SAB

Recommendation on places to lodge will depend on where you decide to go. Giving recommendations for Carmel or Cambria or Tahoe for example are not useful if you don't intend to stay in these places. As noted the Yosemite recommendation was given because there is limited lodging inside the park and it books up really fast--like many months in advance. So once you have firmed up a plan, people here will be more than happy to give you recommendations.

propita

The only bad part about seeing Yosemite at the end of August is that the waterfalls likely won't be as impressive. Some, the ephemeral ones, will be gone completely. We took a day trip in April. ALL the falls were flowing, most past their "max" flow. It was impossible to get to the base of Bridal Veil Falls without being literally completely soaked. We saw people with umbrellas!

janisj

"Thought some travelers may have found a really special place not to miss."

You need to come up w/a semi-firm-ish itinerary before it makes any sense to recommend hotels/motels. There are hundreds of good possibilities. And also deciding if the others including the 13 yo are coming along. Some places are better suited for kids than others.

A 'for instance' - Yosemite Lodge is the best place to stay in the park (other than the Ahwahnee which has spectacular public spaces, decent rooms, and is very expensive) - but for a party of six there are condos and houses in Yosemite West which would be a great option.

"moderate budget, not high end or low end, but for a special place, we could go somewhat higher."

And do try to give us at least a ball park of what you want to spend. Everyone's definitions are different for 'high', 'low', 'moderate', 'somewhat higher'

spirobulldog

I now see "renting a car"

easytraveler

Can you give us a dollar figure? Like $150? $200 a room? What is most important for you - the room rate? the view? the proximity to public transportation?

Do you plan on having a car in San Francisco (not advisable, because most of the hotels charge a pretty high parking fee)?

Honestly, we are trying to help, but, from our point of view, this is shooting in the dark. The more details you can give us on your own situation, the better we can help you.

geordias7

Thanks for all your interest. I guess I was trying to actually plan this trip with your input (places to visit, airports to fly in and out of, lodging, etc) So, I will try to use all the current suggestions, get out our maps, put a trip together and get back to the forum when we have agreed on an itinerary. We live in Florida and hotel/motel prices are pretty reasonable. I think we will get a culture shock when we see prices in California but what the heck, it will be worth it !!

geordias7

Forgot to mention. Vacation time at work is already set....last 2 weeks of July, first 2 weeks in August. So, we want to take 2 weeks of that to go to California. All of us love nature, national parks, etc.

So far, we're thinking of spending maybe 3 days in San Francisco. Someone mentioned taking a ferry to Catalina Island. Is that a good option?

MichelleY

It depends.... If you decide to concentrate this trip on Southern Cal, then Catalina makes sense. Again, I think your best use of time is either SF area, Tahoe, Yosemite, Cental Coast(Hearst Castle, Big Sur) Monterey Carmel, flying in and out of the SF Bay area. You get mountains, Big trees, Lakes, the best National Park ever, and the most beautiful coast in California. OR concentrat onLA and SanDiego for those two weeks.

geordias7

MichelleY.....I like your suggestions (SF area, Tahoe, Yosemite, Cental Coast(Hearst Castle, Big Sur, Monterey Carmel, flying in and out of the SF Bay area) and that is the itinerary we will probably go with. You think flying in and out of SF is best bet? Going south down the coast, then going west and back up to SF, I suppose?

sf7307

>>

Better go east once you're down the coast or you'll be floating in the Pacific

Yes, it makes sense to fly in and out of San Francisco (or San Jose, if the flight costs less). San Jose is about 50 miles south of San Francisco, it's a major airport, and it's closer to points south. So if the flight were cheaper, you could start there and make the same loop. Otherwise, SFO.

geordias7

East it is.....thanks. Will look into San Jose Airport.

MichelleY

You need to secure your Yosmite reservations first, then work the rest of your trip around it.

Jean

Something to keep in mind as you plan... Along the coast in the summer, you'll find many/most hotels have a 2-night minimum stay between Friday (sometimes Thursday) and Sunday.

geordias7

Heading to Barnes & Noble to pick up a 2013 Book on California (probably Fodor's guide). Library didn't have much that was current. Any other suggestions for reading material? Have circled on the map SF, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Hearst Castle, Cambria, Coast Road and will look for driving routes that will make it work. Being we are going end of July/early August, would Redwood National Park be a better choice than Yosemite....or could we include both in 12 full days (I'm not counting the two days for flying in and out)

tomfuller

While you are looking at San Jose also price Sacramento or Oakland airports as far as airfare and cost of car rentals
I like SMF for the ease of getting on I-5 and I-80. I like the rental prices better than at SFO.

janisj

"would Redwood National Park be a better choice than Yosemite....or could we include both in 12 full days"

Entirely different animals. Both are wonderful, Yosemite is the iconic place you've seen countless photos of. Redwood NP is - well redwoods. Lots of VERY BIG trees in lush/deep forest. Not anything similar.

In 12 days you really don't have time for both. SF to Redwood National Park going via the scenic route up the coast is about 350 miles and easily 9 hours drive time. (SF/Tahoe/Yosemite/Monterey/Carmel/Cambria would totally fill 12 days)

easytraveler

There are two kinds of redwood trees, a Laurel-Hardy pair.

If you go to Yosemite, you'll see the "short", fat, round ones.

If you go along the coast, you will see the tall, skinny ones.

The coastal redwoods can be seen from Redwood National Park all the way down, especially along the coast, almost to Hearst Castle. So, if you are going to be driving along the coast, there's really no need to detour way up to Redwood National Park nor do you even need to take a day out from San Francisco to go to Muir Woods.

Along the coast, the best (and easiest to reach) place to hike and see lots of redwoods is Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. There are all kinds of trails for all kinds of abilities. There's also a very good ranger station almost the moment you get into the park where you can get a trail map and can ask the rangers any questions you like.

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=570

You asked about lodging. There's also the Big Sur Lodge where you can stay in one of the cabins. You should also ask about how early you need to make reservations, as there aren't many cabins.

Wear sturdy shoes, bring water, wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts, bring sunscreen, and bring a hat. You don't want to have a banana slug fall on you!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ba...ug_at_UCSC.jpg

I always advise wearing long pants and long-sleeved shirts because of the good possibility of encountering poison oak

http://walking.about.com/od/medfirst...on-Oak-Photos/

Learn to identify them and don't touch! They're usually quite attractive, possibly being either the greenest or the shiniest leaves in a patch. Wearing long pants and long-sleeved shirts means that you may accidentally rub against one but no harm done.

I once went hiking with a guy from Germany and he wanted to touch everything along the trail. I did scream at him!

But please don't let these warnings deter you! These hikes among the redwoods can be really glorious!