Vacation in San Jose and SF (Vallejo, Napa: to rent, restaurants, shops)

[dogandcat]

Originally Posted by tango14

Hi,
We are a family of 4(2 adults and 2 kids) travelling to California for vacation - we are flying in and out of San Jose airport - we are planning to take Cal train from San Jose and go straight to SF : for the first 3 days, we will use public transport to see all the sights there, including Alcatraz and Muir woods. We then plan to rent a car and spend a day at the NAPA valley. After that, we will drive back to San Jose to stay there for a day or two - we want to spend those two days visiting GooglePlex, Stanford, Computer history museum, maybe facebook HQ etc in the Palo Alto area - I am seeking help to find out if it is better to do this with our rental car or is there any public transportation in this area to get us to these places ( as in SF). Also, are there any other 'must-sees' in the mountain view, Palo Alto area besides the above? Thanks so much for any help!

I also highly suggest Intel computer museum in Santa Clara (close to north San Jose). it is free of charge: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us...el-museum.html


Second highly suggested site is NASA Ames Research Center (close to Google main campus), also free of charge but seems like it is currently closed for renovations "Beginning October 1, 2018, the visitor center at NASA’s Ames Research Center will be closed for renovations. We anticipate reopening before the 2018 holiday season. Please check back here for updates!" https://www.nasa.gov/ames/visit


After visiting Stanford university campus (go to the tower in their library! fantastic view, small fee), I suggest short drive to Palo Alto downtown for walking and lunch. Stanford university itself also has some cafes to take a bite. After Palo Alto downtown, take a short drive to Facebook, than to Google main campus.

If you guys are fans of ancient history, maybe Egyptian history museum in San Jose can be useful for you. It is very small but nice, and has a cute park https://egyptianmuseum.org/
Santa Clara Rose garden is nearby but it is not a season for roses now...


Go to Santana Row in West San Jose to see a "fake" Western Europe in America. I suggest going on weekends there http://www.santanarow.com/

Consider visiting Winchester Mystery House if you like such things (pretty expensive so) https://winchestermysteryhouse.com/


If you go to Santa Cruz (I highly suggest but again aware of traffic) your kids can like the Mystery Spot that is on 17 highway https://www.mysteryspot.com/

Be aware of local Bay Area traffic. It is really bad during rush hours.

[the topper]

Wouldn't recommend any of them: just so boring and small suburban stuff.

[Kalana]

I don't know how old your kids are but my kids at all ages have found Napa dreadfully boring. If you want to show them some natural beauty and rolling hills just take 280 on your way down to San Jose instead of 101.

[tango14]

Originally Posted by dogandcat

I also highly suggest Intel computer museum in Santa Clara (close to north San Jose). it is free of charge: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us...el-museum.html


Second highly suggested site is NASA Ames Research Center (close to Google main campus), also free of charge but seems like it is currently closed for renovations "Beginning October 1, 2018, the visitor center at NASA’s Ames Research Center will be closed for renovations. We anticipate reopening before the 2018 holiday season. Please check back here for updates!" https://www.nasa.gov/ames/visit


After visiting Stanford university campus (go to the tower in their library! fantastic view, small fee), I suggest short drive to Palo Alto downtown for walking and lunch. Stanford university itself also has some cafes to take a bite. After Palo Alto downtown, take a short drive to Facebook, than to Google main campus.

If you guys are fans of ancient history, maybe Egyptian history museum in San Jose can be useful for you. It is very small but nice, and has a cute park https://egyptianmuseum.org/
Santa Clara Rose garden is nearby but it is not a season for roses now...


Go to Santana Row in West San Jose to see a "fake" Western Europe in America. I suggest going on weekends there Santana Row

Consider visiting Winchester Mystery House if you like such things (pretty expensive so) https://winchestermysteryhouse.com/


If you go to Santa Cruz (I highly suggest but again aware of traffic) your kids can like the Mystery Spot that is on 17 highway https://www.mysteryspot.com/

Be aware of local Bay Area traffic. It is really bad during rush hours.

Thanks! looking into some of these, excited about visiting Stanford.

[tango14]

Originally Posted by Kalana

I don't know how old your kids are but my kids at all ages have found Napa dreadfully boring. If you want to show them some natural beauty and rolling hills just take 280 on your way down to San Jose instead of 101.

They do want to visit - the thought of bunches of grapes, vineyards and some wine tasting ! They may get bored - not sure but I guess that's ok. That's why we are looking for ones that are not too long of a drive and yet scenic and beautiful. which ones did you visit?

[SportyandMisty]

Given your itinerary, I'd suggest adding the Intel Museum. https://www.intel.com/content/www/us...ing-intel.html

[dogandcat]

Originally Posted by tango14

Thanks! looking into some of these, excited about visiting Stanford.

Stanford campus is so beautiful... Hope you will get good weather with lots of sun. Don't forget to visit Cantor Arts Center in Stanford! Very nice museum collection, and it's free of charge https://museum.stanford.edu/visit

[peninsular]

I do not recommend Napa wine train. I have not been on it, but heard from multiple people that it's not worth it. Instead, consider a biking tour. There are tours that start in SF, where they use a van to bring you to Napa along with bikes and then have you bike to a few wineries of their choice. Alternatively, there are bike rentals in the town of Napa. It could be fun even with kids.


I have not been to a ton of wineries in Napa Valley, perhaps a bit more than a dozen, but one of my favorites is Nichelini Family Winery. I've also heard good things about visiting the Kuleto Estate. Both of these are more than a bit out of the way, so you need to plan accordingly. By the way, I am not associated with them in any way, other than having visited Nichelini. I also like the town of Yountville for its lunch options and general atmosphere.


I wouldn't even consider any transportation in SJ and South Bay other than a car. Even though you may be stuck in traffic at times, there really is no alternative. I second the Cantor Museum and the Rodin garden on Stanford's campus. A couple of other interesting things may be worth exploring with kids in Palo Alto are the Dish Walk - https://www.destinationpaloalto.com/stanford-dish-walk and the Papua New Guinea sculpture garden - https://www.yelp.com/biz/papua-new-g...nford-stanford. These are not must-sees in any way, but somewhat cool spots off the beaten track.

[zitsky]

Originally Posted by dogandcat

Stanford campus is so beautiful... Hope you will get good weather with lots of sun. Don't forget to visit Cantor Arts Center in Stanford! Very nice museum collection, and it's free of charge https://museum.stanford.edu/visit

The Cantor has a nice selection of Rodin sculptures.

[Ruth4Truth]

If you're not into wine yourselves, OP, you can cover some of the same ground on a tour of north Bay cheese country. There are specialty dairies all over Sonoma, Napa and Marin, and they offer cheese tastings. Here's one tour, you can find more by Googling "California Cheese Trail", and selecting a tour itinerary in a north Bay county.

Cheese-tasting, obviously, is something the kids can enjoy, too (up to a point; the flavor subtlety might be lost on them, so after a point, they'd probably get bored). Some of the dairies offer goat cheese and sheep cheese, though, so the kids might enjoy visiting the goats and sheep, and learning that sheep make milk that can be turned into cheese and yogurt, just like cows do.

This tour will take you through the Russian River area, including redwood parks. You can stop and let the kids run around the trails to let off steam. In fact, if you're going to do one of these circuits, you might consider skipping Muir Woods, and stopping at Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve, or other parks on or near your cheese route. Muir Woods is very crowded and touristy, plus a little out of your way, if you're heading to Napa/Sonoma, but Armstrong is much less touristy.
Trail Map - California Cheese Trail

Guermeville has redwoods, and some good lunch spots. Maybe others here could give you lunch recommendations in the general area: Guerneville, Petaluma, etc. (All on the Sonoma cheese trail map)