Hi,

I was trying to book 2 nigthts stay at Yosemite thru www.yosemotepark.com but it shows very limited options -
(a) Room without bath at Wawona
(b) Tent Cabins at Curry Village, or
(c) Room at Tenaya Lodge

I tried looking at few other web sites also but most show no availability for Yosemite during the dates we want (Nov 11 & 12). Does anyone have experience with the above 3 lodging options? There is a promo for Heated Tent Cabin at Curry Village but the review/ratings for this place elsewhere on the forum pages are not great and also, wonder if it would make sense to stay in heated tent cabin with family, given the cold weather. Appreciate any insights anyone may want to share. Thanks,

Regards,
-S

To J Correa:

I was just reviewing the posts I have made here to check for replies that I might have missed and noted that you asked for a report on my small ship cruise to Alaska in August. If you haven't already seen what I had to say, please click on my name and you can see all the glorious things I had to say about it.

Shenwai....keep checking the online reservation system to Yosemite for a cabin or room at the Lodge. I've always found an opening but usually only seven days or less before arrival date. Many people book a year in advance and then cancel several days prior to their arrival date. Good luck. Yosemite is a place not to be missed. PS I find the cabins with bath perfectly acceptable.

okay, in the city don't miss the yerba buena gardens with the kids and the metreon for some sensory overload. the exploratorium is perfect for this age. take a trolley, visit the barking sea lions on pier 39. check out the farmers' market at the ferry building on saturday or sunday. a ferry to angel island is nice for a hike or mountain bike ride. marine world is cool but pales in comparison to disneyland and will have restricted hours in november.
monterrey aquarium is fab! and nearby santa cruz is fun for corndogs and old fashioned roller coasters. I wouldn't want to do the drive from yosemite to the coast but it wouldn't kill you.

in yosemite, stay at the lodge. the camping cabins remind me of camping prison. so small and squished together! you won't have all the junk you'd need to be comfy in a cabin.

you could certainly take a day trip further north but it seems like you're already logging a lot of miles and there's PLENTY to do and see between san francisco and los angeles. I would look again at your trip and try to do a loop...coastal cities up to sf, then east to the mountains and south from there, kings canyon, sequioa national forest, etc.

enjoy, trish

Shenwai,

The reason you may be having trouble is that November 11 is a national Holiday - Veteran's Day. Many schools and businesses are closed on that day, so people are probably taking Friday off to make it a 4-day weekend.

We have stayed at the Tenaya Lodge and enjoyed it. It's a nice property and would be fine for you and your children. It has an indoor swimming pool, which is usually a big hit with kids. However, it is outside the park's south entrance and about a one hour drive to the valley (depending on road conditions). It is closer to the Mariposa Grove of Sequoias.

I. too, have been checking for shenwai and kept wondering why nothing was coming up. Yep, a holiday. It would be a shame to miss Yosemite, so grab what you can at this late date even if it means driving into the valley.

That explains it!! Yep, no wonder everything is taken up. Ivk and Trav, Thanks for pointing out about the holiday...I checked out Tenaya Lodge. The lowest option is $169/night, rather pricey for our budget. Unless we stay somewhere outside the park, finding a suitable place seems to be a problem this time. It would be a shame to miss Yosemite but looks like we may not have too many choices given that we are flying out from Singapore tomorrow. Thanks anyway for all your wonderful inputs folks.

regards,
-S

Shenwai, I am sorry you cannot get a reservation at Yosemite but I can't help and think that this will give you a good reason to come back to California again with your family.

Happy and safe travels to all of you.

Hi,

Another thought just crossed my mind...

Would it be worth trying to rent a RV for a week. We could do a RV camping at Yosemite for few days, if it makes sense during this time of the year, and then spend rest of the days on the coastal trip driving back to LA. We have done a RV trip in Australia and the entire family loved it. Would it be an advisable option to check out quickly. Any thoughts please? Also, any suggestions for good or popular RV rental companies there.

Thanks and regards,
Shrikant

TTT for shenwai

Folks...

I have finally booked a 2 night stay at Yosemite View Lodge. Based on the many inputs gathered from this forum, looks like that is the closest thing, next to staying inside the park. After reading so many great views about Yosemite, I just couldn't give Yosemite trip a miss. Now I just hope that the weather gods are kind to us during the planned dates! We have rented a mid-size SUV and plan to drive off from San Francisco on Nov 11, early morning. Guess, need to find out the best time to start the drive to minimize traffic delays.

That leaves one more thing to be taken care of - 1 night hotel accomodation in or around Monterey + 1 more night somewhere along the coastal drive (we plan to spend 2 nights along the way).

There seem to be many past postings on this forum on this subject so will try to do some quick research, through the time is somewhat running out to do any detailed research (flying tomorrow). If you have any quick input that can save me some research time, that would be very welcome indeed.

In any case, thanks a ton to all of you for generously sharing your insights. Will post the trip report upon return.

regards,
-S