Expert: Ernest Tufft - 9/11/2009

Question
Dear Mr. Tuffts, My wife and I are fixing to drive out from Mississippi arriving in the Bay area October 5th, ff.  in a 30foot plus R.V. Want to park some place in San Francisco accessible to public transportation.  Plan B. access to a "canned" touristy tour of San Francisco. Then want to head for Yosemite.  Please advise, wizardly person of the Bay area?  Thank you, Respectfully, D. Langdon

Answer
Hi David,

I'm not an expert on RV parking in San Francisco, except to say that it is extremely limited.  The city is a risky nightmare in which to drive for conventional automobile, much more so for RV.  However, I understand that Candlestick Park, home of the 49ers has an excellent RV park.  Check the online reservations at sanfranciscorvpark.com.  While this is an excellent location, Candlestick Park is unfortunately located at the extreme southeastern corner of the city within one of the more troubled parts of the city with respect to crime (San Francisco is otherwise one of the safest big cities in the USA).  To stay safe take a MUNI train or bus out of the neighborhood towards downtown, rather than trying to appreciate the area by foot.  I believe there is also some kind of shuttle service provided by the RV park.

The easiest access to quick and dirty tours of San Francisco without advanced planning can be found at the foot of Powell Street on Market Street.  This is where the Cable Car tickets can be purchased, and for those unwilling to wait in line forever, the Market Street antique trolley also comes by.  In this area also is a huge tourist information center sponsored by the city of San Francisco.

San Francisco easily ranks as one of North America's greatest cities for adult tourism and the public transit is itself great entertainment and adventure.  Don't be afraid to ask locals for questions about which MUNI train, bus, trolley, cable car to take when hitching aboard the public transit around town.  Check the MUNI website for further details.  Wandering lost in SF is really the best way to appreciate the city.

Make sure you have full reservations for Yosemite ASAP.  Have fun!

For more information and full travel tip details, check out my pages at Virtualtourist.com under the membername of atufft.  I also have tips for Mississippi that I would like you to review :-)