City Safety

I am planning on travelling to SF at the end of July. I booked the SF Marriott. I note now that it is nearby the Tenderloin area and SOMA, which I have read are not safe, particularly at night. Is the Marriott a good choice? I want to be near to things, but safe too. Also, are there any areas of SF that are to be strictly avoided due to safety? I am a small town girl and don%26#39;t want to get into any unexpected situations. Are there any tips for travelling around the city in the evening? I appreciate any input. Thank you.

City Safety

You should be fine. The city is safe. What you%26#39;ll see that you%26#39;re probably not used to is a lot of people on the street, either homeless or hustling or hanging out, whatever. Just be aware of your surroundings and walk with confidence. Panhandlers know tourists and approach them for money, often with stories of needing gas money or needing to get on BART or whatever. You don%26#39;t have to engage. No one is going to cause you any harm. It%26#39;s more a culture shock than a danger. I%26#39;ve walked these downtown streets for 16 years

City Safety

* ';No one is going to cause you any harm.'; *

Well, I don%26#39;t know that I%26#39;d want to give you an iron-clad guarantee on this, but then, no city on earth can. You could go to the most idyllic, peaceful place in the world and have some misfortune happen.

Specifically, the S.F. Marriott on 4th St. is not in the Tenderloin. In fact, it%26#39;s in a good area next to the Yerba Buena Center, SFMOMA, the San Francisco Centre and Westfield shopping malls, and a block from the Powell-Market cable car turnaround. July is high tourist season and there will be plenty of people around almost all the time. If you were to walk a couple blocks west of the cable cars, you%26#39;d be in the Tenderloin AND you%26#39;d know it.

Most visitors have no occasion to be in neighborhoods with high crime problems, one possible exception being if you go to Candlestick (aka Monster) Park. I really think the average person%26#39;s main risk here is being a pedestrian. We have one of the state%26#39;s highest pedestrian accident rates, which may be because as a city, we walk more than people in most other places and so there%26#39;s more body-to-fender contact. Once you%26#39;ve done a little exploring, you%26#39;ll get a feel for what areas are iffy. Use your eyes, ears, and intuition--and forget about political correctness; sorry to say, most stereotypes do have some factual foundation.

Being from Long Island, you%26#39;re familiar with NYC. My guess is that you have the street smarts you need to do just fine here.