2 days outside San Francisco
 

We are traveling to San Fransisco for a week in September and have Saturday and Sunday open. Does anyone have any suggestions where to go north (or any direction) of San Francisco for Saturday night? We are 2 adults with a 4 year old and would like to stay in a town with places to walk at night with outdoor things to do in the day. We looked at places south but everywhere seems to have a 2 night minimum. Thank you!

Do you want to stay outside the city for a reason? You could just stay at the same hotel, and do some day trips - Berkeley, Carmel, Monterey, Muir Woods, Stinson Beach, San Mateo coastal beaches, Santa Cruz, Capitola -- all of those are doable as day trips.

That makes sense! The only reason I thought we should stay somewhere is my daughter gets carsick and I was trying to minimize our driving during one day. I will definitely look into day trips outside of San Francisco! Thanks for your help.

Well, if your daughter gets carsick, I'd take BART to Berkeley, and skip all the rest. Some of those drives would not be kind to her!

Try the Larkspar ferry from the ferry terminal to Larkspar. There is a Mariott Courtyard just across the overhead walk way and a great little shopping area with plenty of places to eat.

Re Larkspur, isn't it just a suburb, albeit a nice suburb? Why would a tourist want to visit?

I love the East Bay & live there but Bart to Berkley? I can think of a coule of thousand better trips than that especially with a 4 year old. Monterey with the Aquarium & other attractions would be the first in my mind. A bit closer is the Beach at Santa Cruz. I believe the boardwalk is open on weekends in September. Lots of moderate priced places to stay. A bit more peaceful is a few miles South at Aptos with places on the lovely beach.

Well, when my daughter was 4, she loved being in crowded urban settings like Times Square and Berkeley, but I agree, for most kids, Monterey or Santa Cruz would be better bets!

Thank you for all your ideas! I think we found a place near Monterey so we will head that way. Although later when we are in San Francisco we will take the BART to Berkeley. I was wondering the best way to get there. My teenage daughter is applying there for college next year. Thanks again for all your help!