Ooo San Francisco ☺ with family

A Quiet Arrival in San Francisco #tbt2021

Here is the our Covid trip notes :) After months of anticipating our trip, the pandemic had us expecting a quieter San Francisco International Airport. Our flight touched down at 5 pm, but the airport felt almost deserted. Most shops were closed, and finding an open office, let alone a place to buy a SIM card, was quite a challenge.

The familiar World Health Organization’s 14 guidelines were plastered everywhere, a constant reminder of the times we’re living in. Everyone was masked, including us for the entire flight.

Our rental car, a Dodge SUV, was waiting for us, but our luggage simply didn’t fit! We ended up switching to a Hyundai Santa Fe. While we’d hoped to experience the American road in a classic American car, sometimes plans change.

To save on rental car GPS fees (which can easily add up to $150–200 for a 20-day trip), we decided to use our Turkish SIM card for navigation. It worked perfectly, guiding us to our hotel.

A quick tip for first-time visitors: SFO has a convenient airport metro system connecting the parking lots to the terminals. It’s similar to what you’d find in larger international airports like Dubai, Doha, and Paris. With terminals A, B, C, and F, it’s worth doing a little research beforehand.

Our hotel, a La Quinta near the airport, was a pleasant surprise. It offered great value for money and became our home base for the first few days. My kid’s BTM WORLD channel has a video showcasing the breakfast experience there, so be sure to check it out. And if you haven’t already, feel free to subscribe to my channel as well.

We woke up to a beautiful San Francisco morning, ready to explore the city.