San Francisco, Monterey, Yosemite, etc.

Old Apr 3rd, 2008, 06:39 PM
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San Francisco, Monterey, Yosemite, etc.

Hello All,

Back again and requesting help from someone that is familiar with driving distances, hilly terrain, etc in San Francisco. I am working on a trip for the first of June. (May 31-June 5 Yosemite, then Sf til June 11). Below I am going to list a few of the things we wish to do (2 adults, two sons 10 & 14). For the things in San Francisco, please tell me how you would group things together so I wont plan on doing the more strenuous, heavy walking together. Most events I imagine I need to allow 1/2 day for. We will be staying off Lombard Street somewhere, not sure where yet.

*Alcatraz (probably early bird timeslot-is that a good time to go?)

*Chinatown

* North Beach

* Fisherman's Wharf (could do in evenings

*Bike Rental at FW to Sausalito and maybe back

*Exploratorium

* Muir Woods/Stinson Bch/Wine Country (for just an overview)

* Nike Missile Site Museum

*Point Bonita Lighthouse

*Hyde St Pier

* Cable Car Museum

*Coit Tower

* Possibly a Giants Stadium Tour (they are away during our visit)

Also, we are flying in on Sat May 31 at 2:30PM and thinking about driving straight to Yosemite with stay in hotel outside the park. Our reservations at the Lodge beging June 1-4. However, we wish to visit Monterey area and maybe aquarium. Should we go there first from the airport and stay the night and drive to Yosemite the next day?? Or go to Monterey when we leave Yosemite on June 5 on the way back to SF?? Which is better?? I have heard it is better to drive down to Monterey than up the coast for the views.

Big request, but I need your input to put this all together. Any other suggestions of what to see are welcomed.



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Old Apr 4th, 2008, 02:35 PM
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ttt
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Old Apr 4th, 2008, 02:43 PM
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just time for one quick comment right now - but others will chime in and I'll try to get back to this later.

Just to clarify - the talk whether one should drive up or down the coast doesn't have anything much to do w/ the trip between SF and Monterey. That relates to the dramatic mountains/cliffs/ocean south of the monterey peninsula . . . .

BTW - w/ a 2:30 arrival, you likely wouldn't get to Monterey before the aquarium closes at 6 p.m. By the time you collect your luggage, arrange for the rental car and get on the road you will be in the early part of the afternoon commute.
janisj is online now  
Old Apr 4th, 2008, 02:55 PM
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When you bike across the bridge, take the ferry back. The views are fantastic and that hill up to the bridge from Sausalito is a killer.
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Old Apr 4th, 2008, 02:56 PM
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>>Alcatraz (probably early bird timeslot-is that a good time to go?)

*Chinatown

* North Beach

* Fisherman's Wharf (could do in evenings

*Bike Rental at FW to Sausalito and maybe back

*Exploratorium

*Hyde St Pier

* Possibly a Giants Stadium Tour (they are away during our visit)<<

All of the above you can walk to without any major hills to climb.

>>* Cable Car Museum

*Coit Tower
>>

Take the cable car to the museum, and Coit Tower IS a hill - so there is a climb. Take a bus if you can't climb to Coit Tower - but the climb is interesting.

Is that all you plan to do in The City for 6 days?????

Stu Dudley
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Old Apr 4th, 2008, 02:59 PM
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Are you worrying about not being able to keep up with your kids?

Alcatraz - I heard there is some kind of transportation to help people up a hill.

Sausalito - you can bike to it, come back on a ferry or bus (Golden Gate transit bus). The village itself is flat unless you want to go up a hill there.

Muir Woods - there is a wooden walkway for an easy stroll.

Most of the SF attractions are accessible by buses.
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Old Apr 4th, 2008, 05:40 PM
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Stu,

No, this isnt all we plan to do,just some thoughts in my early planning. Also, wanted to leave some free time to add things once we get there. I just didnt know how far these places were and hoped to group the ones together to get in as much touring as possible.Can you suggest things that could be easily grouped together for one day's activities??

I am also considering the Beat Museum and City Lights Bookstore, the Grayline hop on/off tour first thing.

Any suggestions on if the Monterey trip should be when we first get there or after Yosemite. If we go there first, we would spend the night and go to the aquarium the next morning before heading out to Yosemite. How far in driving time is that area. Or, if we go there later, maybe we should just schedule more time and go down to Big Sur area. What is the driving time for that?? You can see it is challenging for me to plan a trip from Alabama and want to enjoy your area, but not pack too much in. Thanks again for all your replies!
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Old Apr 5th, 2008, 07:30 AM
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Get an AAA map - all these regions are indicate on the map. For SF

*Chinatown

* North Beach & City Lights Bookstore
These two areas are adjacent to each other. 2-4 hours. Dim Sum or pasta lunch would be a nice treat.


* Fisherman's Wharf (could do in evenings

*Hyde St Pier

*Alcatraz (probably early bird timeslot-is that a good time to go

These are next to each other. Visit the Wharf before/after the Alctraz trip. Also see the Jeramiah O'Brien liberty sh1p at the Wharf.
http://www.ssjeremiahobrien.org/
5 mins at the Wharf - more time if you need to buy trinkets to take home or are compelled to see the Wax Museum or Believe It or Not museum, or a Mc Do's instead of Dim Sum. 1 hr at Jeramiah o'Brien. I would do the Alcatraz tour in the late afternoon when the sun is in a better position to light up downtown.


*Bike Rental at FW to Sausalito and maybe back


*Exploratorium

* Muir Woods/Stinson Bch/Wine Country (for just an overview)

You can visit the Exploritorium on the way to the Bridge. On the bikes, ride them all the way along the coast at Crissy Field (fantastic views) to Fort Point. Visit Fort Point for even better views. Watch the surfers there, if the waves cooperate. Then it's a steep uphill climb (walk) to get to the Bridge. I might make this 2 events - Explortorium & across the Bridge & back on the ferry from Sausalito, and another trip for Crissy Field and Fort Point.

3/4 day for Explortorium & Bridge, 3-4 hours for Crissy Field (picnic on the beach) & Fort Point.


* Cable Car Museum
On/off the cable car to visit


*Coit Tower

* Possibly a Giants Stadium Tour (they are away during our visit)

Stu Dudley
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Old Apr 5th, 2008, 10:46 AM
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We live on the Monterey Peninsula. The drive time from SFO to Monterey will be a little over 2 hours on a Saturday afternoon if you go straight down Hwy 101 to 156 west to 1 south.

(You probably already have plane tickets but fluing into San Jose Airport would take about 1 hour off this trip as San Jose Airport is closer to Monterey. If you are using Frequent Flyer tickets you could even check on flying into Monterey Airport)

Check on the open time for the Aquarium. We are members but I do not remember the official open time. I think they are going to stay open later this summer so you may be able to visit that day. There may be a line during the summer. Check online to see if you can buy timed tickets to avoid this.

I think you need more than one afternoon and morning to enjoy the Monterey peninsula. I would stay two evenings or just save it for another trip.
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