Hi! My husband and I are would like to take a trip to California this fall for an alumni football game in Southern California. Since we are making the trek all the way from Ohio (and don't really care to spend all that much time in LA), my husband would like to visit San Fransisco and some of N. California. We have found a very reasonsable multi-leg flight (I get car sick and can't do the LONG drive from northern to southern CA) but would like suggestions from the Fodorites on the itinerary. I did visit the area about ten years ago but can't remember our route or how long it took to travel. We only have a week!

Here's what we're looking at:

Monday evening: Arrive in San Fran (catch a Giants game, spent a day or two touring the city, etc.)

Wednesday: head up North to see Redwoods, travel to wine country

Friday morning: return to San Fran for a quick flight down to LA

Saturday: football game

Sunday: home

Is this doable? Ideas for where to go for a short visit in the wine country?

Your help is appreciated!

Sounds good to me, though after Napa Valley I might rather drive to Sacramento and fly south from there, rather than backtracking to San Fran. See our capitol city and fly out of a less hectic airport. One-way car from SF to Sacr should be easy, and though Sacramento is A BIT further map-wise, you won't hit the Friday morning commuter mess going to SFO.

I dunno where your L.A. football game is , but consider flying into Burbank (BUR) or Santa Ana (SNA) rather than the hell that is LAX.

Not sure about rental car return, but you can catch Alaska Airlines from Santa Rosa to LAX nontop if you are not interested in driving back to SFO. I just reread your post and it seems like you might have already purchased your tickets to LA...if not, this might be an option.

As far as a destination in the Redwoods...The Benbow Inn would be fun and is located well for seeing Redwoods. It is near the town of Garberville.

Consider staying in San Francisco and seeing what you want via day trips.

A short distance away from San Francisco is Muir Woods. A gorgeous small stand of Redwoods. While you are there, take a drive out to Stinson Beach and have dinner in Sausalito on your way back to the city.

Another day trip could take you into the wine country of Sonoma Valley.

Just a thought. Have a great trip.

Fall is one of the nicest times to vist San Francisco and the Napa Valley. Be sure you have reservations in Napa before going. Fall is harvest time and weekends get very crowded. Sonoma would be less crowded and they have many nice wineries too. Healdsburg is nice, the Alexander Valley is beautiful and remains off the beaten path.

just a couple of things:

- While the commute into SMF will be busy - it won't be anything like the mess you'd hit driving from Wine country to SFO. So yes - flying from Sacramento (or Santa Rosa if you can get a decent Fare) makes more sense.

- By heading north to the Redwoods do you mean the National Park/Avenue of the Giants area?? If so, that is a VERY long drive. There are redwood parks at Muir Woods in Marin County and Armstrong Redwoods in Sonoma County. They aren't the huge stands like farther north - but will save you a lot of car time. If you do want to go up north - then yes, the Benbow is terrific.

Using the term "Cali" will get you kicked out of California. It's a real no-no. Save it for next time you go to Columbia, SA.

Curious

I was going to warn leeni too

She almost redeemed herself by spelling out California in the actual post. But then there was that "San Fran"

I don't know why we are so picky about what we are called, but it is just one of our many quirks, I guess

I lay this "Cali" thing squarely at the feet of LLCoolJ. This is a huge black mark on an otherwise pretty successful career.

First, my apologies to all who were offended by my "Cali" and "San Fran" references! I apologize - it was late when I wrote this post and I was trying to save time! Gosh - I don't want to get kicked out of California before I even arrive!

Thanks for the all the great info. Never thought about flying out of the North instead of backtracking. Luckily for us, we haven't booked our flights yet so we still have flexibility.

Follow up questions:

1. Driving distance between San Fransisco, Muir Woods, and wine country areas? How about continuing to Sacramento?

2. Given our schedule and geography, which is better: Sonoma Valley, Healdsburg, or Alexander Valley? (Just need a taste, er, sip, of the wine country...)

3. Football game is at Los Angeles Coliseum so what are the two or so most convenient airports for that destination? I don't think we'll rent a car so transportation to/from game and airport will be a factor.

Thanks again!

leeni8:

It's CA or California and San Francisco is either spelled out or referred to as "The City."

Have a wonderful trip!

LAX is the closest airport to the Coliseum, but where will you be staying?

(Bring a hankie. The Trojans will win.)

Leeni - at least you didn't refer to Orange County as "the O.C." -- another pet peeve of mine -- and I don't even live in California any more.

BTW, I don't think you can get from LAX to the Coliseum and back without a car...if that's changed since I lived there (10+ years ago) I'm sure someone will correct me.

And to all those who might be tempted, don't call it Frisco, either.

You can get from LAX to anywhere in L.A. by taxi. It doesn't sound like you're on a tight budget, but you could also take the bus to Union Station or the metro (train).

Getting to the Coliseum by taxi is easy (and is offset a bit by avoiding parking fees), but finding a cab after the game might be almost impossible. But we drive to the Coliseum , so I could be wrong about the availability of cabs after the games. There is a Radisson Hotel nearby which I suppose would have a taxi stand. The hotel is probably sold-out already for that weekend:

http://www.radisson.com/losangelesca_midtown

If you rent a car, you would have to pay for overnight parking at most of the nicer hotels.

(Bring a hankie. The Trojans will win.)

Unless they're playing Stanford (sorry, couldn't resist !)

If you are going to be in the wine country I would not go to Muir Woods for redwoods. I would either take Hwy 1 to Bodega Bay or Hwy 101 to Petaluma, get off at the East Washington Street exit and follow that to the Bodega Highway (it's automatic) and go to Bodega Bay that way. (Faster).

Then go north on Hwy 1 past the Sonoma County beaches and when you cross the bridge over the Russian River go east on Hwy 116 to Guerneville, where you will find Armstrong Grove Redwoods State Park. Larger than Muir Woods and no fleets of tour buses.

If you continue on Hwy 116 you come to Santa Rosa, but if you take a left fork you will end up in Healdsburg which is a charming wine town and a good place to spend the night, after perhaps having time to either sample some of the tasting rooms in town or head out to one of the closer wineries. (Ask someone in Guerneville to put you on the road to Healdsburg.)

The next day you would have time to visit some wineries in the Dry Creek area or the Alexander Valley, Geyserville, etc. Since Healdsburg is just off Highway 101, it is a straight shot back to San Francisco.

If you can get a reasonable flight out of Santa Rosa, as someone suggested, that is even closer. It is a little harder to get to Sacramento from Sonoma County than from Napa County, but I would do it this way for the Redwood experience.

Thank you to all who have given us great advice. Just a few more follow up questions:

Here is how our itinerary is shaping up:

FRI: Fly from Santa Rosa to LAX (only non-stop choice)

Stay overnight in LA area (Hollywood? Downtown?)

SAT: Attend game at LA Coliseum; return to hotel

SUN: Based on price, fly out of either LAX or Santa Ana to return home

So, my final questions:

1. What part of LA should we stay in that's safe and somewhat convenient to LA Coliseum? (I read that the area around the Coliseum isn't all that great)

2. Which airport is more convenient to leave from based on the above? Is Santa Ana too far? Good transportation there?

Please help once more - I'd like to book our flights soon!

THANK YOU!

I would suggest downtown L.A. There are lots of great hotel choices which should be pretty reasonable on weekends, as they cater to the business traveler during the week. Try Priceline for a 4* in the downtown zone. Your cab ride from downtown hotels to the Coliseum would be much shorter than the ride from Hollywood.

From downtown, you can take the Metro Rail (www.mta.net) to Union Station, then catch the $4 "Flyaway Bus" to LAX. www.lawa.org/lax/LAXflyAway.cfm#2

Is the trade off for a much cheaper flight out of Santa Ana worth the added hassle of finding a shuttle or cab to take us there on a Sunday morning? Better to stick with LAX even if pricier?

We have really liked the Russian River area, as a day-trip from San Francisco. Is it considered to be wine country? It's a gorgeous place.
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