Parking and Transit Tips in the San Francisco Area

[bidder123]

I'll be staying at the Downtown SF Marriott and they charge 45 bucks a day for parking. What are the alternatives?

Thanks

[liberant]

I'm in the same situation, staying at Marriott and Hilton and parking is $41.00/night. Was reading some reviews on the Hilton and apparently there is a parking garage across the street for only $22.50/24 hrs, perhaps you might encounter similar scenario.

[bbbb]

Welcome to the city,Many times I have paid more to park then I paid for my room. :)

[ankuragarwal123]

I live in the bay area and parking in SF near the hotels is a pain in the arse over the weekdays and saturday. One option is to park in the Mission District area near 24th st and Mission and take the BART from there to Powell St Station near Union Sq. But make sure to park closer to the Guerrero St and 24th area since it is safer than on Mission St and only 2 blocks away...the parking there is not metered (though can be hard to find) and the only thing you have to look out for is the street cleaning signs. A much cheaper options since the BART ride is like 5 minutes and costs you only $1.25.

I hope this helps.

[TBQ]

Amazingly enough :) there is a city-owned parking garage diagonally across from the SF Marriott, the Fifth and Mission Garage:

http://www.fifthandmission.com/

Rates ($22.50 per 24 hours) and a map are included in the site.

[thereuare]

Did you win this Marriott on PRICELINE?

If so, can you please include the dates of your stay, price paid, and bidding history so the rest of us can benefit from your experience.

Thanks!

[Yellow Hammer]

it's good to know where the major public parking lots are in the downtown SF area:

5th and Mission (which another poster said), is a huge one, costs $22 per day.

Stockton and Sutter

Portsmouth Garage (Kearny and Clay) serving the Chinatown area

Golden Gate, on Battery

[Maxi]

I'm staying at the Hilton and would appreciate any info on the garage across the street. does anyone know how I can contact them to reserve a space.

However, I also have another idea. Our car will be a hire car, which I still have'nt booked so I don't know the company, but if they have an ofice in San Francisco I was thinking about asking them if I can leave the car there for a couple of days. Has anyone does this?

[tripwizard]

Another good parking option downtown SF is the Ellis-O'Farrell garage. If you park after 6pm on Saturday, you can stay for the next 24hours for $13 total. Sutter and Stockton also has a similar deal.

[AztecWolverine]

What follows is the definitive 2006 San Francisco municipal parking lots and garage parking fees. Go to the web site for a nice locator map, phone numbers, and hours for each garage - if you want to contact them.

Note that a few of them have merchant validation, especially North Beach. I don't know which merchants, though. Restaurants, too?? Beach Blanket Babylon??

SAN FRANCISCO PARKING

http://www.sfgov.org/site/uploadedfiles/dp...geRates5-06.pdf

CIVIC CENTER GARAGE Rate Category Parking Rates Transient Parking Day Rates (Opening until 7:00 PM) 0

[AaronJB]

Thank you for the very helpful post, Aztec. :)

[lam]

I think, a few years ago, we parked on the street on a Sunday overnight FOR FREE. I don't know if this is still possible. Anyone know?? I think we had to go out early in the morning and put some money in the meter and/or had to move the car, but we were leaving that day anyway.

[quanvon]

do you ABSOLUTELY have to drive? cousins that use to live in SF, kept stressing how expensive parking was. We were there in Oct2006 and VERY easily got around. The Bart system is great, although needed some help to figure out how to pay for where i wanted to go. http://www.bart.gov/index.asp

Buy a Muni Pass that's good for all the cable cars and buses. One way cable car ride is already $5. We bought a seven day pass even though we only needed it for 4 days, then sold it to some other tourist so they could use the remaining 3 days. It was fairly easy to get around, although a bit chaotic at some stops (esp chinatown) since you're litterally packed in like sardines. people enter from the front, back, etc. so packed never really see the bus drivers checking for fares, etc.

[dlnCA]

Not all passes are valid by themselves on all SF MUNI rides...

There is a monthly pass, a weekly pass and a weekly passport... plus tokens...

For a full descriptions of your options on SF MUNI, go to:

http://www.sfmta.com/cms/mfares/

You could even take the occasional cab and spend less than you would for parking in SF.

[TravlinCali]

I live in SF and parking is definitely a real pain especially downtown near the hotels. You really don't need a car if you are planning on staying within The City for your stay. It is also difficult to drive around with the one way streets and pedestrians (even for locals) so I would avoid taking a car into the city if possible. Even if you have a car you may find that you don't want to drive it b/c parking is difficult to find at your destination.

I would recommend the BART option if your plans don't include day trips out of The City. If you are coming from the East go to a BART station in the East Bay and park for free and take BART into The City. If you are coming from the South and are diving up the Peninsula Park in Milbrae, Daly City, or South SF.

[slojane]

I just returned from a Saturday night stay at Grand Hyatt SF (Union Square East) and left my car at the St. Mary's Square Garage at 433 Kearny Street. We left the car there @ 4:30pm Sat. and picked up Sunday @ 1pm. The charge was $7. I still can't get over it. We had planned on Barting in from Millbrae, but this was much easier.

[KSMNN]

I`m going to stay in Par55 for 5 nights and I tought i`d park here:

http://www.parkforless.org/

I emailed them and asked for a price. 100$ for the whole time with inn and out.

Not bad compared to other options. Especially Parc55`s own vallet 42$ / 24

[jerkar]

That parking is very cheap, we are staying in USE in august ...

How about https://www.park-by-phone.com/longterm/?ownerid=bart ?

We don't need the car for the 4 nights we're staying at SF, so we'd like to park the car somewhere as cheap (but safe ofcourse) as possible.

[akathelorax]

I`m going to stay in Par55 for 5 nights and I tought i`d park here:

http://www.parkforless.org/

I emailed them and asked for a price. 100$ for the whole time with inn and out.

Not bad compared to other options. Especially Parc55`s own vallet 42$ / 24

How was this parking garage? I know exactly where that is because our favorite restaurant in SF is across the street. From what I remember it was a rough area in the tenderloin.

[OlgaLA]

Just got back up from SF (drove from LA)

Stayed at Parc 55 ($102 + taxes= $123 a night non-refundable special)

Drove into Dublin/Plesanton parked at BART with airport permit (purchase/print out before drive)

Permit for Tues/Wed/thurs= $15

BART trip into city (roundtrip to Powell- 40 min ride)= 10.55

Saved some GAS and some parking money!

Cheers, O

[nigelfrank]

You can park in South Beach at 200 Brannan St for a weekend rate of $5. Park anytime Saturday and leave by 11.59pm Sunday. I stayed at the Palace Hotel on Market St. & 2nd street. The walk from the car was approx 15 mins. There was no attendant and I didn't see any rules about no in/out so I was able to use the car on and off for the whole weekend.

[ilovecoffee]

We will be staying at the Hyatt in Fisherman's Warf - what would be the parking options nearby? Many thanks in advance.