lynni

Leaving in just a few days for Hawaii... flying out early of SJC and have an entire afternoon and evening before we leave to try a new hotel and restaurant! Where should it be? We need to be at the airport by 7:30 am to leave for our 9:00 flight.

Give me your best ideas! Any favorite hotels or restaurants?

scdreamer

As much as I love my hometown of Santa Cruz, I think having only an afternoon and evening there before an early flight out of SJC would be a mistake... and spending the night in Santa Cruz could spell disaster for your Hawaii plans. Highway 17 from Santa Cruz over the mountains to San Jose is not an easy drive, especially if you aren't familiar with it. Very winding and narrow lanes over the mountains. And unless your flight is on a weekend, you'd be right in the midst of the mad morning commute rush. Plenty of fender benders and lots of potential for delay. In fact, many times if we have an early flight out of SJC or SFO, we spend the night at a hotel near the airport just to avoid driving Hwy 17 under the stress of possibly missing our flight.

I'll leave it to the San Jose and Los Gatos fodorites to suggest some good possibilities on that side of the hill. Have a great trip!

lynni

Thank you! Our flight will be on a Saturday morning but I understand the concern. I am familiar with HWY 17 but have never been pressed for time while driving it or come upon any fender benders, that I can recall.

I think I'll look into Los Gatos and Santana Row.

sunbum1944

I don't think I would spend the night if I went to Santa Cruz- you could drive over and spend a few hours and then spend the night at a hotel close to SJC. That road is so unpredictable- sometimes a quick drive over and sometimes 2 hours depending on traffic.

My DD lives in Campbell and our day trips over have always been fun.

Los Gatos is a great little town- always enjoy my visits there. And Santana Row is nice too

november_moon

Los Gatos is a nice, upscale town and easy to get to and from the airport. You could poke around some shops and have dinner. You have some wine tasting rooms there as well, which is nice.

Santana Row is fairly new - also upscale, purpose-built neighborhood with shops, restaurants, bars, and housing. It's a fun area with a lot of good places to eat, drink, and hang out.

Downtown San Jose is another possibility. There are several hotels there and because it is close enough to the airport and has lots of walkable places, you could even skip the rental car. The area around San Pedro Square is always buzzing with plenty going on, especially on Friday and Saturday nights

If you do want to go see something with your free afternoon, you might consider going up to Big Basin state park and visiting the redwoods. With an afternoon, you'd have plenty of time to drive up to Big Basin, hang out for awhile, even do a short hike, and be back in the SJ area in plenty of time for dinner.

sunbum1944

The Wine Cellar Restaurant in Los Gatos is a nice place to dine

hazel1

In Los Gatos, I like Dio Deka for upscale Greek (in the very nice Hotel Los Gatos), Nick's Next Door, Steamer's Grillhouse, and I Gatti. The Wine Cellar, not so much.