Join Date: May 2008
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Posts: 226
As was mentioned before, you'll do better to not bring a car to the hotel (or anywhere in downtown SF), unless you plan on doing heavier shopping than you can carry a reasonable distance.
If you're coming from the airport, take the BART train to the Powell station. It's a 30-45 minute ride that runs frequently enough to not be inconvenient, and the scenery is a great "Welcome to San Francisco."
If you're going to be travelling within the downtown area, get a Muni (trolley and bus) pass and route guide at the Powell St. Station. The famous cable cars are $5/ride, so that $11/day pass can pay off quickly, and it makes you more likely to take chances when you're travelling.
One catch about taking the BART train is that its Sunday schedule doesn't start until 0800, which makes it risky if you have a flight departing from SFO before noon on Sundays. Two years ago, I took a city/county bus to get there for a 0600 flight, and I felt like a big ol' target, standing out on a Mission Street corner with my suitcase for 30 minutes at 0530, because I was too cheap to spring for a taxi.
If you don't mind going up and down big hills or waiting for a trolley/bus, downtown SF is easy to navigate by foot.