I have just moved to Palo Alto and would like to go into San Francisco for a day to take the kids to the Exploratorium. I am trying to decide whether to drive (gasp!) or take Caltrain from Palo Alto station. The Exploratorium has free parking, and Mapquest says the trip is only about 45 minutes, but I have heard horrific stories about driving into SF. The Caltrain would be $25 R/T for the four of us, plus we would have to navigate on the buses to the Exploratorium, which would add time and confusion, but we wouldn't have to deal with traffic. Which is a better option on weekends?

If I do drive in, would it be viable to drive by Chinatown for dinner before driving home? Is there any place to park for a couple hours around that area? What about street parking?

Thanks,
AGS

Also live in Palo Alto. On weekends, definitely drive -- Caltrain frequencies are very poor and the station is nowhere near where you want to be. Also, on Sunday, most no-parking restrictions in SF are not in force.

For the Exploratorium, there is a large free lot; we've never failed to find parking there. For Chinatown, where parking is always a problem, we park in the Sutter-Stockton lot and walk through the Stockton tunnel. Alternatively, you can eat Chinese in the Clement St. "ethnic" section out by 1 and avoid Chinatown entirely, although there is no Fortune Cookie factory out there.

Driving out to Fort Point after visiting the Exploratorium, even if the Fort is closed, is always beautiful. We then usually head out to the Great Highway and drive back along the coast, which means we start with lunch in Chinatown rather than end that way. But you can take your pick!

Incidentally, we've also tried parking at Bart near SFO and taking it into SF and it is inconvenient as well.

You shouldn't have any problems heading up to the city on the weekend. I would double check and see if there's a home game the day you're planning your trip, as that will often make for nasty traffic heading into/out of the city. This is about the only reason I've seen traffic snares when heading up 280/101. The times I've chosen to take the car over BART/Caltrain (which I prefer, as I quite enjoy walking or taking the bus from the stations to my final destination), I've never had a problem finding parking. Just treat the driving as part of the adventure when you're making your way to Chinatown!

I don't know much about driving into SF from the South Bay/Peninsula on a weekend, but I'd STRONGLY RECOMMEND against NOT driving into San Francisco from the East Bay on the weekends, crossing the Bay Bridge. Traffic backs up for miles and miles, and it's extremely slow-going. As an East Bay resident, I always take BART on the weekends.

That said, the Exploratorium is at the far north end of the city and will require a few connections on public transit. Plan accordingly! There's a great public transportation route planner available online, at 511.org.

My opinion, only, but I think driving in SF is worse on the weekends because of all the tourists who don't know where they're going, are looking for parking spots, coping with one-way streets, etc. That said, there are a couple of parking structures on Vallejo in China Town where you can park for a realtively reasonable fee. Parking in and around China Town on the streets will be difficult to impossible (as it is throughout most of SF).

My solution was to buy a motorcycle. I don't think this will be viable for your family.

The Vallejo lots (over the Central Police station and another across the street) are at one end of Chinatown, Sutter-Stockton is at the other. And they aren't as cheap as they used to be, prices were raised a while back, but they are rarely full on Sundays.

Plinko, we don't have a problem like that from the South Bay on the weekends -- even on game days, it's usually manageable. If they want to start with the Exploratorium, they can even come in on 280/1 and turn right on Doyle Drive after going through the tunnel (instead of going to the GG bridge).

Weekend street parking near Chinatown can usually be found near the TransAmerica building on Clay or a bit further down near the Park Hyatt (corner of Battery and Clay) - 5-6 blocks from Chinatown.

Driving in the city isn't that bad! Who have you been talking to?

I've driven in Boston, NYC, Chicago, Portland, Seattle, you name it! SF is a dream. People aren't too aggressive and there's a light at every block!

Prior poster was right - take 280 until the 1/19th Avenue split. Continue on until the GG Bridge/Marina Blvd split and head to Marina Blvd. Exploratorium will be on your right as the freeway ends (and my childhood home will be straight ahead!) Ample parking.

Chinatown has a large garage (Portsmouth Square) at Kearny between Sacramento and Clay. It's certainly busy on the weekends but certain times of day have better access than others (mainly outside of brunch hours).

Sutter/Stockton garage is another excellent choice.

Caltrain on the weekends is hell. Caltrain to the north fringe of the city is an exercise in patience and lots and lots of spare time.

The only beef is with GETTING into SF on the weekend (it is HELL, as compared to regular commute hours) - the Bay Bridge on Saturday - well, its often backed up into El Cerrito or Richmond. Once in the City, if you know where you are going, absent an event, its not so bad.

That said, from the peninsula, for the OP's desires, I repeat, make sure you take 280 to 1 - stay off of 101 N. If you are coming up 101, just take 380 to 280 just past SFO.

Don't take Caltrain. There is no good public transit to the Exploratorium.

San Francisco traffic is unpredictable. I have seen weekend traffic nightmares, and sometimes you may have no problems.

Generally, if we choose the public transit alternative from the Peninsula to San Francisco, we drive to the Millbrae BART / Caltrain station, park for free in the BART garage, and then either take Caltrain or BART. In San Francisco, we use the Muni or BART, or we use taxis in the downtown area.

At Millbrae, you can choose between Caltrain and BART, depending on where you are going and the time of day. Whether you decide on BART or Caltrain, park in the BART garage or lot. It is free. On the Caltrain side, the parking lot is $1.50!

Have fun in San Francisco. It is a great City!

No offense, but this advice is terrible. I often take the bay bridge from Oakland to SF on Saturday and the backup was at worst, 10 minutes (particularly if you have a fastrak which is a no-brainer for residents).

It will take you double the amount of time to drive to bart, park, wait for train (up to 20 min on weekends, plus possible connection wait), wait for bus, transfer to next bus, etc. Vs. about 10 min. MAX driving time once you get off the bridge. There is plenty of free parking around the exploratorium, never full.

BART is useful if (1) your terminus is downtown SF or SFO (2) you plan to drink significant amounts of alcohol or (3) rush hour, when service is frequent. Otherwise you are better off driving. I am a big fan of public transit (use it commuting every day) but it doesn't make sense timewise or moneywise on the weekends.

What a coincidence---I grew up in Palo Alto (now live in Sunnyvale).

I agree that Caltrain's service frequencies are not very good on the weekends. It is good if you want to go to a Giants' baseball game because the station is right across the street from SBC Park.

I'd advise public transportation if you want to go to a fixed event---like the Gay Pride Parade, or the Chinese New Year Parade, where traffic in the city is going to be all bolluxed up AND the parade route is convenient to some BART Stations. I've driven up to the Daly City BART station, parked there, and took BART into the city (downtown). Or stay around downtown/Embarcadero Center area.

If you're going elsewhere in the city, or are going to some multiple destinations around, it's probably better to drive in and plan extra time for parking.

Chinatown---PITA for parking generally. The most conveniently located garage (with very reasonable rates) is the Portsmouth Square Garage on Kearney, right by the Holiday Inn, but it fills up very quickly. Not only that, you have to snake around the block (drive past the garage entrance, go up Jackson, make a left turn onto the side street bordering the Portsmouth Square plaza, turn left on Clay St. (I think) and then enter the garage. On weekends you can sit in the queue for sometime. An alternative is the Vallejo Street Garage by the police station---on the northern end of C-Town--it's also convenient for going to North Beach. Another one is St Mary's Garage (Kearney & California), near opposite the Bank of America tower.

The Sutter Stockton Garage mentioned earlier is also a good alternative, and better situated if you also want to shop in and around Union Square.

If you're there for Chinese food, note that SF Chinatown no longer has a monopoly on the best Chinese food in the area. Depending on what you want, you can find really food that is up to the standards of HK and Taipei in and around the South Bay. In SF, Clement Street and the Sunset District rank highly for Chinese cuisine as well.

Another major garage that you should keep in mind, for trips downtown, is the Fifth and Mission Garage. Convenient for Market Street area (around downtown), Moscone Center, Sony Metreon, the SF MOMA. Not convenient for Chinatown, though.

Mentioned about Restaurants in SF Chinatown:

Suggest the R&G Lounge, on Kearney Street, right near Portsmouth Square. Their fried crab and candied cashew prawns really are something. They offer a parking validation at the Portsmouth Square Garage (if you can bear the line snaking around for the entrance). Should go early, because the restaurant is really popular and packs out on weekends.

The Great Eastern Restaurant on Jackson is also very good.

Better yet, don't go up 101 at all. From my experience (though mostly on weekdays), I-280 usually flows much better than 101.

Also, some of the garages which generally serve the office buildings M-F may have reasonable parking near Chinatown if open on weekends (such as St. Mary's at CA st. and Kearney and several on Sacramento near CA).

Avoiding 101 is always a good idea - and 280 is such a pretty drive. We lucked out on parking this past weekend, so keep hope alive.

Caltrain is nice on weekdays with the frequent service, but since you'd need busses and/or cabs to get to your destination, driving/parking is probably easier for everyone.

Best,
Shannon