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Please help with two week California itinerary

Please help with two week California itinerary

Old Jan 17th, 2010, 06:13 PM
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Please help with two week California itinerary

My wife and I will be visiting USA around end-May/early June. We will be first attending our son's college graduation on the East Coast, and then all 3 of us will fly down to California to spend two weeks with our daughter who is working in San Jose. Would like to tour California, Las Vegas etc during that time, using San Jose as a base.

We are in our early 50's, our son is 22. For wife and son, this will be the first trip to the West Coast of USA. We have already been to Disney World in Florida, so not much interest in visiting Disneyland in LA.

A rough-cut itinerary is proposed below, on which we want your inputs and suggestions:

Sun May 30th : Arrive SFO by 9:30 am. Reach San Jose by 11 am. Propose to leave immediately down Highway 1. How far should we go, and where to spend the night ? San Simeon ? San Luis Obispo ? Monterey ? This is Memorial Day weekend, so places might be a bit crowded.
Mon May 31st: Continue our trip on Highway 1 (either further south, or backtracking north). Idea is to return to San Jose by night (as daughter has to get back to work next day). Please give suggestions on places to visit or stop by.
Tue-Thu, Jun 1st-3rd: Make day-trips to SFO, without daughter. Please give suggestions on how to fill up these 3 days.
Fri-Sun, Jun 4th-6th: Fly to Las Vegas (Daughter will take a day's leave on Friday, and make it a long weekend). Propose to make a day-trip from there to Grand Canyon. Please give suggestions for these 3 days too. Plan to return to San Jose by Sunday night.
Mon Jun 7th: Visit Stanford University & Palo Alto (my alma mater, so we have to go here !).
Tue & Wed, Jun 8th & 9th: Drive down to Yosemite, and spend one night there. Return by 9th evening. So we get two full days here. Suggestions required on things to do, and places to stay. We are selecting middle of week to avoid crowds.
Thu Jun 10th : Visit to Napa Valley and winery tours.
Fri Jun 11th : Extra day. Where to add, or what else to do ?
Sat Jun 12th : Fly back to India.

This forum has been the ultimate resource for planning all our last 4-5 vacations. I know you people will not let me down. Please give as many inputs as you can. Thanks in advance.
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Old Jan 17th, 2010, 06:58 PM
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SFO suggestions- Chinatown- eat Dim Sum, Alcatraz(evening tour is the best), ride cable cars, fishermans wharf(we did a segway tour and liked it), North Beach Distict(little italy-great food here), Golden Gate Park-see Botanical Gardens,Japanese Garden

Vegas Suggestions- See one of the Cirque Shows, Hoover Dam

Grand Canyon-have a meal at El Tovar, if you rent a car spend a night there and watch a sunset and sunrise. El Tovar or Bright Angel Lodge would be my choices for lodging. You need to make this ASAP if you are spending the night. A helicopter flight is a nice way to see the GC.

Yosemite- Make Lodging there ASAP- see Mariposa Grove, Glacier Point, and the Valley sights. Have a meal in Awahnee.
I just checked on www.yosemitepark.com The only lodging available is at The Wawonna Hotel, which is near the big trees. So drive to Maripossa the first day, see the trees and stay at The Wawona. 2nd day, see Glacier Point early, have lunch at The Awahnee, see the Valley in the afternoon and drive back late evening(very full day). I would spend the extra day in Yosemite!!! especially if you have a desire to hike at all.
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Old Jan 17th, 2010, 07:08 PM
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On day 1 I'd just go as far as Monterey and see the sights there, aquarium, etc. and on day 2 drive as far south on Highway 1 as Hearst Castle, take atour and then return to San Jose.
If you can manage an extra day in Yosemite, check out Tuolumne Meadows, Tenaya Lake and the high country.
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Old Jan 17th, 2010, 07:46 PM
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Everyone has given you great ideas!
Love SF, Napa, drive down the 1 through Big Sur..have lunch at Sierra Mar at the Post Ranch Inn, drive down to Santa Barbara for a couple of days..stay high end at San Ysidro Ranch..or the Hampton Inn..Inn at the Spanish Garden...head to Malibu and then head to LAX or Burbank to fly to Vegas on Southwest Airlines.
Stay at the Wynn Las Vegas for luxurious lodging but for around $120 a night for a couple of days and then head to the Grand Canyon.
Memorial Day will be crowded.
Did you check rates and hotel ideas on expedia.com?
Have a great time and love Stanford too!
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Old Jan 17th, 2010, 07:53 PM
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Muir Woods is interesting and near San Fran, but i would probably skip it since you are going to Yosemite. Just north of Muir Woods, is Pt. Reyes National Seashore. It is a pretty cool place if you have an extra day in there somewhere.
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Old Jan 17th, 2010, 09:12 PM
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Thanks a lot for the wonderful suggestions. Please keep them coming !!

On Highway 1, boom boom above has suggested spending the night at Monterey. Any other possibilities ? How about staying at Big Sur, or San Simeon ? Please advise on the pros and cons of each.

I guess the consensus so far is that we spend the extra day at Yosemite. The suggestion of spirobulldog to visit Pt Reyes Natl Seashore is also interesting.

spirobulldog, excellent suggestions. Thanks. How expensive is the helicopter tour of the Canyon ? How long is the drive from Vegas to Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam ?

ksucat, I don't think we will have time to go to LA and Santa Barbara, as it will make the trip very rushed.
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Old Jan 17th, 2010, 09:24 PM
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The Grand Canyon will be a pretty long day trip, as it's about four or five hours from Las Vegas. If you can spend the night at the Grand Canyon, either in the park or just outside it, you will enjoy it more. Otherwise, you'll spend half the day in the car, an hour or two at the Grand Canyon, then have a long drive back to Vegas.

Lee Ann
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Old Jan 17th, 2010, 11:07 PM
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one problem - over Memorial Day weekend you will likely have to book a minimum of 2 nights anywhere along the coast. You may have a hard time finding a place willing to rent for just the Sunday night. Because of that - I would get on that ASAP and only go as far as Monterey/Carmel. W/ this much lead time you have better chance of nailing down a 1-night stay. The roads will be a zoo on Monday so you don't want to go too far south.

Also - mid-week in June won't avoid crowds in Yosemite. Most California schools get out in late May, some in very early June. So June is full on Summer for vacation planning. Since you only want 1 night in Yosemite you really need to stay IN the Valley. You won't have time to commute in/out from outside the park. And for your Yosemite lodging - book ASAP. Like yesterday!
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Old Jan 18th, 2010, 10:13 AM
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I agree that Monterey will be a good choice for staying that portion of the trip - the 2 night minimum most places require during the summer weekends and esspecially over a holiday will make it easier to find lodging if you spend both nights in the same location. There are great places further south, but it will make for a very long day if you aren't leaving SJ until 11 (at the earliest). Once you get south of Monterey, the road is very narrow and curvy, so going is slow. I'd base yourselves in Monterey, explore the peninsula and Big Sur from there. Big Sur is great, but there aren't a lot of services, so it isn't as convinient of a place to stay.

If you can find lodging for 1 night each, I'd choose Monterey for the first night and then Cambria for the second.
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Old Jan 18th, 2010, 10:19 AM
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NovemberMoon: "will make it easier to find lodging if you spend both nights in the same location."

As I read it, the OP only plans one night on the coast. That was the point of my post.

They plan on leaving SJ around noon Sunday and return Monday evening (daughter has to go to work Tues)
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Old Jan 18th, 2010, 12:05 PM
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Oh - I mis-read the original post. I thought they were considering continuing south for a 2nd night. I see what the plan is now.

So yes, definitely don't go any farther south than Monterey. Monterey is an hour or hour and a half from SJ - perhaps longer if you hit traffic (holiday weekend and the coast is very popular, so traffic is a definite consideration). To get to San Simeon via Hwy 1, you are looking at at least another couple hours - and that is without stops. I don't think it would be any fun to sit on a plane for 5+ hours and then spend the rest of the day sitting in a car driving past neat places without any time to actually stop and see them.

If you go to Monterey, you can spend the afternoon walking around Point Lobos taking in the wonderful coastline and then have a nice relaxing dinner someplace. Then Monday you can see some of the sights in Monterey and/or Carmel.
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Old Jan 18th, 2010, 12:07 PM
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Not to worry - I had to read it through a couple of times before I caught that.
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Old Jan 18th, 2010, 12:44 PM
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Hi folks, regarding the pricing of the helicopter tours, it depends on where you get them from and what type of equipment you fly in.

If you get your flight from Grand Canyon South Rim, you have a choice of two overflights (no flights from the South Rim descend below the rim): 30 minutes and 50 minutes. Both are conducted in two types of helicopters. The more economical option is to go with Papillon helicopters, who fly Bell Jet Rangers, a very common type of 2-blade prop helicopter used all over the world for a variety of purposes. They seat 5-6 passengers depending on weight. One drawback to this aircraft is 1. it is noisier than the upgraded Eco-Star (more on that in a moment), 2. it has one row of 2 seats that face backward. I find this doesn't detract from the experience at all, but some don't care for the sensation.

If you're OK with spending a little more money (and this is probably a once in a lifetime experience, right?) for a newer helicopter with a better view, and a quieter ride, then choose to take your flight on the Eco-Star helicopter. These helicopters were expressly built for sightseeing with bigger windows, bigger seats, and all the seats face forward. They also have a fan-style rail rotor and a 3-blade prop for a quieter flight. Depending on passenger weight and aircraft configuration, these helicopgers seat up to 7 people. The only drawback to this helicopter is that 2-3 passengers will not have a window seat, but because the rear row of seats is raised up higher than the front row, I've never heard any complaints from people not being able to see out (and I'm in the industry). Eco-Star flights are offered by Grand Canyon Helicopters (a subsidiary of Papillon), and Maverick Helicopters.

I've seen the Bell flights (Papillon) advertised at $134 per adult inclusive for the 30 minute tour and $184 pp inc for the longer flight; the Eco-Stars tend to run $30-$40 more per person for flights of equivalent length and routing.

Hope that helps!
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Old Jan 18th, 2010, 02:33 PM
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I would drive down a little further to Big Sur instead of Monterey.
We enjoy Post Ranch Inn but it can be pricey but different than anywhere in the world that we have stayed.
Just to have lunch at Sierra Mar is well worth it!
Another thought is Treebones resort in Big Sur.
Check it out and have a great time.

Napa, we enjoy Rombauer winery, Silver Oak, Joseph Phelps..we enjoy their wines very much.
Ubuntu is a vegan restaurant and one of the best in the US.
Redd is another fave for lunch or dinner.

http://treebonesresort.com/
www.postranchinn.com
http://ubuntunapa.com/
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Old Jan 18th, 2010, 02:50 PM
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Treebones looks great - we always think of staying there when we go to Big Sur, but where do you eat when you stay there? It is awfully far south.
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Old Jan 18th, 2010, 02:54 PM
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Treebones and Post Ranch are amazing. But very expensive (worth it but still VERY expensive) - and very popular. Wouldn't think either would take 1 night bookings over Memorial Day. But maybe . . . .
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Old Jan 18th, 2010, 06:31 PM
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Thanks everyone for the wonderful wonderful suggestions that are pouring in. Just don't stop please...keep it coming. It is making my trip planning so much easier.

I have checked, and finding accommodation for a single night at Monterey or Carmel over Memorial Day weekend seems possible. I think we will spend the night at either of these two locations. I was hoping to drive down and see Hearst castle, but that may not be possible in the limited time that we have.
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Old Jan 19th, 2010, 08:09 AM
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For your free day at the end - not sure if you have decided on something yet - but my suggestion would be to check out the redwoods. I know you will be going to Yosemite and will see the giant sequoias there, but the coastal redwoods are different trees and the ecosystems are vastly different. Big Basin state park is pretty close to San Jose, so it would be a good choice.

Another option would be to go to Half Moon Bay and Pescadero. We live in San Jose and this is one of our favorite day trips. We have breakfast in Half Moon Bay, wander around a bit, and then make our way south to Pescadero. There are several nice beaches along Hwy 1 - these are beachcombing type beaches rather than swiming beaches because the surf can be pretty rough. Pescadero is a very small town a mile or two inland. The state beach is good and they have a neat marsh between town and the beach. Butano state park is also there, which has some nice short hikes and isn't very crowded. Most people go to Pescadero for Duarte's Tavern though because they have terrific artichoke soup and ollalieberry pie
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