Quick Trip to SF

Riding the cable car - it was not something that I ever cared to do, but once I got on it was cool to say that I had actually rode up and down the streets on the side of a cable car.

Quick Tips:

If you are planning on taking a cable car to get around purchase a multi-day pass (versus each way), the line to catch the cable car at the ends are not worth the wait, walk a few blocks and hop on any car you can.

This is another benefit of the all day pass since you can take any one that has room and switch to the line you want further along the route with out having to pay another fare.

Also - for any smashed penny collectors, this is a great city for collecting so remember to bring plenty of coins, especially for along the water front.

Best Way To Get Around:

The public transportation for seeing the city is great and there are a ton of fun "tour" mobiles including bikes, scooters and segways, so a car is not needed for seeing the city. Stick to these and you can see everything you want and save car rental and parking fees for traveling beyond the city.

I agree with other reviewers that the hotel was great; clean, great customer service, free WiFi in the room and you can catch a ride on the cable car only steps from the main entrance. The only negative was that the cost for parking was VERY high and since we had a rental car to explore beyond the city it made the stay expensive. Another positive, if you are looking to shop you can shop your way down Powell Street and take the cable car back up.

As far as a fun thing to do - the tour was great. The segway's were a ton of fun and really easy to control after the instruction time. My problem with the tour was the amount of tour. After leaving the store front we took a short trip along the marina and through some parking lots, but we only stopped and got off the segway's twice to take any photos. I was very disappointed to only quickly pause at the Palace of Fine Arts. Additionally we appeared to take the same streets and roads in a loop, not really seeing that much of the city.

I did think the tour was fun, but with so much to see in San Francisco in two short days, I was really looking forward to seeing more while on this tour.

When planning our trip to San Francisco the option was presented to visit Alcatraz during the day or to instead try the night tour. We selected the night tour, and being summer this meant that when we boarded the boat it was still light out.

I honestly did not know what to expect from the tour, I personally like to hear the history and the stories but am not a fan of the cow heard system of tour groups. Our boat to the island had 300 + passengers so I was concerned that it would be crowded.

Once on the island everyone was randomly divided into groups to start the tour, which did make the steep walk up to the main cell house bearable. Inside the cell house everyone is given audio tours. This is a continuous guide instructing you where to walk to pass through the building. While it was nice to not have to remain as a group I personally like the audio tours that allow you to pick which order you are going to view the attraction. About 10 minutes in I was not in line with the audio and had lost my husband. At this point I stopped listening to the guide and just walked around.

Other than my personal preference in the style of audio guide, the tour was very cool. I felt like I saw a lot, had plenty of time - you can take any boat back with the last leaving around 9:30pm with all the staff - and did not end up being herded around, plus the ride back to the city allowed for some great views of the lights along the bay bridge.