Altho you could do a city in Mexico..its such a huge country and each city is so different. Which one would you pick? You will spend a day flying into and out of Mexico..so you lose two days right there. The flight itself might not be that long, but to get to the airport 2-3 hrs early, clear customs etc is going to eat up much of your travel days. I really would suggest seeing as much of Calif as you can. Maybe flying from SF to Las Vegas, see the Grand canyon..then fly back to LA and out. There is so much to see between LA and SF... You can check all the posts in the Fodor's USA/California site and see what others are planning to do in California in much the same time frame as you have.

Texas is alos big, but the flights to Mexico are generally shorter, particularly if you decide that you want to see something other than the west coast (Yucatan? Oaxaca?}. I would skip SF altogether.

I would still spend the 3 days in SF, spend 2 - 3 days along the CA coast and 1-2 days in LA or the San Diego area.

Coming from NZ is a huge deal, I know, so I understand your wanting to cram in as much as possible. We once "did" Italy & France & England in 2 weeks, though it wasn't our first trip to any of those countries. Quickies can be great!

Everything depends upon your style of travelling. If you just want to get a feel for a place, by all means "stuff in" as much as you can. If you're a savorer, you may want to hang around for longer. If you're the kind of traveller who feels like you've got to accomplish something (a 'gottaseethesites' person), 3 days in SF might not be enough for you.

In any case, I don't see anything wrong w/spending 2 or 3 days in SF then flying to Mexico. You can get to some wonderful places in Mexico from SFO w/in 5 or 6 hours.

You can get nonstop flights - SFO to Cabo is only 3 hours, Puerto Vallarta only 4 hours. Either would be a fine place to spend 3-4 days to get a taste of Mexico (I prefer PV myself).

Sure Mexico's a "huge country" and all that, but I don't see why she should miss seeing a little part of it for that reason.

I often fly down to San Francisco for a long weekend. So I think 2-3 days there is OK. Again, no you won't see everything, but you can certainly get a feel for the city.

Sophie, Any way you can stretch the trip to 10 days instead of 7? You're traveling such a LONG ways to begin with. Say 4 days San Fran & 6 days Puerto Vallarta... NOW ya got a plan
:-)

Sophie,

I regret to inform you that your plan has little likelihood of providing you with an enjoyable travel experience.

I would not travel from NZ to North America for a one-week vacation; however if you are determined to do so, I suggest to go to Mexico or California, but not both.

If you go to California, I suggest you study what lies between LA and SF along Highway 1. It may pique your current declared "lack of interest" for one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in the world.

HTTY

I've heard doing that drive during the winter months can be a bad idea with rain and mudslides. Any insight?

IF I were in your shoes & IF plane tickets hadn't been purchased... I'd try to talk you into going to Mexico for 1 week, straight from Texas (much closer, check a map).

San Francisco is one of my favorite U.S. cities, but I LOVE a vacation in Mexico.

I am a SF native, & I do love my home, but I have to agree w/suze on this. If for no other reason than the fact that SF is more like NZ than Mexico is.

I also disagree w/those who say the op's doomed to not enjoy her trip if she tries to do everything she's planned. Everybody has different travel styles, and 'too much' for X may be 'just right' for Y. 'Just right' for Y may be boring for Z. One of the beauties of travelling is that it isn't rule-bound! :)

Perhaps... but flying from Texas to San Francisco, touring, flying to Mexico, touring, flying to Los Angeles for a flight home, would be considered overly ambitious in a 7-day timeframe, regardless of your travel style.

Sorry, meant that last comment as a question??????? (not a statement)

Not mine, suze, at least not always! I mean sometimes we hang in a place for 10 days, other times we're hummingbirds. Do I get as much out of the hummingbird travelling as the slow-travelling? I don't know. Perceptions & needs & tolerance levels & boredom levels & stimulation levels, bleahbleahbleah -- all vary wildly, even within our own lives, no?!