Are you planning a trip to San Francisco and looking for some great San Francisco travel deals? Here are a few tips on how to live it up on the cheap in one of the nation's greatest cities.
1.
One of the most popular San Francisco activities for visitors is to ride the famous cable cars.
You may quickly that the lines to ride this mobile historic monument can get rather long.
You can literally find yourself waiting with all the other eager tourists to jump on a cable car for over an hour as one car fills up and the rest of you are forced to wait for the next.
Sure, this gives you lots of time to make small talk and people watch, but that's probably not how you envision your perfect vacation in San Francisco.
Try walking over to a nearby cable car stop.
Don't assume that just because one stop is crowded and the line is backed up around the block, that every single one will be.
I remember being shocked to find that there was no wait at all just a few blocks down from where we were waiting for well over an hour! 2.
One thing San Francisco is known for is their excellent selection of world-class restaurants.
But if you're not careful, you could find that all your money is quickly getting sucked up by going out for dinner.
As a tip, try going to the same restaurants for lunch.
You'll likely get the same selection of food, but in a slightly smaller portion (not bad if you're watching your weight too), plus you don't have to deal with all the crowds that come with the whole dinner scene.
If you really have your heart set on dinner, then be sure to make reservations as restaurants (particularly the good ones) tend to get crowded fast.
If you can't get reservations, ask for a seat at the bar.
You can often get a perfectly fine table at the bar and bypass the long waits for a table in the restaurant.
3.
Is Alcatraz worth it? I'd say yes and most other tourists do too as the continually prove by keeping this historic prison one of the most popular San Francisco activities.
You can save money on the tour by checking free magazines and fliers throughout the city for coupons.
Don't be tempted to blow off the audio tour, though.
It is really does provide a captivating view into what Alcatraz was like, and that's why you're going, right? Make your reservations well in advance (are you sensing a theme here?).
Although there are quite a few tours everyday, they can fill up fast.
4.
For some free things to do, be sure to look into some of the great free museums San Francisco has to offer.
The National Maritime Museum and the San Francisco Cable Car Museum are both free, but their schedules can be a bit erratic, so take the precaution and call ahead to make sure that they are open on the day you plan to visit.
There are also countless festivals and arts events in the city, that there should be no shortage of exciting things to do for free.
Check local calendars for events happening during your visit and you'll be sure to have a list of many things to do on the cheap during your visit to San Francisco.
So there you have it.
Just a quick rundown of some San Francisco travel deals for those of us that may be traveling on a budget, or just don't want to throw away money unnecessarily.
Be on the lookout for more entries about cheap travel deals and San Francisco activities.
1.
One of the most popular San Francisco activities for visitors is to ride the famous cable cars.
You may quickly that the lines to ride this mobile historic monument can get rather long.
You can literally find yourself waiting with all the other eager tourists to jump on a cable car for over an hour as one car fills up and the rest of you are forced to wait for the next.
Sure, this gives you lots of time to make small talk and people watch, but that's probably not how you envision your perfect vacation in San Francisco.
Try walking over to a nearby cable car stop.
Don't assume that just because one stop is crowded and the line is backed up around the block, that every single one will be.
I remember being shocked to find that there was no wait at all just a few blocks down from where we were waiting for well over an hour! 2.
One thing San Francisco is known for is their excellent selection of world-class restaurants.
But if you're not careful, you could find that all your money is quickly getting sucked up by going out for dinner.
As a tip, try going to the same restaurants for lunch.
You'll likely get the same selection of food, but in a slightly smaller portion (not bad if you're watching your weight too), plus you don't have to deal with all the crowds that come with the whole dinner scene.
If you really have your heart set on dinner, then be sure to make reservations as restaurants (particularly the good ones) tend to get crowded fast.
If you can't get reservations, ask for a seat at the bar.
You can often get a perfectly fine table at the bar and bypass the long waits for a table in the restaurant.
3.
Is Alcatraz worth it? I'd say yes and most other tourists do too as the continually prove by keeping this historic prison one of the most popular San Francisco activities.
You can save money on the tour by checking free magazines and fliers throughout the city for coupons.
Don't be tempted to blow off the audio tour, though.
It is really does provide a captivating view into what Alcatraz was like, and that's why you're going, right? Make your reservations well in advance (are you sensing a theme here?).
Although there are quite a few tours everyday, they can fill up fast.
4.
For some free things to do, be sure to look into some of the great free museums San Francisco has to offer.
The National Maritime Museum and the San Francisco Cable Car Museum are both free, but their schedules can be a bit erratic, so take the precaution and call ahead to make sure that they are open on the day you plan to visit.
There are also countless festivals and arts events in the city, that there should be no shortage of exciting things to do for free.
Check local calendars for events happening during your visit and you'll be sure to have a list of many things to do on the cheap during your visit to San Francisco.
So there you have it.
Just a quick rundown of some San Francisco travel deals for those of us that may be traveling on a budget, or just don't want to throw away money unnecessarily.
Be on the lookout for more entries about cheap travel deals and San Francisco activities.