Help! San Francisco and Los Angeles in April

[krazykhoja]

I'm visiting San Fran and LA for the first time in April and was hoping to get some help!

I already know some of the bigger attractions in the the cities to visit such as Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf, Venice beach and Universal studios. But I was hoping to get some insights on other lesser known places to check out.


Also does anyone know any good/not too expensive hotels in the two cities?

In San Fran I'm hoping to be close to the airport, in LA I'm not sure it will matter too much. Also is it worth it to rent a car in either city or is public transit pretty good/quick to get around?


Does anyone know the best way to go from San Fran to San Jose? The Friday I'm there the Flames play, so wanted to go for the game, then come back and catch my flight to LA Saturday morning in time to watch the Oilers/Kings game.

I'm sure I'll have more questions as time gets closer, but any other tips/insight would be appreciated!


Thank you!


Edit: I did check out the Guide to Southern California thread, but saw it hadn't been updated in a while.

[loft_man]

Go to Bourbon and Branch for drinks...its awesome.

http://www.bourbonandbranch.com

I stayed at the Holiday Inn on California and Van Ness. Great location as the cable car is right beside the hotel.

[bmeier]

The San Fran airport is far out of town and there is nothing there. I suggest staying downtown then you can walk everywhere.

You can get to San Jose on the cal train it is cheap and pretty fast. Still an hour away from DT sf.

Fisherman's wharf is pretty crappy but worth a checkout. I would go to Chinatown there is an awesome place there for dim sum but the name eludes me. Also check out dotties true blue cafe for breakfast

[ga16i]

For a not too expensive hotel in San Francisco near the airport, I'd totally recommend DoubletTree in Burlingame.

Do rent a car in San Francisco, I've always been able to find excellent deals there for small compacts w/ unlimited mileage. The Bay Area is even more spread out than Calgary. Golden Gate Bridge, Park and other touristy areas aren't too far, 15~20min drive from airport. If you're after lesser known stuff, maybe instead of Chinatown, head to Richmond area near Balboa or Cabrillo Street, there's a large'ish Chinese population residing in this area. Still somewhat touristy, but not quite as well known, the Cliffhouse Restaurant is neat to check out especially if you have a lady friend with you for dinner, great view of the ocean and you can see windmills there too.

If you want to see the ghettos, the West Oakland area is where you'll want to be. Things are really quite divided, it's like there's a literal "wrong side of the tracks". Not too far from the ghettos, is Fentons Creamery my favorite ice cream shop. Up the street from that is Mountain View Cemetery. Really massive, old and serene, you'll often find joggers through out. Much nicer places than the ones I've seen in Calgary. I think they actually have guided tours sometimes.

If you're driving an hour South to San Jose, maybe you wouldn't object to driving another hour further South to check out Monterey Bay Aquarium and nearby Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

[npham]

Slanted Door on the wharf in San Francisco was our favrourite restaurant during our last trip there. If you do a bus tour in SF make sure you are dressed for the worst possible weather as you might get stuck outside which is nice when it's +20 but it can drop to +5 in a hurry and start pouring.

[AudiPWR]

Six Flags Magic Mountain... Such a dope park... The waterpark should be open then too, it looks pretty awesome. Let me know if you go, I know my company has discounted tickets.

[eblend]

Been to both places weeks apart myself, and from rented a car in LA (a must I think) and no car in San Fran, just stayed downtown, everything is pretty close that you want to see, or just take a bus, or better yet a trolly thing that they have.

Other than that, whatever you mentioned for touristy things, don't really know much outside of those myself haha, was there for a short period only. Do universal in LA as I found it MUCH better than the one in Orlando when I went last week.

[krazykhoja]

Thanks for all the replies so far!! I'm heading down with my dad, in case that helps with any suggestions?

Still looking into hotels, checked out what has been mentioned so far, will book one by the end of this week.

Does anyone know how far out of downtown the San Fran airport is? I'm flying out of San Fran early on Saturday morning (I think 8/830am). In LA, is it better to be near the airport, or is that far from everything also?

Thanks again!!

[tch7]

SFO is about 30 minutes from downtown via BART or longer via Caltrain. My relatives live in San Mateo about 10 minutes from the airport, so I usually stay with them or in hotels in that area. The Doubletree in Burlingame is not bad as mentioned, and the Crowne Plaza in Foster City is also reasonable but even further from San Fran. There is quite a bit to do in that area, but nothing touristy per se.

If you stay DT then most of the main tourist things are all walkable. Some worthwhile things to do that do require a car are a trip:
- Cross the GG bridge and visit the Marin Headlands & Muir Woods
- Driving down the coast from Golden Gate Park to Pescadero (Duarte's is a good restaurant there) or all the way to Santa Cruz, then inland and along Skyline Blvd. Lots of nice parks to stop at along this entire route, so you can easily make this a full day.
- Palo Alto Mall at Stanford