Touring around the Bay Area next week... need Do's/Don'ts about East Bay (Oakland, Richmond, Vallejo)?

Question

Hey guys could you tell me some areas I should avoid in East Bay cities like Oakland, Richmond, and Vallejo? thanks

Answer 1

There are so many great tourist areas in the Bay Area, I'm wondering why you would even want to go to Richmond and Vallejo(?) If you insist on making this trip, then just use common sense; limit your visits to populated areas, especially after dark, don't park your car on poorly lit side streets, and be aware of your surroundings.
P. S. There's really nothing to see in Richmond and Vallejo and I really think you're making a mistake.

Answer 2

Jack London's square in oakland has some nice places. check out yoshi's, one of the top rated jazz clubs on the planet, and they serve sushi while you watch. downtown oakland can be nice. lots of fun little bars worth checking out. stay out of east oakland. Oakland hills have fantastic hiking. stay out of richmond altogether. the only way you should go to richmond is if you're crossing the richmond bridge to go to san rafael and check out the north bay. Vallejo has nothing worth seeing that i've heard about except marine world, which isn't supposed to be that great. if you're checking out the east bay, then you'll want to stop by berkeley as well.

remember though, late night in oakland you don't want to be walking anywhere alone. Also, don't wear too much blue. There are lots of nortenos in oakland.

Answer 3

Oakland: Avoid east (past High Street, including the coliseum area unless you're just going to an event at the coliseum), west and north (i.e. west oakland bart area, macarthur bart area). Best places are Rockridge, Lakeshore, Montclair, Piedmont Ave., Chinatown, Lakeshore/Lake Merritt, Fruitvale.

Richmond: Has a higher murder rate than Oakland... I don't think anything you could find there justifies the risk of going.

Vallejo: Suburb but with a fair share of wannabe "Yo! MTV Raps!" gangstas who watched the show a few times and ran to mervyns to buy all the size 50 jeans they could find.... unfortunately they bought guns too. It's okay, but again, nothing there would justify making a special trip.

Other places I'd recommend are: SF (natch), Telegraph ave. Berkeley, Emeryville (to shop).

Answer 4

I have lived in Oakland for 28 years and find that like any city there are many areas that would not be as safe at night as others. you can walk pretty safely around the Lakeshore/Grand Avenue areas; the Piedmont Ave areas; the College Ave areas and down by the Jack London areas and all these areas have good restaurants and theaters and great music venues such as Yoshies. Downtown Oakland is lonely at night and I would avoid East Oakland and West Oakland at night. Montclair is a nice area to walk around in and has good restaurants too.

Answer 5

Don't go to West Oakland.
In Oakland, you could visit Lake Merritt, Jack London Square, Hegenberger Rd, Oracle Arena, and the McAfee Colliseum. (All pretty boring. ahaha) Maybe downtown too... but its kinda shady.
If you feel like shopping, go to Emeryville there's an IKEA, Banana Republic, Gap etc. ... the usual stores.

I don't know about Richmond and Vallejo since I rarely go there.

Answer 6

Visit Oakland.
Its not that bad.
just avoid some of the areas of oakland
but do visit the Oakland Zoo,
Mcfee/Oracle arena,
AND ALAMEDA!
ooo, yah.
go to Alameda Point.
and Crown Point Beach.
it`s beautiful!

avoid Richmond.
not really a great city to visit
(unless you have friends/relatives)
and Vallejo is cool.
Vallejo is home of Six Flags Marine World.
just avoid some parts.

have fun around the Bay Area!

Answer 7

We have friends that lived in Richmond for a while. They recently moved out because it is really unsafe, there have been shootings, and their house was broken into twice.
The Oakland area is great though.
Have fun, it's beautiful there!

Answer 8

No, everything there is was great and everthing change now because the major in the East Bay change everthing and it looks better than before. The weather there is great, no rain and no fog, just sunshine everywhere you go. Have a great vacation there its a nice week to go. Oh yea, there might be traffic nest week so you might want to start early because everyone has spring break and that means traffic and crowded.

Answer 9

Do's:
-Lock Your Car
-Visit the USS Potomic
-Visit the Raiders Stadium

Dont's:
-Don't stay out past 11:00
-Don't forget to lock your car
-Don't leave your car doors unlocked while driving
-Don't leave your windows down with your car unattended
-Don't park where lots of people aren't active

If you get the oppertunity, head North to Napa and Marin county, or sonoma county. It's beautiful.