Portland or San Francisco?

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by Escape
Is San Francisco safe? Lots of stories regarding safety/homelessness etc

That was actually the only thing I didn't like about SF. Homeless people and crack heads EVERYWHERE. On every bus, on every corner, on every street. Some of them were annoying, others kept to themselves. None seemed to be much of a problem though other than they made everyone uneasy, but in broad daylight probably less to worry about. We didn't walk around at night much and when we did it was crowded with so many tourists you felt safe.

[bjstare]

We didn't feel unsafe at all in SF. Lots of junkies and bums, but I'd much rather spend time around them than the angry drunk natives that walk around in our city sometimes.

[Feruk]

We decided to extend the trip to 6 days and go to San Fran. Any tips on where to stay? I read about Union Square and Fisherman's Wharf. Preference between those two, or somewhere else perhaps? We're food and sightseeing people, not shopping folk.

[asp integra]

Originally posted by Feruk
We decided to extend the trip to 6 days and go to San Fran. Any tips on where to stay? I read about Union Square and Fisherman's Wharf. Preference between those two, or somewhere else perhaps? We're food and sightseeing people, not shopping folk.

My wife and I stayed at the Best Western in fisherman's wharf when we were there. Nice hotel and close to everything. One day we did a walk all around san fran that took a few hours but it was a great way to see the city.

[suntan]

I love SF.

Driving in SF proper is hell. Don't.

[taemo]

Originally posted by Feruk
We decided to extend the trip to 6 days and go to San Fran. Any tips on where to stay? I read about Union Square and Fisherman's Wharf. Preference between those two, or somewhere else perhaps? We're food and sightseeing people, not shopping folk.

for our last night in SF, we stayed at Grant Plaza hotel, which is just south of Chinatown and Union Square.
not the nicest and comfiest hotel but was convenient and inexpensive since the wife wanted to go shopping at Uniqlo, plus walking distance to dim sum places in the morning for breakfast.

Fishermans Wharf side would be less noiser, can walk by the bay, walking distance to the Pier 39 and Ghirardellis store (hot chocolate and dessert are awesome!), Lombard street. Alcatraz.
Also from up Jones street, you get a really nice view of Alcatraz.
Never been impressed by Pier 39 but you should try Boudin's clam chowder on a bread bowl

also maybe stay walking distance by the cable car lines (Powell st) which is also $7 one way per person.
but it will allow you to go from Fishermans wharf to Union Square very easily.

[max_boost]

Hyatt union square.

Cabs everywhere. Hop on hop off bus gets you around to all the touristy places and a couple loops will familiarize you wth the city. Your wife will want to shop some too, union square perfect.

[nj2Type-S]

alright, so my wife and i decided today that we'll take a week off from work in the middle of august to drive around lol. we're going to vancouver, seattle and portland. what are your guys' "must go to" places in portland? i kinda just wanna go on an eating frenzy.

[FixedGear]

I've been to both cities several times. Both are great, but as I get older, the constant massive crowds in SF are getting to me. Imagine being stuck in the world's busiest shopping mall or airport for your entire trip. It's really bad, there are long lines everywhere and you can hardly walk down the streets. I'll return to SF, but for a relaxing weekend with the wife, I'd choose Portland.

[killramos]

Decided to bump an old thread, doing a last minute trip into SF for the long weekend. Looks like Alcatraz is all booked already, doubt I am going to stand in line at 5AM to get same day tickets but I suppose that is an option.

So for a trip skipping Alcatraz what are peoples next best things to do and see? Double Decker bus type tour etc. Think we will stick the the city of SF itself for such a short trip.

Any restaurant reservations that I should make in advance that are must do's?

Staying in Union Square, Friday night to Monday night.

TIA

[88CRX]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Decided to bump an old thread, doing a last minute trip into SF for the long weekend. Looks like Alcatraz is all booked already, doubt I am going to stand in line at 5AM to get same day tickets but I suppose that is an option.

So for a trip skipping Alcatraz what are peoples next best things to do and see? Double Decker bus type tour etc. Think we will stick the the city of SF itself for such a short trip.

Any restaurant reservations that I should make in advance that are must do's?

Staying in Union Square, Friday night to Monday night.

TIA

San Fran is an amazing city!

- Go to a baseball game (dress warm its freezing in that stadium on the water). Go early and do a lap around the entire stadium. Get the garlic fries. Beers are super expensive!
- Hop on/off buss tour is great for seeing all the touristy places (wharf, golden gate bridge, etc). We also used it for getting around for a couple days as its relatively quick, you can get multi day passes. Take the buss tour as soon as you get there as they’ll have restaurant recommendations and ideas on what to do, helps plan remaining days there as you get to see so many areas and check stuff out.
- Weather is crazy, can go from freezing to hot, back to freezing quicker then the temperature swings here.
- Wear comfy shoes, you will walk a lot!
- The Wharf should be checked out but its super touristy. Get the clam chowder in the bread bowl, eat the bowl when you’re done. Hate yourself after.
- There is a ton of shopping around union square. Tons.
- Alcatraz was cool, we did the night tour which is suppose to be the better one. If you can get same day tickets for regular tour or night tour do it.
- We didn’t eat in China town but its walking distance from union square if that’s your thing.
- Bus tours don’t go to the ‘painted ladies’ anymore. If you want to see those you need to get off and walk to see them.
- The lines to ride the street cars are massive! Specifically the line/stop in union square will be a mile long and it takes for ever. People were lining up hours before they start running in the morning. Avoid that station at all costs. We took the hop on/off buss to the wharf, walked around for the day and then took the trolley car from the wharf back to union square one night, we still waited over an hour at the Wharf. Also you need cash to pay to ride the trolley.
- Eat at In & Out, its near the Wharf as well. Animal style highly recommended.
- There’s an area a couple blocks away from union square that is supposedly super ghetto, the ‘tenderloin’ which I think we stumbled through, didn’t seem that bad.

[killramos]

Sweet, I'm getting excited for sure.

Its just going to be great to get out of town and relax seeing some new sights for a couple days. Should be pretty fun!

[BavarianBeast]

I've spent a fair bit of time in both Portland and San Francisco. Portland is a cool city, but there really isn't that much to see there.

SF on the other hand.. Too much to do!

If you could do one thing, and one thing only..

I would rent bicycles from Basically Free Bicycle rentals which is downtown. Ride the bikes over the golden gate bridge to Sausalito and spend sometime exploring and eating lunch there. From Sausalito you can either ride the bike up the gruelling hill (about 41km return, not too bad for anybody in decent shape) and back over into SF, or you can take the ferry directly from Sausalito back to the downtown bay area.

They call it Basically Free Bicycle rentals because the $50 that you spend on the rental can go directly toward buying something from their store.

[Maxx Mazda]

I'm in Portland a few times a month on overnights. It's one of my
Favourite layovers. Cheapest beer I've found in the USA. Lots of weird and friendly people!

[Sentry]

When I was in SF I snapped a pic of myself in front of the pyramid with my "triangles" shirt.

Selfie game on point. Ha! Get it?

[timdog]

i've been to portland many times - and one time was for just a 2 day trip like you are doing. It's great. I would recommend you rent a car right at the airport. With the little time you have, a rental car will just make things a lot easier in my opinion. There isnt one place in portland you'll want to stay, you'll want to venture around a bit. here's my recommendation. stay in the Alberta district at an airbnb, or at the Kennedy School nearby (amazing experience you'll never forget). in the morning, go get some amazing breakfast at Tin Shed or some of the other awesome spots on Alberta, then go to Forest Park, or drive 25 mins out of the city to some of the waterfalls/hikes and spend a couple hours doing that, then come back early afternoon and have lunch and start drinking beer (pearl, downtown, hawthorne, overlook, and other areas all have great pubs and restaurants - PM me if you are a beer nerd and want specifics). get some ice cream at salt and straw back near where you are staying on Alberta in the evening and repeat on day 2. you'll have a great time and you'll feel like you had a long 2 days.

P.s. the above recommendations assume you are ok with hipster culture and weird vegan hippies.