steve

I am in the process of planning a trip to California next April. I will be flying into San Francisco the Monday after Easter (April 21) and flying out Wednesday April 30. I am planning on spending the last three nights in San Francisco, which gives me six nights to play with. I was thinking of maybe making a circle with Lake Tahoe, Yosemite and Carmel, spending two nights at each. I will be arriving in San Francisco around noon and was wondering whether to head to Carmel or Lake Tahoe first, any suggestions?

David

I think that trying to see SF, Lake Tahoe, Carmel, and Yosemite in that time is a bit much. You may want to cut SF back to 2 nights and then doing Lake Tahoe, Carmel, and Yosemite is more doable. Is is possible to fly into Reno/Tahoe International Airport instead of SF? It will save a least 4.5-5 hours of driving from SF to Tahoe (www.renolaketahoe.com)
From there I would go down to Yosemite (about a 4 hr. drive) (www.yosemitepark.com) Make reservations for Yosemite accomodations ASAP. From Yosemite to Carmel(www.carmelbythesea.com) is about a 5 hr. drive. From Carmel and Monterey you can head up to SF via Highway 1 to 17 North in San Jose (www.sanjose.org) and 280 north into SF. That will take about 3 hrs. depending on the traffic.

belinda

You're going to be doing a LOT of driving. Lake Tahoe is a good 4 hours (or more) from SF and Carmel is maybe 3 hours. And they are in completely different directions. Yosemite is the third point on the square/rectangle. I would at least limit my choices to two and even then plan to do a lot of driving.

joesorce

I agree that you should fly INTO one city and OUT OF another. Check the one-way car rental rates as San Fran to Reno can sometimes be twice as much as Reno to San Fran.

janis

First of all the direct route between Yosemite and Tahoe (Tioga Pass) will not likely be open. So you would have to drive the loooong way round.

Many people do manage to squeeze in all of those places in a few days - but they end up driving some VERY long distances.

Your best bet would be to do Monterey/Carmel, Yosemite, and SF -- OR -- fly into Reno, visit Tahoe, drive around to Yosemite and end up in SF.

Utahtea

The route throught Tioga Pass (185 miles) won't be open this time of the year but it is not that much farther to go around on Hwy 50 to Hwy 49 and into Yosemite Valley (210 miles).

I usually mention this fact so people who are not familar with the area don't drive down Hwy 395 and then have to drive back because the find Tioga pass through the park is closed.

Utahtea

janis

Utahtea - I agree that the hwy 49 route isn't much farther. But it is a slow drive. Plan on at least 5 hours, more if it is a weekend or if there is snow on 50.

x

Janis can't remember the last time there was snow on 50 in April. I'm not saying that there wasn't snow on the mountains of Tahoe or that Tioga wasn't closed then but really when was driving on 50 limited due to snow in April?

The drive to Tahoe will be long from Yosemite Vally. Probably in the neighborhood of 6 hours.

Dawn Ct

In 1998, we did a nine day California trip with two nights in SF, leaving SF early in the morning, breakfast in Sausilito, on to Muir Woods, the Mondavi Winery at 12:30 and Lake Tahoe by 6 pm. We spent two nights at Lake Tahoe, on to Yosemite by Bodie (the ghost town) past Mono Lake and through the east gate of Yosemite (which will be closed in April). We spent two nights just outside of Yosemite, left after two nights stopping at the Mariposa Grove of tall trees, down through Fresno, one night in Cambria across from Moonstone Beach, on to Monterey, stopping at San Simeon, the
Big Sur and the Monterey Acquarium, the Cannery, etc. En route back to SF we stopped in Santa Cruz to ride the roller coaster and flew home at 10pm that night. We are a family of six. Everyone loved everything we saw and did, despite the 1600 plus miles we put on the rental car. It was a great trip but required a lot of pre planning.

steve

David, the amount of travel time that you give for each destination is about what I was expecting. That would give me about a day and a half at each place. Is that not enough time at each of these. I had already purchased my airline tickets before I set up an itinerary. I was anxious to go back to San Francisco, and then decided that I would like to go to some places that I had never been before. Am I trying to add too much? I am a person who really doesn't mind driving and I thought that this kind of spaced out the driving parts of the trip. According to maps, the circle that I am talking about will encompass about 740 miles, I have driven to destinations further than that and that will be spread out over nine days.

janis

x -I said about five hours, more IF it is a weekend there is snow. Not that there would be snow but IF there is snow it will take much longer.

I spend 3 or 4 weeks at Tahoe every April / May and hit snow about every third trip.

David

Steve, I think that a day and a half at each destination would not really be enough time. Sounds like you have been to SF before. I would then focus more time on Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, and Carmel. Is there any way to change yur ticket so that you can leave from San Jose International Airport instead of SFO? That will save about 1.5 hrs. of driving time. If so you can make Carmel the last stop before heading into San Jose. If you really want to see SF, spend 2 days at the beginning of your trip instead, and then head up to Lake Tahoe. I would spend 2 nights in Tahoe including a drive around the Lake and a cruise with either the M.S. Dixie or Tahoe Queen. Then off to Yosemite for another 2 nights. Again, be sure to reserve a room early in Yosemite. It is preferable to stay in the Valley (ie: Yosemite Lodge or Curry Vilage, and if your budget permits go for the Ahwahnee Hotel). From there I would spend 2 nights in the Carmel and Monterey area. If you depart from San Jose, you can spend the last night there. Downtown is only about 5 miles from the airport. Check out www.sanjose.org and www.sj-downtowntown.com for info on places to stay and attractions in the city.

Have a great trip.

SA

My response would be to leave Tahoe out altogether unless you are a skier. Go to wine country, Pt. Reyes & Bodega Bay then head down the coast to Big Sur & Carmel.

J Correa

If I were taking this trip, I definitely wouldn't trade Lake Tahoe for the wine country. Lake Tahoe is absolutely beautiful. I'm not a skier, but it's one of my favorite places and April is great. The snow is melting on the hillsides, so there are waterfalls that spring up everywhere.

steve

David, I don't understand how your plan would give me any more time in Carmel, Yosemite or Lake Tahoe. I was plaanning two nights at each place, and it seems that I would just be adding another destination, besides having to pay a fee to change the airline ticket and more for a car because it would be a one-way rental.

Susan

I agree you should leave out Tahoe. It is gorgeous, as J Correa states, but you will see mountains and snow and waterfalls in Yosemite as well. Yosemite is magnificent and should be the must-see at the top of your list, in my opinion. Do three nights in SF, three nights in Yosemite (get reservations early and stay IN the park), and three nights in Carmel/Monterey. You can substract one day somewhere if you want to spend a night in the wine country or Big Sur, but there is plenty to see and do in all three of these places to keep you occupied for more than three days. And you will still be doing plenty of driving!

David

Steve, If you stay 1 night in SF, then you can spend 3 nghts in Lake Tahoe, 3 nights in Yosemite, and 2 in Carmel. If you rented a car in SFO and returned it in SJC it probably should not be much of a difference in price however, I would confirm this with the rental car agency first.

Lisa

I did similar but flew into San Jose and saved a lot of money compared to the flights in and out of SF...something to consider since they're so close by. San Jose is an American Airlines hub and at the time, had great fares.

Lisa

Also, Southwest flys in and out of San Jose, but NOT SF...helps bring the prices down.

Celine

For a week's trip, definitely don't do too much, or you won't see anything! You'll just be driving.

I'm going to Yosemite, and it has been recommended to me, so I would definitely go there. I've been everywhere else you're going.

Carmel/Monterey is nice, but there's not that much to do there in April, when it's still rainy/cloudy season. I would spend alot more time in San Francisco then Monterey. More to do and see.

As for David's recommendation of staying in San Jose's 'downtown', well there's really not much to do there, it's definitely not close to being like San Francisco. I wouldn't stay a minute in San Jose really (except to catch your flight if it's cheaper there than SF).

Lake Tahoe is very nice too, I would look at a map and see how you can try to fit all of these places without making too many detours. But my recommendations are to plan for Yosemite and San Francisco. Carmel and Lake Tahoe can be decided when you get there.