The city is full of hills and if your route is uphill, man, that is a workout walk and you will arrive looking like a sweaty mess. I have slowly started to learn where the hills are and how to avoid the steepest hills. Even easier option than walking around the hills is to take an Uber or Lyft. I prefer Uber express pool – You meet other people and it’s kinda like public transportation when the ride is shared. I’ll share the discount codes with you in the end.

Bus ticket and reloadable Clipper card

If you are staying longer in San Francisco and don’t want to use car services go to a MUNI station (metro station) and buy a clipper card from a machine and charge up some money on it. You can charge up the card in some of the small convenience stores and Walmarts. Alternative option is to download Munimobile app. I prefer taking the fastest route and change busses as little as possible. Keep in mind that it might be more fun and quicker to walk than change busses. Some of the busses such as 43 and 28 go near Golden Gate Bridge through Presidio. I think these busses are perfect for touring around the city. 

Things to know:

1. Clipper card costs $3 and one journey on it is $2.5 – machines won’t except foreign Visa card so you might need cash to pay
2. You can pay bus with cash ($3.00) – no change given back – the ticket lasts 1.5 hours
3. If you buy a ticket after 8.30pm you can use the same ticket till 5am
4. Download the app called Munimobile (ticket $2.5) – you can buy ticket via app when waiting for a bus
5. Use Google Maps app – it tells you different option how to get to places
6. Uber does express carpooling for 1-2 persons (other people will be picked up as well and you might need to walk to the meeting point), which is cheaper that getting an uber all to yourself
7. City bikes – just remember San Francisco has a lot of hills so make sure to get an electric bike
8. Use Scoot app and scoot around the city with a Vespa-style scooter – you will need American driving license to register
9. Electric scooters (kickboards) can be found all around the city. It’s cheap and fast way to move around -stay away from sidewalks and wear a helmet!
10. Zip-car that you can pick up near you and return to another zip-car station – you need to apply for the Zip-car card that’ll be mailed to you – you need to subscribe – pay by an hour

Discount codes

If you are a new user on Uber here’s a link where to download the app and here’s a discount code: jxhxm

If you are a new user on Lyft, you can download the app from here, and here’s a discount code: AHONEN05020