Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Appendix: Fast Facts,
Toll-Free Numbers &
Websites
1
FAST FACTS: SAN FRANCISCO
AMERICAN AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIA-
TION (AAA)
The office at 100 Van
Ness Ave. provides maps and other infor-
mation for members. Call
&
800/AAA-
HELP
(800/222-4357) for emergency
roadside ser vice or
&
415/565-2012
for
general information. You'll also find an AAA
office on 160 S utter S t. at K earny S treet.
(
&
415/433-2722;
www.csaa.com).
AMERICAN EXPRESS
F or traveler's
checks, trav el information, and member
services visit the office at 455 M arket St.,
at 1st S treet (
&
415/536-2600
). O pen
Monday thr ough F riday fr om 9am to
5:30pm, Saturday from 10am to 2pm.
AREA CODES
Local ar ea codes ar e 415
for S an F rancisco, 650 for S an M ateo
County, and 510 for Oakland and Berkeley.
ATM NETWORKS
You'll practically trip
over ATMs in the F inancial D istrict and
on Market Street. Try to avoid using them
after dark.
BABYSITTERS
Most hotel concierge
will simply pr ovide referrals to a bab ysit-
ting ser vice, which guests must then call
on their o wn. Three r ecommended local
companies supply short-term sitters:
Ameri-
can ChildC are S ervice
(
&
415/285-
2300;
www.americanchildcare.com),
Aunt
Ann's I n-House S taffing
(
&
415/749-
3650;
www .in-housestaffing.com), and
Town & Country Resources
(
&
800/398-
8810
or 415/567-0956; www.tandcr.com).
All adv ertise that their nannies ar e thor-
oughly screened and trained, and all hav e
4-hour minimums. H ourly fees range
from $14 to $25, and an additional agency
fee may apply. For $100 per child, you can
give them a memorable night out through
the
Explorer's Club
(
&
415/902-7014;
www.eckidsclub.com), a tour company
catering to kids (see p
. 188 for a full
review).
BUSINESS HOURS
Most r etail stor es
open at 10am and close at 6pm or 7pm.
Many hav e extended hours on Thursday
and Friday nights. S tores in the Westfield
Center open at 9:30am weekdays and, like
other large do wntown r etailers, ar e also
open on Sundays from noon until 5pm.
CURRENCY
The most common bills
are the $1 (a “buck ”), $5, $10, and $20
denominations. There ar e also $2 bills
(seldom encountered), $50 bills, and $100
bills (the last 2 are usually not welcome as
payment for small purchases).
Coins come in sev en denominations:
1¢ (1 cent, or a penny); 5¢ (5 cents, or a
nickel); 10¢ (10 cents, or a dime); 25¢ (25
cents, or a quar ter); 50¢ (50 cents, or a
half dollar); the gold-color ed S acagawea
coin, worth $1; and the rare silver dollar.
For additional information see “Money,”
p. 33.
DENTISTS
Call the
San F rancisco
Dental S ociety
for 24-hour r eferrals
(
&
415/421-1435;
www.sfds.org). The
