Ahhh....I love San Francisco!!! *lol* Ok, with that said, here's some useful information about the lovely city that is San Francisco (Don't say, "San Fran." I heard it makes you sound like even more of a tourist). *lol* Ok, the main public transportation system is called the MUNI. The MUNI is a bus system and train system. Depending on where you plan on staying in San Francisco will determine which you will use. Thus, I recommend checking out the trip planner feature here:

http://www.sfmta.com/cms/home/sfmta.php

It should provide you with different options in terms of getting you to the Venue. The Grand Ballroom at the Regency Center is here:

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

Powell is one of the main streets in San Francisco. If you somehow end up in Union Square, you're in downtown San Francisco. One thing to note that if you're driving, there are A LOT of one-way streets in S.F., so keep that in mind. I would avoid driving in downtown S.F., if you can help it. There's always a lot of traffic and if you're not too familiar with the area, the one-way streets can prove to be a pain in the you-know-what. In addition, parking is a nightmare. You may be able to score parking in a parking garage, but I would call the Regency Center in advance and find out about nearby parking before you go.

--------------------------------------------

If you happen to be staying somewhere in the East Bay (i.e. in cities such as Oakland, Richmond, Berkeley *GO BEARS!*, Fremont, etc...), then you would need to take BART to S.F. BART or "Bay Area Rapid Transit" is fun when it's on time and you're not running late. Actually, the BART is very efficient and fast! If you're traveling to San Francisco from the East Bay, it goes under the bay, which is really cool and loud, I might add. Any BART line traveling west will take you to San Francisco, which is great because it makes everything less confusing. These BART lines go to San Francisco:

+ Richmond/Daly City - Millbrae
+ Fremont/Daly City
+ SFO/Millbrae
+ Pittsburg Bay Point/Millbrae
+ Fremont/Daly City
+ Dublin/Pleasanton to Daly City/Millbrae

*Basically, any BART that is says it's going to "Daly City," "Millbrae," or "SFO" will take you to San Francisco. I would recommend getting off at the following stops: "Montgomery," "Powell (you'll end up inside the Westfield center/mall when you exit the BART)," or "Civic Center (this should be only if you missed the other stops)."

Please visit the BART's website here for more information: http://www.bart.org

-----------------------------------------------------------------

For those of you flying into San Francisco, the BART station is conveniently located INSIDE the airport. So, when you exit the airport, you can just simply take the BART and MUNI to your hotel, rather than spending a lot of $$ on a taxi. While taxis are cool in N.Y., they are not so much here in California.

-------------------------------------------

Here are some very useful numbers:
411 - information line (anywhere in the U.S.)

911 - for those that don't know, this is the emergency line. They're serious, too, when they mean ONLY for emergencies!! Making a false 911 call can get you into some SERIOUS trouble!!

511 - Bay Area transportation information hotline. This number really sucks, so please try to plan your trip BEFORE you leave. Or if you get lost, go to the nearest shop or restaurant and ask for directions.

I love San Francisco too! (*-*) haha

(04-17-2009, 04:11 PM)ElectroNoise Wrote: I love San Francisco too! (*-*) haha

-----------------

God, I know! *lol* I miss Ghiradelli Square's brownie sundaes...*sigh*

- H.P.

-------------------------------

I have been looking at shuttle buses today that will take you from the airport to your hotel and vise versa. Using public transportation when arriving into and leaving a city can be somewhat of a pain especially you have a lot of luggage. Taking a taxi or using buses is usually the best way to go if you don't want/can't pack your luggage around but a taxi can get really expensive really fast.

I found a shuttle bus called Lorrie's Airport Shuttle that runs to and from SFO for just $15 each way / person. I'm not sure if this bus takes you to any San Francisco hotel or if it has preset routes but I plan on calling them later to get more information.

You can find a little more info here: http://www.sftravel.com/parking/lorries-...uttle.html

Information please from anyone in the San Francisco area.
Worst case scenerio....terrible traffic....bad time of day...etc. About how long does it take to get to the venue from the airport? I'm looking at staying at a hotel a couple of blocks away so the venue location would be fine. Does public transportation run pretty much to schedule?
I haven't booked our flight yet and Southwest is running some killer rates right now that I want to jump on it now before it goes up again. If we arrive around 3:30 does that give us plenty of time?
Thanks for any advice!

(06-17-2009, 07:50 AM)cathb Wrote: Information please from anyone in the San Francisco area.
Worst case scenerio....terrible traffic....bad time of day...etc. About how long does it take to get to the venue from the airport? I'm looking at staying at a hotel a couple of blocks away so the venue location would be fine. Does public transportation run pretty much to schedule?
I haven't booked our flight yet and Southwest is running some killer rates right now that I want to jump on it now before it goes up again. If we arrive around 3:30 does that give us plenty of time?
Thanks for any advice!

I've been there before! just use the Bart from the airport to the venue is like 1 hour top. it could be around 40 minutes I took a long time cause I didn't know where to go ^^" and yes the train arrives on schedule. Try the plan my trip feature on that webpage ^^.

(06-17-2009, 10:43 AM)Usagi Hoshino Wrote:

(06-17-2009, 07:50 AM)cathb Wrote: Information please from anyone in the San Francisco area.
Worst case scenerio....terrible traffic....bad time of day...etc. About how long does it take to get to the venue from the airport? I'm looking at staying at a hotel a couple of blocks away so the venue location would be fine. Does public transportation run pretty much to schedule?
I haven't booked our flight yet and Southwest is running some killer rates right now that I want to jump on it now before it goes up again. If we arrive around 3:30 does that give us plenty of time?
Thanks for any advice!

I've been there before! just use the Bart from the airport to the venue is like 1 hour top. it could be around 40 minutes I took a long time cause I didn't know where to go ^^" and yes the train arrives on schedule. Try the plan my trip feature on that webpage ^^.

Thanks!

(06-17-2009, 12:43 PM)cathb Wrote:

(06-17-2009, 10:43 AM)Usagi Hoshino Wrote:

(06-17-2009, 07:50 AM)cathb Wrote: Information please from anyone in the San Francisco area.
Worst case scenerio....terrible traffic....bad time of day...etc. About how long does it take to get to the venue from the airport? I'm looking at staying at a hotel a couple of blocks away so the venue location would be fine. Does public transportation run pretty much to schedule?
I haven't booked our flight yet and Southwest is running some killer rates right now that I want to jump on it now before it goes up again. If we arrive around 3:30 does that give us plenty of time?
Thanks for any advice!

I've been there before! just use the Bart from the airport to the venue is like 1 hour top. it could be around 40 minutes I took a long time cause I didn't know where to go ^^" and yes the train arrives on schedule. Try the plan my trip feature on that webpage ^^.

Thanks!

--------------------

The BART isn't always on time, but it is very, very reliable. I'd avoid driving through Downtown S.F. at all costs. You can catch the BART right inside the SFO airport, which is very convenient.

(06-24-2009, 08:54 PM)VAMPS + American Street Team + Wrote:

(06-17-2009, 12:43 PM)cathb Wrote:

(06-17-2009, 10:43 AM)Usagi Hoshino Wrote:

(06-17-2009, 07:50 AM)cathb Wrote: Information please from anyone in the San Francisco area.
Worst case scenerio....terrible traffic....bad time of day...etc. About how long does it take to get to the venue from the airport? I'm looking at staying at a hotel a couple of blocks away so the venue location would be fine. Does public transportation run pretty much to schedule?
I haven't booked our flight yet and Southwest is running some killer rates right now that I want to jump on it now before it goes up again. If we arrive around 3:30 does that give us plenty of time?
Thanks for any advice!

I've been there before! just use the Bart from the airport to the venue is like 1 hour top. it could be around 40 minutes I took a long time cause I didn't know where to go ^^" and yes the train arrives on schedule. Try the plan my trip feature on that webpage ^^.

Thanks!

--------------------

The BART isn't always on time, but it is very, very reliable. I'd avoid driving through Downtown S.F. at all costs. You can catch the BART right inside the SFO airport, which is very convenient.

Thanks. I'm not planning on any driving. The hotel charges $36 per day just to park! The BART should work for getting to it. There's a station about 6 blocks away....but I'm having trouble getting back to the airport. I'll just keep plugging away....but the air fares have gone back up. :( I wouldn't be doing this for just anybody, but VAMPS is worth all of the aggrevation and planning.

(06-24-2009, 09:36 PM)cathb Wrote:

(06-24-2009, 08:54 PM)VAMPS + American Street Team + Wrote:

(06-17-2009, 12:43 PM)cathb Wrote:

(06-17-2009, 10:43 AM)Usagi Hoshino Wrote:

(06-17-2009, 07:50 AM)cathb Wrote: Information please from anyone in the San Francisco area.
Worst case scenerio....terrible traffic....bad time of day...etc. About how long does it take to get to the venue from the airport? I'm looking at staying at a hotel a couple of blocks away so the venue location would be fine. Does public transportation run pretty much to schedule?
I haven't booked our flight yet and Southwest is running some killer rates right now that I want to jump on it now before it goes up again. If we arrive around 3:30 does that give us plenty of time?
Thanks for any advice!

I've been there before! just use the Bart from the airport to the venue is like 1 hour top. it could be around 40 minutes I took a long time cause I didn't know where to go ^^" and yes the train arrives on schedule. Try the plan my trip feature on that webpage ^^.

Thanks!

--------------------

The BART isn't always on time, but it is very, very reliable. I'd avoid driving through Downtown S.F. at all costs. You can catch the BART right inside the SFO airport, which is very convenient.

Thanks. I'm not planning on any driving. The hotel charges $36 per day just to park! The BART should work for getting to it. There's a station about 6 blocks away....but I'm having trouble getting back to the airport. I'll just keep plugging away....but the air fares have gone back up. :( I wouldn't be doing this for just anybody, but VAMPS is worth all of the aggrevation and planning.

-------------------------

How are you having trouble getting back to the airport? Oh, here's how you can get from the Powell BART station to the hotel:

http://tripplanner.transit.511.org/mtc/X...b1Selected

The trip planner listed several options. Let me know if you can't see it. ;)