Anyone travelling to San Fran this year?

[Denverite]

I've been considering a trip to SF but have seen extensive coverage of the severe homeless problem out there. Also have a friend from Denver who went last year and came back saying "we won't go back."

Does anyone have a recent trip experience to relate? Would be interesting to take the "earthquake tour" where some main historical sites of the '06 quake are visited. Tour is all downtown though - probably includes some some areas where the homeless problem is bad.

[tb001]

I used to live in the area and still go back for w*rk regularly. Yes, the homeless problem is bad and the traffic is horrible, but that wouldn’t prevent me from taking a site seeing vacation there.

[walkinwood]

If you haven't been to SF before, don't let talk about the homeless population deter you. Sure, there are homeless people there, but we have that sad problem in Denver too.



SF is a beautiful city & worth a visit.

[kgtest]

Was gonna go with a 1 and 3 year old and wife advised against. Suburbans were really cheap to rent, which told me there probably was no where to park it lol. We cancelled the trip and decided we will take the kids when older. We had a really fun trip planned though with a trip to alcatraz, visiting friends, hiking, riding trolly, museums etc. Looks like a lot to do but the mainstream attractions get busy FAST!

[joeea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Denverite I've been considering a trip to SF but have seen extensive coverage of the severe homeless problem out there. Also have a friend from Denver who went last year and came back saying "we won't go back." Does anyone have a recent trip experience to relate? Would be interesting to take the "earthquake tour" where some main historical sites of the '06 quake are visited. Tour is all downtown though - probably includes some some areas where the homeless problem is bad.

If seeing a homeless person here or there would ruin the trip for you, by all means don't go.

Of course that means you should never visit any big city - particularly in the warmer months.

I've been to San Francisco recently. I don't know what your friend thinks is "severe" but it didn't bother me. Lots to see and do in a great city for walking.

[Nick12]

One of the few places I have been where AC is just an afterthought. One can live without it. And I'm from Florida where I run the central AC Feb thru Dec. Alcatraz, and a great diverse mix of ethnic food in SF.

[euro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kgtest Was gonna go with a 1 and 3 year old and wife advised against. Suburbans were really cheap to rent, which told me there probably was no where to park it lol. We cancelled the trip and decided we will take the kids when older. We had a really fun trip planned though with a trip to alcatraz, visiting friends, hiking, riding trolly, museums etc. Looks like a lot to do but the mainstream attractions get busy FAST!

Yeah, not really a good idea to take your car anywhere in SF, regardless of whether it is a Suburban or a Mini Cooper. Park at your hotel and use public transportation. Doable even with small kids.
In any event, if you want the kids to actually get anything out of the trip, you are indeed better off waiting until they are older. 1 and 3-year olds will get zero out of Alcatraz (and probably pretty much anything else on the sightseeing list). However, if you want to wait until the homeless are gone, sadly, you'll be in for a long wait. This is a societal problem that will take sustained, long-term efforts to address.

[joeea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kgtest Was gonna go with a 1 and 3 year old and wife advised against. Suburbans were really cheap to rent, which told me there probably was no where to park it lol. We cancelled the trip and decided we will take the kids when older. We had a really fun trip planned though with a trip to alcatraz, visiting friends, hiking, riding trolly, museums etc. Looks like a lot to do but the mainstream attractions get busy FAST!

Your children are far too young to appreciate San Francisco. Consider something like Disney instead.

[Brat]

I agree that a trip to SF is wasted on pre-schoolers.

In my opinion, do not take a car into San Francisco; use Uber, Lift or transit for in city transportation. My daughter works in Menlo Park and uses Uber to visit the SF office because of car break-ins and the challenge of finding a parking spot.

[daylatedollarshort]

There's a lot to see and do in the Bay Area outside the city, which is only 49 square miles. The homeless issue varies by location and is worse in certain parts of the the major metro areas and not as noticeable in many of the outer suburbs. You could stay outside the city and take BART in for day trips. With a car outside the city you can go places like wine tasting in Sonoma, wine tasting in Napa, Muir Woods, Angel Island, an overnight or long day trip to Lake Tahoe or Santa Cruz, whale watching on the coast, lunch in Sausalito, a day trip to the Monterrey Aquarium, etc. We live here and still have a long list of cool places we have never been to or want to see again.

There are many great places for young kids, especially outside the city. Our kids really enjoyed the children's museums in San Jose and Sausalito, the Academy of Science at Golden Gate Park, Tilden Park in Berkeley (great views, hiking, steam train, carousel, little farm), Chabot Space and Science Museum, Six Flags, Waterworld, the Railroad Museum in Sacramento, the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz, and the Oakland Zoo. The Oakland Zoo had a major upgrade recently and now includes a gondola ride with killer views.

[Tiger8693]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeea If seeing a homeless person here or there would ruin the trip for you, by all means don't go. Of course that means you should never visit any big city - particularly in the warmer months. I've been to San Francisco recently. I don't know what your friend thinks is "severe" but it didn't bother me. Lots to see and do in a great city for walking.

I don’t know why some people have to respond with such animosity. [emoji849]

Wife and I went to Carmel, and then Napa about a month ago, with a day stop in SF. We really only drove in early in the AM, went to the wharf and Alcatraz, then drove to Napa late that afternoon.

Driving back to the airport 5 days later, traffic was pretty bad, and Waze took us some back roads to avoid traffic. That’s when we saw the most “tent city” homeless areas, but we were just driving through so no biggie.

I wouldn’t let that deter me. I think most of those areas can be avoided.

[Tiger8693]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daylatedollarshort There's a lot to see and do in the Bay Area outside the city, which is only 49 square miles. The homeless issue varies by location and is worse in certain parts of the the major metro areas and not as noticeable in many of the outer suburbs. You could stay outside the city and take BART in for day trips. With a car outside the city you can go places like wine tasting in Sonoma, wine tasting in Napa, Muir Woods, Angel Island, an overnight or long day trip to Lake Tahoe or Santa Cruz, wale watching on the coast, lunch in Sausalito, a day trip to the Monterrey Aquarium, etc. We live here and still have a long list of cool places we have never been to or want to see again. There are many great places for young kids, especially outside the city. Our kids really enjoyed the children's museums in San Jose and Sausalito, the Academy of Science at Golden Gate Park, Tilden Park in Berkeley (great views, hiking, steam train, carousel, little farm), Chabot Space and Science Museum, Six Flags, Waterworld, the Railroad Museum in Sacramento, the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz, and the Oakland Zoo. The Oakland Zoo had a major upgrade recently and now includes a gondola ride with killer views.

Great summary! And helpful to the OP!

[joeea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brat In my opinion, do not take a car into San Francisco; use Uber, Lift or transit for in city transportation.

Or walk! San Francisco is a very walkable city.

[Dtail]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeea Or walk! San Francisco is a very walkable city.

Although there are some very steep hills.

[joeea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dtail Although there are some very steep hills.

Steep but fun!

[Dtail]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeea Steep but fun!

Yes agree. One really knows where they stand aerobically after the climb up.

[daylatedollarshort]

The Rocket Boats only run during the warmer months, but those are also a blast. The first time we visited SF, I think our highlight was a bay cruise. If you stayed in the suburbs, you can take BART in, walk along the waterfront or take an electric trolley car and go to the Fisherman's Wharf area for the day. There's a lot to do there - Exploratorium (children's museum), rocket boat/cruises, an aquarium, a Martime Park, shopping, restaurants, sea lions galore, cable car ride and the Alcatraz tours leave from there. I haven't taken that walk in a while but we used to not see many homeless along that route, at least compared to locations like Civic Center BART where the issue is a bit more intense.

[Nick12]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeea Steep but fun!

I thought I was in shape but walking briskly up those SF hills is an intense workout, even my shins were sore. Fortunately the crosswords were always blowing and my sweat evaporated rather quickly. You also needs some good brakes in your car driving in SF.

[joeea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick12 You also needs some good brakes in your car driving in SF.

Very true. You need to learn how to turn your wheels into the curb when parking, too.

[NW-Bound]

We used to go to SF quite a bit in the early 80s. And I was able to find parking spots in Chinatown by driving around a bit. It would be impossible now.

We used to go to Portland too, and were able to find street parking spots, and there were no meters. Two years ago, I could not find any street parking, although there were parking meters everywhere now. Headed for a paid underground parking, and saw a "Full" sign. That was when I gave up, and drove the toad back to where my motorhome was, in Vancouver Washington.

Where do these people come from? Are they all residents, or visitors? I am glad I visited these places a few decades ago when it was easier.