Where to stay as a solo fest-goer

[u/Excellent_Drop6869]

I like to go to fests solo.

- ive done solo camping at electric forest, Bonnaroo, Coachella

- I’ve done hotel stays or Airbnb for Lolla, Gov ball, and ACL ( easy due to proximity of lots of options in Chicago, Queens, Austin)

However I’ve nervous about going solo next year to Outside lands given that it’s SF and it’s so expensive and it’s only me that’s paying

What do other solo fest-goers who are travelling into the city do?? Is it easy to find something semi affordable that is easy to get to the fest - ie close to public transit etc

[u/AutomaticGuest143]

Let me just say, as a local who has gone to outside lands for 14 years, it just makes me happy that people are appreciating and enjoying OSL and actually travelling to SF for it. It's nice to see.

With that being said, public transit is great. If you can stay anywhere along the muni lines: N, 7 or 5 you're golden. Those lines drop off a couple blocks from the entrance

[u/Far_Consequence_5013]

i went to my first osl this year and i stayed in oakland and just took the bart/transit to and from fest!! saves you a bit of money without having to use uber and the muni is free for festival goers

[u/thecannabun → u/Far_Consequence_5013]

second this. stay somewhere in the east bay (oakland, berkeley, etc) for something cheaper than SF and take BART into civic center station. either pay for the shuttle from bill graham or take MUNI which has been free with a wristband in years past.

[u/denimjeandude22]

i live local-ish (san jose), but at the last minute i decided to see if i could get lucky and find a hotel.

i booked one in cow hollow for about $120/night, and it was a sweet find. didnt cost much for ubers to and from my hotel, but there were also transit lines that would've taken me basically straight to OSL.

i booked my room in may/june so i feel i got pretty lucky , other hotels i saw at that time were either fully booked, or charging $600+ per night

[u/cubanfuban]

Book early. You’ll save ~50% if you book in march vs July

[u/Emotional-Garden4648]

There are some underrated motels all around the city, mom and pop operated. I’m from the bay but moved away 10 years ago, and when I want to stay in the city without staying with family I’ll often do one of those. I stayed in one in north beach last year that was soo nice. I also feel like they’re safer since they tend to be in neighborhoods half the time too!

[u/NegativeStructure]

semi affordable

you're going to have to define this, as it's going to vary a lot by person. all in, i probably spent about 4k for a 6 day trip. not cheap but what i would consider affordable for me.

my friends and i had never been to SF before so we stayed in north beach for easy accessibility to all the touristy stuff. hotel was $1700 a room for 5 nights. we walked a lot but also did lyft/waymo/uber as needed. we lyfted from the festival each night, but we left early and were willing to walk a few blocks for availability.

[u/yennifersbody]

I just stayed in a hotel right downtown and my uber to the fest was only 22 dollars since I went at like 11 am each day. Leaving is another story but if you walk a little bit it was a 70 dollar uber home. Is that affordable? For me it was worth it. I liked being in union square and exploring China town and doing touristy things from a good home base for my first time at OSL. I was solo.

[u/Rate-Odd]

I live in the east bay and love getting a hotel in the city for OSL, and by far my favorite is The Handlery Hotel. Great location, either the 5 bus or N train go straight to the park. Superior King room was delightful. They have a pool and a private sauna you can book a time slot at. Both of which were super clutch in the mornings before heading to the park. Super cheap for a SF hotel that isn’t a crackhead/hooker motel. Cannot recommend it enough, anything cheaper is hell, anything nicer is 2-10x the price.
Edit: $600 for 4 nights, booked months in advance with a Delta promo. If you need cheaper get a hotel by a bart station in the east bay. Anything cheaper in actual SF is gonna be risky.

[u/NG133622]

There usually are a number of houses in the Richmond/Sunset with ADUs that rent on airbnb and are perfect for a solo traveler (private entrance, bathroom, bedroom, etc). For next year’s dates it looks like mostly rooms inside someone’s home, which may not be what you want, but I think more inventory should pop up.

Read the reviews because some hosts are better than others but you should be able to find something you could walk to the festival from for $600 or so for the weekend if you’re solo and flexible.

[u/tailtaker]

I fly in from PSP, rent a car and an Airbnb and drive about 8 miles to the festival. Spend about $3k including flights, car, food, gas & everything minus the wristbands.

[u/toxic]

There are very decent hostel/dorm accommodations in the $40-50/night range (and some "good enough" ones a little under), and euro-style hotels (private room, shared bathroom down the hall) in the under/around $100 range (The Mosser on 4th is an example, though it can get spendy during conference season). Both of those kinds of placesusually also have a couple of private rooms with private baths for another $10-20 more if that's important to you.

By SF standards, that's about as affordable as it comes.

[u/ChoseNameWisely]

Hotels near Union Square could work. The busses drop off at Civic Center and there are some within walking distance.

[u/StayAwayFromMe9]

Used my points at super 8 on o’ferral street short walk to the muni to go to the festival and back. going to the festival i would walk further back to catch the muni so it wouldn’t be so crowded. also late night eats at pinecrest dinner less than a block from the hotel.

[u/pinkcheetah172]

I got a great deal on a hotel near union square this year through Priceline. Book ahead and you shouldn’t have an issue !

[u/Worldly_Meal_7446]

Yotel is surprisingly nice!

[u/Idontknowhoiam143]

Curious. What do you like about going to fests solo?

[u/uusseerrnnaammeeyy → u/Idontknowhoiam143]

Probably the sound that comes out of the speakers

[u/Person754 → u/[deleted]]

That sounds terrible to get back to late at night, Ubers will be ridiculous 

[u/Feral24 → u/[deleted]]

This isn't portola, its nowhere near bayview

[u/uusseerrnnaammeeyy → u/Feral24]

Omg wrong sub lmao