Single parent desperately seeking advice!
 

I am going to be traveling with my 12 year old son to SF (round trip tickets already paid) for 8 days in June to celebrate my big 40! I found a hotel I wondered if others could give a fair opinion of. We are traveling on a budget as I don't intend to spend much time in the room although I do like that the Halcyon Hotel has a small kitchenette. This is our first trip to California and I want to get the best "flavor" of the state. My concern is that I get lost very easily and driving is still questionable to me. I don't know if staying in SF the entire time will be doing justice or if I shouldn't spend a few days driving down the coast. I would like the experience of driving along the coast and thought maybe an overnight trip to Big Sur with a stop in Santa Cruz (boardwalk) would be feasible. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

You'll have a great trip but the state is too huge and diverse to get the any "flavor" of the entire state. Your plan about driving down CA highway 1 is a great idea. Consider extending your road trip as far south as San Simeon or even San Luis Obispo. This is one of the world's greatest coastal drives.

Not real sure what your question is, but a "classic" trip for 8 days with an 12 YO would be about 4-5 days in SF, then a trip south along the coast on Ca #1 like Orlando mentioned.

Ca #1 hugs the coast for about 85% of the trip - so it's hard to get lost. I think a 12 YO would love SF (cable cars, Alcratraz, GG Park, GG Bridge, Chinatown, getting matching tatoos or piercings in Haight/Ashbury, etc), beachcombing on the coast, boardwalk at Santa Cruz, aquarium in Monterey, outlet shops there, Carmel, Pt Lobos, Nepenthe & Big Sur, all the Pfeiffer stuff there (beach, falls, State Park, etc), redwoods, Hearst Castle. Perhaps fly to SF & return from the closest airport to San Simeon that's convenient to where you live.

Stu Dudley

I second a trip to Muir Woods. We just got back from SF last week and did a tour of Muir Woods and Sausalito.

With 8 days, we would have done done more driving on highway 1 or made a trip to Yosemite.

I do hope you're going to visit Alcatraz. Your son (and you!) will definitely enjoy that.

Since driving seems an issue (it is for me as well), I believe you can make a great 8 day trip in and around San Francisco without renting a car or driving at all. A combination of things in the city on foot, streetcar, and taxi, using BART to leave the central city, and maybe an organized bus day tour to see some of the coast.

As mentioned on your other thread, I would try to find a different hotel, one that is not so close to the Tenderloin district. It is not a comfortable area for most people imo.