Best way from SFO to hotel in fisherman's wharf?
 

Alas hotel doesn't have a shuttle - what's best way from SFO to fisherman's wharf? Preference is something Inbetween public transport and expense of taxi.

Uber x is $30-38

Or take BART as far as you can then switch to cab

Most economical balance would probably be BART to Embarcadero Station then UberX the rest of the way.

You can take the Muni F streetcar line from right above the Embarcadero Station but it is almost always full of people and slow, so not a great experience with luggage.

There are shuttle vans (SuperShuttle, etc.) but it's a long, thankless, unreliable ride.

Since we just did this trip from SFO to Sheraton Fisherman's Wharf

Here is what it cost us

2 people no luggage - UberX SFO-SPG FW $31.97 (Sat afternoon)
1 person no luggage - UberX Pool - Central Precinct - SFO (Sat noon) $22.03

Quote Uber SUV for 4 people, lots of luggage - $74 - took a cab for $65 inc tip

Bart IIRC was $11.45 per person or about that amount

The way I figured it out was that Uber was clearly cheaper until you had a lot of luggage then combined with 4 people it became more expensive than a cab. However if you have little luggage and only say 3 people or less Uber was a much better deal

I did not price Lyft

BART would be considerably less than this - $8.95 per adult each way from any downtown station to SFO. Starting from January 2018, there will be a 50c surcharge for paper tickets compared to using Clipper, which is probably just yet another way of increasing revenue take from tourists, particularly for trips to and from the airport.

I personally use it when there's two of us because I can pretty much guarantee to be at the airport in under an hour from a hotel near Union Square whatever the time of day, whereas the other options are much more unpredictable.

FYI just to clarify for OP, $11.45 would be the cost per person taking public transportation the whole way, including BART from SFO-Embarcadero ($8.95) then transferring to the Muni F streetcar above ground from Embarcadero - Fisherman's Wharf ($2.75 - $0.25 transfer discount).

Which is what one (including me) would have needed right?

Maybe, maybe not. I believe someone upthread suggested taking BART to the Embarcadero stop ($8.95/per person) then taking a taxi/lyft the rest of the way especially if you have luggage, since the F tram is often crowded. (FWIW a lyft for up to 4 people seems to be about $8-9 from Embarcadero to Fisherman's Wharf on a Sunday morning). IMO, if you have 4 or fewer people, and aren't arriving during rush hour this combo is the best balance of price & convenience.

Fortunately there are multiple combinations that can work out for people depending on number of people, amount of luggage, traffic, and if they're trying to optimize for time or price. Unfortunately, it does add to the confusion when trying to give suggestions!

We had two different scenarios - two of us arriving together with one bag. IIRC, this cost us $23 via Uber Pool. However when departing, there were four of us with a total of five bags. Cost was significantly different returning to SFO than going to SFO. We took a cab for $72 including tip. We felt that Uber/Lyft were too costly to get someone that could take all of our luggage. The cabbie came in a minivan and was about $60 before tip. All the larger Uber/Lyft were well over $80.

It's all about the luggage and to a lesser degree the number of people.