San Francisco

Hello Again!

My brother in law is getting married Wednesday, July 1 in Gilroy California. We (me, my husband, our 7 yr old son, and our 11 mo old daughter) are flying into San Francisco at 1 am on Saturday. We will be staying at my brother in law's apartment in San Jose. After the wedding, we are driving to South Tahoe for the remainder of our trip (Thursday-Sunday).

From Saturday to Tuesday, we would like to visit sites near San Jose. I would like to whale watch in Monterey Bay and visit the aquarium one day. I would also like to visit San Francisco and see the main attractions one of the days. What would be the "must sees" in San Francisco? As a matter of budgeting, we decided not to do the Alcatraz tour since we really want to whale watch. Aside from visiting the city and whale watching, what else is there to do? Isn't there a famous Hwy along the coast?

Can anyone help me with planning a four day itinerary to make the most out of our time? We will be getting in very late so whatever we do on Saturday, I wouldn't want to do very early.

Thank you!
Amanda

The Pacific Coast Highway is the one you are thinking of. You could possibly drive down as far as Big Sur, and back, or head all the way down to Cambria, and head inland to take the 101 or I-5 back to San Francisco. There is also the 17 mile drive, on the way to Monterey. And your eight year old might like the aquarium in Monterey.

It was good to read your last trip went so well.

Lifey

As you probably know from other threads, we don't really do "must sees" on RTA, because one person's idea of a "must see" may be another's idea of "must pass". For instance, the next time I get up to San Francisco, I'd like to go see the Disney Family Museum in Golden Gate Park. Golden Gate Park itself is one of those places that some folks love, while others say, "bleh".

The last time we spent any time on the western side of the Bay, we had a whirlwind day. We were all over the Wharf, Chinatown, rode the cable cars (or maybe I should phrase that, "hung on for dear life on the cable cars") and visited the Cable Car Museum. We ate at Fisherman's Grotto No. 9 because that had been a place my grandmother had always enjoyed on the Wharf. The highlight of that day, for me, was riding BART over to SF and return, from the Walnut Creek station (where we were staying). Those are just a few ideas.


Donna

San Jose to Cambria via the coast road and back via any route is too much for a day trip. You would need to spend a night elsewhere. The Monterey area by itself can occupy a whole day.

Thanks Donna! I understand about the "must sees." You're right! We've never been to San Fran so I was wondering the opinions of others.

Do you think we could see the golden gate brige, ride the cable cars, see lombard street, fishermans wharf, and Muir woods in a day? Or is that too much?

Thank you! I'll plan on saving a whole day for Monterey.

If you plan on taking the Golden Gate Bridge, it's now on a cashless toll system. Tolls are collected southbound only, and if you don't have a transponder, it's license plate tolling. Here are your options.