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Suggestions for a 4-day San Francisco trip?
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Anonymous
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We are thinking we will spend 2 nights in SF, 1 night in Napa with wine tasting during the day, and then at a loss for what to do the 4th day. Should we do 3 days in SF or an additional night in Napa? Go to Monterey? Sonoma?
Also, what are the best neighborhoods to stay in SF? Any vineyard recs? Thanks in advance!! |
Anonymous
| Monterey is lovely - the 17-mile drive, the aquarium. |
Anonymous
| Traveling with kids or not? What time of year? What do you like to do -- hike? check out bookstores? see city n-hoods? take in a ball game? are you foodies? There's something for everyone in the city and Bay Area, but a little more info would help. Also, there was a recent thread on this that you might want to check out via the archives function. |
Anonymous
| I love Muir Woods (giant redwoods) north of SF. You may be able to combine this with going to wineries, but Muir Woods can get a little crowded on the weekends. |
Anonymous
| I loved Sausalito so that could be a fun trip if you stay in SF and need something to do. I don't think you'll get bored no matter what you decide. SF, Napa, Monterey---all very lovely and you'll have a great time. Love that area!!! |
Anonymous
| Ifyou are there on a Saturday morning go to the flea market |
Anonymous
| OP here - thanks for all the suggestions! We will be travelling without kids and aren't super outdoorsy - meaning, we love being outdoors and seeing beautiful things in nature, but we probably wouldn't go hiking as part of our vacation. We do like exploring city neighborhoods, eating well (this is key) and definitely want to spend some time in wine country. Thanks again! |
Anonymous
| Muir Woods poster here--the main Muir Woods area definitely more of a stroll than a hike--flat, wide trails, and it's a very short walk from the visitor's center to being in the middle of the giant trees. There's also a very pretty (but chilly) beach (Muir Beach?) nearby. |
Anonymous
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I think driving all over the place is a big PITA. Getting to Monterey - and then back, as you'll presumably be flying out from SFO or OAK - is a bit of a drive. From San Francisco, it can be a 2+ hour drive one way, depending on traffic. It'll be longer if stop and spend a bit of time in Santa Cruz or take the scenic drive on Highway 1. Also, if you're going to the aquarium on a weekend or any day during the summer break it will get extremely crowded fast.
I *love* Monterey, by the way. I wouldn't discourage you if your trip were longer. My personal preference would be to the third night in SF or spend another night in Napa (that way you're not changing hotels as often), and drive over to Sonoma county for more wine tasting and just general scenic loveliness and yummy food. You could also drive to Point Reyes and check out the beach there (it's a beautiful drive but kind of windy and raw - so you may or may not like that sort of thing). Depending on how far ahead you're going (and how much you want to spend on food!), you may want to try demon-dialing Thomas Keller's French Laundry two months to the calendar date ahead of time for a reservation. It's a famous restaurant, and it's incredibly hard to get reservations, but it would be such a treat. You did say you liked excellent food. You could do Sausalito, as a PP suggested, and check out the Marin Headlands. You could park on the Marin side of the Golden Gate bridge and walk part way across. If you chose to do a third night in San Francisco, I'm sure you wouldn't be sorry. There is so much to do there that I couldn't get bored with three days and three nights. Also, you could check out Berkeley in the East Bay. |
Anonymous
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I have the luxury of a night alone in San Francisco in April -- it's a sad luxury because I wish my husband and DC could be with me, but it's a business trip with only one night to spare. Any suggestions about a reasonable hotel with airport shuttle and a nice restaurant on site? I'm not comfortable being alone and walking or taxi-ing to it.
Thanks |
Anonymous
| I would just stay in SF the whole time and take a side trip to muir woods if you're into trees. I loved SF and muir woods. We were there a week. Stay away from Haight-ashbury (spelling?) and keep a close eye on your kids. In some areas, I swear there were like 20 homeless hanging out. We also went into wine country -- the wine country was boring and a waste, but I'm not into wine. |
Anonymous
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When in SF, skip Fisherman's Wharf.
We enjoyed dinner at a place called Town Hall and LOVED Frascati. http://www.yelp.com/biz/frascati-san-francisco http://www.yelp.com/biz/town-hall-san-francisco |
Anonymous
She said no kids traveling. |
Anonymous
Bay Area native here (a shout-out for Mill Valley; anybody else out there from Marin?) -- ITA that Monterey is a long drive and, besides the aquarium, not a lot of appeal there for somebody who likes city n-hoods. Sausalito is very tourist-y, so wouldn't recommend that either. And, I think one day of wineries is enough unless you're really an afficionado (or thought "Sideway" was a great travel movie  ). So, if you're not into outdoors-y stuff (which is too bad, because that's one of the most fabulous things about the Bay Area), I'd say go over to Berkeley and see the campus, have lunch at Chez Panisse or Cafe Fanny and shop -- great bookstores and lots of fun boutiques.
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Anonymous
Frascati / Town Hall restaurant poster from above. I would agree that Sausalito is touristy- think I would skip this as well. We went and could have definitely passed on it. |