I'm going to California for the first time and have planned 3 days for San Francisco. I'm then renting a car to drive over to the Winchester Mystery House, then south to Monterey area for a day. Question 1 - is it worth the hours for the Alcatraz tour or can I just take the ferry ride for the views? In 95, I went to NYC for the 1st time and thought I had to see the Statue of Liberty. I've always wished I hadn't wasted most of a day to stand in lines just to be up close. I saw more on the ferry over than standing on the island. Question 2 - should I give up one day to take a side trip to Yosemite, thus leaving 2 days for San Francisco? Since I'll be so close, I don't want to miss the chance to see it.
The recent posts concerning San Francisco are appreciated.

YES the Alcatraz tour is definitely worth it. It is NOTHING like the Statue of Liberty. Get the cellblock audiotour.
I thought Alcatraz was just going to be so-so and went to humor my husband. It ended up being one of the highlights of our trip. We are taking the night tour next time we're back in SF!

I would reconsider the Winchester Mystery House. I had hopes of it being spooky, but it really wasn't at all. There's nothing inherently interesting about a "staircase to nowhere" once you're standing in front of it. They also have a lot of the rooms roped off so you can't go in, and you have to crane your neck to see in around everyone else in the group. And even as you're craning your neck, it's still just an old fashioned room; it's not the Hearst Castle. We were in a fairly big group and shuffling through many tight spaces was irritating too. I was just really bored by it, and I had really wanted to go in the first place. Maybe I'm just jaded youth.

Everytime we drive by, my boyfriend threatens to take me to Winchester if I'm not good.

love
roxy

I have made 2 trips to San Francisco (5 years apart). I did the Alcatraz tour both times, and highly enjoyed it. The tour is quite interesting; plus you will see some great views of SF from the island. (I second the recommendation to get the audio tour.) Be sure you book the tour ahead of time, as it is very popular and often sells out. (P.S. -- It's not very expensive, either.)

Donna

Second the suggestion to skip Winchester Mystery House. Nothing mysterious about it; just strange construction ordered by a wacky rich old lady. In fact, there's a mansion hotel down in Riverside, California, (name of the hotel escapes me at the moment) that was MUCH more interesting and one could wander about that hotel for free. It had a lot of funny nooks and crannies.

I'd suggest spending whatever extra time you have in Monterey/Carmel/Big Sur. The Monterey Aquarium is worth a visit. Then you can drive down and have lunch in Carmel at the Village Corner or any one of numerous restaurants. After lunch, continue southward and if the sun is shining, stop off at Point Lobos and walk the easy trails. Further south is Pfeiffer Big Sur, where you can do a short hike into the redwood forest. A couple of miles south of Pfeiffer Big Sur is Nepenthe, for a spectacular view. Several miles south of Nepenthe is Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park with the beautiful small blue-green bay of McWay Falls.

That's enough for one day. Suggest you stay in Monterey/Carmel for the night. Or you can drive back to SF and be perfectly exhausted after a wonderful day.

How do you make advance reservations for Alcatraz?

Alcatraz is worth it. Substitute the Rosecruitian Museum for the Winchester Mystery house.

Check out Degas' SF trip report.

You can check the Gray Line web site... Alcatraz is a part of their advance bookings...

http://www.blueandgoldfleet.com/ , this is where i booked my tickets online a few weeks ago. Im going on the tour next Saturday!

Have lived in SF most of my life. Take friends to Alcatraz all the time. I never miss the opportunity to go. And if it is a nice day, the view back to "The City" is awsome!!! I wounldn't drive down to SJ just to see the Winchester Mystery House. Impossible to do Yosemite in a day, save it for another trip. Have fun.

excellent! thanks for the ticket info, I've called and have tickets for our trip in Sept. very easy!

Opinions are divided about the Monterey Aquarium. We spent a day at Monterey during our recent trip with the specific purpose of visiting the aquarium. I'm not usually a moaner but I must admit to being somewhat underwhelmed - I suppose it all depends how fond you are of fish!
They get full marks for their environmental and conservation credentials and it is well presented but if you have been to Sea World or visited The Living Seas at Epcot I fear that you may well feel you have done it and got the t-shirt!
I wish we had booked a whale-watching trip instead.
If you take a day out to visit Yosemite you might end up feeling frustrated that you have tried to do too much and actually seen very little. There's so much to see and do in San Francisco that you will need all of your three days and more! Save Yosemite for another time so you can savour and enjoy.

There is so much to do in The City that your 3 days will fly by. Yosemite is worth a few days alone, you may want to save it for another trip.
I agree that the Winchester Mystery house isn't much of a hoot. It's fine if you happen to be in the area but imo it's not worth an extra trip when there are so many other wonderful things to do and see in this area.
If you want to add some nature to the trip, consider driving north to the Russian River and see the giant redwoods.

Just returned from a 6 day trip to SF. Great city! Alcatraz tour is good and getting the audio is a must. (It was included with our Gray Line tour). We took a day trip with Incredible Adventures to Yosemite ($114 per person). This was on a van so it allowed for some flexibility in scheduling what we did there. It really was a full day and I'm glad we didn't drive! It was plenty time for us to get a general tour and lots of photos. If you are an outdoors type person and want to hike, bike, raft, etc. the day trip probably won't be enough for you. Overall, glad we included this tour.