Lonely Planet San Francisco

by John Vlahides, Alison Bing

Our Promise

Genres: Travel, Reference, Nonfiction

336 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2002

Reviews

[Illiterate · Rating 2 out of 5]

This guide devotes as much space to shopping, dining, and nightlife as to sights. I find that off putting.

[Maria Klondike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Went to San Fran this past May. Weather estimation was on point, I did not wear shorts!

Unfortunately, what they don't mention in this is that you really don't want to park on the public beaches. Yes. It was dumb. But we parked there anyway. Our car window was smashed and some of our bags were stolen.

Here's a pro-tip for travelers to San Fran: the vast majority of pharmacies are not open on Sunday! If something happens, like your medicine gets stolen and you need an emergency replacement and it happens to be Sunday, head for the Chinese Hospital Pharmacy because it's sort of the only pharmacy open. Even then, you might not get your prescription filled.

But this book is great. I used it to make all sorts of really neat plans that got de-railed. While I don't actually know how helpful it was in execution, I know it was fun to flip through it!

Although I did get to take their suggestion to walk down the Filbert Street steps from the Coit Tower. That was spectacular, 10/10 would recommend.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy the Lonely Planet series of guidebooks. I like reading more about the history of places I am visiting.

[Trevor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this guide very helpful during our visit to San Francisco. Easy to use and some great tips on good restaurants and cafés. Was very helpful in planning the best way of seeing the sights and visit restaurants in our limited 3 day visit.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was published in September of 2022 so the information was new and had been updated with relevant COVID-related information. The book was organized well and had many easy-to-navigate maps. The information about public transportation options was detailed and easy to understand.
There was just so much good information and history about San Francisco- we were glad to have had it on our recent trip (March 2023).

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good introduction to SF. Has overview of the more touristy areas, landmarks, neighborhoods, and little history of the city. Picking places to eat or stay definitely needs to be double-checked online through sites like Yelp or Tripadvisor.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful content and well-organized, but I read it as an e-book, and it kept freezing up! I have never had that problem with an e-book before. Too much trouble to bother with. I'll stick with paper!

[Laurie Byro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, just reading a few of these for forthcoming travel and always enjoy them, as a former travel agent, find them lively, accurate, and helpful.