San Francisco Public Transit

During commute times or busy gamedays you are indeed better off on BART than on the roads, and you don't want to deal with parking.

BART now uses a transit card like other cities do, called Clipper, also available on your phone or watch. No paper tickets anymore.

From SFO BART station, which is after the international security area, take a Richmond-bound train to Downtown Berkeley station; you might need to change at 19th St station in Oakland, but the tracks are right next to each other. There is a taxi line along the curb beside the station, on the east-west street. Good Lyft coverage as well.

https://www.clippercard.com/ClipperWeb/

If you're staying very west side of Berkeley, like the marina, you are better off with a Lyft b/c the ACTransit bus leaves you off on the wrong side of a road that is not ped friendly.

Thanks avirosemail! Do you get the Clipper card at machines like the ones they used to have at the BART stations? And yes, I'm headed to the marina district so the tip about the bus is much appreciated. Any restaurant advice? My cousin is trying to get reservations at Chez Panisse. LoL!

Also, is the taxi rank you mentioned at the 19th St. Oakland station or in Berkeley?

Yes, you can get a Clipper card at a fare machine. Note that if you're 65+ you can get a senior card, which offers a discount, which is handy as BART fares are on the pricey side. You have to apply for the senior card, but the turnaround when I ordered it was amazingly fast.

I'm not a big fan of Chez Panisse but there are many other good spots in the surrounding block or two.

The two main gourmet allees are there on upper Shattuck Ave and on 4th Street from University Ave to Rose or so.

Third area would be Rockridge towards the south end of College Ave

The main caution that I counsel when in SF is do not confuse the Union Square area or the Embarcadero or Fisherman's Wharf for real SF cuisine. Ditto Chinatown -- the real restaurants are on the parallel street!

Thanks markcw and avirosemail!

San Francisco has great public transit. BART is awesome. And buses are wonderful. Highly recommend them.

and the vintage streetcars, too!
I have to say, the Clipper Card on your phone is so handy, now that I've gotten used to it. Even works for the cable cars.

Trotter,
Have at least one ride on the Cable Cars. Very iconic San Francisco! (Tony Bennet..."where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars").

I have only been to Chez Panisse twice, and most recently was five years ago, but I enjoy it! On a girls trip we had just arrived into town and still had our carry on luggage. It was the only time we could get a reservation; a 1:30pm lunch reservation. They had a little coat closet to put our luggage, while we ate. I actually really enjoyed being there for lunch even better than dinner. Felt less rushed and definitely less crowded.

Yes, definitely ride on the cable cars. My brother's son and their Slovakian exchange student (both ≈17yo) had a ball. They couldn't believe you're allowed to stand and hang on. I call it a slow-motion roller coaster. Those hills are STEEP! and what lovely views.

You can get a clipper card on your phone. This is easiest and you won’t have to pay for the plastic card and have another card to carry around.

Via del Corso in Berkeley is an in demand restaurant and worth checking out.

That line should not be concerning during the day. Always be aware. Don’t have your phone out, ignore the panhandlers or “entertainers” that could be on the trains.

I would suggest taking a cab from the BART station to your hotel. I’ve never taken AC Transit, but it’s had issues with its schedules and cuts. I used to live in the Bay Area and was just there a few weeks ago.

Thanks Mo R, I’ll check out Via del Corso. I’m not worried about BART, taken it from SFO plenty of times. Just not for 10 years and never to Berkeley.