Visiting friends in Alameda, across the Bay from San Francisco, I decided to take the ferry and spend the day in the City. Far less expensive than parking in San Francisco, $3.10 each way for seniors and $6.25 full fare, the price of the ride includes free parking alongside the pier. And the view of San Francisco approaching from the water is spectacular.
The ferry leaves Alameda first, makes a stop at Jack London Square in Oakland, then proceeds through the container harbor, under the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge and docks first at the Ferry Building, appropriately, at the end of Market Street. From there, if one’s destination isn’t within walking distance, all options for public transportation are a short walk away. In a city as small as San Francisco, nothing is too far to visit on a day in the City.
http://sanfranciscobayferry.com
On a personal note, while passing through Oakland’s container port, particularly close to one ship, I realized that it was the very one on which I’d come close to booking passage a year before on a proposed trip on the other side of the world. I did ultimately travel on another container ship, but that day on San Francisco Bay was a striking reminder of how small our world has become.
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