Marina Faire - San Leandro, CA Area Guide

Marina Faire's history weaves together with the history of greater San Leandro, which was once known as Rancho San Leandro. Back in 1842, this 6,830-acre land grant was given by Governor Juan Alvarado to Jose Joaquin Estudillo. As a very young soldier (he jointed the Spanish army at the age of 15), Estudillo gained the rank of "distinguished soldier." Later, Estudillo moved with his wife and 10 children to the San Francisco Bay area. He petitioned the governor for the land grant, and he named his property after Saint Leander, Estudillo's patron saint. Casa de Estudillo, the final home built in 1850, is a California Historical Landmark.

The San Leandro History Museum & Art Gallery sits in the heart of San Leandro just outside Marina Faire. The museum teaches about the area's history and serves as an art gallery. Learn about the area's railway system at the nearby San Leandro Historical Railway Society. Admission remains free to both attractions.

Most of Marina Faire's restaurants are on Catalina Street and Doolittle Drive. Many restaurants in the area serve Asian food as diverse as Chinese, Filipino, Thai, and Vietnamese.

Mai Thai, located at the intersection of Doolittle Drive and Fairway Drive, entices customers with its curries, which range from not-so spicy to make-your-eyes-water spicy. Customers also love the bold punch of flavor in the BBQ beef and, for dessert, the sweet, creamy mango sticky rice.

Discover Zen's Filipino Cuisine a few doors down on Doolittle Drive. This restaurant earns praise for its award-winning Sunday buffet that invites you to sample a bit of everything, from Tapsilog, or marinated beef slices, to Tortang Talong, or grilled eggplant and fried eggs. You can even sample pork ears and paws in the "Sizzlin' Sisig" dish.

Marina Faire contains a few lounges and bars, but has an otherwise quiet nightlife. Nipper's Marina Lounge on Catalina Street draws people in with its Thursday night prime rib special as well as its friendly staff and affordable brews.

People commonly drive or bus around the area. AC Transit buses service the area with multiple stops. The Bay Area Rapid Transit Authority, or BART, services the area as well, although you can't reach Marina Faire conveniently by foot from the San Leandro BART station. To reach Marina Faire from the station, drive or take a bus. Hailing a cab proves difficult in San Leandro, so if you need to get around and don't have a car, call to reserve a cab or employ the services of Uber, which might be cheaper.

Compared to other Bay Area cities, San Leandro has ample parking space for visitors and residents. However, you can still encounter difficulty finding parking space in certain areas, especially Downtown San Leandro. Fortunately, the Downtown Parking Garage offers free two-hour parking for those who simply can't find a space on the street. Located less than two miles off Nimitz Freeway, or Interstate 880, car travel in Marina Faire is easy. The freeway runs northeast of the neighborhood, and you can reach it by taking Fairway Drive.

Cyclists enjoy San Leandro's many biking opportunities, including trails, routes, and street lanes. Although many streets contain separate biking lanes, such as Marina Faire's Fairway Drive, many do not, so be careful regardless of where you cycle. You can walk the residential streets, but the large area proves too difficult to navigate entirely by foot.

Marina Park draws locals and outsiders to Marina Faire. Not just a neighborhood fixture but also a fixture of the City of San Leandro, Marina Park contains a marina with a boat launch, an 18-par golf course, dozens of picnic tables, a seven-mile paved trail, children's play areas and outdoor exercise structures, among others. With its wide range of amenities, the park attracts families, athletes, boat enthusiasts, and everyone in between. Park admission remains free to the general public, though you must pay to dock a boat.

If you have little ones, take them to Marina Park's annual Easter Egg Hunt. Parents bring children younger than 10 years old to this yearly event to search for colorful eggs hidden throughout the park and to kick off the spring season. Marina Park also puts on an annual walk-a-thon and schedules regularly recurring salsa dancing nights.

At $1,400 per month for a one-bedroom apartment, rent in Marina Faire costs more than other San Leandro neighborhoods due in large part to its proximity to the San Francisco Bay. However, the overall cost of living in Marina Faire sits on par with the San Leandro average.

Riding BART from the Oakland City Center Station to San Leandro Station costs $2.90, but that's only one leg of the journey. Reaching Marina Faire requires additional transit, either by car or bus, which costs an additional $1 to $2. Beer at a local pub costs $3 to $5, and gas costs nine percent more in Marina Faire than the current national average.

Most of Marina Faire's shops dot the sidewalks of Catalina Street and Doolittle Drive, with a large amount of outlets or big-name chains and a few high-end/high-value stores. Only a small number of boutiques call Marina Faire home.

Sink or Swim, located on Parrot Street, makes an excellent destination if you need some trendy clothes for men. This boutique exudes a very beachy SoCal vibe that transports you to Orange County the minute you walk in the door.

For self-care, head to Wax and Things on Bayfair Drive. Wax and Things carries all things aromatherapy, from body butters and essential oils to soy candles. The store's owner makes all her products carefully by hand and sources her ingredients locally as much as possible.

Grocery Outlet on East 14th Street serves the larger San Leandro Area, but New Sang Chong Market, located on Doolittle Drive, provides greater convenience for Marina Faire neighborhood residents. During the week, you have multiple opportunities to visit a farmers' market in San Leandro. Head to the Downtown Farmers' Market on Wednesdays between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. or visit the Saturday morning Farmers' Market on 14th Street between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. San Leandro's Kaiser Permanente also holds its own farmers' market every Wednesday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.