I’ll be the first to admit that before travelling to the San Francisco Bay Area, I was a little apprehensive. I’d heard the stories around safety and anti-social behaviour.

But having been able to visit recently, I’ve learnt it’s best to experience something yourself before passing judgement because the area expelled any apprehension.

The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Getty

Where to stay

I stayed in Berkeley, which is accessed over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge from San Francisco International Airport.

Staying in Berkeley instead of downtown San Francisco offers a more affordable, relaxed, and sunnier Bay Area base camp with easy transit links into the city.

This time I was driving and did end up receiving a proper San Francisco city welcome because a traffic jam on the bridge wasn’t what I expected at night. But alas, I made it to my accommodation at Hotel Shattuck Plaza, which thankfully offers valet service.

Food in Berkeley

Eating turned out to be one of my favourite elements of visiting Berkeley.

The first night I went to Dinner at Roses on Adeline, a cozy bar and kitchen which was just one stop on the BART train from my hotel. Staff were lovely, and the smash burger was sensational.

While there, eating solo, I discovered how there’s a quality community vibe in Berkeley by reading the Edible East Bay magazine.

All businesses seem to support each other, and what captured my interest was Cafe Ohlone which is a native-run restaurant with Indigenous cuisines.

The smash burger at Roses. Supplied/Lachlan Harper

The cuisine there was described in the article as “Ohlone-forward” which combines historically important ingredients combined with contemporary tastes. The smoked duck sandwich, I read, has traditional, responsibly sourced poultry with house-made rose hip jam plus Mt. Tam triple cream cheese.

Unfortunately, despite my watering mouth, I didn’t make it to the Café due to my schedule, but I’ll be back one day.

The best part of Berkeley was the number of cuisines on offer.

Do you want shrimp, Louisiana style? Head to Angeline’s Louisiana Kitchen.

What about Italian? Well then go somewhere unique like Gypsy’s Trattoria. This is in no way fine dining, but it’s the perfect spot if you’re short on time and want something quick, delicious but also an experience as well.

Outside Top Dog in Berkeley. Supplied/Lachlan Harper

The menu’s on the board, and it’s a ticket system for your order. It’s clearly designed for the University of California, Berkeley students but suits anyone.

The best part? It’s open until midnight.

My favourite spot for food on the trip, though? Top Dog, of course. Top Dog is Berkeley’s iconic Hot Dog spot with finely seasoned sausages on a toasted French roll.

Here are your options: garlic frankfurter, hot link, smoked chicken apple, calabrese, kielbasa, bockwurst, the wienie, lemon chicken, or bratwurst.

My pick was the hot link, Louisiana style.

The food spot gives you an insight into the Libertarian elements of Berkeley too with posters on the walls. One tip, don’t take a photo of the menu with the owner in frame. Otherwise, you’ll cop some friendly advice.

Downtown Berkeley skyline  iStock

What to do in Berkeley

When I travel, I like to simply walk around to get a feel of a place. Or even Lime scooter around, which can be done easily in Berkeley.

Make sure you take a walk around the iconic University’s campus to see what it’s like being a student in America.

The campus has a total area of 1,232 acres with 45,000 students. My time there was during school holidays, so it wasn’t as lively as usual but made it easier to see everything.

Take a picture with Mark Twain at UC Berkeley. Visit Berkeley.

Walk through the Sather Gate, observe the Memorial Glade from outside and take a look at the Doe Library from the inside. Feel free to take a picture next to Mark Twain.

The best view point of UC Berkeley is at the Sather Tower. The 307-foot bell and clock tower shows you all your surroundings.

But my favourite part? How nice the student staff were in there. From the front desk to the lift service, there were questions and an interest about your life. Maybe the Australian accent helped a bit too.

The best view of the city is in the UC Berkeley Sather Tower. iStock

Another walkable activity is Telegraph Avenue that features restaurants, eclectic shops, bookstores and street vendors, giving you more of the Berkeley cultural insight.

For a morning activity, head up to Indian Rock Park for another look at Berkeley from a viewpoint.

There you’ll find a natural climbing and recreation area and quite frankly, just a big rock.

The view from the Indian Rock Park in Berkeley. Visit Berkeley.

People will be getting their rock-climbing experience up and the chalk all around the area is visible. Don’t fear if you can’t climb, there are steps to get to the top too.

Takara Sake USA is also a great idea if you want a piece of Japan, but in California.

It’s the largest sake producer in the United States, and offers a tasting and detailed explanation of sake production. I also made the most of looking around the area by going for runs too.

A run around UC Berkeley was simple while you can also make your way to University Avenue and run to Berkeley Point and see the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. If you’re brave and desperate for salt water recovery like me, the water was fine to go for a dip in too.

What else is nearby?

Of course, being in the Bay Area, you have to visit the Golden Gate Bridge.

This journey from Berkeley wasn’t short, but it was easy. The trip was around an hour and 20 minutes via public transport with a BART train into the city followed by a bus. This would be the perfect way to see the San Francisco city too, so make a day of it.

If you’re watching the football at Levi’s Stadium, this trip isn’t quick either but is easily accessible. The BART can take you all the way to Milpitas station followed by a tram to the stadium. Overall, it’d take almost two hours so leave early for the game.

What I also experienced in the Bay Area was cricket.

At Oakland Colosseum, my timing coincided with a Major League Cricket double-header featuring the San Francisco Unicorns, Washington Freedom, Los Angeles Knight Riders and Seattle Orcas.

Cricket fans at Oakland Colosseum. Lachlan Harper

Who would’ve thought you’d see Steve Smith playing cricket in a baseball ground with Ricky Ponting coaching on the sidelines? Probably no one, but that’s the world we live in now.

Here there was a decent turnout and Oakland is a short BART ride from Berkeley.

The people were happy to mingle as I asked about the safety aspects of the Bay Area and how much initial impression had been quashed.

Most people said the problems existed five years ago but have eased now. So with that in mind, there’s no point avoiding a visit to the cultural hub of Northern California.

This writer travelled as a guest of Visit California.