Where to stay/things to do near SJC?
 

I am doing a mid-November MR to SJC. I see public transit is a no go so I will be renting a car.

Where to stay? The Sheraton SJC is a no go (middle of nowhere!). San Francisco is expensive, and I read in another forum about the Doubletree SJC for $75 (incl. breakfast) - a good deal. Any other recommendations?

I am also interested in driving to Sacramento to see an NBA game? But, its a 2 hour drive. What to see/do enroute? Also, where to buy cheap Kings tickets?

Personally, I'd try to avoid the rental car. Save the car money and consider staying in downtown Palo Alto or Mountain View...or even San Jose. All are served by Caltrain/light rail. Caltrain will get you to San Francisco.

(I don't know the logistics of getting there, but there is a light rail connection just locks from SJC. Taxi?)

If you do go with the car, Monterey isn't terribly far, though it's the wrong direction from...

Sacramento can be a really long drive at commute times - much more than two hours. And there isn't much to see/do in between. There's an amusement park in Vallejo (don't know much about this), Jelly Belly factory, UC Davis and surrounding area. You could swing by some wineries without too many additional miles.

Add: I'd avoid Santa Clara without a car. Some fine hotels, often at good prices, but NOTHING nearby other than an amusement park.

What I should have mentioned is that Palo Alto and Mountain View have nice, walkable restaurants and shops in which to spend an evening, before/after hopping public transit to another interesting destination.

How much time is there between your arrival at SJC and your departure? Much of the time an MR means a quick overnight stay. For that I would generally recommend staying close to the airport and making simple plans-- like NOT driving 120 miles each way to Sac'to to see a ball game. But if you're turning your MR into something more resembling a weekender then it's reasonable to branch out while you're in town.

Its more of a weekend. Mid-day Sat until Monday am. The Kings game is at 3 pm Sunday so it would take all of the time. Other suggestions?

If you can book the Doubletree SJC for $75, grab it. I have stayed there many times before an early morning departure and it is a very nice hotel.

1) If you are interested, take a look at the Tech Museum -
http://www.thetech.org/

2) There are lots of wineries open for tasting within 30-45 min drive. Of course, be careful with the driving if you taste a lot.

3) Drive to Santa Cruz (45 minutes) and visit the beach and the Boardwalk or hang out downtown and have a good meal. Or head over to Felton (just before Santa Cruz) and visit Henry Cowell State Pk and see the giant redwoods.

It's hard to say without knowing your likes and interests. Do you want to keep costs minimal and see SJ or do you want to make a trip out of the MR? You can actually get a decent hotel and spend a night up in Napa/Sonoma, then check out and go to your game, and stay near SJC before your flight. Or go south and hang out in Monterey/Carmel for a night.

If you've never been, check out Santana Row - the most "exciting" shopping/dining area advertised in SJ. Or outlet shopping at the Great Mall.

There are plenty of tickets on Stubhub.

Santana Row is exciting in the same sense that reading the dictionary is exciting; it's not about having all the right words, it's more about putting them together properly.

If you could substitute hockey for basketball and the Sharks are in town, it would be lot easier to get to from the Doubletree.

If i am referencing the right weekend---there appears to be a Golden State NBA game saturday evening in Oakland. It would be a shorter drive than Sacramento. Itss Saturday night so you will have all sunday free.

There is no hockey game that weekend in San Jose.

by doing the game saturday night, you will then have all day sunday to explore.

with the BART strike happening...unsure how that affects CALtrain if you want to use it to go into SF.

Another option if you do the basketball game on Sat night is then you could drive up into Napa on Sunday, drive back through SF, then return to SJC at night.

personally, i would try to get a rental car (check hotwire, aaa.com/hertz, hertz's 14.99 prepaid weekend special http://www.hertz.com/rentacar/q-13480376/prepay-and-save-$14-99-weekend-special-special-offer).

you can get around via public transport. at SJC there is a free city bus (
http://vta.org/schedules/SC_10.html) that links SJC with the santa clara caltrain station, as well as the VTA light rail system.

They have cut back on the free shuttle bus on weekends -- last time I tried it, it only ran once every 30 minutes, which really is annoying for such a short run that is still a bit too long to walk in either direction.

Couple of inexpensive reco's to help keep your MR cost down ;)
In San Jose, the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum is an interesting way to spend a couple hours, if you're into such things, and then you can get cheap eats at Falafel Drive In. I recommend a banana milk shake and falafel sandwich.