Help please-Coming from Sacramento to SF for 1 day conferenc

We%26#39;ll be flying in to Sacramento for a family renuion and then traveling to San Francisco for one day to attend the GFA (a Classical Guitar conference).

We know that parking and driving in S.F. is an nightmare, and the only two places we want to go to are a guitar store (Guitar Solo) and the conference in the afternoon for one concert (which should end about 5-rush hour!)

We have to back to Sacramento that night because we have a 6:00 a.m. flight back to Kentucky.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

I%26#39;m wondering if we should park outside of the city and take BART in then take a taxi to get where we need to go. Is this a good idea?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Karen in Kentucky

Help please-Coming from Sacramento to SF for 1 day conferenc

I can give you parking garage locations if you tell us the two addresses for the store and the concert. Some public parking areas are affordable if it is further from the heart of downtown.

Help please-Coming from Sacramento to SF for 1 day conferenc

ah, found the guitar store; this is in South of Market - Near AT%26amp;T park. There%26#39;s street parking, but you would probably need to feed a meter or watch the signs for limited hours of parking, if there%26#39;s not a meter. the garages closest are Ampco System Parking on 475 Brannan St, (415) 351-4450 and California Parking Co on 470 Brannan St (415) 957-9377

Thanks so much. The conference will be at the SF War Memorial at 401 Van Ness and the Conservatory of Music 30 Oak St.

If we take BART in, where should be get off (coming from Oakland I suppose)?

Is it close to either venue or the Guitar Solo store?

I%26#39;ve never taken BART before. Does anyone know the cost?

What about AMTRAK? Is this a viable option from Sacramento?

Thanks for all of the help!!!

Karen in Kentucky

so looking at the convention%26#39;s site, you have access to good parking in the Civic Center underground garage on McAllister Street between/Polk %26amp; Larkin for the War Memorial Veterans Building

or

at the SF Conservatory of Flowers on 501 Stanyan Street: parking on John F. Kennedy Drive (south) and Conservatory Drive (north, west and east). Though most parking is free within Golden Gate Park, spaces can be limited and there are time limits, usually 3 to 4 hours. other parking lots: ABC Parking, 801 Stanyan St, (415) 665-6699;

Okay, you are amazing. Thanks again.

Now, I talked with my DH and it%26#39;s at the Conservatory of Music (not flowers) on Oak Street. Any suggestions for parking on Oak St?

And are there buses or trolleys that would take us to the Guitar Solo store or is it walking distance or is a taxi best?

Thank you so much!

Karen in Kentucky

30 Oak... next to the Civic Center so same garage info for War Memorial Veterans...

If you don%26#39;t want to drive because you are worried about not finding your way:

Not sure of which BART station to drive to, but the BART station nearest to the area South of Market where you are going would be Montgomery Station, then take #10 MUNI Townsend to Townsend and 3rd... outside BART if you exit Sansome street stairs, the bus picks up there. (stops are announced)

From there, pick up #47 MUNI on 4th and Townsend to Civic Center, stop at Van Ness %26amp; Market for Oak Street; or at Van Ness %26amp; McAllister for Veterans Bldg. (stops are announced)

BART station nearest is Civic Center BART. Go to Grove %26amp; Hyde Streets. Walkable, only three blocks from Grove and Van Ness, heading east in the direction of City Hall (across from Veterans Bldg).

research on www.sfmta.com, transit.511.org or bart.gov for fare and route details -- on MUNI you can use a transfer if you are not at the store for too long, good for 90 min. And when you get out of BART you can get a MUNI discount that takes 25 cents off. You punch a button on the machine near the BART exit turnstiles. You can buy a visitors passport in the Montgomery station for one day travel but I think it is going to cost more than what you need it for, but you wouldn%26#39;t have to search for exact change.

I don%26#39;t think AMTRAK will be more efficient or a cheaper option. It requires a shuttle from Emeryville. It does not go to San Francisco directly.

Taxi option around the city, yes, you can do that too. You can hail cabs easily from your locations.

I see that Pittsburg/Bay Point BART is the closest to Sacramento - free parking available http://www.bart.gov/stations/pitt/index.aspx

If you%26#39;re coming down I-80 from Sacramento, it might be easier to to go the Concord or North Concord/Martinez stations, rather than the Pittsburgh/Bay Point station.

When I lived near Sacramento, I usually drove to the Concord or El Cerrito del Norte (right off I-80) stations to take BART into SF, but that was years ago. I don%26#39;t know what parking is like at any of the stations now, though.

I agree, best BART stations would be anywhere between Concord and walnut creek, all are just off of hi 680. The cost is about $6 each way. It varies depending on how far you go.

check www.BART.org for all the details