I will be traveling to San Jose but flying in and out of SFO. My co-worker informed me that she has never been to SFO and I wanted to do a quick day tour. We will have a rental car in SFO but I'm wondering what will be my best option for the car and baggage:

- Delay the rental car pick-up until the evening and take BART downtown? If I use this option, what do I do with my luggage?

- Take the rental car downtown and either park on the street for the day or in a garage? I don't want to use valet and I don't want to leave the car keys with an attendant.

Any thoughts?

A good centrally located garage is at 5th st & Mission. It's right next to Metreon, across from the SF Shopping center, 2 blocks to union square and BART, and if you can put your bags in the trunk, should be no problem parking.

Stop by the shopping center, have a good meal at Sodini's (Grant & Green), or the worlds best burger at Bill's Place (24th & Clement), or have a steak at Alfreds.

MOMA is right next to the garage too if you're into art. In any event, the garage is pretty safe and there's lots of cabs there on Mission. And the parking is 1/2 the price of the pay lots on fishermans warf.

Not so much anymore (at least for longer term).

Duration Incremental Parking Rates: (eff. 7/1/2009)
0-1 Hrs
$3.50
1-2 Hrs
$7.00
2-3 Hrs
$10.50
3-4 Hrs
$14.00
4-5 Hrs
$17.50
5-6 Hrs
$21.00
6-7 Hrs
$24.50
7-12 Hrs
$28.00
12-24 Hrs
$32.00
Lost Ticket
$32.00

I agree with the idea of picking up the car, and using it as the luggage holding place while parked in the garage (either 5th and Mission or Sutter-Stockton garages - the latter is closer to Chinatown). From either garage, a cable car stop is only one longish block away.

Another advantage to the car over BART is the ability to get to a couple of places outside of the Central downtown area. Specifically, Golden Gate Park (don't niss the Herzog and de Meuron-designed DeYoung Museum, even if you don't have time for an extensive visit); and, time permitting, a quick drive across the Golden Gate Bridge (stop at the view point to see the SF skyline, then head back - return to the freeway is very easy, although you could also consider lunch in Sausalito).

http://www.mccullagh.org/db9/1ds-4/de-young-museum.jpg

Another nice, scenic drive is to go to the Golden Gate through the Presidio. Use the Lombard Gate, then follow Letterman Ave. (stop by the Yoda Fountain at George Lucas's building if you are a SW fan), then follow Lincoln Blvd to the GG or all the way to Baker Beach.

+1 ^ to Stockton Garage. It's the best located and the cheapest downtown. I also like it because the driveways and parking spots are spacious (at least until the 7th floor).

Thank you all for the great advice. I've been leaning towards the car pick-up and using as a bag storage but it's tricky with my laptop. I can't leave the keys with a valet or garage attendant as a number of employees have had their laptops stolen recently.

For the garage on 5th & Mission, they do not require you to leave your keys? Just want to make sure.

Planning on using most of the transit systems when showing SFO to my fellow co-worker. Golden Gate Ferry so they can see the city, alcatraz, and golden gate bridge from the water, cable car, and then street car. Trying to pack a large amount into one day.

No valet. Your other garage option is Sutter Stockton Garage (for no-valet "relatively inexpensive" parking) but access isn't quite as easy if you aren't familiar with the traffic patterns.