The Castro
The Castro is well noted as the Gay hot spot of the world. The Castro is filled with some good shopping, great food and bars and clubs. I do not suggest trying to stay in the Castro as hotel choices are limited, there are some bead and breakfast options. The best hotels are in Union Square and its a 10 minute cab ride to the Castro or about 15 minutes via the MUNI, specifically the underground rail system in San Francisco.
HOTELS:
When planning on staying in San Francisco and your destination is the Castro plan on staying in Union Square or SOMA “South of Market Area” The Castro only has one hotel. My Favorite hotels in San Francisco are:
The Westin St. Francis, located in the heard of Union Square.
The Westin on 3rd St with amazing views.
The Westin hotels can be booked at the following link:
Westin – Guaranteed Best Rates on Westin!
The W on 3rd St is also a personal favorite, just steps away from all the shopping in Union Square. You can book at
FLIGHTS:
I have arranged flight discounts with Expedia. Click this link to see the deals.
Warning! If you intend to drive to the Castro, keep a few things in mind about parking. During the week, non meeter parking is covered by the S permit for residences in the Castro, Noe, Lower Haight, and Duboce Triangle area, maybe more. Depending on the street you can park for 1 or 2 hours before needing a permit. If you are staying at a friends house or even a bead and breakfast you can get a temporary permit. You will need proof that you are staying where you are staying, otherwise they will not give it to you.
There is only one paid parking garage in the Castro and it’s pretty well hidden, entry is on Noe St. just north of Market. Be aware this garage closes at Midnight. If you are looking for this place on any map program the address is on Market St. so it may be confusing to find.
Meters are STRICTLY enforced! The Castro is the single most enforced part of the city, there are more meter maids than any other part of the city. Watch your meter carefully and READ the signs very carefully. Some of the commercial spots are only for commercial vehicles until 4pm and may or may not be commercial on Saturday. Meters are free on Sunday, even commercial spots. Commercial spots are Yellow. Watch carefully for red meters, these are 30 minute meters. If you have a disabled placard, do NOT park in commercial spots when they are commercial, you will get a ticket. In California commercial plates are identified by having a single letter in them. For example 1×12345 is commercial, 1xyz1234 is not.
Look for temporary signs posted on the meters for events or construction, they will enforce these strictly. Look for chalk on your tires, if you keep feeding your meter past the allocated time you may get a ticket. The easy way to check is for a chalk mark on your tires that are street facing.
I do not know this for sure, but I have been told that a private contracted company takes care of the parking tickets. Once a ticket has been issued, there is no way for them to cancel it, don’t fight with them or you can wind up in jail. No kidding, if they feel threatened they can get you thrown behind bars! Many of these meter maids are very short tempered and do not put up with anything. It is in your best interest not to push them. You can attempt to fight a parking ticket, in my experience this is nearly an impossible thing to win. It’s worse than fighting a speeding ticket, but do what ever you want.
Be aware that the Castro Theater has 4 or 5 spots in front that at any time, at their discretion can become no parking, loading only zones. They will put out signs, again don’t try it, its really not worth it.
FYI, additional metered parking is available behind the Castro Theater, Naia, Sliders are right in front. Access to this lot is to the right of Naia. There is a second lot just off 18th st. behind Walgreen’s between Magnet, the STD testing facility.
The meters are expensive, $.25 will not get you but a few minutes at some locations. You can purchase a parking card in advance from the MTA website, the Montgomery MUNI station sells them during regular business hours.
You can buy parking cards at both Rossi’s Deli, they are at 426 Castro St near the Diesel store at Market and Castro St. The other place I have bought the cards at is the Chevron, also at the corner of Market and Castro. They
only have the $20 cards.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION:
If you are looking for alternatives to get to the Castro, you are in luck. San Francisco has a great public transportation system, so you have plenty of options. During street fairs such as Gay Pride and the Castro Street Fair it may be easy to get a cab in, but getting one out is a mess. Forget about parking, you will have a very hard time finding parking. Many of the streets are temporarily shut down or are setup for no parking.
There is an above street cable car called the F line, these street trains go from Fisherman’s Wharf to the Castro. Typically this service ends around 11 or midnight. You can catch this service from Union Square, where most of the major shopping and large hotels are located. This is the slowest possible way to travel in San Francisco, other than walking. These cars are antiques and are very slow!
If you are coming from Union Square, the fastest way to the Castro is via the Muni train service which is located underground. To alleviate confusion, from Union Square you can enter at the Montgomery Station, Powell Street, or Civic Center. These stations are the closest to Union Square, Powell Street is the most central to Union Square. There is also a cable car stop and BART stop at Powell.
At the platform there are two directions, In Bound and Outbound. In Bound trains are heading towards the Embarcadero or heading West toward the bay. Outbound is heading East or towards the Castro for this example. Do not use the J, which heads to the Church St, it get’s close but is not the best choice. The N line heads to the Sunset district which goes all the way to the beach. It’s not even close to where you want to be, it does stop at the Church station, so you can walk from there. Both the J and N lines go out and above ground.
The Outbound lines that will take you to the Castro station are K, L and M. During weekday rush hour, there is an S or Castro Express line that skips many stops and is very quick. Don’t wait for it, at times between trains can be lengthy and I have waited for the S at Powell st to find it so full that no one could get on.
Do not lean on the door’s, I have heard stories of the doors suddenly flying open while these trains are moving at full speed. I am sure it will not be fun if you fly out. Do not attempt to ride the train without a valid pass, do not throw your pass out after you go through the gate. These trains have police that check tickets. They will give you a fairly nasty fine. I also would not touch anything on the train, some people who ride the trains are very un-hygienic!
Some evenings they shut the trains down early and switch to street buses, they will have the same letters as the trains. During the weekends there are buses that run all night long down Market st. They don’t run that often, but its an alternative if you do not have cab money.
HOMELESS:
San Francisco is the homeless capital of North America. Tourists are the prime targets. I know you will feel sorry for them and they will tell you all sorts of crazy stories about their problems. If you give them money they will keep asking, once one see’s you give to one, the others will chase you down. As cold as this sounds, don’t make eye contact and just say no thank you and keep walking. If you give them a cigarette it opens you up for them to ask for money. The city provides them money, food and housing. They also have dozens of options for education, help getting a job and medical aid. They either have mental issues or choose the route of driving hard working people crazy.