updated on March 18th, 2021
There are plenty of ways to get around San Francisco without a car. While we typically walk or snag an Uber, there are plenty of places to rent a bike. Many people decide to sightsee by renting a bike, heading across the Golden Gate Bridge, into Sausalito, and catch a ferry across the bay back into SF, which is a great plan. From our experience, the costs were relatively affordable and the bikes were in good condition. The various rental companies also have maps of suggested routes that can be chosen based on your experience and fitness.
One of our bike trips included renting bikes from Bike San Francisco Bicycle Rentals on Haight Street and a cruise through Golden Gate Park to Ocean Beach. You can find our 9 mile biking route through The Park, around Stow Lake, to Ocean Beach and the Cliff House here, (423 feet of descent and gain).
If you’re planning on biking Golden Gate Park, we’d absolutely recommend doing it on a Sunday, when they close John F. Kennedy Dr. from Stanyan to 20th Ave for bikes.
If you’re near Fisherman’s Wharf and looking for a rental, we’d love for someone to checkout Blazing Saddles. Not that we’ve rented from them and can endorse them, we just love Mel Brooks and hope that anyone willing to reference one of his movies as their business name can’t be all bad. Full disclosure, they have a 3 star rating on Google (as of 12/16). The ride from Fisherman’s Wharf across the bridge should be fairly flat and casual, as well.
If a bike isn’t for you, would you rather rent a car in San Francisco?