San Francisco to Yosemite
Feb 18th, 2004, 03:56 PM
#21
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I have been reading this post with much interest and hope some of you will answer my questions.
We are flying into Oakland (free SW tickets) around noon on Saturday in mid September. From there we will drive to Curry Village at Yosemite. I would like to find out what is the best and quickest route.
We will leave from Yosemite and go to San Simeon for the tour of Hearst Castle. I assume we can exit through the tunnel entrance, which I understand is an amazing view. We will be leaving around 9:00AM. What is the best route to San Simeon and how long can we expect the trip to take? I am going to make reservations for Hearst Castle, but need to know what time to make them for.
Any help will be appreciated.
We are flying into Oakland (free SW tickets) around noon on Saturday in mid September. From there we will drive to Curry Village at Yosemite. I would like to find out what is the best and quickest route.
We will leave from Yosemite and go to San Simeon for the tour of Hearst Castle. I assume we can exit through the tunnel entrance, which I understand is an amazing view. We will be leaving around 9:00AM. What is the best route to San Simeon and how long can we expect the trip to take? I am going to make reservations for Hearst Castle, but need to know what time to make them for.
Any help will be appreciated.
Feb 18th, 2004, 04:16 PM
#22
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Hate to throw in a 
wrench but have you considered flying in to Reno?
August may be nice to fly into Reno and come down the back way to Mono Lake and Yosemite. The passes should be OK in August.
I assume from your name you're from the Chicago area? We've flown to Chi from Reno a few times and saved some $$$$ vs. flying out of Sacto.
If not, "Sackamenna" is a good choice, too.
wrench but have you considered flying in to Reno?August may be nice to fly into Reno and come down the back way to Mono Lake and Yosemite. The passes should be OK in August.
I assume from your name you're from the Chicago area? We've flown to Chi from Reno a few times and saved some $$$$ vs. flying out of Sacto.
If not, "Sackamenna" is a good choice, too.
Feb 18th, 2004, 06:55 PM
#23
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Chitowngirl, if you are going to be in S.F. for the second part of your trip, I don't think any of the other airports will save you that much time to Yosemite that you will want to pay the premium you will probably have to (air fare or rental car drop off or both)in order to fly in to one airport and out another. I was surprised, doing a Mapquest on Sacramento, to see it is only very slightly closer to Yosemite than Oakland is--I forgot how far north Sacramento lies. Fresno is the only airport that would really dramatically cut your driving time, but I understand that may be neutralized if you lose the time changing planes enroute there.
Instead of trying for an itinerary with two different airports, I would compare round trips to Oakland (OAK) with round trips to SFO. OAK is so close to SFO that the two are visible from each other across the Bay. And thanks to the Bay Bridge, you can often get to OAK more quickly from downtown S.F. than you can to SFO. OAK is routinely used as the airport of choice by many knowledgeable San Franciscans and ex-San Franciscans (like myself.) In addition to my own experience consistently finding lower round trip fares to OAK, since first posting on your thread I've talked to someone who makes the trip from here (Washington, DC area) to downtown S.F. frequently (twice, for instance, in the past month) who told me she also almost always finds the best round trip fares to be to OAK. I do think on a Friday night you would cut your time from landing to Yosemite by an hour to two (some of it in the airport, since OAK is smaller and easier to get out of than SFO) by using OAK, and it would be at least as convenient from S.F. Of course, I realize the convenience of flight times plays a role in this too, and there SFO may hold an advantage because it has so many more flights.
Looks like I have been trumped by those with more recent experience on two other points. I know I never left 120 to drive the Priest Grade, but thinking about it now, I realize that it has been more years than I remembered since I last took 120 to Yosemite. It sounds like new construction may have rerouted 120 to make that stretch easier, leaving the old highway only as an alternate option, and that's a good thing. I also didn't know about the construction at San Jose airport (sorry, Franklinn, I really tried to find common ground with you on something.....)
Instead of trying for an itinerary with two different airports, I would compare round trips to Oakland (OAK) with round trips to SFO. OAK is so close to SFO that the two are visible from each other across the Bay. And thanks to the Bay Bridge, you can often get to OAK more quickly from downtown S.F. than you can to SFO. OAK is routinely used as the airport of choice by many knowledgeable San Franciscans and ex-San Franciscans (like myself.) In addition to my own experience consistently finding lower round trip fares to OAK, since first posting on your thread I've talked to someone who makes the trip from here (Washington, DC area) to downtown S.F. frequently (twice, for instance, in the past month) who told me she also almost always finds the best round trip fares to be to OAK. I do think on a Friday night you would cut your time from landing to Yosemite by an hour to two (some of it in the airport, since OAK is smaller and easier to get out of than SFO) by using OAK, and it would be at least as convenient from S.F. Of course, I realize the convenience of flight times plays a role in this too, and there SFO may hold an advantage because it has so many more flights.
Looks like I have been trumped by those with more recent experience on two other points. I know I never left 120 to drive the Priest Grade, but thinking about it now, I realize that it has been more years than I remembered since I last took 120 to Yosemite. It sounds like new construction may have rerouted 120 to make that stretch easier, leaving the old highway only as an alternate option, and that's a good thing. I also didn't know about the construction at San Jose airport (sorry, Franklinn, I really tried to find common ground with you on something.....)
Feb 18th, 2004, 07:14 PM
#24
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For what it's worth...I'll second the post from Kal about flying into Reno and going south to Yosemite. I wouldn't do it if you're in a hurry, and it's not practical in winter. But taking 395 from Mono Lake to Reno after crossing the length of Yosemite Park and going over Tioga Pass is one of the nation's best (and least-known) scenic drives. Absolutely stunning Sierra Nevada mountain scenery, and very little traffic south of Tahoe and Carson City even at the height of the summer.
By the way, has anyone else ever driven CA 49 south from 120 at Chinese Camp down to Mariposa and Oakhurst? My wife and I were traveling from SF to Oakhurst to stay at Chateau du Sureau, and decided to take the scenic route in an underpowered Mustang convertible. CA 49 is a scary, scary road with steep grades and hairpin curves that cuts through the middle of nowhere. But the foothills in that part of California have a really wild, untamed beauty to them, and I love that part of the state.
By the way, has anyone else ever driven CA 49 south from 120 at Chinese Camp down to Mariposa and Oakhurst? My wife and I were traveling from SF to Oakhurst to stay at Chateau du Sureau, and decided to take the scenic route in an underpowered Mustang convertible. CA 49 is a scary, scary road with steep grades and hairpin curves that cuts through the middle of nowhere. But the foothills in that part of California have a really wild, untamed beauty to them, and I love that part of the state.
Feb 18th, 2004, 07:25 PM
#25
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All this talk about airport construction at San Jose, well there's also construction going on at Oakland International as well. So it's a toss-up between San Jose and Oakland. Probably the main advantage with San Jose is that it offers more flight options. The link below is has information on Oakland airport construction projects.
http://www.oaklandairport.com/tex/te..._mbcosts.shtml
http://www.oaklandairport.com/tex/te..._mbcosts.shtml
Feb 18th, 2004, 08:49 PM
#26
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To help - or maybe to confuse further? 
- here are the relative distances from each airport:
From:
Oakland Airport to Yosemite Village 173.49 miles
San Jose Airport to Y. Village 184.45
San Francisco Arpt to Y. Village 191.91
Sacramento Airport to Y. Village 181.26
Fresno Int'l (FAT) to Y. Village 94.12
Reno to Lee Vining 135.32
(Then it's almost another 100 miles
from Lee Vining to Y. Village)
So, there you have it. Only a few miles' difference among the first four airports. Thus, you will have to factor in other things:
Least traffic at that time of night: Sacramento
Most difficult (traffic) route to Yosemite at that time of night: San Francisco
Easiest to get to at the end of your trip: San Francisco or Oakland
Cost?
I would say that if it were me, I'd fly into and out of Oakland. Since you want to spend some time in SF, then the logical departure cities would be SF or Oakland.
On arrival in Oakland, get something to eat around Oakland Airport, wait for the traffic to thin a bit, then take utahtea's suggestion to stop somewhere in Dublin, Tracy or Manteca. By then, Tracy should be only an hour's drive away.
According to my trusty AAA guidebook, there are several three star hotels in both Tracy and Manteca.
Tracy:
Best Western Luxury Inn
Fairfield Inn by Marriott
Hampton Inn - Tracy
Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites
Manteca:
Best Western Executive Inn & Suites
Comfort Inn
If you end up in Tracy or Manteca, you'll have an easy trip into Yosemite the next morning and not have to worry about morning traffic in the Bay Area.
Hope this helps!
- here are the relative distances from each airport:From:
Oakland Airport to Yosemite Village 173.49 miles
San Jose Airport to Y. Village 184.45
San Francisco Arpt to Y. Village 191.91
Sacramento Airport to Y. Village 181.26
Fresno Int'l (FAT) to Y. Village 94.12
Reno to Lee Vining 135.32
(Then it's almost another 100 miles
from Lee Vining to Y. Village)
So, there you have it. Only a few miles' difference among the first four airports. Thus, you will have to factor in other things:
Least traffic at that time of night: Sacramento
Most difficult (traffic) route to Yosemite at that time of night: San Francisco
Easiest to get to at the end of your trip: San Francisco or Oakland
Cost?
I would say that if it were me, I'd fly into and out of Oakland. Since you want to spend some time in SF, then the logical departure cities would be SF or Oakland.
On arrival in Oakland, get something to eat around Oakland Airport, wait for the traffic to thin a bit, then take utahtea's suggestion to stop somewhere in Dublin, Tracy or Manteca. By then, Tracy should be only an hour's drive away.
According to my trusty AAA guidebook, there are several three star hotels in both Tracy and Manteca.
Tracy:
Best Western Luxury Inn
Fairfield Inn by Marriott
Hampton Inn - Tracy
Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites
Manteca:
Best Western Executive Inn & Suites
Comfort Inn
If you end up in Tracy or Manteca, you'll have an easy trip into Yosemite the next morning and not have to worry about morning traffic in the Bay Area.
Hope this helps!
Feb 19th, 2004, 06:11 AM
#27
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Thank you, thank you and thank you again! All of your input has been invaluable. Turns out if we pick up a car in Sacramento and drop in SF it will cost us almost $200 more than picking up in SF or Oakland. I figured it would be a little more but that is double what it would be in SF or Oakland. I think at this point we will either bite the bullet and come in/out of SF and just stay in a hotel near the airport and head out early a.m. for Yosemite or use Oakland. From an airfare/schedule standpoint they are pretty equal. Thank you Kal for the Reno suggestion, we are from Chicago. Our company actually has a small operation out there, thought maybe I could make a "stop" and call it business. Ha!
