Lodging ideas San Francisco and wine country
 

My wife and I are taking my son and his family (daughter-in-law and 2 girls, age 7 and 9) to the SF area for a week in June. We plan to visit Silicon Valley and the Sonoma-Napa area as well, not in-depth with the young girls, but more for scenery. Should we plan different hotels, or look for a central hotel that is accessible to all the areas?

Curious what you expect to find in the Silicon Valley -- it's mostly just suburbs and office buildings.

My son wants to see it. It would not be on my itinerary, but if we decide to go to Monterey we would drive through there on the way.

Oh, you can drive through, but really, there's absolutely nothing to see.

Since you're going to Monterey (I assume that's included in your week stay), I'd recommended splitting your time between two hotels - one in San Francisco and one in Monterey. From the SF hotel, you can do all the sightseeing in the city, and drives north. Then head south, go through Santa Cruz (boardwalk amusement park, beach) and Capitola (cute beach town) on your way to Monterey, where you can see the aquarium and other sights, Big Sur, etc.

sf7307 - is spot on about the SV. As Gertrude Stein said about Oakland, in the Silicon Valley, there is no there there.

For just a week, I would not recommend heading South. SF and the Wine Country will take up that time easily.

You haven't mentioned an SF hotel, so I don't know your budget. I know SF like the back of my hand, but you can ferret out things to do pretty easily.

For kids, here's some things you can do with them in the wine country. First is Napa, second is Sonoma.

http://gocalifornia.about.com/cs/nap...canapakids.htm

http://www.travelforkids.com/Funtodo...ley/sonoma.htm

trust us -- there is nothing to 'see' in Silicon Valley. You won't even know you are <i>there</i> - mainly a series of suburbs, office developments, shopping centers, etc.

Driving through -- you'll be on a multi-lane freeway w/ off ramps into VERY congested roads. So, yes you'll drive across 'Silicon Valley' enroute to Monterey, but it will be a total non-event.

There is nothing much for the kids in 'Wine Country' so at most I'd do a day trip. But there are WONDERFUL vineyards/wineries near Monterey. So a better idea IMO and to kill two birds w/ one stone do Monterey/Carmel and pick up a couple of wineries in Monterey County.

Split your time between SF and Monterey and you'll have a great time.

Thank you all for your suggestions. It has been 24 years since we were in the SF area. While we are not "vineyard" people, we have always wanted to see the Napa/Sonoma area. My wife & I went to Monterey two years ago (and drove by several vineyards at that time) and look forward to going there again. It won't be Pebble Beach Golf Tourney week this time, so we're hoping we can take 17 Mile Drive & see the peninsula.

Speaking of golf, the U.S. Open Championship is at The Olympic Club in SF on June 14-17.

Hotels in SF will be packed.

I just got back from the Glen Ellen Inn, 10 miles north of Sonoma. Very nice cabins, and a very funky town. Pricing is much less than staying in Sonoma. Dinner at the Fig Cafe, where there is no corkage fee.