so I had initially decided against it. But maybe the boat ride itself is worth it.

And I will be prepared with my flannel jacket! I would expect that kind of weather from a coastal city. I actually like cooler weather better anyway. It beats the heat I'm getting here at home.

[EFerrari]

16. There's a boat ride to Angel Island. You still get a bay cruise

but don't wind up at a prison. There is a small facility on the island that housed deportees from China and you can still read the messages they left each other on the walls but the island is mostly for picnics and biking.

Telegraph Avenue sounds good, though. And you two can always go out to the Berkeley Marina if you want water.

There's a bus that goes from Cal and, via Shattuck, to Solano Aveneue in Albany, about five minutes away. That's a cool little place to wander around, too. Can't remember the number, though. Someone at the stop on Shattuck could tell your right away.

[mulsh]

17. if you're staying in Oakland you should take the ferry to SF once

The ferry picks people up a couple of blocks away from the Amtrak Station in Jack London Square. It's a great way to get to SF and you can really see the bay. Also I urge people to take the transbay bus back to the east bay, wonderful views you don't get on Bart

East Bay Ferries http://www.eastbayferry.com/index1.php

If you want to use public transit check out

AC Transit http://www.actransit.org/main.wu?r=n,

Bart http://www.bart.gov/

Muni http://www.sfmta.com/cms/mhome/home50.htm.

you can take either a bus or Bart to get to the UC Campus, take the 1, 1R or 18 buses from Broadway in Oakland. You can even get to the Chabot Observator via bus, take the 53 from the Fruitvale /bart station. Muni is also pretty easy to use.

[Athelwulf]

18. Wow, great links!

Thanks a bunch. :)

[Athelwulf]

19. OP here. This may sound like a silly question...

... but are there any conservative or Republican areas of the City, or any nearby conservative cities, that I should be mindful of? Obviously they're an endangered species in this area, but Republicans still exist. Do they have any localized strongholds?

[EFerrari]

20. No. Maybe at the Pacific Stock Exchange but they're closed on the weekend.

:hi:

[XemaSab]

23. Republicans don't bite

If you were going up into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, you might see some, but in the Bay Area they tend to lie low.

[Truth4Justice]

22. The Transamerica building has a nice view and Coit Tower is a nice place too.

http://www.onlyinsanfrancisco.com/

[cally]

24. My two kids who are about your age enjoy the Haight

various music clubs, and a dance club that allows over 18 year olds. I'll ask the name if you are interested. Also, SF is just fun to walk around. I don't think you need to plan much to do on such a short visit. Wander around the outskirts of China town where it's less touristy. Hang out in GG Park and watch the skate boarders, bicyclists, and often musicians. Buy fresh organic produce, cheese, and bread from a Farmer's Market and you'll be amazed at the taste of the local food. Go into a upscale grocery store and perhaps Elephant pharmacy. We take our food and 'health' products very seriously.

[XemaSab]

25. Chinatown for food

:thumbsup:

[Auggie]

26. From the public transit standpoint, I would suggest downtown Berkeley (BART),

Palo Alto (CalTrain from San Francisco) and Tiburon (Tiburon Ferry from San Francisco). Tiburon has the tourist aspect to it, but it's a beautiful little town with great views. And people really live there.

I think S.F. Muni has a route to the Marin headlands (Pacific Ocean). And if the weather's nice try to make it to Baker Beach in San Francisco via Muni also. Just hangin' in Washington Square Park people watching or sipping coffee in North Beach is a very city thing to do.

Enjoy.