Tentative California Itineary driving coast..sort of!!

scottmel

<font color=darkorchid>Does my logic in my origina
Joined
Jul 28, 2002
Thanks for listening ogling at this. Flying in from east coast July 11 2017. My dates are locked due to adventures by Disney trip in San Fran but I can flex the non Abd days. Any suggestions? Thanks

July 11 arrive San Diego
July 12 Wednesday - Zoo (Breakfast with pandas 8:30-1030) and Koalas in afternoon OR just have the VIP 5 hour zoo guide. Really pricey but DD LOVES animal encounters, feeding them, etc. Again Highschool graduation trip....

July 13 Thursday - Old Town/La Jolla Cove - I feel sketchy on this. Not sure what all to do on this San Diego Site Seeing tour Day. thoughts???

July 14 Friday - Drive to Disneyland

July 15 Saturday - Rope Drop

July 16 Sunday - Rope Drop

July 17 Monday - Sleep in/FLY to san jose , rent car to drive to Caramel (Lamp Lighter Inn) - Carmel Hike

July 18 Tuesday - Elks tour (can't think of name but highly rated boat ride to see sea otters/Beach Day/Dinner

July 19 Wednesday - Drive to San Fransisco and stop at Sarah Winchester House House

Not sure where to sleep.....somewhere inexpensive but clean is fine!!

July 20th Thursday - Sleep In! Adventures by Disney (ABD) begins....

July 21 Friday - ABD

July 22 Saturday - ABD

July 23 Sunday - Early Alcatraz (allow 3 hours round trip)
 
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OP have you looked at taking a tour on day 2 in San Diego ? We used Old Town Trolleys who went to Old Town and Coronado. I understand from a co-worker that last year they had a side option to LaJolla. There is also the USS Midway visit (it is one of the stops on the trolley) . We also took a boat tour on another day.
 


Did you purchase Alcatraz tickets in advance? They are usually sold out. So you should get them online before hand. Drive down to the end of Ocean Blvd , the beach is really nice. All white sand. I love Carmel. Hogs Breath Inn is very good to eat at, Clint Eastwoods Restaruant. Where is Elks tour for the whale watching?
 
July 18 Tuesday - Elks tour (can't think of name but highly rated boat ride to see sea otters/Beach Day/Dinner

July 19 Wednesday - Drive to San Fransisco and stop at Sarah Winchester House House

Not sure where to sleep.....somewhere inexpensive but clean is fine!!

First thing - are you planning for 2017? That's where I think your days of the weeks line up with the day of the month.

You're probably thinking of Elkhorn Slough Safari.

http://www.elkhornslough.com

I'm guessing you mean the Winchester Mystery House? I've never actually been there, although I used to watch movies regularly at the (no longer there) movie theater complex across the street. I'd see it but never visited. By the way - that's in San Jose and about a good 45 miles from San Francisco. On a Wednesday it can be brutal trying to get through traffic either direction. You might consider taking I-280 instead of US-101 between San Francisco and San Jose. The Winchester Mystery House is right off of I-280.

If you're staying around Silicon Valley, it's going to be expensive on a weekday. That's due to all the business travelers doing business with the tech companies. I was thinking of a place I've stayed (long story) - the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara. We stayed for $129 on a Sunday including breakfast. However, I checked for July 19, 2017 and got a standard rate of almost $400.
 
OP have you looked at taking a tour on day 2 in San Diego ? We used Old Town Trolleys who went to Old Town and Coronado. I understand from a co-worker that last year they had a side option to LaJolla. There is also the USS Midway visit (it is one of the stops on the trolley) . We also took a boat tour on another day.

I heard about that but didn't look into it but will now. Is it guided or do u hop off and on and guide yourself?
 


First thing - are you planning for 2017? That's where I think your days of the weeks line up with the day of the month.

You're probably thinking of Elkhorn Slough Safari.

http://www.elkhornslough.com

I'm guessing you mean the Winchester Mystery House? I've never actually been there, although I used to watch movies regularly at the (no longer there) movie theater complex across the street. I'd see it but never visited. By the way - that's in San Jose and about a good 45 miles from San Francisco. On a Wednesday it can be brutal trying to get through traffic either direction. You might consider taking I-280 instead of US-101 between San Francisco and San Jose. The Winchester Mystery House is right off of I-280.

If you're staying around Silicon Valley, it's going to be expensive on a weekday. That's due to all the business travelers doing business with the tech companies. I was thinking of a place I've stayed (long story) - the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara. We stayed for $129 on a Sunday including breakfast. However, I checked for July 19, 2017 and got a standard rate of almost $400.

Thanks for the traffic tip! Would leaving by 8 am work or still tough with traffic? Thanks for hotel tip yes this trip costing small fortune so cheaper hotel on this night would be great but if not omni at San fransisci works
 
Did you purchase Alcatraz tickets in advance? They are usually sold out. So you should get them online before hand. Drive down to the end of Ocean Blvd , the beach is really nice. All white sand. I love Carmel. Hogs Breath Inn is very good to eat at, Clint Eastwoods Restaruant. Where is Elks tour for the whale watching?

Yes they won't sell till 90 days out but will get soon as released
 
Thanks for the traffic tip! Would leaving by 8 am work or still tough with traffic? Thanks for hotel tip yes this trip costing small fortune so cheaper hotel on this night would be great but if not omni at San fransisci works

So you're not going next week? Bay Area traffic is tough from 6 AM until 10 AM. LA traffic is worse, but Bay Area traffic is almost as bad.

San Francisco is going to be expensive and one of the major hotels might require paid parking. I checked the Omni San Francisco for Wed, July 20, 2016, and it's over $400. I've only driven by it, but the Columbus Motor Inn comes fairly well recommended as a less expensive place to stay in San Francisco with free parking. I know a bit more about places to stay in the East Bay. Do you have to stay in San Francisco? A lot of the hotels and motels around San Francisco Airport (which isn't in San Francisco) can be more reasonable.
 
Never mind. I didn't catch that it was 2017 even after scouring through the original post. I'm kind of full right now and in somewhat of a food coma.
 
So you're not going next week? Bay Area traffic is tough from 6 AM until 10 AM. LA traffic is worse, but Bay Area traffic is almost as bad.

San Francisco is going to be expensive and one of the major hotels might require paid parking. I checked the Omni San Francisco for Wed, July 20, 2016, and it's over $400. I've only driven by it, but the Columbus Motor Inn comes fairly well recommended as a less expensive place to stay in San Francisco with free parking. I know a bit more about places to stay in the East Bay. Do you have to stay in San Francisco? A lot of the hotels and motels around San Francisco Airport (which isn't in San Francisco) can be more reasonable.
Not sure what happened to top part of my original post but I edited it now. Trip is 2017 with adventures by Disney at omni in San Fran as last stop. So my flying into San Diego and making my way up the coast is all before the Disney trip begins in San Fran. No I do t have to stay at omni but will with Disney. Will check out your other recommendation. Thanks!
 
Food coma is for the State fair that started today!! :rotfl2:
Nope you are not crazy! I had a whole paragraph explaining the reason and dates for the trip and it vanished after posting so I just edited it quickly now
 
Don't have that scheduled. If it involves a boat dad won't do it
I am only asking if you plan on doing from like Monterey , you can use sites as

Groupon.com
Livingsocial.com
Travelzoo.com

for the area and get good discounts for the whale watching that's all.
 
So you're not going next week? Bay Area traffic is tough from 6 AM until 10 AM. LA traffic is worse, but Bay Area traffic is almost as bad.

San Francisco is going to be expensive and one of the major hotels might require paid parking. I checked the Omni San Francisco for Wed, July 20, 2016, and it's over $400. I've only driven by it, but the Columbus Motor Inn comes fairly well recommended as a less expensive place to stay in San Francisco with free parking. I know a bit more about places to stay in the East Bay. Do you have to stay in San Francisco? A lot of the hotels and motels around San Francisco Airport (which isn't in San Francisco) can be more reasonable.

So leaving from Carmel for Sarah Winchester house at 10 am avoids done traffic bc not early morning?
 
Not sure what happened to top part of my original post but I edited it now. Trip is 2017 with adventures by Disney at omni in San Fran as last stop. So my flying into San Diego and making my way up the coast is all before the Disney trip begins in San Fran. No I do t have to stay at omni but will with Disney. Will check out your other recommendation. Thanks!

OK - so I wasn't imagining that you didn't specify the year. OK - you have plenty of time. Really though - where are you willing to stay? Does it have to be in San Francisco or would the airport be close enough? You could save a lot by being near the airport.
 
So leaving from Carmel for Sarah Winchester house at 10 am avoids done traffic bc not early morning?

That's not going to be terribly bad traffic. If you play around with the Google Maps predicted traffic for this Wednesday, leaving after 7 AM but before maybe 9 AM puts you in the worst traffic situation. However, that is a crazy drive on CA-17. It's two lanes in each direction but with fairly tight turns. It's notorious for accidents where impatient drivers clip other cars. If there's an accident, everything with slow to a crawl.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Car...9510491!2d37.3183318!2m3!6e0!7e2!8j1468405200

It's really only into the heavy commute once you get into the edges of San Jose. The Google Maps estimates have a wide range. If it's perfect, it should take about 70 minutes.
 

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