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Swadian Hardcore

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Some quick help, please? Any good cheap hotel in San Francisco for the upcoming week? I don't need to know about attractions, just all the hotel help I can get.

This thread would also be useful for any furute travellers to the city looking for information.

I might try Name Your Own Price tomorrow.

Thank you.
 
Hayes Valley Inn is a nice little neighborhood sort of place, if you're ok with shared restrooms/showers in the hall. Nice neighborhood. Right by City Hall and the Opera House/concert centers. Electric trolley bus one block away, short walk to Market Street, BART, et al. Well managed, pleasant people. The Wi-Fi isn't necessarily strong enough to cover every room (you might need to go to the common room for a decent signal.)
 
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Sorry, all of these are too expensive for my dates. I usually refurse to pay more than $75/night for a hotel room, not including taxes. I will have to stay across the bay for a cheaper hotel room. Thanks for the help, but it just dosen't work out right now. Haven't visited the East Bay anyway, so a good oppurtunity to experience it.

At least other people can come to this thread for help later on.
 
I doubt that you will ever find a hotel in San Francisco these days for less than $75 per night, including taxes. And if you did, be prepared for plenty of bedbugs.
 
I need help again! I have friends coming from Germany, and I need to plan things well because they don't speak good English and they've never been to America. It's not finalized how many people are coming yet, but it's about three persons, plus me, so four adults. They're coming during New Year's week, which means that I'm under pressure to save money.

Planned as much as I can but I still have some problems. I've already found a good hotel deal in Burlingame, it allows easy access to SFO when it's time for them to go. I have two days left over that are not planned yet, and I would like to include these attractions in those two days:

Presidio

Fort Mason

PCC Trolley

Great Highway

I will not rent a car and I will not ride Caltrain, don't try convincing me to use those. I'm willing to ride BART if it's convienient and not too expensive, but remember, we're talking four adult tickets here. The SamTrans Routes 292 and ECR are going to be important. I strongly prefer high-floors over low-floors, so I would like to avoid Orion VII's and Gillig Low Floor's if possible.

Another matter, should we just look at the Golden Gate Bridge, should we ride over it on transit, or should we take a ferry to Tiburon. I know it's cheapest to just take a look at it from Fort Mason, but if time and money allows, I could consider something more here. Personally, to me it's just a bridge,a good bridge, but nothing to waste lots of money on. On the flip side, Marin County is nice.

I could also stay on the East Bay but I don't think that would be a good idea. Staying in Downtown is not going to happen. Willing to walk up to 45 minutes as long as the area is safe, but not willing to walk up a steep SF hill for too long.

The two unplanned days are 1 January and 2 January 2014, which are hard to plan because of holiday transit reductions.

Thank you in advance for your time and effort.
 
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BART service begins in Milbrae -- several miles north of Burlingame. Most (all?) of the San Mateo Transit (SAMTRANS) buses between Burlingame and San Francisco are not low floor. You can find a system map for the San Francisco Muni service (streetcars, diesel buses, electric buses) at http://www.sfmta.com/maps and a system map for the SAMTRANS bus services at http://www.samtrans.com/schedulesandmaps.html

Little Muni service into the Presidio, or along the Great Highway. PCC trolleys, and other historic trolleys, run on the F-line along the Embarcadero between Fisherman's Wharf and the Ferry Bldg. Some may also run beyond the Ferry Bldg to the Caltrain station at 4th and Townsend. There is a Muni bus that travels to the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge. From there, you can walk across the bridge, or just view the exhibits about it at the Visitor Center along the south side, close to where the bus line ends.

Nothing special AFAIK about Fort Mason. Fort Point (underneath the south side of the Golden Gate Bridge) is run by the National Park Service and will not be open on January 1 and 2.

There is a free shuttle service within the Presidio, which you can read about at www.presidio.gov under the transportation tab.

Carry umbrellas and warm clothing -- Christmas Week and the first week of January and well noted for typically being cold, dark and wet in San Francisco and the surrounding environs.
 
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There is a Muni line (76) that runs across the Golden Gate Bridge but only does so on the weekends. Golden Gate Transit runs across the bridge from Transbay to several cities in Marin and IIRC to as far as Santa Rosa.
 
I had to include Fort Mason because the 28 terminates there. BART Millbrae should be close enough to Burlingame but I need to confirm. This is my current plan, but I don't know which day should come first:

Day ?

Sam Trans ECR to Daly City BART.

SF Muni 28 to Presidio.

SF Muni 28 to Fort Mason.

Walk to Beach & Jones.

SF Muni F to Castro

Stay on F and backtrack to Montgomery (avoid dangerous Tenderloin)

If not very late, SF Muni 14 to Daly City, SamTrans ECR to Burlingame.

If late, BART to Millbrae.

Day ?

SamTrans 292 to Industrial.

SF Muni 23 to Great Highway.

SF Muni 71 to Downtown OR SF Muni L to Downtown.

May visit Colt Tower.

If not very late, SF Muni 14 to Daly City, SamTrans ECR to Burlingame.

If late, BART to Millbrae.

This plan should allow us to avoid the most dangerous areas while crisscrossing San Francisco. Won't ride to Marin because it takes too long and costs too much. I have some more questions that I hope you guys can answer:

1. What equipment does the 292 use?

2. What equipment does the ECR use?

3. What equipment does the 71 use?

I already know that the 28 and 48 are mostly Neoplan AN440 high-floors because I've seen them in SF.

Thank you.

Edit: I found out that the 48 quits running to Great Highway outside rush hour, instead terminating at West Portal. We'll have to ride the 23 instead, which seems to be an Excelsior route.
 
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I have all the maps and fleet info saved up now, but I'm still not sure about those exact routes. I did some research and it appears that 292 is mainly Gillig Phantom Suburban with artics used during rush hour and the 71 is a mix of Neoplan AN440 (high-floor) and New Flyer XDE40 (low-floor), with AN460 artics used during rush hour. I guess that's fine, the New Flyer low-floors are about as good as a low-floor gets, while Orion VII's rock all over the place.

I'm still trying to find out about the ECR. Reletively new route with little info available.

I see that the 71 is branded Haight/Noreiga, so is it a good idea to get off in Hippie District for a look around or just stay on the bus?

And speaking of PCCs, what's your favourite trolley on the F?
 
And speaking of PCCs, what's your favourite trolley on the F?
The F-Market line has a whole collection of trolleys, from all over the world. Here are a few: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.10150547464151350&type=1

The PCCs are certainly the most comfortable. The Milan trolleys are not, but they're fun to ride. I had a conversation with a driver on the San Diego heritage line a couple of months ago, and he said that PCCs are tricky to drive and hard to maintain, but it doesn't stop San Diego MTA from having more volunteer operators than they can use.
 
And speaking of PCCs, what's your favourite trolley on the F?
The F-Market line has a whole collection of trolleys, from all over the world. Here are a few: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.10150547464151350&type=1

The PCCs are certainly the most comfortable. The Milan trolleys are not, but they're fun to ride. I had a conversation with a driver on the San Diego heritage line a couple of months ago, and he said that PCCs are tricky to drive and hard to maintain, but it doesn't stop San Diego MTA from having more volunteer operators than they can use.
Yes, PCCs are my favourite too, I've taken them many times in Philadelphia when I was small. I've been browing on the MSR website for info on all the trolleys. I like those double-ended PCCs, they are rare finds these days. I'll showcase one of those when I get there. I've been visiting SF quite a bit, but they've all been short, busy trips, not for fun. That's how I racked up so many points on Road Rewards.
 
As noted on the SAMTRANS website, the ECR is a replacement for the 390 and 391 routes, offering more frequent and more consistent service along the El Camino Real on the San Francisco Peninsula. It was quite popular the one time I rode it earlier this year for a 2-mile journey.
 
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So I've decided on visiting Golden Gate Park and skipping out on Colt Tower and Haight-Ashbury, though we could still walk through the latter sinc eit's so close to the east end of Golden Gate Park.

As said, I'll have to ride 23 instead of 48 to get to Great Highway. Should I walk up to Noreiga and ride 71 to the central part of Golden Gate Park or just ride 18 to the west end of Golden Gate Park?
 
Wise move to skip Coit Tower, as it closed last week for several months for renovation. I don't believe it will be reopened yet at New Years.

The more interesting parts of Golden Gate Park are all east of 19th Avenue, IMO. So, I would suggest riding buses to the "central part". The California Academy of Sciences in GGP is a fun place to visit also -- especially if it is a cold and rainy day.
 
How much time is enough for for the Presidio? We'll be riding the 28 and get off at the Toll Plaza, near Fort Point. I'm not sure how much time it would take.

Edit: I'm trying to decide, which one is a better crosstown ride, SF Muni 23 or 48? The latter requires an extra transfer, which I'm not too happy about.
 
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I'd just note that the Sierra Nevada Brewery's new Torpedo Room just opened in Berkeley less than a block from the Berkeley Amtrak station. Thought I'd put it out there. Apparently all they'll sell on tap is samplers of four 4 oz glasses with four different offerings. Just snacks and no restaurant on site. They say no problem if you bring your own snacks, but bring a full meal and they might have to toss you.
 
I'm aiming to ride the PCC yard runs to Balboa Park. Do these always carry passengers?

I found out that they are tracked in NextBus, I tracked one from 17 & Noe to Balboa Park that took 23 minutes.
 
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