I;m trying to start to make plans for a vacation next spring (late April or early May). I am really in the mood for the ocean and have been thinking of a trip to the west coast, San Francisco, with a sidetrip to Yosemite or the Monterey area. A friend of mine suggested that I might consider going to San Antonio and taking a sidetrip to South Padre Island. After lokking into this area, it looks like it might make a great trip also. Any suggestions on where I should go or comments on either of these vacations?

San Francisco, absolutely. We spent spring break there a few years ago and it was wonderful. Tons to do. Great sidetrips, too. We've been to San Antonio, also, and it is fun, but no comparison to SF.

Ditto! San Fran is wonderful! Been to both, and if I had to choose where to go back to it would be very easy to pick California!

San Antonio for sure. San Francisco was a great city 15 or 20 yrs. ago, but has since goteen really dirty. I travel there for business 2-3 times a year, and it is always getting worse, even in the tourist areas of Union Square and Fisherman's Wharf. Agressive panhandlers, prostitutes, blatant drug dealing, and dirty streets don't make for a great vacation. Although, I do think that Monterey and Yosemite are very nice. There many other great cities to see in California if you are leaning towards the west coast.
Los Angeles(www.losangeles.com)and
San Diego (www.sandiego.org) are both very nice places in Southern California. In Northern California
San Jose(www.sanjose.org) which is close to both Monterey and Yosemite, also offers plenty of big city amenities (ie museums, restaurants, perfoming arts, etc.

I've visited San Francisco many times and live in San Antonio. Late April would be a wonderful time to visit San Antonio, just before the heat of the summer hits mid-May. The two cities are two differrent type of cities. San Antonio has the Spanish influence. You can stroll the river. Experience the sounds and tastes of many cultures. (6 flags have flown over TX history). You can take some day trips to the "hill country" and experience the influence of our German culture, drive up to Austin and visit the beautiful capitol building and the new Texas Historical Building. Late April you may see some late blooming spring flowers. If you drive up to Federicksburg do stop by the Wildflower Seed establishment. Fields and fields of beautiful flowers. If you are a golfer we have over 30+ top courses in the city alone. Going to Corpus Christi is only a 2 1/2 hour drive from San Antonio. Go to the east toward Houston on the Gulf of Mexico and experience some very pretty coastal towns and great seafood. You would not need a rental car for a couple of days before driving on day trip outside of SA. Great shuttle system and great walking areas. I agree with a previous post about San Francisco being very dirty. 30 years ago it was a beautiful city to visit but now it's just another huge intercity. Outside of San Francisco is better to experience this part of CA. I'll be going through or close to San Francisco mid Oct. I'll check back in and give you an update after the trip to Yosemite.

I prefer San Francisco overall, but if I actually wanted to swim during the beach portion of the vacation, I'd choose Texas for that time of year. It's a great time to visit Texas.

Tough call!
San Antonio in Feb/May. and SF in July/Aug works for me!

Sippin' a hi-octane slushy at Fat Tuesdays while you're watching the boats float.

A room at The Menger that overlooks The Alamo!

And then there's SF and the surrounding areas.....Ahhhh. Tough choices..BOTH?
Kal

This is a no brainer. San Francisco is by far the better city--San Antonio is ok for a convention or something but that's about it. Padre sucks!!

No ?? San Fran, the reasons are endless.

That's easy, San Antonio.

I have never been to San Antonio but I have been to San Francisco and it is wonderful. I rather fancied that city quite a bit.

ttt