Need Help BAD! San Fran, Yosemite, Calistoga-Where else?
 

Hi All,
Family of four that includes two kids-ages 12 and 14.
For spring break we are flying into San Francisco.
So far our itinerary includes:
2 nights Yosemite
4 nights San Francisco.
2 nights in Castiloga.

I have 2 nights that I have to figure out a place to stay!!!
Given that those are our 3 stops on our trip, where else would you go?

Our thoughts are that Redwood Forest is too far north and instead go to Humboldt, drive the Avenue of Giants. But then, where do we stay. We also have Muir Woods on the agenda when we are closer to SF.

We originally wanted to go to Lassen National Volcanic Park, but we are visiting the first week of April and from what I've read, there are parts that may be closed due to snow.

Yosemite, Castiloga and San Francisco...tell me where else to go please!
Any advice on family friendly lodging is helpful too!

What are your dates? 2 nights in Yosemite only gives you one full day for the park and I suspect that you have also not accounted for travel time to and from Yosemite.

Travel time to Yosemite is over 3 hours each way without traffic. I would allow more time if that is really important to you.

I think of Calistoga for wine tasting and mudbaths - not what kids would be interested in doing. However, there is Safari West near Calistoga that is really a wonderful place that the kids would love. You can spend a night there, which I would recommend. You stay in luxury tents (with bathrooms!) just like safari tents. You book jeep tours of their grounds as if you were on a safari. They have a dinner that you can book in the evening if you stay over, casual bbq and breakfast is included. It is minutes from Calistoga.

What are your family interests? Plenty to do in San Francisco, of course! You will want at least 4 days there, but you could fill up more: Golden Gate Park has so much to do, including a wonderful science museum and Aquarium, renting bikes if the weather is good or a hike through the park to the ocean. Check the schedule for what is offered at De Young Museum and Legion of Honor to see if it might be of interest. If you would like to visit Alcatraz, that should be booked in advance. So much wonderful food and many different ethnic varieties. Tell us a little more about your preferences and priorities.

Not enough time in Yosemite - it is about a 4.5 hour drive (and could take longer depending on traffic in the SF Bay Area). So you will want 3 nights there.

Not quite sure about he Calistoga bit. I love the area but between the fire recovery and having children with you, I'm not sure I'd go there.

I would consider doing SF, the coast north of the city and Yosemite, OR SF, Yosemite and the Monterey / Carmel area,

Near Carmel are the aquarium, point lobos, the mission, kayaking, whale watching trips, the northern part of Big Sur, and the boardwalk in Santa Cruz among lots of other attractions.

pretty much second everything Janis said, although I'm not sure if I'd include the boardwalk.

I'd add an extra night onto Yosemite, definitely. Depends on the kids, but I'd consider cutting Yosemite and doing

3 nights SF
2 nights Monterey or environs
3 nights LA/Disneyland

but mostly because the teens in my family would whine so much if I tried to take them hiking in April.

Cut Yosemite for Disneyland?!!!
There's much better stuff to do in the SF part of CA...south to LA for Disney? Leaves me speechless.

Thanks...
Here are some answers to your questions/comments.
*We are traveling the last weekend of March and the first full week of April.
*I've planned on at least 4 hours travel time from SF to Yosemite.
*In Calistoga, I want to go to a couple of vineyards. I was thinking Sterling and Castello di Amorosa since I've read that they are family friendly. I also had Safari West, Old Geyeser and Petrified Rock on my list of items to do there.

*Seeing as though we will be there the first week of April, will many trails be open at Yosemite? If I extend our stay by one night, what would be a good 2 full day itinerary? Keep in mind I have two teens/tweens who

*While headed to Anaheim is a good suggestion, we are already headed to Disney World soon, so that's not an option.

Thank you for everything! Please keep the suggestions coming!

DITTO WHAT SYLVIA SAID. Goodness!!

I think you & especially the kids would enjoy Carmel/Monterey/Pt Lobos more than you would the wine country. I think the kids might get bored to death in Calistoga.

Muir Woods just introduced some new access & parking regulations. During spring break it may be difficult or impossible to visit it on the spur of the moment. I would suggest that you instead visit some of the other Redwood tree areas between San Francisco and Monterey. Even a drive from Pt Lobos to Bug Sur (A+ scenic drive) would reward you with some views of Redwood trees.

Here are some things to do & see while in the Bay Area:
https://www.fodors.com/community/uni...mendations.cfm

Stu Dudley

I'm sorry but tbe napa/Sonoma area us not all that great for teens/Tweens- at leat not nearly as much to see/do as in the Monterey area.

In march/April, the Yosemite back country will not be accessible bur e waterfalls, mirror lakes will be AMAZING.

You will want two full days just for the Valley floor (ergo three nights)

I did say it depended on the teens, folks. And there’s more to LA than Disney. Yosemite would be my pick. LA would be more popular with most teens.

Agree that you really do want two full days for the valley floor if you’re going to be driving that far. And I’d go to the redwoods before I’d go to wineries. 1) you can drink everywhere. And 2) there really isn’t anything more boring at 12/14 than visiting wineries with parents. The redwoods are amazing.

I would agree with Janisj, even if you have taken the road trip time into consideration. We have done family trips to all of these areas (we're from LA) every single year for the last 25 years, at various times during the year. Except Calistoga.

Question as to Calistoga . . . is the area back up and at full speed since the October fires??? You may wish to check on that first.

You know, you could get the wine tasting experience in the Monterey area, since they are a wine making region (OK, maybe not the best wines in the world, but at least you can have the experience!). But, as JanisJ said, that whole area between Big Sur and Santa Cruz is chock full of cool stuff for families and tweens to do, whether you're in the middle of winter, or in summer.

Definitely get an extra day in Yosemite. Although at that time of year, you're not going to be river rafting or swimming in the Merced, or swimming in one of the 2 pools in the Valley, there's still sufficient stuff to do, from short hikes to renting bikes that would allow you, in April, to get an excellent overview of how truly magnificent Yosemite is.

Instead of Calistoga, consider driving from Yosemite to the Monterey area. Lots of things to do: Monterey Aquarium, Carmel Mission, Point Lobos Natural State Preserve (http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=571 ), and you can visit Henry Cowell State Park for redwoods on the way to San Francisco. If going up the coast, stop by Año Nuevo to see the elephant seals.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...7624512998387/ and subsequent pictures.

I agree with the suggestions to spend the extra two days in Monterey which will give you time to drive down into the part of Big Sur which is open.
If the parents want to visit Calistoga and a couple of wineries, let them, it is their trip and presumably their budget which is paying for the trip. Kids can suck it up for a few hours.

I agree that April is a great time to be in Yosemite. At the Valley level, there won't be much, if any snow that time of year, so trails in and around the valley will be just fine. And with such a short visit, you don't have time for much hiking anyway, so you won't run out of trails.

>>April is a great time to be in Yosemite. At the Valley level, there won't be much, if any snow that time of year,<<

On April 6 2001, we stayed at the Groveland Inn in Groveland after driving from the SF Peninsula where we live. That night, it snowed heavily and the entrance to Yosemite Valley was completely blocked off. Access was not allowed even for 4WD & chains. We were told that the Merced River access was at a lower elevation, and we might be able to get to the Valley that way - with chains. We drove west to find a place where we could purchase chains for the car, and did so. We then entered Yosemite Valley without having to put on the chains. We stayed in the Valley for 2 nights. Lots of snow, and it showed one evening in the Valley

Next stop was Sequoia NP. We had to put on chains to enter the park, but took them off the next day. Lots of snow.

Then we visited the southwest USA - Calif Central Valley, Arizona, Sedona, Grand Canyon, Zion, and Death Valley. On April 23 we drove north on 395 on the eastern side of the Sierras. We did not have reservations for a place to stay because the snowpack was heavy and we did not know which roads were going to be open. Most of the roads that were supposed to be open that time of year - were not open. Plus it was snowing heavily. We finally got to South Lake Tahoe and stayed there for the night. We drove west on Hwy 50 and it was a little challenging (I don't have much experience driving in the snow).

Stu Dudley

>>On April 6 2001<<

2011

Stu Dudley

Of course that could happen, but even last winter which was historic in terms of snow and rain, early April there were no road closures or chain requirements. One anecdote does not mean that happens every year.

Well... I do think marvelousmouse isn't wrong to think of things teens would like to do.

At least one of the sellers of the Alcatraz tour pairs it with a segway tour of San Francisco. My teens really loved that. When put together, consider your day done.

San Francisco is just such a cool place for kids to wander around in.

Go to Amoeba Music in Haight Ashbury. My oldest and I did it and loved this place. You can pre-listen to selections and decide if you want to buy them. And it is just huge.

Some (maybe not all) of the walking tours put on by the San Francisco Library might appeal. We ended up not doing this as a family, but I have done these on solo or couple trips. I think my own teens would have liked the Chinatown one the most. They guide took us places I wouldn't have thought to go and also was allowed access into a small private temple for our group only (not the public). My thanks to Stu for sharing this resources here btw.

If you do spend any time on the Wharf, don't miss Musee Mecanique on pier 45. It is so fun, mechanical toys from decades ago. You don't pay an entry fee; you pay to make the toys work.

Also, there are two amusement parks near San Francisco. My kids have done both. Preference would be to Six Flags over Great America.

Consider also whale watching if you don't have that option near home. I also believe there is ziplining available that we didn't get to.

Musee Mechanique is a great suggestion. I second that. So much fun. Also Urban Putt- restaurant with indoor, elaborate SF themed mini golf.

I’m going to have to check out amoeba music, thanks 5alive!

I took a bike tour and the teens might like that too, if the weather is good. I saw lot of street art and neighborhoods I wouldn’t have seen otherwise.

And weather is not reliable, at all, in late March/early April. Stududley has a point. You’re unlikely to need chains, but it could happen. You’re more likely to have nasty weather that time of year than good weather. So it’s not an awful idea to have a back up plan.

I've been to Yosemite 8 times in April. Only saw snowfall once on those trips. So yeah, while snow can fall in April, it isnt super common.

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate all the input.
When we decided on this trip, I didn't realize just how spread out everything is. It's also proving to be a tricky time of year to plan due to unknowns with the weather.

Husband and I will are going to revisit the itinerary and look at Monterey and Santa Cruz. It sounds like a much better option for the family.

Thanks for pointing out Amoeba and Musee Mecanique. Those places were definitely on my SF list. We have been to Amoeba in LA and we were blown away by the store.

If you end up visiting Santa Cruz, check out Streetlight Records.

Thats a lot of territory you're taking on. How bad do you want to see SF? Its become extremely expensive, dirty and full of harassing vagrants. Maybe the charm has warn off for me, but I used to go every year tied in with a NAPA wine shopping trip, but its become so dirty that I skip it and go straight to NAPA and stay there. Given the kids, might be better to spend time in Redwood or Carmel. Carmel is very beautiful, fun to walk around, and you can easily tie in Monterrey. Redwood forest is simply amazing and is definitely a sight to be seen once in your life. If I were you I would be tempted to do the Redwood and then head down US 1 to Carmel. Its a trip you'll never forget. Unless you are interested in galleries, I dont think your going to miss much by skipping SF, and perhaps best as an adults only trip some other time.

Dave0099: there is No need to go up north for redwoods. There is the wonderful Henry Cowell state park in the Santa Cruz mountains.

I have a very different opinion than Dave on skipping San Francisco. My kids all loved it. They were 18, 16 and 12 at the time.

Dave is right though that lodgings can be expensive, and I notice no one responded to your request for family friendly lodgings.

You didn't mention a pricepoint... within San Francisco city limits: The places I strongly considered, and did not pick included Hotel del Sol and the Suites at Fisherman's Wharf (a Wyndam property). I think both got mentioned on this board by other posters.

Since it costs so much to park a car in the city, I looked for outlying areas the last time we went. Many people stay near the airport and come in on BART for the day.

I chose to stay across the bay. One of the days, we came into the city on a ferry. The place we picked was the Courtyard by Marriott San Francisco Larkspur Landing/Marin County. A couple of great restaurants by the ferry landing too. You could also opt to look for places near other ferry landings for a changeup.

>>Many people stay near the airport and come in on BART for the day.<<

That will cost a family of 4 $72 per day for BART. Plus you'll need to get to & from SFO somehow (time consuming). I take BART from the Millbrae station (one past SFO) to get to SF quite a bit - and I hate the experience. Not much to do around SFO - compared to SF itself.

Stu Dudley

I still have part of our trip to finish planning, but for the nights that we are in SF, I booked a room at Pier 2620 at Fisherman's Wharf. Other choices were in Union Square. I chose Pier 2620 because breakfast was "included" in the price. I say "included" because there is an automatic $30 hotel/resort fee included and part of that fee "includes" breakfast.
I booked it with credit card points, so nothing came out of my pocket. Plus, with two teens, there are constantly concerned with food, so best to get breakfast out of the way in this easy fashion.

San Francisco is going to be the last stop on our visit, so when we get there, I am planning to drop off the car at the airport and use the super shuttle to get to our hotel. I'll buy round trip tickets and arrange for our shuttle home.

There is still an OK selection of places in Yosemite West, so I'm thinking a condo rental there will be the best option.

As far as Monterey/Carmel areas, would love lodging suggestions around there.

>>As far as Monterey/Carmel areas, would love lodging suggestions around there.<<

On our honeymoon in 1971, we stayed at the Coachman's Inn. We still stay there!!! We've lived in San Francisco or "close by" since 1975.

Don't get "hung up" on breakfast provided by the hotel. San Francisco is a "comfortable" city that has more "unique/interesting" breakfast spots than a hotel breakfast. We like Rose's Cafe on Union St. http://rosescafesf.com/

Stu Dudley

**Wyndham**

looking forward to an edit function...

I'd drop the car in San Francisco and not at SFO. Much easier with a family to drop everyone + the luggage at the hotel and then drop the car downtown.

Yosemite West is a great option for a family - it is the closest area (along with El Portal) to the Valley.

Ditto what janis said - drop the luggage and family, then drop the car (you might even be able to drop it at a Fishermans Wharf location), then take Uber or Lyft back to the hotel. MUCH simpler than dropping the car at the airport. Also, on the way back to the airport, just take Uber or Lyft - if you have a lot of luggage, you might need to take two, but if you only have carryons, maybe not. Either way, it'll be easier and maybe even cheaper than the shuttle.

What's your lodging budget for the Monterey Peninsula? Hofsas House in Carmel has two room family suites with kitchens and is reasonably priced for the area. You could also look at a vacation rental in Pacific Grove. It's the only city on the peninsula where short term rentals are legal. Monterey, Pacific Grove and Carmel are all within minutes of each other.

Henry Cowell has beautiful redwoods. There are some amazing tidepools at Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz~my kids loved those!

Thanks all. I think we have firmed up our trip for the most part. A couple reservations still need to made, but it's taking shape.
The plan of action is SFO airport to Yosemite.
Yosemite for 2-3 nights
Monterey for 2 nights: Drive to Big Sur, Pebble Beach, see Bixby bridge, Point Lobos State Park, Julia Burns State Park, etc.
Santa Cruz for 1 night: Whale watching tour, board walk. Ano Nuevo state park.
Pass through San Jose, tour Winchester Mystery House, then head up to Santa Rosa and stop at
Visit breweries in Santa Rosa area.
Visit wineries in Calistoga
3-4 nights in San Francisco to include a Warriors game, Giants game, visit to Alcatraz, Little Italy, Chinatown.

Yes, I know this is a rapid pace, but last year we did a similar fast paced spring break where we covered Los Angeles, Santa Monica/Venice, Zion National Park, kayaking in canyons and visiting Horseshoe Bend in Page Arizona, Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Sedona and Phoenix. Amazingly, it all worked and we had a great trip. Got to see the Dodgers and Lakers play and also got to visit family in LA and PHX.
We are from the east coast and we want to see as much as we can during our time. We love to travel and between work and kids school schedules, we don't get to travel for more than a week-10 days very often, so we take advantage of it while we can.

I also know that going to breweries and wineries may not appeal to everyone who has kids, but it's something that my husband and I enjoy and our whole trip can't revolve around the kids. I don't drink beer so I will be the driver for any breweries and for wine tours we are planning to use public transit and/or Uber. We have taken our kids to breweries and if at any time we've felt like the environment is not "family friendly" then we have not stayed. I also bring along cards or bananagrams and it actually is a nice time to unwind and play a game or two.
I've never to been to wine country and have no clue when we will return, so that's why we added it to the agenda .

Yes, I know free breakfast (which really isn't free, but rather "included" in the $30 resort/hotel fee) isn't all that great, but when your priority is to see as much as possible, to not have to think of one meal to please 4 people is a godsend. It's already tough enough to get out the door, so if breakfast is just getting everyone downstairs then it's a bonus.

Love to hear any other suggestions, comments, hotel recommendations, restuarant recommendations, etc.
In San Francisco, we are staying near/around Fisherman's Wharf. I had credit card points to use for that.
As far as other towns, our budget is $200-$300 per night. The cheaper the better and we try to utilize Air BnB.

>>Santa Cruz for 1 night: Whale watching tour, board walk. Ano Nuevo state park.
Pass through San Jose, tour Winchester Mystery House, then head up to Santa Rosa and stop at
Visit breweries in Santa Rosa area.
Visit wineries in Calistoga
3-4 nights in San Francisco to include a Warriors game, Giants game, visit to Alcatraz, Little Italy, Chinatown.

Does his day start in Santa Cruz and end in San Francisco???

Stu Dudley

>>Does his day start in Santa Cruz and end in San Francisco???<<

I had the same question . . .

If so, that isn't doable.

Have you purchased the Warriors tix? Who are they playing? Might be a huge premium or unavailable.

Ha ha!
Sorry-Santa Cruz in NOT the same day as SF.
The only towns that may be combined would be Santa Rosa and Calistoga

We purchased basketball tickets a while ago. It was actually the basketball/baseball schedule that delegated SF to the end of the trip.

Most people who live in the Bay Area will probably tell you that Healdsburg (just north of Santa Rose) is the most interesting town in the Wine Country. IMO, the Dry Creek Valley & the wineries just west of Healdsburg are more "welcoming" than most wineries in the Napa Valley.

When going to & from the Wine Country, DO NOT drive over the Bay Bridge or get on 580/80 through Vallejo. It's perhaps the ugliest stretch of road in the Bay Area and annually wins the award as the most congested. Go over the Golden Gate Bridge instead.

To get to Santa Rosa from the Winchester Mystery House, take 280, then 19th ave, through Golden Gate Park (keeping in the right hand lanes), & Park Presidio over the GG Bridge. Do not drive on the ugly/congested 101 or even uglier 880 in the East Bay. 280 is actually designated a "Scenic Highway" once past the San Jose sprawl.

Did you check the prices of admission to the Winchester Mystery House? I was surprised!! So was my wife!!

A day trip to Ano Neuvo from Santa Cruz will consume about 4 hours or more. The guided tour is 2 1/2 hrs, and we did a lot of "waiting around" before the tour departed. I don't think you can wander around on your own without a guide or docent. It's about 40 mins from Santa Cruz.

Get your Alcatraz ticket now also.

I's 72 degrees here today - and the same from last week through next weekend.

Stu Dudley