Sausalito (Spanish for "Little Willow") is situated on the Mediterranean side of the Golden Gate Bridge six miles north of San Francisco. Its rustic houses cascade down steep slopes to the bay. Its shops and restaurants hug the waterfront. Its winding, wooded streets look down on thicket of masts and a colony of houseboats.

Tiburon ("Shark") lies eight miles east of Sausalito on Raccoon Strait. Its village-like Main Street is a blend of Cape Cod and early California. Its colorful harbor shelters the venerable Corinthian Yacht Club and a cluster of open-deck restaurants.

Angel Island looms like a pocket-sized Corsica seven-eighths of a mile across the strait from Tiburon. The bay's biggest island has a cove leading to a grassy rise with picnic tables, 12 miles of cycling roads and hiking trails.

The proximity of these picturesque ports gives San Franciscans the illusion of living within easy sailing distance of Italy's Amalfi Coast. To make things even better, all three are linked to the city by ferryboat.

To ease Golden Gate Bridge commute congestion, the Golden Gate Bridge District in 1970 revived ferry service between Sausalito and San Francisco. As a convenience to commuters (and a boon to shoppers and joyriders) Golden Gate Ferry services offer frequent daily round trips both weekdays and weekends.

The sleek 525-passenger ferry casts off from behind the south wing of the San Francisco Ferry Building at the foot of Market Street. As she comes about, passengers are treated to fantastic views of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. After skirting the towering hulls of liners loading along the Embarcadero, she strikes a course past Alcatraz. The crossing takes 30 minutes, and a full-service bar and snacks are available.

Sausalito's dock is near the town plaza, just steps from the main drag, Bridgeway. From Sausalito Red & White Fleet cruisers continue on to Tiburon, 20 minutes distant. In addition to Sausalito, Golden Gate Ferries operates a water commute service from the Ferry Building to Larkspur. Their three-vessel fleet sails east of Alcatraz, Angel Island and the Tiburon peninsula to the Marin Terminal near Point San Quentin, opening up views seldom seen except by bay mariners. Family fares (two children free with adult) to Sausalito and Larkspur are available on weekends and holidays. For fares and schedules call 415/923-2000.

Red & White also provides direct Tiburon service from the Ferry Building during commute hours. Sausalito-bound voyagers may also opt for a Red & White Fleet cruiser from Pier 43-1/2 at Fisherman's Wharf daily, late morning through late afternoon.

Service to Angel Island's Ayala Cove is provided by the Red & White Fleet every morning (more frequently on weekends and holidays during summer) from Pier 43-1/2. For Red & White Fleet information phone 415/546-2896.

San Francisco's inland sea resorts are apt to be as crowded as Capri on weekends. The best time to sample the charms of the Willow, the Shark and the Angel is during the week.

Sausalito has numerous view and waterside restaurants including Horizons, Scoma's of Sausalito and the Spinnaker; a cliff-hanging hotel, Alta Mira, with terrace table service; the French country-style Casa Madrona with a bistro and candlelit dining room; a hillside honeycombed with boutiques called Village Fair; a hydraulic model showing San Francisco Bay and Delta waterways in tidal motion (for information call 415/332-3870); an array of zingy shops, galleries, bookstores and we-generation gravitation centers.

Tiburon has excellent docking facilities; a block-long Main Street crammed with imaginative shops and restaurants, including several with alfresco service -- Guaymas, Christopher's, Sweden House Bakery, Tiburon Tommie's and Rooney's; wine tasting at Tiburon Vintners; a sister community, Belvedere, with arks (houses built on pilings) and the San Francisco Yacht Club, and scenic walks along the tortuous, villa-studded drives of Corinthian and Belvedere Islands, both of which are anchored to the mainland.

Angel Island has 740 densely wooded acres commanding dazzling views and containing relics of its past as military post and quarantine station, barbecue facilities and four camp sites. Would-be Robinson Crusoes may reserve sites by calling 800/444-7275, or for information, write the Department of Parks and Recreation, State of California, P.O. Box 942896, Sacramento, CA 94296. Short-haul shuttle boat service on the Tiburon-Angel Island ferry is available in summer, and on weekends and holidays during the rest of the year. For information call 415/435-2131.