What can I do in San Franscisco/California and around in one week (Los Angeles: fit in, hotel)

[kkn006]

We (me and my wife) are planning for a week long trip (during Thanksgiving week) to California, landing in SFO. We are from Charlotte, North Carolina.

Can forum member suggest me places to visit in and around SFO. We are planning to drive around (to save money on flights)

Here is the list I have right now,
1. SFO and around
2. NAPA
3. Lake Taheo
4. Yosemite
5. LA - What to see in LA?

What other cities/places we can visit in California?

Should we fly to SFO or other city in California to cover most sight seeing places?

Thanks.

[CAVA1990]

You should take one day and head down to Monterey, Carmel and Big Sur. Visit the Carmel mission, walk around Carmel, hike out to see the Sea Otters at Point Lobos and have lunch at Nepenthe. You could also take a cruise of Monterey Bay or and/or visit the acquarium. Depending on when you're there you might see some whales. Warning, you'll probably not want to return to NC and will spend the rest of your days figuring out how to relocate there.

[Nineties Flava]

Short list:


-Winchester Mystery House (San Jose)
-Alcatraz (SF)
-SF Trolley
-Chabot Space Center (Oakland)
-Mormon Temple (Oakland)
-Lake Meritt (Oakland)
-Downtown Berkeley
-Telegraph Ave and Haight St. (last remnants of the hippie movement that made SF and Berkeley iconic in the 60's and 70's)
-Half Moon Bay (beautiful scenery)

[CAVA1990]

^ That's a great list too. I think you're gonna need another week.

[gizmo980]

Try mapping out the places you've listed, because I don't think you understand how HUGE California is... Napa is 1.5 hours from SF (SFO only refers to the airport, btw ), Lake Tahoe is about 4 hours, Yosemite 3-4 hours, and LA is at LEAST 5-6 depending on traffic. So you definitely won't see all of that in one week!! I'd stick within a 2-hour radius, which could include Napa, Monterey, Santa Cruz, Berkeley/Oakland, San Francisco & the Peninsula. Plenty of sights in these regions, and I promise you won't get bored. Have you booked hotel/s yet? And what kind of stuff do you like doing - outdoorsy, shopping, historical, water, wine??

[gizmo980]

P.S. I used to live in Lake Tahoe (South Shore), and it's one of the most beautiful places in the country... so if you really want an overnight trip, I'd pick Tahoe over Yosemite or LA for sure. I'd suggest NOT going exactly over T-Day weekend, though, since it gets annoyingly busy on long weekends. Also plan for cold weather & winter driving, as snow is very common that time of year.

[trance4life]

Well if your into seeing some great views and some awesome canyon driving in Los Angeles.

Drive, Mullholand Hwy, Piuma Road, Yerba Buena( my favorite, looks like this area was undersea with all the cool rocks), Decker Canyon (driving to the beach, most stunning view of the ocean).

I know this is a pretty random thing to do if your visiting L.A but this is one of my favorite things to do on weekends. Oh and you can catch some seafood at Neptunes Net. So yummy.

Have fun!!!!

[expect]

a week is too short to try to cover those things
pick either north or south cali.

[mayorhaggar]

Yeah I would just do SF and Napa and maybe Monterey. You can see pretty much everything in SF in about 4-5 days and a daytrip to Napa or Monterey would fit in well. I don't think you can fit in LA without a flight.

Tahoe and Yosemite are almost half a day's drive away and will be cold and possibly very rainy or even snowy. Tahoe is good for skiing but only when there's a lot of snow, so if you thought you could go in November and just do hiking I think you're out of luck, that is more of a summer thing. If you want to do Yosemite it's probably better to go in summer.

[kkn006]

Although I postponed my plans for summer..you inputs are appreciated.