One of the most common mistakes that visitors to San Francisco make is renting a car. A rental in the City is nothing but a hassle. Between parking nightmares and sitting in traffic, a combination of: your two healthy feet; public transit; and taxis -- is the way to go. Let's look at these options in order:
Renting A Car:
- Parking in San Francisco sucks ass. Pricing is high and in many places its just outright unavailable (particularly the cool neighborhoods). Plan on spending 10-15 minutes per stop looking for parking (many spaces are sketch) or driving through multi-level garages downtown. It's not unusual to pay $10 per hour for parking.
Walking - Great exercise and really experience the City. You can stop and check out shops and cafes and maybe even meet some interesting people.
Taxis - A dream come true. Yes they can be dirty and the drivers can be weird and nosy. But a taxi is like a car -- but with no parking. You can easily go across town for under $10 - be relaxed - and have fun. Allocate your rental car money to taxis and be much happier.
Public Transit - A bit scary and confusing - but a great value. It's like a taxi at 90% off. Downside - complex routes and can be very crowded, especially at (long) commute times. Only for the strong of heart.
Finally - it's an easy way to help the environment. Between saving CO2 emissions from driving and looking for parking and the raw energy consumed by millions of rental cars on the road -- it's an easy way to make a difference in the perfect walkable city.
Net-net -- if you're coming to San Francisco - bag the rental car. Unless you're headed out to Napa Valley wine country -- you don't need it.
Same rings true for a place like Honolulu. If you're staying around the Waikiki area, chances are you'll be hard-pressed to find parking if your hotel does not offer it (many actually don't). I've seen a few visitors have a great time just by taking the public transit, renting a bicycle, or even a scooter.
Posted by: eivissu | February 02, 2007 at 02:54 PM