Many people like to travel to San Francisco because it is a beautiful city with beautiful people. The best part of this location is the fact that there are so many great options available to you which are very simple to take advantage of in terms of rental cars. Exotic car rentals are one of the favorite options which are available to you which you can really make use of. Taking advantage of a lower cost rental car may not be as nice as enjoying an exotic rental car while in San Francisco. Of course, this does not mean that it is impossible to get a great exotic car for cheap while there!

There are many ways to find these great exotic car rentals during your travel dates. One of the best options to look into when searching for exotic vehicles is online. Many of the specialized listings for rentals in San Francisco can help you to find the exotic car rental options you may be interested in. Various exotic models from Germany, France, England and Italy are available to choose from. Many people enjoy the manufacturing of these amazing vehicles because they are somewhat different than the massed produced options that are made available in the US.

The best selection of these vehicles is always available to you online. Take advantage of these options by booking online and as far in advance as possible. Many of the different options will be able to offer you a luxurious rental experience when you decide to travel to San Francisco. These many different options are very simple to use and are enjoyable by everyone who makes use of them during their travels. Always remember to look online first to ensure that they are available before attempting to find one on luck alone.

Getting around the San Francisco airport is one of the most amazing tasks that anyone can perform. Of course this is nothing compared to having to wait in line for a car rental. Car rental services are very important for travelers and the lines can span into hour long waits or longer. This makes it impossible to get out of the airport in a timely manner. Of course the best way to get through the line may surprise many people, and that is to never get in line in the first place. Of course this is not always possible and many people need to get in line.

The best way to avoid the long lines while waiting in the San Francisco airport is to use the internet to book your vehicle reservations. This makes it possible to browse through a selection of vehicles from several different vendors and choose an option that best fit your travel needs. This can be a wide variety of options that are available to you at any time so it is important to check back often if you did not find one right away. It is always a great idea to book a vehicle as soon as possible to take advantage of the locked in rates and ensuring that the vehicle you need is available during your travel dates.

The biggest way that online rentals save you time is in the pickup. The process is simple, when you arrive at the airport, you pick up your luggage if any or have another traveler in your party do the gathering of luggage. You head to the car rental vendor you chose and use the handy kiosks to swipe your credit card. You get your vehicle voucher and you take it to the front desk to pick up your car.

Depending on the rental company that you will be using, car rental insurance costs could vary from inexpensive to very expensive. This is also due to some key factors that you must make sure do not affect your insurance costs. Those who have listings in their driver’s license database of accidents or charges and arrests involving a vehicle may have the most to worry about insurance costs. Those with a clean driving record could expect to have some of the lowest insurance costs, especially if they already have insurance which covers their rental vehicles.

Car rental insurance will also vary from vehicle rental to vehicle rental. Larger vehicles will have a larger insurance premium on a daily basis while other options stay low cost. The car rental company which you may be using can also have a flat rate insurance option which is best for those who feel they definitely need insurance. Of course insurance is much different than damage and loss waivers which make it possible to get away with damaging or losing the vehicle. This can occur with an accidental scratch, a broken window or an event in which you are robbed of the vehicle.

The most common thing to do is ensure that the insurance you choose covers the widest range of situations possible. The common cost between most rental companies for the insurance costs are within the $10-50 range and will usually cover everything that you need to be covered. The best example would be with options available through specialized comparison pricing services online. These can provide flat rate insurance costs on a daily basis between the most popular and trustworthy rental car services. It pays to insure, because damages can amount to thousands of dollars in repair costs.

The answer is Avis, Sears’ official rental car partner. In fact, Sears credit card or Sears Gold MasterCard holders save up to 25% off the standard Avis rental rates.

All you have to do is use Avis Worldwide Discount #D302003 when you rent a car from www.sears.avis.com.

If you’re thinking of visiting San Francisco, you’ll especially want to rent a car from Avis.

That’s because in San Franciso Avis rents the two-seater Smart Car, which, because of its small size is ever so easy to park in a city where finding a parking spot can be difficult.

How difficult? I once made the mistake of driving to San Francisco on Thanksgiving weekend and never found a place to park anywhere near where I wanted to go, so I ended up driving home.

With a rating of 41 miles per gallon on the highway and 33 in the city, the Smart Car is easy on wallet and environment.

Smart cars are no slouches in the safety department. They feature an electronic stability program, anti-lock braking, cornering brake control, acceleration skid control, a steel safety cage body, front and side airbags and a sophisticated safety belt system.

Take advantage of the Smart Car’s GPS. It will have you zipping down the Embarcadero in no time, checking out the sea lions at Pier 39 and sampling Ghirardelli chocolate at the wharf.

Then cross the Golden Gate and take the Sausalito exit, where you’ll have to decide among Italian, Asian, French, Cajun, Chinese, Spanish and Pakistani cuisine for lunch or dinner.

Or take the Great Highway down to the zoo and visit the meerkats, mandrills and Guenther’s dik diks.

Geographically, San Francisco may be compact, but it takes a car to see it.

If you don’t know what a segway is, you’re not alone. Well, I should say that up until a week ago, you wouldn’t have been alone. I just got back from San Francisco with my girlfriend and while we were there, she popped the question, “Do you want to go on a Segway tour?” To be honest, I’d never even heard of a segway up until this point, and with the way she phrased it, in a way that sounded as if I wouldn’t be up to going no matter how she described it, I was reluctant to say yes or no. She whipped out her Macbook and showed me photos of people on segways online and asked me again if I’d be willing to give it a try. I figured, “why not?” It looked pretty fun from the pictures and it couldn’t hurt too badly if I fell….right?

We asked the concierge in the hotel about segway tours in the area and she told us about a company called San Francisco Guided Segway Tour Company. With a phone call and a reservation, we were set to go on a segway tour of the city the following Saturday. For about $70, we were taken around the city by some very knowledgable people. We got to see things like the famous Fisherman’s Wharf and the Maritime Park. But, unlike walking through the hot California sun that will leave you tired and hungry in less than a few minutes, we were able to breeze through all of the attractions and past all of the people. So, update your knowledge bank on what segway riding is and get yourself to San Francisco to take what is one of Trip Advisor’s top rated attractions in the San Fran area.

Tipping a person for a service they provide is always up for speculation. Most often times a courtesy to the driver who picks you up to take you to the rental pickup locations are often tipped based on service performance. Of course this is all up to the person who is being picked up, as a tip is not mandatory.

The usual rules to follow are simple if you wish to tip and these are some of the signs that a tip is appreciated:

The driver is on time – When you ask for a service such as a driver picking you up, you expect them to be on time and prompt to your request.

The driver offers to help you with your bags – Drivers do not have to help you with your bags, but if they are heavy, they can help to reduce strain on your back by loading your luggage onto their vehicle.

The driver is very nice and helpful – Delightful drivers are very easy to get along with and they like to spark up interesting conversation to help pass time while you travel to the rental service.

The driver provides excellent driving skills – They are not falling asleep or driving erratically while on the road, do not speed and follow the rules of the road.

The driver does not ask for a tip – This is a major red flag if they do request a tip. Tips are a gratuity that is only offered if service was satisfactory. They would receive one without asking if they performed well.

It is not difficult to decide whether or not a driver deserves a tip. If you were unsatisfied with the service, save your money for someone else who deserves it!

MUNI, BART, and let’s not forget Caltrain! Trying to get around in the “city by the bay”, San Francisco, by public transit can turn out to be an adventure in acronyms, letters and numbers! With multiple BART and MUNI stations requiring you to change stations, rush to this street or be sure to wait for the next bus to come along, assuming it’s the right number bus you need. It can all be more than overwhelming.

Simplify all of this with three letters you can always count on C-A-R! Renting a car in San Francisco is not only easy and affordable, but practical too! Want to get from Golden Gate Park all the way back to AT&T Park in time to catch the Giants’ game? That could take awhile on the MUNI, but in a rental car, no more than minutes. Worried about getting back from the Embarcadero in time for dinner in Castro? A rental car will ease your mind, and make sure that the time you spend in San Francisco is spent on your schedule, not that of the public transportation system! Let’s be honest too, how would you go down the famously curvy Lombard Street without a car? It’s one of the places in San Francisco that can only be experienced in a car! Rent a car on your trip to San Francisco, and spend your time as the master of your time, not a slave to your transit map! You definitely won’t be sorry!

Where do you want to go for this year Christmas and New Year holiday? How about San Francisco? No?

Okay, here are interesting facts about San Francisco that might just change your mind.

- Two lovely inventions in the world, denim jeans and Irish coffee, were invented in San Francisco.

- Francis Ford Coppola spent so much time in the first San Francisco’s coffee shop Caffe Trieste writing his famous The Godfather trilogy.

- Al Capone was held for five years in Alcatraz, and the prison is in… San Francisco!

- San Francisco practically lies on 43 hills.

- The first plans of the city were drawn by Jean-Jacques Vioget from Swiss and Jasper O’Farell from Ireland.

- The first constructed street was Grant Street, originally named Calle De la Fundacion.

- There are more than 250 wineries in Napa Valley.

- Yosemite National Park is a couple of hours drive from the town.

- In Star Trek, Star Fleet Headquarter is located north of San Francisco.

- You can find the crookedest street in San Francisco, Vermont Avenue between 22nd and 23rd. While Filbert between Hyde and Leavenworth is the steepest street at 31.5 degrees.

- San Francisco is 4th in the world, after New York, Moscow and London, in terms of numbers of billionaires living in it.

- On Mar 14, 1986, 7000 people gathered at San Francisco’s Ocean Beach to attend the official opening of the Sutro Baths, a public bathhouse developed by the eccentric mayor of San Francisco, Adolph Sutro, who also built the Cliff House.

So you’re driving around San Francisco in your rental car. You decide you’re hungry, but where do you go? San Francisco is a melting pot of cultures, and it shows in it’s food scene. No matter what you’re in the mood for, you’ll find it in San Francisco: seafood, Italian, Japanese, Mexican, the list goes on and one. But one item has reached cult status amongst locals: the mission burrito. Transplants always complain that they can never find a proper mission burrito whenever they move. For some reason, a proper Mission burrito can only be found in San Francisco.

The mission burrito is known for it’s sheer size, and commands special tortillas that are designed to stretch in order to contain the wonderful insides. You can customize the mission burrito to your liking, but standard fare is spanish rice, beans, meat, and salsa. You can usually also add guacamole, sour cream, or cheese to your burrito as well. Typically when you order a mission burrito, it will be done in “assembly line” fashion. The employee starts with your burrito at one end, then slowly moves down the counter and scoops each ingredient in one by one. What makes the mission burrito truly special is the tortilla.

Mission burrito’s feature extra large tortillas, but that’s not enough. Also needed is the tortilla steamer. These steamers allow the tortilla to stretch more, making these behemoth burritos possible. This is the part most often missed by imitators.

How could you be in San Francisco and not try one? The mission burrito is truly a San Francisco creation. It will be often duplicated, but never replicated.