To San Francisco from San Jose
 

I have a free ticket to San Jose from Washington D.C arriving San Jose at 1:15 pm on Dec. 15, 2000 and departing Dec. 17 at 9:30 am. I would like to visit San Francisco. Is it possible to see both San Jose and San Francisco in the short time. Please provide suggestiong how to organize my itinerary to do both places.

Sure, go see the tech museum and San Jose on the day you arrive, and then go to San Francisco on the 16th--leave early in the morning and return late at night and you'll be able to catch most of the tourist spots. San Francisco does of course deserve more time than this, but I guess you have no choice. Don't worry about missing anything in San Jose--it's a nice place to live but you wouldn't want to visit there. :) (I live in Downtown San Jose, so I can say that.)

Just head immediately to San Francisco. Do not waste any time in San Jose. That will give you one full day in San Francisco. Do some research and pick the two things that interest you the most. Remember that Washington has some of the greatest museums in the world so you might concentrate on other aspects of the city. By the way I was born in San Jose in 1923 and it was not a tourist destination then and it has not improved since. I avoid it today.

This past weekI stayed in SF and worked in San Jose. The trip is easy except for the traffic. Just prepare for the comute,which can be bad. Spend the day in SF. There are a few things to see and do in SJ but it is mostly busy travelers. My reason for staying right outside of proper SF was no hotel rooms. Again, just prepare for the comute, especially for the morning drive to catch the plane.

We actually made the trip to SJ from SF during our recent visit and the traffic wasn't that bad...at least on the 280. I hear the 101 is much worse. We made from downtown SF to just north of SJ (Cupertino) in less than 45 minutes. <BR> <BR>I'd also advise to spend both days in SF. You can do so much in such a short time because most things are fairly close together. Just depends on what you're interested in. Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf, Presidio could all be done in a day. Union Square (shopping), Chinatown, etc. could also be done in a day. Or you could head farther north and do the outdoor/hiking thing in the Muir Woods, Marin Headlands, Mt. Tam area. There are so many options, the hardest thing will be narrowing them down! Have fun.

I agree. Head for SF (I was born in San Jose). There used to be a United Shuttle bus that left every half hour or so from San Jose airport to the SF airport. It might be a good way to get close to SF if you don't intend to rent a car.

I agree with the others on skipping San Jose. The High Tech Museum is very good for non techies and children. It will be pretty boring if you are a techical person. Definitely take the 280 route from San Jose to San Francisco. Less traffic and much more scenic.

I live in San Jose. Great town, but you want to see San Francisco first. <BR> <BR>Rent a car at San Jose and drive the 280 north up to San Francisco. The 101 will look closer and it is in miles. Just trust me and take the 280. It is a beautiful freeway and allows no large trucks. The 101 has accidents all the time and the 280 is less inclined, plus you will enjoy the ride versus the 101's all industrial. The hills and scenery are really great along the 280. You will feel like you are away from a large metropolitan area along some parts of the highway. <BR> <BR>If you want to see Alcatraz get reservations before you arrive. The "day of" is usually hard to do. You need a few days notice and you will not have the time. <BR> <BR>Your ride back to San Jose should be no problem as it is a Sunday morning. I again recommend the 280, but the 101 will lead you right to the airport and should be okay at that time.....ugly, but okay. <BR> <BR>Have fun....it is a great area and I would not live anywhere else.