We are getting married on January 14th in KW, FL. We are flying from Miami the next day and arrive in SF at 8:00PM. The kicker is that we leave at 6:30 the very next morning in route to Australia. I'm guessing we have time for dinner and a late drive-by of something we've never seen before. Does anyone have suggestions on a great restaurant and a hotel that wouldn't be too difficult to get to the airport in the morning. Our flight goes to LA and then we don't leave there until 8:00PM to Sydney so we're also taking suggestions for things to do during the day in LA. THANKS!

Let's see...
You arrive at 8pm, and by the time you retrieve your checked bags, it's 9. You hop in a cab and you get to a downtown hotel at 9:30. You check into the hotel, and get to your room at 10:00 (you might get there by 9:30). You eat at the hotel starting about 10:15 (if they will seat you that late), and finish at midnight - perhaps a little sooner if you rush. You get to bed at 12:30am. You get up at 3:30am, shower, shave, etc and check out of the hotel and into a taxi at 4:30 (my wife wouldn't make that schedule). You get to the international terminal at 5:00 for your 6:30am flight.

Are you sure you don't want to just stay at a hotel by the airport and have a quick dinner at the hotel???

Why will you be at LAX for so long??? There are dozens of SFO to LAX flights daily!!!

Stu Dudley

Oops - SFO to LAX is not an international flight. People in the Bay Area consider LA to be a foreign country, however.

Stu Dudley

Absolutely try to change that SFO to LAX flight. They go every hour. Then you can have the morning and some of the afternoon in SF. Otherwise, stay near the airport.

Stay at the airport and forget about going into San Francisco. It takes an hour just to get through security at the airport, let alone the check-in line. The Hyatt is a nice hotel at the airport. Best wishes to you both.

I agree. There's no reason to leave for LA so early when there are so many flights available throughout the day. However, SFO is good Priceline territory for hotels, if you decide to stay near the airport. Learn all about it at biddingfortravel.com.

I read the itinerary and said to myself: "Who routed these flights? Caligula?"

The savings must be monumental to route it like this.

I agree with the others: Move the SFO-LAX flight as close to 5 PM as possible. You'll arrive at LAX at 6, which will give you a leisurely 2 hours to process for the flight to Australia. And it will give you a morning and early afternoon in the San Francisco area.

And by the way: We that live in southern California, unlike our brethren to the north, don't consider people from the Bay Area to be from a foreign country. They're just our very, very, very condescending northern brothers and sisters. Well, it is understandable; the Bay Area is quite lovely and Arcadian. But I'll still say: The Mexican food here is far, far superior. And that's enough for me.

Hahahaha, RJW (she says, looking down her nose). But obviously you haven't had Mexican food in SF lately. A trip into the Mission will leave you feeling like you ARE in Mexico.

Well, Catbert, that's great for you Bay Area people. It's nice to know there's somewhere up there I can go when I get homesick for such fare (can I get chamorro and fish tacos? If so, I will be extremely happy!).

For the record, I love the Bay Area. I'm only gently suggesting that we poor rabble down here do contribute a little bit to the California economy, and we're not exactly a cultural wasteland, no matter what you like to think (the LA Phil, especially now in the Disney Concert Hall, is one of the world's best symphonies-- and what about our vast number of 99-seat playhouses? We like our culture). Just take the LA-bashing a bit easy once in a while. No, it's not as pretty and self-contained as San Francisco, but it's the whole world in 4,800 square miles-- and that's not bad, is it?

Not at all RJW. Next time you're in the Bay Area, try the fish tacos at Fiesta del Mar in Mountain View. My absolute favorite. The margaritas aren't bad either.

Catbert: It's on my list now. I'll be up there on business in March and spending the weekend. I'll post for The Latest Tips closer to the trip. But thanks for this preview...!

It was about 300 bucks cheaper to fly from SFO to LAX to SYD. I thought it would be nice to spend the day in LA. I've never been to California. I did not book the flight getting to SFO at 8:00. It was a shower present. What can you do? They gave us first-class seats so maybe we'll be too drunk to want dinner. I will deff try to re-organize our flights. Thank you all for your help.

To the OP: No, given one day to see a bit of either San Francisco or Los Angeles, take San Francisco. You'll be able to see more (SF is very compact) and it's prettier for the most part. Believe me, you'll start making plans to go back. It's truly special, a world-class destination with heart and romance and soul.

If you had several days, LA would be a good visit; it's just too varied (over 100 cities in the two-county rough concept of "LA") and spread-out (4,800 square miles) for a short spin through. VERY different from San Francisco-- you have to seek out the "romance" here (but believe me, you can find it in spades).