khool

I'll be in Palo Alto in early March for a week of business and looking to meet my wife in San Francisco afterward for the weekend. We are flying in from BOS.

I have what I feel like is a fairly stupid question, having been to Silicon Valley a number of times but never really explored San Francisco:

I'll be renting a car from SFO for my week in Palo Alto. What should I do with the car afterward? We'd like to do the usual sight seeing. Probably stay in the Union Square area. I'll garage the rental if I have to. My sense is that San Francisco is not a real car friendly city, but I'm also dreading the need to return the rental to the airport and then take Bart into the city. Any ideas?

As an aside, we'd like to take a look at some real estate (personal, not commercial) while there. Any realtors to recommend in either San Francisco and/or Silicon Valley? (yes, I know the two areas are drastically different).

Thanks in advance.

mjm

Drop it off in the City. Very easy to pick up one place and drop off another. Garage in the City is crazy money that is better spent on taxis.

Georgia Peach

Parking is very expensive in SF, and difficult to find. Buy a pass and take the cable car or trolley during the day, and a taxi at night.

rjque

I would slightly alter this - parking is either very expensive or difficult to find. It's not usually both.

dhuey

Yes, you can easily find parking in the densest parts of the financial district. Brace yourself for the price, though.

Ocn Vw 1K

I agree with the feedback to drop-off in S.F. Many rental companies have downtown locations and many rate plans may not charge extra for downtown dropoff.

allset2travel

If you are going to stay in the Union Square area, and feel necessary to have the car, hotel parking runs about $50/day with in/out privilege. Parking on the street is a zoo.
Real estate agent can drive you around in his/her car. If it was me, I'd ditch the car and BART my way to SF.