What To Do & See in San Francisco and Area.

[suedonim]

I'm hoping the American based MN nightcrew will see this and give me the lowdown on the 'must-do's' in SF and wider area, as dh has a hankering to go there this August.

I've spent a w/end in SF so have seen a little bit of it but I want to know what to do if spending two weeks in Northern Ca. So, over to you!

I'm ressurrecting this thread as it seems we're finally going to SF this summer! I'm after some practicalities this time, rather than where-to-go stuff.

What type of clothing to take? Ds1 reckons it can be chilly even in July, but he lives in LA, so should I believe him?

What can we expect to be provided with in hotels? (Even though we've been to the US a number of times, wwe've always stayed in people's houses ) Can I wash/dry small amounts of laundry or are laundry services a reasonable price? Do rooms have mini-kitchens in them?

Travel. Can you hire cars with Sat Nav in them or is it better to provide our own? What size car do you suggest for two adults and a 12yo? The terminology on Hire Care sites is a bit bewildering - medium family, large saloon etc!

Is it easy to find internet cafes or should we take a laptop with us?

Comments on our proposed schedule welcome - is it practical?
Day 1 Arrive SF, pick up hire car and stay in airport hotel for one night to recover from journey.
Day 2-5 Drive to Napa Valley/Santa Rosa area to visit ds.
Day 6-8 Drive to Monterey and see sights.
Day 9-14 Back to SF and do the tourist thing before departing.

We used to live over there. Yosemite is beautiful, but gets pretty busy. Sequoia and Kings Canyon are just a little further south along the same mountain range and much quieter, but utterly stunning. We had a fabulous trip back a few years ago, travelling south down the coast road to Hearst Castle, then across inland to Sequoia & Kings Canyon, before coming back to the Bay Area to catch up with friends. A wonderful trip and I'm extremely jealous of you. Enjoy.

Oops, sorry, should have read all the thread.

SF can definitely be chilly even mid summer (especially midsummer). Fog rolls in during the day and amongst the tall buildings it can be pretty chilly. Outside SF, you're pretty much guaranteed temps well up into the 30s.

I can't really advise on hotels/cars etc as it's been a while & we had our own place & cars.

Second the chilly comment, we were there in August and it was pretty nippy. Take a jumper or two. The summer fog was unexpected.

US cars are big, so you'll probably find a medium family number is okay.

I'm sure you'll be able to find some ApartHotels for some nights of your stay.

If you are heading to Santa Rosa and like Snoopy - the Charles Schultz Museum is really sweet. Booking daytrips - Yosemite, City tours etc worked really well through Expedia for us.

Right, fleeces are on the to pack list! The Schulz museum sounds cute, how can you not love CB and friends? Thanks for the Expedia tip as well.

Bumps for more replies re sat nav etc.

Ooh yes, the sequoia Muir woods they're wonderful... Used to live in sf growing up - loved the exploratorium at the science museum. Basically its a maze of rooms that you have to climb up and down to get through - but there's no light (or there shouldn't be). Each room's walls/floors/ceiling is made up of different textures.
Also a third for Monterey - the aquarium is v good there and hey it was in that star trek movie where they came to earth. Go whale watching too!

there are also so lovely snoopy scuptures all over Santa Rosa, the nicest are in the historic RailRoad Square, there is a great coffee shop there too called Flying Goat Coffee and some great thrift stores in the square.

Sonoma is a lovely little place, the square is pretty with a nice play ground, Sunflower coffeeshop is lovely, and the cheese Factory for cheese tasting...

Calistoga- is a very pretty town, and it has one of the worlds Old Faithful Geysers

Fairfield- has the Jelly Belly factory which offers free tours, but you should try for an earliest tours around 9:30am I think.. DS loved it, and we did too.

Bodega Bay- Fish and chips at Dee's at Lucas Wharf, saltwater taffy at Candy and Kites and a wander around the beaches for a breath of cool air.

I have a few pictures on my blog we just got back a few weeks ago from visiting some friends in Santa Rosa, I'm from there originally.

Thank you, Meridian. I've looked at your blog and can't wait to go now!

Hello, I'm from Calistoga to everyone who gave me advice for my Ca trip!! We had a good trip out and so far all is going well. We had a nice hotel near SFO for the first night and used the Sat Nav (see my sat-nav anguish thread in Products!!) we bought at T5 to get to Calistoga without either of us filing for D-I-V-O-R-C-E.

It's v hot, 103 deg yesterday and v dry, my skin is shrivelling to crepe paper. We met up with ds1 and his dw and are now off to do touristy stuff.

Thanks, Kerry, we're having a great time so far. Temps hit 109 deg yesterday, Califrau. We were down to double figures after dinner. I almost cheered when I saw it was cloudy this morning, lol.

This is a brilliant thread! We're going to Australia on 26th July, but coming home via SF and will have three days there mid August, so this is really whetting my appetite!