6 Hour layover in SFO what to do
 

I'm flying SFO-KOA coming in from ORD and have a 6 hour layover. I get in around 10:20AM leave 4:30PM. Looking for good ways to kill the time. I'll be w/my wife and I do have a RCC membership but I was wondering if I would be able to make it maybe to fishermans wharf for lunch or something....

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Also if you can suggest the best way into the city that would be very helpful

you should have plenty of time to get to the city(half hour) and go to one locale, chinatown, wharf, ferry building,

weather will be good so go for it

Since this is not UA-specific, I am moving this to the San Francisco forum.

iluv2fly
Moderator, UA

Assuming you don't have luggage to deal with, you could be in a cab and at Fisherman's Wharf an hour after you step off the plane. After a leisurely two-hour lunch, you'll be back at the airport with plenty of time to spare.

However, as a native San Franciscan, Fisherman's Wharf gets you a pretty view of the bay at best and a zillion tourists bumping your shoulders at worse.

For a much better selection of restaurants as well as a better feeling of real San Francisco, I would recommend the following areas instead:
- Union Square (yes, still touristy but not exclusively so)
- Financial District/Embarcadero
- SOMA (South of Market)
- Mission District
- Take a cable car to the top of Nob Hill, enjoy the view and have lunch at one of the fine hotels up there.

There are lots and lots of restaurants to choose from. You can consult the Zagat guide or sfgate to narrow down your choices.

Have fun!

Union Square/Ferry Building/fishermans warf
 

There is lots you can do! Take BART to the Powel street station, you have Unon Square and the cable car turn around, plenty to see there, or take BART to the Embarcadero station, and have lunch somewhere in the Ferry Building (right on the water).

If you want to go to fisherman’s Warf you would have to transfer.

I would recommend getting off at Powel Street station.

I have to agree with everyone else who has posted here - you have plenty of time to get into town for a leisurely lunch. If I were entertaining someone from out of town, I would probably take Bart down to Embarcadero Station and walk to the Ferry Building for lunch at Mistral, the Japanese deli or one of the many other great places to eat down there. Or, I would take Bart to Powell Street, walk over to Union Square and spend some time shopping. Head up to the Rotunda at Nieman Marcus for a serious "ladies who lunch" experience.

What day of the week are you going to be here? Is there any particular type of cuisine you'd like to experience?

BART is the way to go if you don't have a lot of luggage
 

BAERT(Bay Area Rapid Transit) leaves from the SFO Int'l terminal about every 12-15 minutes during the weekdays.It's $10.40 RT and you but a ticket before you enter.

I would likely skip Fishermans Wharf and insead head as others have suggested to Union Square (Powell St BART) or Embarcadero BART( to the Ferry Building, lots of neat restos etc) At Powell St you would be able to catch a cable car up the hill but lines in good weather tend to be long.

If you want to see the city, and feel adventurous, take BART all the way to 24th St, walk two blocks to Valencia and 24th and explore the great restaurants and small shops in one of the Latino areas of the city. It can be funky but it can also be fun.

At Powell st, one hidden gem in the food court under BLoomingdales,is "Out the Door" the 2nd outpost of Charles Phan's wildly successful Slanted Door Vietnamese restaurant. It's a take out bar but behind the take out section is a lovely sit down resto with more casual and cheaper food than his ferry building site. It's more lovely and more tranquil than the riotusness of the ferry building and the food is excellent.

Or take the N Judah line from BART downtown and come to the Haight - Ashbury= my hood - and make peace not war with the array of shops and good eats in our little corner of the world. It's about an hour door to door form SFO to the HAight - time for lunch and a leisurely stroll past 60's memorabilia before you go on your way.

With transit time being what it is, I would take BART to the Embarcadero and explore the Ferry Building, have lunch etc. If you take your time and enjoy it you will need to head back to SFO. If you really end up with spare time, walk or BART or MUNI two stops south to Powell and either walk to Union Square for the outdoors or go the SF Center or Bloomingdale's center for shopping. Six hours including transit and eating time will go fast and you will only really enjoy it if you don't rush it time-wise.

Here is another alternative: explore the area around SFO. Take BART to Millbrae (one stop), there are several excellent chinese restaurants as well as In-N-Out (if you are a fan). Even closer to the airport, if you take Hyatt/Marriott shuttle there is a nice (but usually windy) bayshore trail with wonderful views of SFO. You can grab a coffee at Marriott and watch the planes. Burlingame trolley shuttles visitors from both Marriott and Hyatt to downtown Burlingame with plenty of food options.

With all due respect to azepine00, the area around SFO is no SF. :)

The Embarcadero via BART suggestions are good ideas, especially because they limit possible transit hassles and missing your flight.

But, I believe that every visit to SF is improved with a cable car ride. ^ My suggestion, go to Fifth and Market, take the cable car to Acquatic Park (NOT Fisherman's Wharf), have lunch and several Irish Coffees at the Buena Vista Cafe, enjoy the view and return to airport. BV is pretty reasonable for food and is good. An SF classic. :D

Thanks everyone! We decided to go the route of the embarcadero and hang out down near the Ferry building and such. Excellent time!

Good choice. Avoid Fisherman's Wharf at all costs (best thing about it is the In and Out).

Ferry Building, lunch at Boulevard, walk through Jackson Square to North Beach, Telegraph Hill, Coit Tower, back down to Union Square, or to SOMA and the SFMOMA / Yerba Buena Center, then BART back to SFO. (This is definitely aggressive given the time you have, but it'll give you an idea of the choices)

FYI... Financial District can be quiet on the weekends.

Yes, but the Ferry Building will be packed, particularly if the OP arrives on Saturday.

Tadich's is open on Saturday and never crowded -- financial district seafood tradition. Closed Sunday. Open weekdays, of course, but crowded, you'll have to wait in a longish line unless you are willing to eat at the counter (which is fine).

Agreed, and I see where my post might have caused confusion - I did not mean to infer that the Ferry Building would be quiet on the w/e, just the Financial District (since others suggested walking around there).

Ferry Building is hopping on the weekends with a fantastic Farmers' Market (if you can afford $3 per plum - sampling is free and encouraged!)