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Getting around San Francisco

The main public transport system in San Francisco is known as MUNI and operates buses, electric trolley buses and the famous cable cars, as well as metro streetcars (underground trains that become street cars when they emerge above ground from the downtown metro system). These services access all parts of the city and require the same fare (correct change only), except on the cable cars, which cost more. Passengers can ask for a free transfer with each ticket bought, which allows another two rides on a bus or train and gives a 50 percent discount on cable cars within 90 minutes. MUNI trains and buses run 24 hours a day, with a more limited service after midnight; buses late at night are not always safe to use. MUNI Passports are available for one, three and seven days allowing unlimited use of public transport within the city limits. The other transport system, known as BART, is a fast and economical subway network that connects the city to the East Bay. Taxis are also available but can be hard to find especially during peak hours. Driving can be a hassle in San Francisco itself, but a car is useful for journeys further afield.

Travel Info

Airports

San Francisco International

Location: The airport is situated 14 miles (23km) south of San Francisco.

Transfer Terminals: AirTrain light rail service operates on two lines. The Red Line connects all terminals, garages and the BART Station; and the Blue Line, which also connects to the Rental Car Center. AirTrain does not provide service to SFO's Long Term Parking Lot.

City Transfer: The BART Rapid Rail service connects the airport to the city centre, and provides a connection to the Caltrain commuter rail service at Milbrae Station, from where trains leave regularly to San Francisco downtown, costing about $2. Sam Trans Service, bus 292, leaves every 30 minutes for the city centre and suburbs. Taxis take around one hour to the city centre, depending on traffic, and costs about $35. There are also shared vans, which provide a door-to-door service and are cheaper than taxis.

Facilities: There are banks, bureaux de change and ATMs available. Facilities for the disabled are very good. Other facilities include baggage storage, medical clinic, bars and restaurants, duty-free, shops, childcare and baby changing facilities, post office, tourist information and hotel reservations. There is also a museum, library, art gallery and an aviation history museum within the terminal.

Parking: A long-term car park is situated two miles (3km) north of the airport and is linked by a free shuttle bus service. Short-term parking is available at the airport.

Oakland International Airport

Location: The airport is situated 12 miles (19km) from Oakland.

Transfer Terminals:

City Transfer: The BART subway network links the airport to Oakland and San Francisco; from the Coliseum/Oakland International Airport Station the AirBART shuttle links the station to the airport every 15 minutes. AC Transit bus line 50 connects the airport with BART, line N connects to downtown Oakland and downtown San Francisco as well as to east Oakland, and bus line 58 connects to the Amtrak railway station at Jack London Square. From Jack London Square it is possible to link to the Alameda/Oakland ferry, which provides services to San Francisco's ferry terminal and Pier 39. Taxis and door-to-door shuttle services are also available.

Facilities: ATMs, restaurants and bars are available in both terminals. Duty-free shopping, a business centre and left luggage services can be found in Terminal 1. Passengers with disabilities are well catered for, but those requiring wheelchairs should contact their airline in advance.

Parking: Hourly, daily and economy parking lots are open 24 hours and are linked to the two terminals by a free shuttle bus service every 10 minutes.

Activities

Golden Gate Bridge

The rust-coloured towers, graceful suspension and supportive cables of the Golden Gate Bridge make this famous symbol of San Francisco the most photographed bridge in the world, and visible from almost any high point in the city, although it is often shrouded in rolling fog. Spanning the two-mile (3km) mouth of the bay, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time of its completion in 1937 and was built to withstand winds of more than 100 mph (161km per hour). During high winds it can sway up to 27ft (8m) in each direction. One of the great engineering accomplishments of the 20th century, the bridge claims to have used enough wire in its construction to stretch around the earth several times. Walking across the bridge, under the towers that loom 65 storeys above the water, is one of the best ways to experience the immensity of the structure and affords beautiful views of the San Francisco skyline, the bay and its islands. Golden Gate Bridge is also a favourite with the suicidal and the sidewalks are dotted with crisis-counselling phones.

Opening: Access for pedestrians is on the east sidewalk during daylight hours only from sunrise to sunset (April to October from 5am to 9pm, November to March from 6am to 6pm). The bridge is open 24 hours for motorists

Admission: A $5 toll is collected from cars when driving south towards the city

Transport: Golden Gate Transit buses 10, 60, 70 or 80 depart daily for Marin County from the Transbay Terminal. Muni buses 28 and 29 also stop at the bridge toll plaza

Alcatraz

Out in the middle of San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz Island, or 'The Rock', is one of Golden Gate National Recreation Area's most popular destinations. The notorious escape-proof island with its dreaded maximum-security prison once held the likes of Al 'Scarface' Capone, George 'Machine Gun' Kelly and the 'birdman of Alcatraz', Robert Stroud. With sheer cliffs surrounded by the icy waters of San Francisco Bay, known for its treacherous tides and currents, it was regarded as the perfect place to detain the country's most-wanted and dangerous criminals who were isolated in dark solitary confinement cells. There have never been any successful escapes from The Rock. Visitors can explore the prison as well as learn about its history: from its discovery as a pelican nesting ground, its location as a military outpost, and the years between 1933 and 1963 as an off-limit federal penitentiary. It was also inhabited by Native Americans before being declared a Recreational Area and protected bird sanctuary. Thousands of tourists flock here each year and take the excellent self-guided audio tours that contain commentary from former guards and prisoners about life on the island. There is also a slide show and a tour of the island's ecology and bird life led by a park ranger. The view from the island looking across to San Francisco is awesome.

Opening: The last boat leaves the island at 6.30pm in summer (April to October) and 4.30pm in winter

Admission: Admission includes the ferry trip and is $21.75 (adults) or $13.75 (children). Night tours: $28.75. Other concessions are available. Advance reservations are strongly recommended, especially in peak season

Transport: Blue & Gold Fleet boats depart throughout the day beginning at 9.30am, from Pier 41, Fisherman's Wharf. Night tours in summer and combined Angel Island-Alcatraz Island trips are also available

Fisherman's Wharf

Some people love the bustle of Fisherman's Wharf, while others make a conscious effort to steer well clear of it. But for better or worse it is massively popular, attracting more visitors than any other city sight, with Pier 39 the commercial tourist epicentre. The Wharf was once a fishing port with dozens of boats anchored here. Pier 45 is still used by fishermen in the early morning hours, and fish and seafood can be bought from the Fish Alley Market. There are shops galore, fast food stands and overpriced bay-view restaurants as well as bars, markets, street performers, and an endless variety of activities for the whole family. It is also the gateway for several top attractions: trips to Alcatraz and other bay cruises leave from here; numerous museums include the Historic Ships Pier; and the USS Pampanito submarine that can be boarded from Pier 45. The entertaining colony of sea lions that reside on the floating docks at Pier 39 are one of the best attractions on the quay.

Transport: Bus 15, 30, 32, 42 or 82X goes to the wharf, or the Powell-Mason cable car line to the last stop

North Beach

Between Russian and Telegraph Hills, North Beach is San Francisco's 'Little Italy', that has long been the central hub for anyone with alternative inclinations. During the 1950s the pleasure-seeking, non-conformist lifestyle of the Beat Generation and their rebellious literature contributed to the neighbourhood's unconventional character and tourists poured into the district for 'Beatnik Tours'. Two of the Beat-era landmarks are the Vesuvio bar, and the first paperback bookstore in the US and hangout of Beat-era writers, the City Lights Bookstore. The steep stairways on Telegraph Hill lead to one of the city's most distinctive landmarks, Coit Tower, a monument to the volunteer fire fighters of the city providing superb 360-degree views of the city and San Francisco Bay. Inside the round, stone-tower murals of the Great Depression depict different aspects of life in California during the 1930s. The 'Crookedest Street in the World' winds down the steep eastern side of Russian Hill, the angle so steep that Lombard Street has to zigzag down with eight sharp turns to make any descent possible. The affluent residents inside their mansions with well-tended flowerbeds that flank the street bemoan the frequent traffic jams as thousands of visitors queue at the top and wait their turn to drive slowly down the tight curves, gathering at the bottom for photographic opportunities.

Golden Gate Park

Of the many open green spaces in San Francisco, Golden Gate Park is the biggest and the loveliest stretching from The Haight to the Pacific Ocean, featuring gardens, lakes, numerous sporting facilities, and museums. On Sundays the main drive is closed to traffic and becomes the playground for joggers, cyclists, roller-bladers and strollers. The California Academy of Sciences includes the Natural History Museum, aquarium and planetarium (temporarily relocated to 875 Howard Street until late 2008 due to renovations). The serenity of the Japanese Tea Garden with its bridges, bonsai and fortune cookies is a favourite with tour groups. Although filled with people, the park never seems crowded and there is always a secluded space somewhere on the lawns or in the gardens.

Opening: The Academy of Sciences is open daily from 10am to 5pm. Japanese Tea Garden is open daily from 9am to 6.30pm

Admission: Park entrance is free. $10 (Academy of Sciences) plus $2.50 for the planetarium; $3.50 (Japanese Tea Garden)

Cable Cars

One of San Francisco's most endearing attractions is its network of 130-year-old cable cars, the only mobile National Historic Landmark in the country, and the world's only surviving system of cable cars. Many cities adopted the system, but all have since been replaced by more practical means of transport. The perpetuation of these clanking museum pieces was due to determination by the city's residents and today they remain at the heart of the city's character. It is an experience to ride up and down the steep gradients of the hills, hanging on while the brass bell clangs, the conductor jingles his coins and the familiar clanking of the cables pulls the car at a constant 9.5 miles (15km) per hour. Many people have difficulty believing that these six-tonne cars can work without engines and the San Francisco Cable Car Museum affords visitors a closer look at the cable-winding machinery, and the 'home base' where cars are reeled in and out on 11 miles (17km) of steel cable. The museum also houses some interesting sights, including the first cable car (1873) and scale models of different types of cable cars that were once in use in the city. The idea of the cable car system was conceived by engineer Andrew Hallidie. After watching the uphill struggle of laden horse-drawn carts, he was determined to find a kinder and more efficient means of transportation, which he produced four years later.

Opening: The museum is open daily from 10am to 5pm (until 6pm from April to October)

Admission: $3 per ride, each way. Day passports for the cable cars, buses and streetcars are also available. Entrance to the museum is free

Wine Country

The Napa and Sonoma Valleys are at the heart of the Californian wine country, producing wines that are praised by connoisseurs worldwide, from a perfect climate of sunny days and cool nights. The area is a forerunner in the latest grape-growing techniques and wine making, and many individual growers, instead of selling their grapes to the larger wineries, are producing their own excellent boutique wines. The Napa Valley is the more commercial of the two, with more wineries, spas and tourist traffic, and a better selection of restaurants and hotels. The valley also caters for classic wine country activities such as hot air ballooning or biking through the vineyards; the world-renowned wineries also offer informative tours, which provide the ultimate wine-country experience. Sonoma Valley is less pretentious and more beautiful in a rustic way, with smaller family-run cellars and fewer visitors. Although the Napa Valley is the USA's best-known wine region, Sonoma boasts more awards than their snobbish neighbour, producing intensely complex reds. The Napa Valley is a relatively compact region with more than 200 wineries offering tours and tasting. Most of the large wineries with their orderly rows of vineyards are situated along the main thoroughfare that stretches from San Francisco Bay to Calistoga in the north. But there is more to the valley than wine tasting. The small resort town of Calistoga is famous for its mineral springs and mud baths, as well as the Old Faithful Geyser that shoots boiling water and steam 60ft (18m) into the air every 40 minutes. Nearby is a Petrified Forest with redwoods, seashells and marine life that were turned to stone after volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount St Helena covered the area.

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