Finally, we know we'll have the cash... so our big US trip is ON!
We'll be landing in SFO on Sept 24th (late evening) & leave for Vegas on Thursday 29th.
I'd love to head up to the Napa Valley for a night for the old wine tasting, go to Six Flags, drop in to see friends in Martinez and see the sights in the city.
Can we do all of this in 4 full days or are we bonkers? I'm usually one of the advice-givers on the UK & Ireland forum, so it's weird to be asking the questions, for a change :D
rjque
Jan 26, 11, 3:47 pm
Finally, we know we'll have the cash... so our big US trip is ON!
We'll be landing in SFO on Sept 24th (late evening) & leave for Vegas on Thursday 29th.
I'd love to head up to the Napa Valley for a night for the old wine tasting, go to Six Flags, drop in to see friends in Martinez and see the sights in the city.
Can we do all of this in 4 full days or are we bonkers? I'm usually one of the advice-givers on the UK & Ireland forum, so it's weird to be asking the questions, for a change :D
Shouldn't be a problem as long as you have a car. It will be difficult but not impossible if you do not have a car.
Where are you planning on staying? Keeping a car in downtown San Francisco will be very, very expensive.
Babaduck
Jan 26, 11, 5:07 pm
No problem renting a car to get us out of the city at all - your public transport system is even worse than ours:D We definitely don't need one in the city & I hear you nearly need to sell a major organ to pay for parking...
No idea about accom anywhere yet. I'd like to stay somewhere nice but not too expensive in Napa. As for SFO itself, probably whatever I can find on PL (has always worked for me before). It's ages away, so I'm not worried about where to stay yet.
darthbimmer
Jan 26, 11, 6:07 pm
It's a reasonable list of things to do. Keep in mind that wineries generally close by 4 or 4:30pm, so you'll want to start your trip to Napa early in the day.
The weather in California is beautiful in September. Keep an eye toward outdoors activities as you make your plans.
Non-NonRev
Jan 26, 11, 9:46 pm
The weather in California is beautiful in September. Keep an eye toward outdoors activities as you make your plans.And more specifically, the weather in The City is at its best in the months of September and October. :)
One thing I always urge people to do when planning future vacation dates us to check the meeting calendars offered on the websites of the SF Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the calendar of the Moscone Convention Center. The following is from the SFCVB calendar:
09.22.11 - 09.24.11 CDA Presents The Art and Science of Dentistry
California Dental Association
Thursday, 9/22/2011 through Saturday, 9/24/2011
Attendance: 16000
Peak Rooms: 2000
Two events using 4500 total rooms will not sell the city out, but it has the potential to make Priceline and Hotwire discounts less easy to obtain. Please plan accordingly.
mstraveler
Jan 26, 11, 10:10 pm
Finally, we know we'll have the cash... so our big US trip is ON!
We'll be landing in SFO on Sept 24th (late evening) & leave for Vegas on Thursday 29th.
I'd love to head up to the Napa Valley for a night for the old wine tasting, go to Six Flags, drop in to see friends in Martinez and see the sights in the city.
Can we do all of this in 4 full days or are we bonkers? I'm usually one of the advice-givers on the UK & Ireland forum, so it's weird to be asking the questions, for a change :D
Yes, reasonable to do. If you travel in non-rush hour times, Napa is not more than 1.5 hours. Less maybe if you are going to Napa itself. If you are talking "Napa Valley" and are heading for the north end, i.e. Calistoga, it will take longer, but still fine. Just don't go at rush hour. And beware that the Napa Valley has gotten a bit pricey in the past few years. You will be hard pressed to find anyplace less than $200 and many will be in the $300-600 range. But gorgeous and Sept should be really pretty.
Sykes
Jan 26, 11, 10:48 pm
Your list seems pretty reasonable. Plan to devote an entire day to Napa, and another to just exploring the city. If you're on a budget, you may want to consider Sonoma County as an alternative to Napa. I personally love the Russian River Valley and areas nearby.
If I was to leave anything off your schedule, however, it would probably be Six Flags. I'm a roller coaster fiend, so perhaps I've been spoiled by the Southern Californa parks, but Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo just isn't particularly exciting to me. Is that part of the time you're planning to spend with your friends from Martinez, or is that something else?
Something else to consider is heading south to Monterey. It's roughly a 2-hour drive from San Francisco (a tiny bit more than the drive to Napa), and you can have lunch at Pebble Beach, check out Carmel, visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and enjoy the beautiful drive up and down Highway 1.
rjque
Jan 26, 11, 11:23 pm
If it were me, I would stay a night in Napa rather than trying to stay in the city and going back and forth. I really like the Avia in downtown Napa and it can be had for a fairly reasonable price on weeknights (depending on your definition of "reasonable"). Downtown Napa has a few tasting rooms, but you should really get out to the Valley for the day - either hire a driver or just drive yourself and be very careful about how much you drink. Then you can go to a great dinner at one of the newer downtown Napa places (Oenotri, Morimoto and I think a Tyler Florence place) and not worry about driving yourself back to the hotel. I'm a huge fan of Oenotri, which I produces some of the very best Italian food I've ever had, and certainly the best in the Bay Area. (But then I know the chef/owners, so I'm biased).
For timing, if you're staying in SF, either plan to leave very early in the morning and do your wine tasting between 11 and 3 or so, or go up in the afternoon before rush hour and do your tasting the next day. If you let us know what kind of wines you like I'd be happy to post some suggested wineries.
dhuey
Jan 26, 11, 11:30 pm
If I was to leave anything off your schedule, however, it would probably be Six Flags.
I was about to make the same suggestion. Six Flags is okay but nothing special. I'd estimate there are at least a dozen better amusement parks in this country -- maybe more. Focus on the things that are special about the SF Bay Area.
Babaduck
Jan 27, 11, 12:17 am
Guys
These are great suggestions - and Non-NonRev, that's something I hadn't considered (I'm in the middle of planning a similar sized event for work :eek:).
I think we may leave Six Flags off the agenda then. I'm not insistent that the wine region has to be Napa - it's just the first name that comes to mind. Wine-wise, I love unoaked whites like Sauvignon, Picpoul, Pinot Gris & I'm easy on reds. I tend to buy my wine in France every year, so I'm used to what I get there. I'm definitely not a White Zin girl... The Hubs doesn't drink wine at all which makes for an interesting combo.
As you can see from my tagline, I'm a food blogger/writer for fun, so plan to mine lots of articles from the trip - the French Laundry was mentioned but I just can't justify spending that amount of cash on one meal, when I can have 3-4 gorgeous meals elsewhere
malsf1
Jan 27, 11, 9:41 am
That weekend is also the Folsom Street festival, which may also use up some hotel rooms. On that Sunday, I would avoid having to use a car if your plans would take you anywhere near the festival or downtown.
SFO777
Jan 27, 11, 9:50 am
Agree with others, forget Six Flags or whatever they call it these days.
I second the idea of staying in Napa or Sonoma one night. Many great restaurants and why hold back on the wine so you can drive all the way back to SF? I would stay in the City first, then rent a car at one of the city RAC offices (cheaper than from the airport but with free airport SFO/OAK drop-off) for the visit to Martinez, which is on the way to Napa.
henryf
Jan 29, 11, 5:57 pm
Depending on how much you want to spend, you can usually PL a decent room in Santa Rosa or Rohnert Park. The cost will be much more reasonable than Napa.
My experience is that Hwy 29 is prone to congestion. If you have a definite place that you want to visit in the Napa Valley, take the Silverado trail and cut over when you get near your destination.
I love SF. SF cityguides (sfcityguides.org) walking tours are great. They are lead by locals and there is no charge. I usually leave $5/person for a donation but this is not required.
Not sure about your dates but, in the past, Target stores has sponsored open museum admissions on select weekends. The really spectacular museums include in the California Academy of Sciences and the DeYoung (both in GG park), SFMOMA and the Asian Art Museum. The Legion of Honor is associated with the DeYoung but at a separate location. You can easily spend a half day at any of these
venues.
If you like to drink beer, call the Anchor Steam brewery on Potrero Hill and sign up for one of their tours. The walking tour is interesting and the tasting room is quite generous.
Purchase muni passports (http://www.sfmta.com/cms/mfares/passports.htm) for travel within the city..they cover buses, trams and the cable cars.
The only thing you will get out of a 4 day visit is a desire to return for a longer stay.
Babaduck
Jan 30, 11, 1:27 am
Henry
Fantastic information - thank you so much. Beer would be a joint love & we have toured our share of breweries over the years, including the fantastic Cantillion (http://www.cantillion.be) in Brussels, so that's definitely something The Hubs would be happy to see ^
We've done the Big Apple Greeter walk in NYC, so I'm delighted to see that a similar programme is available in SF
Off to the Holiday Show today where I shall snag all the guides from the Visit California, Las Vegas CVB & NYC & Co peeps... much cheaper to get them here than pay S&H :D