The Logistics
Getting to/around San Francisco
*Lovely SF Hotels
*SF Things to Do!
*Where to EAT!
*Further Afield
Getting to/around San Francisco
The City by the Bay is served by 3 major airports: SFO, which is a convenient 30 minute BART trip from the City (or a 20-45 minute drive), OAK, Oakland's airport, which is approx 1 hour by BART or 45 mins driving, and SJC, San Jose's airport which is a little more than a one hour drive from the City. If you're interested in seeing Wine Country or Big Sur, you might be interested in flying into/out of the smaller airports in Santa Rosa (STS) and Carmel/Monterey (MRY), which are both about 1.5 hours (or more) from the City. You'll be able to find cheap flights on websites like Kayak.com, Travelocity.com, or Southwest.com. Car rental can be arranged on those sites as well. If you have questions with travel arrangements, hotel, or any of that logisticky stuff, send 'em to: travel@kimandleigh.com For all of your Public Transit needs, look no further than these two great sites:
SFMuni
BART For detailed driving directions to San Francisco's Union Square, the main location for our Hotel recommendations and the nexus of SF's shopping scene, see here:
Click here to see a map
Hotel Options
Here are some great options for your wedding stay. We've included hotel, Bed & Breakfast, and vacation rental recommendations in the city of San Francisco only (there are other places you can check out in Berkeley (the East Bay), Marin and on the Peninsula if you're so inclineds, as well - check out the websites above or the fancypants powers of Google). We have attempted to support local businesses by posting privately-owned hotels when possible. Just remember, since we've lived here, we haven't really stayed in many hotels in our fair town...but these we think the below places are all-right. Plus, we did find some great reviews online. Please read all small print and check their reviews at tripadvisor.com before booking!
There's a few hotel options for your choosing: Green Hotels, Standard Hotels, Vacation Rentals, B&Bs.
Green Hotels
- The Orchard Garden Hotel - Average Price: $199. Why Green? First hotel in California to receive LEED certification, and the fourth in the world!
- Hotel Triton - Average Price: $224. Why Green? Non-toxic cleaning products, cork floors, and recycling bins in each guest room.
- Hotel Carlton - Average Price: $219. Why Green? Solar panels on the roof, and they are carbon neutral.
- Hotel Drisco - Average Price: $249. Why Green? They donate $200/guest room per year to community organizations. Another JDV hotel (an SF-based boutique hotel company that we dig!).
Wonderful 'Standard' SF Hotels
- Grosvenor Suites - Typical Rack Rate: $129/night
- Hotel Beresford - Typical Rack Rate: $89/night
- Hotel Bijou - Typical Rack Rate: $109/night
Vacation Rentals
A great site for SF style Victorian Houses for families or to share. In addition, we've seen great reviews for the following properties:- Loma Vista (2br; Sleeps 6) - Rates from $265/night
- Casa Buena Vista (2br; Sleeps 6) - Rates from $240/night
- Parkview (3br; Sleeps 6) - Rates from $245/night
- Cole Valley Upper (2br; Sleeps 6) - Rates from $250/night
Bed & Breakfasts
Here's a smattering of beautiful B&Bs across town:- Union Street Inn - Typical Room Rate: $199 - 329
- Annie's Cottage - Typical Room Rate: $160
- The Parker Guest House - Typical Room Rate: $139 - 249
San Francisco Things to Do
We want you to enjoy our lovely City by the Bay before/during/after our wedding celebration! Here are a few fun things to do (most are accessible by Public Transit) in the City -- additional recommendations for places further afield (Napa, wine, Tahoe, etc) are down below:
- Alcatraz - visit The Rock!
- Golden Gate Park - more than just our wedding site, go see the Bison!
- Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39
- SFMOMA
- The Victorian Houses (aka Painted Ladies)
- The Cliff House and Land's End
- The Golden Gate Bridge
- Chinatown
- Coit Tower
- Twin Peaks
- Ghirardelli Square
- The SF Visitor's Bureau offers other ideas, custom tours, and
San Francisco Things to EAT!
Our amazing City has some truly amazing cuisine. We invite you to sample some of these amazing restaurants, among our faves in the world!
- Okina Sushi - only open on Thurs-Sat nights, 5-10pm, cash only. Call Akiyo at 415.387.8882 and tell him that Mister Leigh sent you. Seriously. Amazing.
- Le Charm French Bistro
- Zazie French Bistro
- Farina - try anything with Pesto
- Cha Cha Cha's - two locations, we had one of our first dates in the Haight location!
- Mexican food in the Mission (El Farolito is always a fave)
- Chinese food in Chinatown (try Yuet Lee or House of Nanking)
- Gary Danko - fancypants, one of SF's best.
- Michael Mina - another truly high-end restaurant, like, very very high end.
Outside the City - Napa, the Coast, and elsewhere awesome!
If you have a few extra days, these nearby places are truly some of the best California has to offer. Go and enjoy!
- Napa and Sonoma Valleys - some of the best wine comes from this neck of the woods. Between 45 and 90 minutes away, you can visit some wonderful world-class vineyards. Our faves are Teldeschi, Dry Creek Vineyards, Ferrari-Carrano, and anywhere in the Healdsburg/Dry Creek Valley area.
- Visit Stanford (45 mins south) or the gorgeous campus of UC Santa Cruz (90 mins south) to see where Kim and Leigh went to school!
- Hike beautiful Mt. Tamalpais ("Mt Tam") for a beautiful view of the Bay and the City
- The Marin Headlands, including the incredible John Muir Woods are another beautiful place for a hike
- Angel Island, in the middle of the SF Bay, is a great place for a boat ride or a picnic
- Drive down "The 1" towards Santa Cruz for a beautiful drive past foggy coastland, artichoke and berry farms, and fun towns like Half Moon Bay and Pescadero.
- The cities of Berkeley, Sausalito, Santa Cruz, San Jose and Sonoma all offer beautiful surroundings, neat history, and good shopping
- On your way to Lake Tahoe, stop by the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield for a fun afternoon. Bring us some "seconds" - they're still just as good!
