Exploring San Francisco: Top Transport Tips for Getting Around

hello you're probably here after watching our san francisco city guide welcome this is what we call a vloggy vlog which is basically me talking into a camera so if you're expecting to watch cute kids drone shots and clever editing i'm afraid you're going to be disappointed but if you're here to find out how to get around san francisco in a short video packed with quality tips and below average humor you're in the right place so let's start by heading back off to the west coast [Music] now normally when my english friends ask me some advice of how to get around the states i have to convince them to hire a car you see they all think that because we walk around london and we can walk for three miles and get it all done that we can do it out in the states i actually learned this very valuable lesson in northern california when i was aiming to get to berkeley okay so i got on bart and saw on the map where i could get off and walk for three miles to where we were meant to be i ended up having to cross over railway tracks a freeway gravel blocks that never seemed to end and people started to stare at me because i was walking at least that's what i think they were staring at me about from that trip i ended up learning that some places in the states you just can't walk around there isn't the infrastructure and it's also just too hot in california to walk that long three miles feels like 10 miles anywhere else on the planet the great thing about san francisco though is it's one of the only cities in the states that you don't need a car to get around in fact i'd recommend you don't big parts of it are walkable and there's great public transport of course plus you've got uber and lyft it means if you're staying in the city you won't need to spend any money renting a car which will save you some cash and make your trip a bit greener which we love so as you're probably not renting a car let's have a look at the options from the airport shall we you can fly into san francisco international from around the world but if you're flying domestically you can also choose oakland san jose and sonoma valley some of these you can fly into internationally too i know british airways has a flight into san jose and i'm pretty sure we flew into oakland with a low-cost carrier once if you're getting an uber or lyft or maybe you are driving let's say to fisherman's wharf san francisco international is 30 minutes away oakland airport is around 35 to 40 minutes away sonoma is an hour while san jose would be an hour and 10 minutes mind you if you're looking to go to silicon valley or watch the 49ers san jose is then your friend if you're going to use public transport from an airport do the park man no seriously bart is the bay area rapid transport system but it spans the whole of the san francisco and bay area and is a cross between an intercity train and the underground there are trains every 15 minutes so it feels like you're getting the tube but i wouldn't use it to get around the city like you might do with the tube in london because bart only has a few hubs in the city so a bus or tram will usually be better for those shorter hops it's a great way to visit berkeley oakland and the suburbs though it also stops at sfo and oakland airports of course so you can rely on it when you're flying in it's really safe and really popular so you won't feel out of place when you actually get on it to use the bar though you need to get a clipper card which costs three dollars if you buy it in a station what a waste of money shall i show you how to get rid of this fee simply download the clipper card to your digital wallet and you're good to go you won't be charged a thing you might find you can't get the app until you land in the states but you can force it through by going to the apple wallet hitting the plus button and then selecting the clipper card as soon as you've added cash you're good to go if you go for the clipper card you can use it to pay for loads of your travel including caltrain golden gate and san francisco bay ferry services and muni which is an important one remember that for later the clipper cart has built-in discounts so for example if you cycle over the golden gate bridge and go down to sausalito with the plan to get the ferry back you'll get 35 to 45 off the normal fare with your golden gate ferries discount which is huge just remember to tag in and out to make sure you pay the right fare kids four and under are free up to 18 they can apply for a youth card which only really works if you live in the states as they need to post the card to you but it probably is worth doing this if you live in the usa or a family you're staying with if you're traveling as a young family you might find it cheaper and less stressful to get an uber a lift or a taxi from the airport instead you will need car seats if you're traveling with little ones but you're already doing that if you've watched our flying tips driving tips and rental car videos i'll link to them on the end screen for you if you haven't seen them so you're telling me after watching all of that if you're traveling with kids the clipper card isn't even worth it and those discounts are really good too don't worry let's move on to our next way to get around [Music] the buses trains trams and cable cars can all be bought by our next operator muni which is short for the municipal railway get this at the moment all under 18s can travel free on muni except the wooden cable cars until the 15th of august 2022 perfect for young families i'm going to pretend this isn't the case for the rest of this video because i don't want to have to reshoot this video on the 16th of august muni have some great fares available for the whole family to get them download the muni mobile app for adults unlimited rides on buses and trams is just five dollars this doesn't include the historic cable cars if you want unlimited travel on everything including the cable cars go for the one day visitor passport it's 13 at the moment for adults and kids now this would be 24 if you bought it outside the app they do have options for three and seven day passports but realistically you're only going to ride the cable cars on one day so why not save your money and go back to the five dollar deal for the rest of your time in the city children four and under are always free under 18s are the same price as adults for the passport options the good thing about the muni app is not only can you download it from most countries before you travel but you can also add all of the tickets onto one person's phone rather than everyone needing a phone or a card with clippers service you can also use the app to plan your journeys now here's a slam dunk of a tip you can ride across muni for free not cable cars of course we've learned that now haven't we if you've got tickets to an event at chase center that means if you're planning on seeing the golden state warriors or a concert you can travel for free on the day of the event muni doesn't cover ferries so you won't get a discount if you sell back from sausalito after cycling across the golden gate bridge but i think you'll get good enough value back from the muni app which might even out the discount anyway right up next are the historic cable cars we've been talking so much about they're an iconic part of san francisco and you have to ride one when you're there the lines stretch across the city but they're only really used by tourists now one of the reasons is they cost eight dollars for a single ride for anyone all kids apart from those four and under or eight dollars if you want to return to where you came from it's another eight dollars want to jump off to watch the cars wind their way down lombard street and get the next cable car that's another eight dollars please so i'd probably get the one day passport on the day you're going to go on the cable cars so you can jump on and off and get all the photos you need and you'll also be able to get around the rest of the city on muni's other buses and trams as i've already said go back to the day pass after that an open top bus tour is another great way to see all of the sites in one go you can do a whole loop in two hours or you can jump on and off as many times as you like so you can climb coits tower or walk around hayton ashbury it's much more expensive than using muni but it's a very efficient way to see the city as a tourist there are loads of ways to book an open top tour i'll link to a few below next up ferries now these are an amazing way to get a unique view of the city especially the golden gate bridge you can book a tour a dinner cruise or a catamaran it's literally whatever you want to pay again i'll post some ideas in the description want to see the city from the bay for free well sort of a return ferry is included in the price of the alcatraz tour it's a short journey about 15 minutes but you'll get some great views of san francisco and the golden gate bridge right down at the bottom of my list is driving don't bother renting a car to try and get around the city you'll spend way more time actually trying to find parking and having the stress of getting around the place then you will actually enjoying where you're meant to be the only thing i'd want to do with a car is lombard street we were staying with family in oakland so drove in we parked at fisherman's wharf and didn't touch the car again until we were heading home one tip though is to book a parking space with spot hero we parked all day in the official pier 39 parking garage for 15 which i think is a great deal for a major city if we turned up and parked there without the website it would have been 10 an hour if you are driving remember that you'll also have to pay toll fees for the golden gate bridge and many other bridges it's all cashless now so you'll need to create an account at bayareafasttrack.org and pick your preferred payment option a one-time payment is probably best for tourists you'll only have 48 hours to pay after you cross a bridge so do it as soon as you can so you don't forget do you want more travel tips like this pick a video so we can all live the life of riley together have you picked a video yet please pick a video this one or this one

Channel: Life of Reilly

Views: 72,974

Keywords: Travel, Life of Reilly, Life of Riley, Travel Tips, how to get around san francisco, public transport in san francisco, how to get around san francisco without a car, how to use public transport in san, how to use public transport in san francisco, transportation in san francisco, using bart in san francisco, clipper card, clipper card bart, clipper card san francisco, muni, muni help, cable cars, how much are cable cars in san francisco, san francisco, california

Id: BGr3iqzh5YA

Length: 11min 29sec (689 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 05 2022