Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Bring your own supplies to kid-proof your hotel room; San Francisco is more
a business traveler's town than a family travel town, and hotels are less likely to
have these things on hand. A few non-business properties, such as the Hotel del
Sol (p. 44), have taken pains to secure at least a few rooms, so ask.
A few major hotels—ones too pricey for this guide—offer babysitting services
to their guests for a sharp fee. There's also the fully bonded
Bay Area Child Care
(
%
415/309-5662; http://bayarea-childcare.com);
rates start at $15 per hour
plus a $15 fee and a 4-hour minimum. A potentially cheaper option is the sitter-
matchmaking website that operates nationwide called
Sitter City
(www.sittercity.
com)
. However, it does not screen people offering their services—you have to do
that yourself. Likewise, another good source for contacts, but one with D.I.Y.
screening, is
Craigslist
(http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/kid),
which, on a good day,
can see a dozen postings offering services. Just do your search well before you leave
home while there's still time to check out your prospective nanny.
Very few museums offer family tickets, on which parents and children are
admitted together for one discount price; where they exist, they're described with
each attraction listing. Attractions that I deem particularly appropriate or fun for
kids (and there are many) are marked with a
9
.
One safety note:
You'll want to keep a special eye on your kids around the
cable cars and the trams because they have a harder time stopping than buses do
and their tracks are open to pedestrian crossings.
ADVICE FOR TRAVELERS WITH DISABILITIES
San Francisco is ahead of the country when it comes to making life easier for
guests in wheelchairs. Hotels are required by law to have at least one special room
equipped for wheelchairs, and since guests with mobility issues are big business,
most of them have more than one such room. True, there are still many buildings,
including hotel buildings, that were grandfathered before the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990. Many of these lack elevators and can be riddled with nar-
row stairways and inadequate passageways. But if the building was renovated or
built recently, it will be carefully designed to be accessible to all—and locals, as
residents of a liberal town, are keenly aware of accommodating those who are
mobility impaired. So inquire when you book as to whether you'll have any trou-
bles and you should get a straight answer. You might consider tackling the issue
by renting a house, which provides much more room.
And what about getting around in this highly vertical city? Hill climbs can be
tough on travelers with disabilities, but remember even the toughest hills are usu-
ally also scaled by Muni buses. Muni buses almost always go where you want to
go, or at least a block or so away, and they're almost always equipped with a lift
gate. So when in doubt about negotiating a gradient, public transport can be used
as a workaround.
Another option:
Scootaround
(
%
888/441-7575; www.scootaround.com)
is a
national chain with a local office. It rents electric convenience vehicles (ECVs),
and it will deliver and pick up from your hotel. You probably already know that,
with advance warning, the major car renters can provide you with a car that has
hand controls.
For general information on both lodgings and transportation, contact
Access
Northern California
(www.accessnca.com),
an organization devoted to helping
