CA Road Trip Honeymoon
 

My fiancé and I are planning our CA honeymoon and would like some feedback. This may be long so please reply to whatever part you may be able to help with. We want to know about the hotels we have chosen and things to do in all the locations (we just have an itinerary). I work in the hospitality industry so I have many great rates with my travel agency ID and is the reason we have chosen some of the hotels (and why I have discerning taste). I actually run a restaurant, but have a Travelbridge ID. March 6 is the wedding in Orlando. (We live in Gainesville FL, he is a computer engineering grad student)
March 8 we fly to San Jose and are looking for the best way to get to our hotel, the Hyatt Fisherman's Wharf. We will be there for 2 nights. We want to do the San Francisco touristy things, maybe the WokWiz tour and Alcatraz.
On Wed March 10th we will pick up our rental car (probably from Enterprise since they will charge us only $15 a day as apposed to $25 for under 25 fee, I am 22 and he is 21) From here we will drive to Muir woods for a few hours and then head to the wine country.
We think we want to stay in Sonoma as we have read many posts saying it is nicer than Napa. We are looking at Vintners Inn, Sonoma Mission Inn (I can get a great rate, but no breakfast), Lodge at Sonoma, Madrona Manor, or Applewood Inn (b/c we both like to cook; or is it too far from the wineries?) Or Candlelight Inn in Napa (looks like good breakfast) Of course it may not matter at all because we will only be there one night. On the 11th we will get up and tour some wineries. A bike tour sounds intriguing but we cannot justify $125 to ride a bike. Let us know if they are truly worth it. In the afternoon of 11th we will head to Fairfield.
My fiancé LOVES Jelly Belly?s so we have made a point to go on the tour of the factory. Has anyone done it? After this we will be driving to the Hyatt Lake Tahoe in Incline Village, NV. What would be best route and how long does it take? Also we have not ever rented a car. It says we have unlimited mileage in state but then we pay per mile out of state, since it is just over the border how do they know? We will stay two nights at this resort. We have heard many different things about it and were wondering how it is since its remodeling. We like that it is away from South Tahoe and more "rustic."
On Saturday the 13th we will drive to Yosemite. What is the best route from Incline Village to Yosemite in March? We do not want to be driving in snow (remember: rental car and two people who live in Florida). We do not have our lodging yet for this part of the trip either. I would love to stay in the park but the Ahwahnee is too much and the only thing available in the park on Saturday night (13th) The Yosemite Lodge is available Sunday the 14th. Should we stay at the Yosemite View Lodge one night and then move into the park, or stay two nights at YVL? Or, since I have a great rate available at the Tenaya Lodge, just stay there? We plan on doing things in the park like tours and hiking (any suggestions?).
Monday afternoon we will drive to Fresno airport and park the car for our Allegiant Air flight to Las Vegas. It is actually cheaper to park the car then turn it in and rerent it 2 days later.
We are staying at the Mirage (it was a package with the airline). We have no plans yet and want to do "Vegas" type stuff. See a show, see as many hotels as possible, be tourists! Please recommend activities for us, we like to see different things and although enjoy a night out, we aren't big partiers.
On Wed (17th) night we fly back to Fresno where we Pricelined the La Quinta for the night. We will wake up the next morning to head to Monterey. We were thinking of going to Hearst Castle, is this extremely out of the way? Would it be worth it? We like history and enjoyed our Biltmore tour last year. That night we are staying at the Seven Gables Inn in Pacific Grove. We are reserved in the Gable room on the top floor. We are thinking of doing the 17mile drive and maybe the aquarium.
On the 19th we will go back to San Francisco to stay at the Fairmont Hotel before flying back to Orlando on Sunday afternoon. We will return the car on the 19th.
I have enjoyed reading the many posts about California and look forward to reading more ideas about the specific areas. Please let us know what you think of our crazy road trip, of any great restaurants not to miss, and offer us lots of suggestions to make it wonderful. (And yes, we know we will need a vacation after this!)

Wow! That's a lot of stuff you have planned. Figure about 2 hours for your drive from San Jose airport to Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.

Wine country necessarily means driving around to the different wineries, they're big grape estates! Because I live here I day trip to Sonoma, and cannot recommend any Sonoma lodging over any other. Be aware that most wineries don't open for tasting until 11am or so, so you may wish to stop at one on your way to Sonoma. Since it's your honeymoon, I would recommend visiting one of the Champagne estates such as Gloria Ferrer as they're located on the way to Sonoma anyhow. On the 11th, it will take roughly an hour to drive from Sonoma to Fairfield. From Fairfield to Incline Village will likely take another 2.5 - 3 hours. March 11 is going to be a LONG DAY. Now would be a good time to get maps from your AAA office. Get a California state one, and one called the Bay and Mountain Region map. Very helpful.

YOU WILL ENCOUNTER SNOW. Sorry, but unless we have a major drought between now and then, there will be snow in the mountains, and possibly on the roads. Budget $40 for snow chains in the event that you will have to buy them. Car rental companies do not provide them. Tioga pass will be closed at that time, so you are going to have to go all the way around Lake Tahoe, and back towards the California Central Valley. Highway 49 goes through California Gold Country, and I think it's an underrated treat.

I always advise people to stay in Yosemite Valley if they can. There is just no substitute for the aura of waking up in the valley. Pity the Ahwahnee is out of your price range. It's hideously expensive, but such a nice piece of history. Have breakfast there. Fun things to do in Yosemite might include driving up to Badger Pass and trying some snowshoeing. You might also try going part way up the Mist trail. It's open all year.

The only thing about 17 mile drive, be aware you're driving around to look at homes and golfcourses, and they charge for it. The Aquarium is fabulous.

Have a great trip.

Sorry, I meant that we are flying into and out of Oakland International.

Congratulations on you marraige. BayArea made some of the same points I was . .

But a few more. The Incline Hyatt is a very nice property - but it is certainly not "rustic". The CA part of northshore can be called rustic (sort of) but Incline Village in general very upscale. Those houses along Lakeshore drive where the Hyatt is average $1.5 to 2 million and some as much a $6 million. You will probably enjot the Hyatt. Be sure to visit Sand Harbor - it is less than 3 miles fromm the hyatt and is probably the most beautiful place on the lake.

As mentioned - there will be no direct route to Yosemite. You can take hwy 49 south from either Auburn (from I-80) or Placerville (from hwy 50) all the way. or if it is stormy and you want to stay ouit of the foothills you can take I-80 back to Sacramento and then go down Hwy 99 to Manteca and 140 to the park.

How late is your flight back to Fresno? If it is late at night, staying in Fresno is reasonable. But if it is in the early evening, I'd drive to Monterey that night.

I haven't taken the JellyBelly tour but I go to the factory frequently to buy "belly flops". They are sort of rejected JellyBellies. Not perfect enough to package so they sell them in bulk. But you will be there on a week day and there are a LOT of school groups that tour the plant. I haven't checked the websit but you may have to pre-book a tour since it is very popular.

sorry about all the typos :(

Be careful with Enterprise Car Rental. While they may charge a lower "underage" fee, I believe they do not offer unlimited mileage on rentals--which will cost you considerably more.

I don't know about that - I have rented from Enterprise many times and it was always with unlimited mileage. Maybe they charge it for specialty vehicles or something. But I have rented from them for w/i CA and for CA/NV trips.

Meant to add - they sometimes do offer specials and those might be on a 50 or 100 miles per day basis with a charge for additional mileage.

Check other rental car companies as their lower rates might offset the underage advantage that Enterprise gives you. Also, bring a copy of your car rental policy. Enterprise in many locations will practically nail you to the wall if you don't purchase their add-on car coverages, especially if you can't show them proof that you have your own policy that covers you in a rental car. Even if you have an Amex Card or a Visa Gold that says you're okay, Enterprise will convince you that you are going to get into a crash and owe them your entire salary for the rest of your life if you don't purchase their "waivers". I don't mean to scare you, they are generally a good company, but some of their agents are very persistent so just be ready!

Hey!

We are also getting married on March 6 and are honeymooning in Wine County. We are getting married in GA, also traveling from the Southeast! However, we are spending a night in San Fran, 2 nights in Napa, 2 nights in Sonoma, and a night in Vegas.

We are staying in Napa at the Villagio and in Sonoma at The Lodge at Sonoma. We were going to stay at the Sonoma Mission, but I have heard that Sonoma Mission is undergoing renovations right now and it might be noisy. We also want to be walking distance from the Sonoma plaza, and The Lodge at Sonoma is. My fiance's parents have stayed at the Lodge at had great reviews. So I obviously don't have first hand experience, but these are our plans. Good luck and have fun!!

Just got back from a few days in San Fran (am currently writing up a trip report), and we arrived in Oakland and stayed at the Hyatt Fisherman's Wharf. You have several options on how to get there, but we took a shuttle from the airport to the hotel. Cost was $40 for both of us. Or, you can do the BART thing. You simply pick up AirBART shuttle from the airport (cost $2.00 per person - there are AirBART fare machines in the airport or pay the driver when you board). The shuttle takes you directly to the BART station at Oakland Coliseum. Fare from there to the Montgomery St station (2nd stop once the BART enters San Fran) is $3.15 per person. Once you get to San Fran you will be on Market St. From there you can try to take a bus (they may or may not allow you on with luggage, depending on the size/amount and how crowded the bus is), or you can get a cab. Cab fare from the Montgomery St station to the Hyatt at Fisherman's Wharf is around $10 - and that is with lots of traffic. If you are taking a cab during a non-peak traffic period, the fare will be less.

Can't really speak to anything else, but best wishes on your upcoming wedding and I hope you enjoy your honeymoon!

The Jelly Belly Tour is fun/goofy and you get a free small bag of them at the end. Smells good if they are making the cinnamon jelly bellies. It will be pretty convenient for you to leave Sonoma/Napa and stop at the factory on your way to the Hyatt. Directions:

From Napa and Sonoma: Take Hwy. 29 to Hwy. 12 East (Jamieson Canyon Rd.) At junction with I-80 proceed East toward Sacramento. At Fairfield exit I-80 onto Hwy. 12/Rio Vista. Right at first light onto Beck Avenue. Right on courage Dr., right on No. Watney Way and right on Jelly Belly Lane. Approximate driving time from Napa is 20 minutes.

If there are school tours schedule yours while they're eating lunch. Most likely they'd go for the am visits. Driving 80 late in the day is a pain as traffic through Sacto east on 80 is really packed. It's good it's not going to be a Friday. From Fairfield it will be about 3 hours to Incline. The Hyatt is a nice place since the remodel.

Just a few things to add-Sonoma Mission Inn is undergoing a large renovation until April-nearly 100 of the rooms are closed ,they had to relocate the lobby
and some of the restaurants are closed-so unless you are dying to sleep in a construction zone I would avoid it-plus it is not in the greatest location nor is it walking distance to the square.
Two thumbs up for Lodge at Sonoma!an equal number for Madronna Manor-just two different "feelings" for opposite ends of Sonoma County. You might check out wineroad.com for a feeling of Healdsburg and the Russian River areas
(the river ought to be beautiful this time of year!)
I live in Sonoma County and while I enjoy Napa, it peeves me that the majority of the wineries charge $5-10 per person for a tasting- some will refund that $ if you purchase wine. It is very busy in the summer and just, well, overhyped IMHO-much ado about much ado LOL! For a $125 dollars you can come by and borrow my bikes-personally I would not enjoy tasting
and biking and who knows what the weather will be like. I suppose if they have a van that picks you when you get tired or tipsy that might be OK, but sorta misses the point. I would be interested to know the roads they are using. Now,about Yosemite...You most likely will encounter snow-I think you should plan on cross country or snowshoeing(Sp?) instead of hiking. Lonely Planet does a super Yosemite guidebook You will have the same problem with Tahoe-
so count on driving in snow-are you skiing or gambling? Anywho-we loved the Yosemite View Lodge-nice big rooms,kitchenette,jacuzzi for two and just 10 minutes to the park entrance
at Arch Rock. I think Tenaya Lodge is quite a drive to the park. I know other ppl say it's just so special to wake up in the park, but the rooms are just, well, kinda dumpy for the price-except the Awahnee-the quality of the room to price ratio
was just more important to us, I emphasize- to us-maybe you could one night each place! Bay Area has my vibe for the 17 mile drive-go out to Pt.Lobos instead. In Pacific Grove
try Fandango for dinner-and you will love the aquarium. If you want to consider an alternate plan to Tahoe-maybe you could continue up the North Coast say to Mendocino, Elk, Timber Cove and then come back down to Yosemite-you're doing alot of driving,but what an adventure! Bay Area is right-on about those AAA maps!!Congrats! Let us know what you do!
R5

Forgot to mention how they know how far you drive-alot of rental cars have a GPS
positioning device installed and it will show where you are and where
you've been
READ THE FINE PRINT!
R5

No helpful hints, just a note to say congrats to you and Lar3604 on your impending marriages, and that March 6th is our anniversary date as well! Had no idea it was such a popular wedding date, lol.

Ha! My fiance and I are also getting married March 6. At the Madrona Manor in Healdsburg, ironically. We are, however, honeymooning in Bora Bora. Wheee!

Re: getting from Tahoe to Yosemite. I agree the winter closures are a pain. You can't cross the Sierras from the Mojave Desert to just south of Tahoe for 7-8 months. Budget 8 or so hours, but it is beautiful down Highway 49 from Placerville south. I would try to stay in Yosemite. The Wawona is nice and reasonably affordable, though a drive from the valley proper. Have fun!

Check the rates with Alamo, you might get a discount with your travel agent card. You can pick up on Bush St. in SF and drop off in Fresno, then rent the other way when you return from Vegas. The total, even with the one way charge and the under 21 charge might be close to what you got with Enterprise.

It's good advice to bring a copy of your car insurance with you after checking with your agent to see if your policy covers a rental. Also, leave copies of your credit card numbers and drivers license with someone that you trust back home. In case of loss or theft, you'll be happy to have that info just a phone call away.

I think I would stay at a nice hotel near the SF airport on your final night rather than trek back into the busy city after your 2 busy weeks. Or better yet another night in Monterey..which would give you more time the day before to go down to see Hearst.

If you are traveling light and are willing to walk, from Oakland take the shuttle to BART and BART to the Embarcadero. So to the street level and take the F line streetcar to Pier 39 and then walk to your hotel.