Northern CA Itinerary
 

My husband and I (both in our mid-twenties) are in the very beginning planning stages of a 9-day trip to CA in March 06. It will be the first time on the West Coast for both of us. We have friends in Davis and Pacific Grove, so we'd definitely like to include those two stops, but other than that we're open to suggestions. Here's my first pass at a rough itinerary:

Saturday:
Fly into Oakland midday, spend the night in San Francisco.

Sunday-Monday: San Francisco

Tuesday-Wednesday: rent a car to drive up the coast. I'd like to spend some time in Mendocino, but I don't know if it's realistic to go that far afield.

Thursday: spend the day visiting wineries in either Napa or Sonoma

Friday: drive to Davis to meet up with our friend and spend the night

Saturday: drive from Davis to Pacific Grove to visit other friends

Sunday: fly out of San Jose midday.

I'd like to be able to fit in as much as possible, but I'm worried about trying to do too much and the amount of driving. Thanks in advance for any comments or suggestions?

Well, I would, if you can, reverse your route, see your friend in Davis first then head west and tour Ca. 20, a cool! road, to the Coast and drive down the coast back to SF. You can choose various destinations in Napa/Sonoma/Mendicino but it would put you in the far north bay from The central valley, rather than duplicating driving Back out to Davis. You could hit Granzella's in Williams, olives! mmmm., then either hit Calistoga(hot springs and spas) if you cut down, or take 20 all the way to the Coast and enjoy.

I think that Mendocino might be a little far north for this trip since you are also going to Pacific Grove. With your plan, you will have hardly any time with your friends there or to see much of the area.

Also, March can still be fairly rainy, so you might have inclement weather to deal with, which would increase your travel times.

It just depends on how much driving you want to do versus sight seeing and hanging out.

You are doing too much driving. The road to get to Mendocino looks okay on the map, but it can be slow going to get there. I would eliminate that from the trip.

You are also not spending enough time on the Monterey Peninsula and Pacific Grove. This area is a destination all by itself. If you are only going there to see friends, this if fine, but you will want to come back someday. Great part of California to see. Why not have the Davis friends meet you in Pacific Grove? Sure beats spending much time in Davis.

Hey you're in your twenties, I say go for it. It sounds like a great time. The drive from SF to Mendocino is about 3 hours and if you don't mind driving it'll be an adventure!

On the way back visit the wineries around Healdsburg and make you way to Sonoma, since its only about 3 hours from mendocino to Healdsburg It won't seem like all driving if you stop along the way. Then you can go onto to Davis and visit your friend.

sorry I meant to say it's only about 2 hours from Mendocino to Healdsburg. Got dark and I couldn't see the keys!

Since you have already mentioned the idea of an open jaw plane ticket, why not fly into Sacramento (as this is nearest to Davis) and fly home from San Jose as this is nearest to Pacific Grove?

Assuming for the moment, you can nab a decent enough airfare with those two gateway cities, then (after one night in Davis) you could drive to the wine country and stay 2 to 3 nights to seeNapa/Sonoma/Mendocino counties - next traveling south to SF for a few nights and then on to Pacific Grove for a few days on the Monterey Peninsula (where Pacific Grove is) and also see Carmel. Traveldawg is absolutely right. The Pacific Grove/Monterey/Carmel (and I might add, Big Sur, areas just south of there) are destinations in themselves. Lots to see and do and positively gorgeous.