SOCALOC

hannah- if you're NOT going to Yosemite- a train ride from SF is going to be a loooong one. Does your family live near/ in Simi Valley? If so, you'd be better off flying into Burbank than LAX. It will be less hectic than LAX and it's closer to Simi. Like Dayenu mentioned, check Southwest.
Because you are traveling around a major holiday, you might want to start firming up your plans. The more tickets the airlines sell, the higher the cost gets. Not to mention less availability for flights. There are a lot of 'plan ahead' type folks during holidays.

november_moon

SFO is more weather impacted than OAK for 2 reasons. One is that winter storms hit SFO first, whereas at OAK, they've had a bit of landfall and the winds aren't as bad. Two (and probably more importantly) is that SFO is a bigger hub, so delays happen when planes from other airports have weather delays. This happens at any airport, but it tends to be worse at busier airports and esspecially with holiday travel.

IF you got to Yosemite - weather is only 1 reason not to fly from SFO to the LA area. I think the bigger reason is that you would have to travel several hours west before heading south. Better to just get on the train.

Hannah_reads_for_fun

Oh, I know. I need to buy tickets this week, I'd guess.

A cousin can pick me up in Simi Valley and bring me to the Brandeis campus (American Jewish Unviersity) where the Bat Miztvah is being held. I just figured Amtrak would be pretty cheap and less likely to be off schedule. Plus, I always prefer the train to the bus (train is actually my favorite means of public transit....)

I actually had no idea that Burbank had an airport or that it was an easier one to do little trips in. I'm a Jersey girl; if you want to fly into the state, you use Newark, mayyybe Philidelphia. End of story.

The train from Burbank is even a dollar cheaper

Joe and I are going to talk tonight about what to do that week; I'll keep you all posted obviously.

Thanks!

sf7307

A) Amtrak of often "off-schedule"

B) Does Brandeis have a campus in Simi Valley? I didn't know that.

SOCALOC

B) Does Brandeis have a campus in Simi Valley?


It has been there as long as I can remember and that's a decent chunk of time.


hannah- another plus with Burbank Airport is you walk across the street to catch Amtrak. Piece of cake!

mlgb

OAK is also less impacted by fog and wind than SFO. OAK to BUR would be a good choice, and yes Southwest does fly there.

Both Oakland and Burbank are less impacted by weather and flight delays than SFO and LAX. And when you fly that day, there is no room for error since the flights are usually full. I might even go the day before if you have that option.

Hannah_reads_for_fun

Just popping in to say that I looked, and on 12/24 OAK-BUR is $79 via Southwest, for flights that are barely more than an hour.

Is this something I should be jumping on?

P.S. Brandeis-Bardin isn't a part of the university Brandeis by Boston. They're named after the same Jewish Justice, but they aren't related...

mjs

Have never tried them but perhaps you can take a Green Tortise tour

mjs

OOPs Green Tortoise

easytraveler

Check out this site where you can input your age and car rental location (has to be an airport) and see what comes up.

http://www.dohop.com/cars/?gclid=CJ3...od0x4Lwg#quote

I put in age 20 and from September 28-October something (just as a trial, I know those aren't your dates) and five or six rental agencies came up that are willing to rent to 20-year olds at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport).

Someone on another thread had a good experience with Thrifty, so I'd say go with Thrifty or Dollar. I've not rented from the other rental companies, so can't comment.

Maybe after you have tried the site, you could come back here and ask which would be the best company to rent from.

Good luck!

mlgb

If you are positive you want to travel that day, I would book it far in advance (although it probably doesn't have to be tomorrow!) Those seats are going to be limited and to sell out on that day.

Diamantina

You can look into this bus service from LA to SF:
http://www.cashuttlebus.com/

If you don't want to stay with your friend, you can stay at one of SF's youth hostels. The one at Fort Mason has the best location.
http://www.hiusa.org/hostels/usa_hos...rancisco/60001

Golden Gate Transit offers bus routes from San Francisco into Muir Woods (redwood forest), Stinson Beach and Pt. Reyes (gorgeous coastal wilderness areas). The problem is the weather might not be so great in December. This being said, normally our heavy rains start by late January or February. So you might get lucky.

onemoneygirl

Virgin Aire just opened up $39 dollar flights from LA to SAn Francisco... either way... might want to check your dates!

SOCALOC

Virgin Aire just opened up $39 dollar flights from LA to SAn Francisco... either way... might want to check your dates!
__________________________________________________ ___________
Those are great rates, especially if it's close to that price on Dec.24th. Do your homework Hannah- Virgin will charge for check-in baggage, whereas, Southwest will not charge the first two. Consider time, travel costs and convenience to Simi. Amtrak is a straight shot from the Burbank airport to Simi right out the door.
Personally, I think one way $79.00 to Burbank is about as good as it's going to get for the 24th. You still have 'some' time but you need to 'decide' your dates of in transit. Especially, if one is the 24th. You can always break it up with an overnight heading south, if you end up taking the train. Good luck!
P.S. Educate me. Simi Brandeis Institute has been there for decades. If it wasn't/isn't used for education, what is/was its main purpose?

Hannah_reads_for_fun

Virgin's $39 deal is only for flights before December 15, so that's not good... It's $109 by 12/24, and Southwest was doing better at $79 to LA.


As for baggage, I was going to bring with me just one suitcase, a rolling 22" x 14" x 9", but thank you for reminding me to check whether that would be carry-on or not, since it's riiight at that limit.

I was going to Amtrak to Simi from either LA airport. It's $12 or $13 from both of them, so that's taken care of.
And my parents should, if I prompt hard enough, have some semblence of a schedule any day, so I'll be able to better plan how to coordinate with them....

As for the campus, it's a part of American Jewish University, but they also use it for conferences and retreats and stuff. I didn't mean that it wasn't used for education, only that it wasn't a part of Brandeis University in MA; sorry if that wasn't clear. I was also confused when I first learned about it.

mlgb

By my recent experience that is within $10 of the best fare you are going to find on one of the busiest travel days of the year.

Dayenu

"Golden Gate Transit offers bus routes from San Francisco into Muir Woods (redwood forest)" - not exactly, the shuttle runs only on weekends/holidays, and only till September 28.

Stinson Beach, Bolinas, Pt. Reyes is should be all year.

Diamantina

Dayenu, you are right. I hadn't realized that the Muir Woods service was seasonal until now. I can barely keep up with ever-changing schedule of the Golden Gate Transit bus I have to take. Coming home on Golden Gate Transit a few hours ago, very much to my surprise, I ended up traveling through the side streets of Sausalito, Marin City, and San Rafael, before reaching my destination of Novato. It turns out the bus route changes after 8:40 p.m.

Hannah_reads_for_fun

First off, thank you all SO much for your help!

The good:
Here's what it looks like right now:
12/19: 6 AM flight via AirTran BWI-SFO, arriving at noon.
(Although my friend lives a little bit closer to OAK than SFO, it's not worth the extra $75.)

1/9: 12:05 PM flight via Southwest SAN-BWI, arriving at 8 PM .
(Total cost for those two flights: $356.10 )

Then I suddenly realized:
I checked transit INTO Yosemite.
I never checked transit OUT.... and it's WAY more complicated and impossible looking... especially on a Friday morning.

Which means.... I think I have to cut Yosemite. That makes me sad, but I'm just not sure how to manage it. I hadn't fully processed the width of California, I think.
<--- Very Sad Face

While this frees up the whole first week to see San Francisco (and possibly run up to Chico, where a friend lives), this means that I won't get to see Yosemite, which I obviously wanted to do.

My parents were thinking of going up to Yosemite the week after Chistmas for a day or two as a family (mom, dad, brother, sister). This has about a 1/3 chance of actually being an option.

If you were me, would you go back up North right away with them? Or would you figure that it's not worth the drive, too much of what they do will be a duplicate and it's better off to hang in the LA area, including additional time with cousins, for that week?
Disclosure: I've been busy, and this is a new development, so I don't have any potential itinerary thoughts yet for LA, where I did a lot of the touristy-things maybe eight years ago.

P.S. I have a flight booked with Southwest from OAK-BUR on 12/24 thanks to your suggestions. Now that Yosemite hit the chopping board, that became clearly the best option.

onemoneygirl

Yosemite in the winter is breathtaking and many peoople dont ever see it. In my opinion, it has a charm all its own. I would take the days to spend with family, if it works out, yes. Of course, have a plan B... but go! You will enjoy ice skating in Curry Village at night on their outdoor old fashioned rink! Hot cocoa, a nite hike or two... it will be magical!