Parking in San Francisco?

[robmtl1]

Hi guys,

Has anyone ever driven in San Francisco and LA? From what I have been told, parking is very expensive ($40/day) at hotels and street parking is hard to find and expensive as well ($0.25/5 minutes).

What is the best method of transportation while in these 2 cities?
We will have our rental car during the entire time since we will be driving in from San Diego and would prefer taking it wherever we go for sake of convenience, but maybe taking public transportation would be the best option here? Is the BART system convenient in San Francisco?

We plan on seeing all the touristy stuff in SF and LA and we are not sure if they are widely accessible by public transit.

Anyone have any experience with this?
Are there any inexpensive 2* hotels outside the city with free parking and near public transit that anybody here knows about?

Thanks

 

[eduk8r26]

I've visited San Francisco in the past, but I usually stay outside, once as far away as Mountain View. I just head for the nearest BART station, park there, and take BART into downtown then rely on cable cars. You can do a lot of the touristy stuff in San Francisco by walking or taking cable cars.

 

[DL4my2kids]

accessible via public transportation. It really depends on where you stay. Bart, Muni, cable cars, Taxi's. Most of what I think the tourity stuff is down at the wharf, Giradelli square, alcatraz . Although there is lombard(SP) street and koit tower and I am not sure what transporation you would need to take to get there.

Sorry not a big help here. I live not far from SF but don't go there often. When I do, I bart in for sure. Parking is a nightmare.

 

[jlmarr]

Any recommendations on a BART station with plenty of parking, preferably free? I'm planning an SF trip and will be approaching from the I-5 so the Dublin/Pleasanton station is my first option but would like to hear about good alternatives.

 

[stampinshauna]

We were in San Francisco in May and parking in the all day lots usually ranged from $10-20 a day. Since we were going all over the place, we wanted our car with us, so we just parked at hourly lots and at meters. We probably spent b/t $10-15 for the parking, but we were able to get all over the place without having to walk (Fisherman's Wharf, Union Square, Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, Ghirardelli Square, the coast, etc).

 

[DL4my2kids]

On a weekday there is very limited parking at most of the stations unless you get there around 7:00ish in the morning. On the weekend, there is plenty of parking at the dublin/Pleasanton station.

Either way, Dublin station has plenty of free parking and weekday is hit or miss depending on the time of day.

 

[honeymom]

I would definitely park and use public transit in SF. I used to live there.

Yes, the hotel lots are very expensive.

Try googling San Francisco Municipal Parking. The city has its own garages and they are a lot cheaper. See if there is one near your hotel.