Things to do in San Fran?

no suggestions..just have fun

Erica - in my opinion, early October is the most awesome time to visit SF - the weather is fantastic (sometimes warmer than summer months) and you get the benefit of harvest time in Wine country. One of my first trips to SF (before I moved) was to visit a friend for a long weekend over Columbus Day. There was an amazing parade and street festival through the city and the Navy's Blue Angels were doing air shows the whole weekend. It's something to see

I think spring and fall are the best times (April, May, June, Sept, Oct). Its generally warmer than the summer (which can be foggy and cold), even HOT some days.

But thats SF itself. Once you're outside the city, the weather changes dramatically (for the better).

it varies greatly from day to day and there's a big temperature change from day to night (as much as 30 degrees on warm days). In SF itself, you should plan to dress in layers - from one part of the city to another, or from one minute to the next, you can go from hot to cold or vice versa. And be prepared for cold - its not strange to be in pants, sweater and leather jacket at night. I miss the warm NY nights! Rarely shorts weather in July, though it does happen.

Outside the city, bring shorts or skirts, tanks - the usual warm weather clothing if your planning a visit to Napa, etc. Its much hotter up there.

Average temps in July...hi's in the low 70's, lows in the 50's. I've seen some much colder July's though - in the 40's.

Thanks Lisa. I dont think we will go outside of the city without a car so that info is helpful. I actually prefer wearing pants over shorts when I travel b/c they get so wrinkled in my bag...so pants is a good thing for me :D

One more question - how far is Oakland airport from the city compared to San Fran Airport? Assuming we have to take a cab or a shuttle to/from, is it worth checking out the airfares to Oakland?

We often find better deals out of Oakland.
It is pretty close - 30 minutes or so (which is about the same as SFO to the wharf), but cabs and car services gouge you a bit to get to/from OAK. Supershuttle doesn't run out of Oakland, but similar van services do. Here are some shuttles you can call to get a price from OAK to the wharf.

You can actually take BART (bay area rapid transit - its a train) from OAK right into SF for about $2-3, but it'll be a pain if you have a lot of luggage or arrive late at night.

If you get enough of a deal into Oakland that makes up for the car/van ride, its worth it, especially since you'll be at the Wharf (closer to Bay Bridge, and further from SFO).

Cab from SFO to the wharf will be about $40. There are SuperShuttle options too, but since you're two people, it'll be only slightly less than the cab.

If I'm around, I wouldn't at all mind picking you up at either location - I've got that kind of time

Thanks so much for the info.

And thanks for the link but how do I determine which is a shuttle service?

We are coming in pretty late that night so I dont think I want to explore the BART in the middle of the night :D

go for the ones with 'shuttle' in the name Also, focus on the orange column that shows which go to SF. Looks like SuperShuttle reinstated service to/from OAK for reservations only - so you can check them out. They'll be about $40 for the two of you. A cab would run closer to $60, I think.

I've never taken any others, so I'm not much help.

Weather in the Bay area is not drastic...it's a very moderate climate. It's just that the city has big fluctuations in temperature b/c of the surrounding water. Layering your clothing is your best bet, especially if you don't plan on leaving the city limits. Usually if you travel just 20 min. outside the city (in either direction - north or south) it's markedly warmer.

Enjoy it! It's such a great city!!