Insider's Guide to San Francisco

Pacific Coast Highway Travel's book review of Insider's Guide to San Francisco guidebook by Jill Loeffler, publisher of the San Francisco Tourism Tips website.

Insider's Guide to San Francisco

Some of the best guidebooks these days, like this new Insider's Guide to San Francisco, are not being published by the traditional publishers you might expect – the Rough Guides and Lonely Planets – but by individual entrepreneurs taking full advantage of the changing world of publishing and doing it themselves.

One such is Jill Loeffler, who runs the very helpful and informative website, SF Tourism Tips. If you want to know what's happening in San Francisco and get the occasional bargain offer, then head to the home page right away and sign up for the newsletter. 

Now Jill has turned her hand to producing a guide to the city where she has lived since 2003, after several visits there persuaded her it was the place she wanted to live. She's turned her twelve years of exploring the city first into her website (which she started in 2009 and has worked on full-time since 2012) and now into this excellent guidebook – one of the most through San Francisco guides we've ever seen.

It's an ebook that weighs in at 320 pages and as it sells for less than $4 at the time of writing, it's a terrific bargain whether you're visiting San Francisco or live there already. Even residents will find stuff they didn't know about, we're sure.

Insider's Guide to San Francisco Sample Contents

The Layout

The guide is very like the website – simply designed and laid out, and easy on the eye. It's filled with color photos, and the red headings are easy to pick out on the page. The writing style is relaxed and informative, like a mix of a friend sowing you round the city and a tour guide giving you interesting and sometimes unusual facts about the place.

Insider's Guide to San Francisco Table of Contents

The Contents

Take a look at part of the Table of Contents above and you'll see just how much is packed into the book. It's helpful because the author focuses on the best – Five Best Beer Festivals, Five Best Music Events, Five Best Pet-Friendly Hotels, and so on.

All the main attractions are covered, of course, like Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge, and if you want to know the city's Five Best Free Attractions then they're here too. The author even suggests what you might want to give by way of a donation to some of them.

The book is also packed with practical information – opening times, how to get there, admission prices. It's all bang up-to-date for 2016, and although it's now a few years old we'd still recommend getting it, at the bargain price. Five Best Places for Clam Chowder? That has to be worth $4 alone!

The Verdict

The only things missing from this guide are maps, so you'll need to buy a good city map or pick up free tourist maps when you arrive. Otherwise it's the most comprehensive city guide we've ever seen, and it will definitely be on our iPad and Kindle next time we visit the city by the bay. And if you're headed that way, don't hesitate to buy this guide. 

You can buy the Insider's Guide to San Francisco on Amazon.

Recent Articles

• 
• 
• 

1. ‘Zero tolerance' for speeding along PCH in Malibu even for Oscar winners like Sean Penn

   Sep 13, 25 04:56 AM

   When it comes to reckless driving, authorities may not care even if the driver is a two-time Oscar winner like Sean Penn. The actor in the upcoming film “One Battle After Another” was cited for speedi…

   Read More

2. Historic Sites Open Doors for Statewide Celebration

   Sep 13, 25 04:56 AM

   Two Santa Monica landmarks will offer extended public access Sept. 13-14 as part of Doors Open California 2025, a month-long statewide celebration showcasing more than 70 historic sites across the sta…

   Read More

3. Small Space, Big Magic at Museum of Make Believe

   Sep 12, 25 04:04 AM

   The Museum of Make Believe just had to be in Laguna Beach. Located off South Pacific Coast Highway in Bluebird Canyon, the nonprofit museum has exceeded expectations. It has welcomed more than 20,000…

   Read More

FTC Disclosure:  If you make a purchase via a link on this site, we may receive a small commission on the transaction - at no added cost to you. Thank you! 

LATEST BOOKS

Take a look at our latest books: 101 Best Things to Do on the Pacific Coast Highway and 101 Budget Hotels along the Pacific Coast Highway. Click on the covers to learn more.

LATEST NEWS

Recent Articles

• 
• 
• 

1. ‘Zero tolerance' for speeding along PCH in Malibu even for Oscar winners like Sean Penn

   Sep 13, 25 04:56 AM

   When it comes to reckless driving, authorities may not care even if the driver is a two-time Oscar winner like Sean Penn. The actor in the upcoming film “One Battle After Another” was cited for speedi…

   Read More

2. Historic Sites Open Doors for Statewide Celebration

   Sep 13, 25 04:56 AM

   Two Santa Monica landmarks will offer extended public access Sept. 13-14 as part of Doors Open California 2025, a month-long statewide celebration showcasing more than 70 historic sites across the sta…

   Read More

3. Small Space, Big Magic at Museum of Make Believe

   Sep 12, 25 04:04 AM

   The Museum of Make Believe just had to be in Laguna Beach. Located off South Pacific Coast Highway in Bluebird Canyon, the nonprofit museum has exceeded expectations. It has welcomed more than 20,000…

   Read More

Buy an inexpensive journal to record your own Pacific Coast Highway adventure!

FOLLOW OUR PCH VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE

The Best PCH Guide
We've read lots of guides to the Pacific Coast, and easily the best one is the Moon Handbook. You can read our review here, or buy it through the Amazon link below.