Don’t pay full price: Local websites offer big discounts and deals
Posted by Mary on Jun 3, 2010
Here at Hostelling International in San Francisco, we’re a little bit psychic: We know you want to save as much money as possible when you visit our fair city.
If you’re staying at one of our three San Francisco hostels, you’ve already taken a first step — so why not extend your savings to restaurants, concerts, and attractions?
The following websites offer some awesome deals — most posted daily, some weekly — on food, entertainment, tours, retail stores, concerts, and more.
Buy-in-Advance Deals
These sites operate in cities all over the country, including San Francisco. They essentially sell tickets and gift cards at far below face value, as long as enough people are interested in purchasing them. Each site requires that you sign up for a free account in order to buy anything.
Groupon — Recent deals include $15 for a $30 gift card to the Italian restaurant Tomatina, $28 for a two-hour champagne sailing cruise (reg. $55), and $17 for a duck boat tour of San Francisco Bay (reg. $32). (This site also has a page for deals in Sacramento, where we have another wonderful hostel!)
Living Social — Recent deals include $20 for a 90-minute San Francisco sailing excursion (reg. $40), $62 for a Sacramento-area whitewater rafting adventure (reg. $124), and $15 for $30 of food and drink at Azul in Union Square.
Social Buy — Recent deals include $12 for $24 of drinks at Apartment 24 dance lounge on Broadway, $5 for $10 at Caffe Amici’s downtown coffee shop, and 25-35 percent off pairs of concert tickets to see Lady Gaga, Dave Matthews, and Paul McCartney in nearby Bay Area locales.
GoldStar — Sells discounted tickets for ongoing and one-time events and attractions, including San Francisco Giants baseball games, the San Francisco Aquarium of the Bay, various Bay cruises, and local theater productions and concerts. Offers vary, and GoldStar charges a small service fee on top of the listed prices.
Coupon Savings
MyBART — Offers discounts and coupon codes for shows and events at venues near BART stations. Recent deals include 50 percent off the Broadway musical Wicked, $2 off admission to the Asian Art Museum, and $2 tickets to Oakland A’s Wednesday home games. They also post weekly contests to win tickets to some of these events.
Pier 39 Fun Pack — You need to pick up this coupon book at the Welcome Center at Pier 39, but it offers discounts and offers at many of the stores, restaurants, and activities at the pier. Deals include $6 off Adventure Cat sailing charters, 20 percent off aquarium admission, $5 off bike rentals, and free-with-purchase deals at many restaurants and shops.
Free and Cheap Resources
Fun Cheap SF and Bay Area on the Cheap compile listings of free and cheap events in San Francisco and the Bay Area.
Last but not least — we also compile a calendar of local listings for events and activities near each of our eight Northern California hostels (you can sort by destination using the drop-down menu). Most events are ongoing — if we haven’t posted the calendar for the month you’re visiting, check out past months for ideas. All listed events are free or under $15. We also list our own events, including pub crawls, movie nights, museum trips, and more.