Hi all,
My husband and I are planning a trip in san fran in the fall. We are probably going to have about 10days. We where hoping to spend one full day in san fran and maybe 2 days in wine country. We also wanted to see some of the surrounding sights. Including... Big Sur.. lake Tahoe, Yoesemite, Monterray BAy, area. Does anyone have any good suggestions for a 10day itenerary. We want to be on the move, but build in a little relaxation as well. Any advice would be appreciated..
Thanks for your help...

Fall is a great time to visit. The fog along the coast will be minimal and we usually don't have much rain that time of year. The only draw back is that there aren't many wildflowers

For what you want to do, a loop itinerary makes sense. So something like SF, Sonoma, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Cambria, Big Sur, Monterey, SF.

This is a lot to pack into 10 days though, so you WILL be on the move to do it. If I were to choose something to cut out of this itinerary to get some relaxation in, it would be Lake Tahoe. You could also do this - instead of driving down to Cambria and then coming up the Big Sur coast, you could base yourself in Monterey and take a day trip down to Big Sur. You wouldn't see the whole thing, but you would get a taste. Just another way to do it.

Wow, that last itinerary from the poster was a gas. You have 10 days. One full day in San Francisco? No way. You need at least two or three. You would probably need 2 days in either the Napa or Sonoma (valleys) areas to get to and fro (driving time) and visit some wineries.

Lake Tahoe and Yosemite are not "surrounding" areas. Let's say you want to go to Yosemite. One day up, stay overnight. See something the next day, then go to Tahoe....stay a night. You now have 7 days and you haven't even done Monterey, or Big Sur. And you have not really "seen" Yosemite or Tahoe"...you have just either driven by them or slept in the area. And you have not gone back to the "san fran" area yet to fly out.

I would leave Yosemite and Lake Tahoe for another time. Please give San Francisco more time.

Try this. At least 3 days in San Francisco, two days in the wine country, either Napa or Sonoma, then drive to Monterey, maybe stopping in Santa Cruz on the way. That's six days. Spend the rest of the time in the Monterey area, with excursions down to Big Sur and back, enjoying the Monterey peninsula and the world class aquarium and the 17 mile drive, and the shopping and restaurants in charming Carmel.

I guess what I am saying is that San Francisco deserves more time. In 10 days if you want to see Big Sur, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, and Monterey Bay it is not really possible, because of driving times, mainly.

As an aside....(this is not directed at you, but at the board as a whole)..I have noticed that in the past some posters thought we called San Francisco "Frisco". Locals yelled and screamed and stopped that on message boards, but now it is called "san fran". Where did that come from? I do not exactly know why this is so offensive .... but it is to us who are locals.

Is Chigago...'chic'...is San Antonio .. 'san an'? Are we getting a little to "Lonely Planet" here? Cutesy is out for me.

I agree totally - 10 days is not enough time for San FranCISCO, the wine country, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Monterey, Big Sur and back to San Francisco.

It is enough time to drive to each of those places - but not enough to see or do anything much at all

One day is not enough to see much in SF - even if you have been there before. Also understand that fall is the busiest time in the wine country (harvest and pressing happen then) so many nice places will have a 2 night minimum. Tahoe is a 4 hour drive from ther Napa area (much more on fridays or holidays). So you would need a MINIMUM of two nights at Tahoe to see anything. Same for Yosemite - I wouldn't go there unless you can stay a minimum of 2 nights. And for Monterey/Carmel/Big Sur you'd need 2 or 3 nights minumum.

Either add 3 or 4 days or cut out two places (cut either Tahoe and Yosemite OR Monterey and Big Sur)

Hi jtrandolph, thank you for your comments regarding calling San Francisco (or SF) San Fran..it drives me crazy too. I also feel the same way when California is referred to as Cali.

Steelerfan, I don't consider all the areas you mentioned as surrounding areas of San Francisco. If you have ten days I would also strongly suggest that you eliminate Lake Tahoe and Yosemite. That is if you want to truly enjoy each place that you visit.
If you try to see each area that you listed I seriously do not see how you could find any time to relax. Best wishes.

As above, I don't consider most of your list the "San Fran area" at all. Have you checked driving times and distances between all of these.

With 10 days I'd spend maybe 3 in the city, and pick 1-2 of the other spots you mention to visit max.

When my DH and I were in San Francisco last year, we stayed at the Orchard Hotel. It was a very nice boutique hotel with a continental buffet. In my trips to San Francisco we have taken side trips to Napa, Gilroy (garlic town), Monterrey, Half Moon Bay (geat for pumpkins)and Carmel,etc. All very nice trips. My favorite is Yosemite though. The drive to Glacier Point and seeing Half Dome is awesome. We swam in the Merced River and toured the Redwood Forest. I guess you have to prioritize what you want to do. San Francisco is one of my favorite cities, and I have visited many times. Oh, we also had the best dim sum in our lives in the financial district, a restaurant called Yank Sing. (and my husband is Chinese and have eaten in NY Chinatown many, many times.) It doesn't compare! Enjoy whatever you do.

I agree with other posters, about spending more time in San Francisco. If it was me, I'd spend at least 3 nights in the city and cut Lake Tahoe. Do that with another trip and include the Sierra and Gold Country.
For this trip I'd focus on the city, wine country and monterey area. Yosemite may be too much for this trip.