The Unofficial Guide to San Francisco (Paperback)

by Joe Surkiewicz (Author), Bob Sehlinger (Author), Richard Sterling (Author) "America's favorite city sits on the edge of the Pacific Rim, a location that lends romance to its image of sophistication and enchantment..." (more)
Key Phrases: restaurant profiles, cartoon art museum, disabled access, San Francisco, Fisherman's Wharf, Union Square (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The City by the Bay is home to dozens of world-class hotels and restaurants. Make sense of it all and find the places that are right for you with this all-new edition of The Unofficial Guide. From city sights to the highlights of the Wine Country, from dim sum to hotel bargains, it's all at your fingertips, with easy-to-use ratings and honest advice.

From the Publisher
The renowned Unofficial Guides are trusted by millions of readers. No other series offers such candid evaluations; every hotel and attraction is rated and ranked by a team of unbiased inspectors, so readers can be sure they're spending their time and money wisely.

Each guide features detailed descriptions of a wide range of hotels and restaurants in all price categories, with all the details pulled out so they're extremely easy to scan. Readers love the rating system used to objectively evaluate attractions, hotels, and restaurants. Handy charts demonstrate how each place stacks up against the competition. There's a wealth of information -- enough to satisfy even the most compulsive planner.

Each Unofficial Guide is tailored to provide convenience and insider advice on the destination it covers, and addresses the needs of everyone from families to business travelers. Also included are accurate maps, plus detailed information on shopping, nightlife, sports, and more.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Frommer's; 2nd edition (April 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028637259
• ISBN-13: 978-0028637259
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,143,646 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best travel guides by far!, January 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Unofficial Guide to San Francisco (1st ed) (Paperback)

I've bought several of the Unofficial Guides and they are my first choice in travel books. The rating system for hotels, restaurants, and attractions makes it very easy to compare one to the other and choose whatever is appropriate for your needs. More importantly, they are upfront about what to avoid. We all know about the "best" things to see and do from the other travel guides. The Unofficial Guides let you know what's a waste of time and/or money, as well as giving you tips on how to get the best out of the "best". I buy the Unofficial Guides to get the nitty gritty on areas of town to avoid due to high crime, lack of public transportation, etc. This helps me pick a hotel in a decent area and time my sightseeing trips accordingly. Very straight forward and easy to read. I hope the authors someday write Unofficial Guides to European cities as well!!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very useful travel guide, March 6, 2003

By	Joseph Boone (Irvine, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Unofficial Guide to San Francisco (Paperback)

This is a complete guide to visiting the city of San Francisco. The book is well written, very clear, and has a tremendous amount of information. It covers hotels, restaurants, attractions, etc. The authors provide several possible itineraries depending on what kind of trip you want and how long you intend to stay. In short, the book is an excellent tool to help you plan your entire trip.

The only drawback is that there are no pictures at all and SF is a visually exciting and diverse city. When deciding what you want to visit, a picture or two could go a long way in deciding what is a must see and what is not. For example, I had never heard of the Palace of Fine Arts but when I saw a picture of it in another book I knew I had to go there. This is an excellent book but it would be better still if they could add some color photos in the next edition.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It has major selling points, and should be used in pre-trip planning, but this is no end-all guide, July 4, 2006

By	Jessica Lux (Rosamond, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Unofficial Guide to San Francisco (Unofficial Guides) (Paperback)

The title of this book baffles me. Is there some Governing Board of Guides to Cities which can issue the "official" label? Is this guide unauthorized by the city of San Francisco for revealing super-secret insider information and tips?

Sadly, no. This is a pretty basic, no-frills guide to the city. The worst part about it is that it uses thick paper, a large font, and rambling paragraphs to present information. It comes in twice as thick as other guidebooks, and offers no extra information for that extra bulk. However, there is some good information in here, including some background and travel tips I didn't find in other guides.

As a general rule, I don't believe that there is one-size-fits all guidebook, and when I travel, I get an arsenal of books and select the top three to use on the road. This guide should be a part of your pre-trip planning, but it is not a good choice for the one book you tuck in your purse or backpack for a week in the city. The book follows a pretty standard format, opening with history, times of year to visit, accommodation selection, and then tips on getting around. Bonus sections not found in other guidebooks include details for business travelers, the most detail on public transportation that I have found in any book, and an extensive section on excursions to locales in the surrounding area outside the city proper.

The book is heavy on restaurant profiles and reviews, almost at the expense of details on attractions and entertainment. Most guidebooks have the opposite split--heavy on attractions, light on the restaurants--so this actually makes a good companion to a book such as the Lonely Planet guide to San Francisco.