San Francisco: where to stay and getting around

Let's start by me saying that when I planned to visit SF, I didn't sufficiently plan the visit. If your idea of a trip to San Fran is a drive over the Golden Gate Bridge and a trip to Alcatraz than think again. It has so much more to offer.

But it does remain on my list of places to visit (again) because my last stay was insufficient due to lack of planning and lack of time. So if you're planning to visit San Francisco, please learn from my mistakes and allow at least four days to experience all it has to offer.

I will post more on my specific visit and recommendations at a later date because I want to stick to the purpose of this article. 

Accommodation:

Most of the main attractions are situated north of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge along the pier. Unless you're hiring a car or intend on making taxi companies rich than you'll be relying on public transport to visit the sites.

You cannot go wrong staying somewhere within the vicinity between Powell Street and Drumm Street, staying close to the subway line that runs along Market Street.

This area is close to the subway, bus stops and the S.F Ferry Building. You'll need to utilise a combination of all three transport systems to get the most out of your stay. There are a number of hotels in this area to suit every budget and its not short of restaurants to suit varying tastes and appetites.

Getting from the Airport to accommodation:
San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is connected to the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system. If you're wondering what that means, it's just an eloquent and exaggerated term for subway.

The yellow BART line runs from SFO all the way to downtown SF and through to Oakland (if you feel like living on the edge). If you're taking my advice on accommodation, then Powell Street, Montgomery Street or Embarcadero are the stops for you.

For an up to date schedule of departure times, please click here.

Getting around:
There are a number of public transport companies operating within San Francisco:

• SFMTA - operates the street cars, ferry service and bus lines (system map)
• Golden Gate Transot (GGT) - operates bus and ferry service  (system map)
• BART - subway (system map)
• Hornblower Alcatraz cruises - official tour provider and transport for Alcatraz Island (website)

Normally I would provide a list of which service you use and their schedules to get to which attractions but Transit 511 does it so well I would only be re-inventing the wheel.

Click on the system maps first for different transport providers to get an understanding of what service runs where (for example GGT line 92 goes across the Golden Gate Bridge) and then utilise Transit 511 to get up to date schedules on all services.