Hi,
am traveling with my husband to SF in March. Any advise re scheduling sightseeing?( 8 day )total

we are thinking about renting a car at the end of the trip to go up to muir woods and sonoma. any thoughts out there? Diane Jo

There are TONS of threads regarding things to do in SFO right now. Put "san francisco" in the search box and you should get alot of ideas on restaurants, things to do with a car, things to do w/o a car, things to do if it rains, things to do if it doesn't rain......

With 8 days, you can see quite a bit. You could base yourselves in SF for the whole time and make day trips or you can split your time between SF and some other areas. Just depends on what sort of trip you want.

It is hard to answer an open-ended question like that though, esspecially without knowing your interests.

Ahhh yes, come to Napa Valley in the spring & taste the fine wines.

Come at any time..... just come!

Put the DeYoung musium on your list as well as Coit tower for the view. The Museum of Modern Art is fantastic if you like that sort of thing.

The market at the Ferry Building for something to eat is always a good idea.

No end of good (and bad) Italian and Chinese restaurants in N. Beach and China Town.

When you rent a car for the drive North, drive along the Marin Headlands on the N. side of the Golden Gait Bridge, you won't regret it.

thereyet

Thanks every one.

Anysuggestions for lodging in sonoma? any one know anything about the el pueblo inn?

thank
Diane

Hello Diane, in the Fodor's Search Box click on California and in the Search Box type in Stu Dudley. He has so many posts regarding SF. Now he doesn't recommend Fisherman's Wharf but as a newcomer to SF you will probably want to visit there especially since you have 8 days. His recommendations are wonderful and he also mentions free tours (donations always gladly accepted of course) that is through I think the SF Library which is wife is involved with. Best regards and welcome to San Francisco.

I am a Sonoma native. The El Pueblo Inn is just north of the town of Sonoma on Highway 12. It has two main buildings. One the original building, called the "adobe" rooms, and the other, parallel to it has more recently built rooms. Both are very nice. In between the two buildings is a lovely garden, leading to a pool.

In the morning is an included "do-it-yourself" waffle breakfast, which is fun and delicious.

When we go back to visit we try to stay there. The rates are very reasonable.

There is a Best Western Sonoma Valley Inn a little closer to the Plaza, which I avoid like the plague. It is very nice, I will admit, built around a courtyard with pool.

During my mother's last illness I stayed there often as it was nearer the hospital. On the occasion when I had to cancel a day ahead of time they would not refund my deposit. They required 72 hours notice. I stopped patronizing them. Also, their breakfast is skimpy.

Other lodgings you might want to google are the historic El Dorado Hotel on the Plaza, the modern Inn at Sonoma a block from the Plaza.

I live in the SF Bay Area and highly suggest a trip to Monterrey down Hwy 1.

Also a trip to Napa/Sonoma would be great.

If you really want to be adventuresome, rent a car and drive to Yosemite. It's a good 5 hours or so but well worth the trip.

I think your question is a little too broad. If it's your first time in SF, you can easily spend 4-5 days just in the city. You do not need a car during this time (in fact, it would be a hassle since hotels charge up to $50/day for parking).

After that, it depends on what youre into...

1) If youre into seeing liberal culture at its finest, drive across the Bay Bridge and see Berkeley (where I went to school).

2) If youre into wine, drive the hour to Napa or Sonoma.

3) If youre into nature, drive down to Big Basin National Forest and look at some magnificent redwood trees.

4) If youre into the ocean, drive down to Monterey, see the world-famous aquarium, and then drive down the cliff-hanging Highway 1.

You cannot do all of these things. Do the city, and pick one or (at most) two of the remaining options.

By the way, if youre in the city during September, make sure you see a SF Giants baseball game from their stadium.

Edit: Yosemite is a pretty long drive. I would think twice about doing it unless you are willing to spend three nights there (which may be a hassle since you only have 8 days total). Also, it's SUPER CROWDED in summer.

Don't forget to ride a street car (seriously, i know it sounds corny but it is my very favorite SF thing to do)!

Take a walk or ride a bike over the Golden Gate Bridge. It was one of the highlights of my trip! After your ride, you can walk around Sausalito and have a delicious burger at Hamburger. YUMMY! At the end of the day, you can take the ferry back to San Francisco; there are some great views along the way!

Alcatraz was also very interesting. Also, make sure that you eat in Chinatown. We really loved Great Eastern!


Muir Woods is definitley worth the trip. You should go as soon as it opens (I think around 8 AM). It is incredibly quiet and peaceful. We did Muir Woods and Sonoma in one day.

Don't forget to ride a street car

Just a clarification - I think Suze probably means to ride a cable car (the Rice-a-Roni kind). San Francisco has cable cars, street cars/trolleys and buses.