<p>I wouldn’t miss Washington Square. To me it is the heart of the San Francisco that I grew up with but then I am partially Italian and that was the Italian section. I would walk and walk and discover all the neighborhoods. Have good shoes, be prepared for a variety of terrain. Remember as well, unless climate change has messed with things this year, S.F. in the summer tends to be cooler than you expect.</p>
<p>I have to second Half Moon Bay as a very underrated getaway spot. Also the right nearby town of Princeton-by-the-Sea. It’s a real working fishing harbor still, sort of what Fisherman’s Wharf might have been if tourism didn’t become SFs main economic engine. It takes about 45 minutes to get there, you can even stay the night at a little B&B. There is a place called Harbor House that has rooms and they are directly on the bay/ocean. Hear the foghorn all night long. Go eat at Mezzaluna for family Italian, roam the main street of HMB and shop at quaint and old-style hippie sort of stores.</p>
<p>It’s the California I remember from the 70’s. But you should only go if we have a summer day without fog. </p>
<p>Happy to help on the food. I just love to eat:).</p>
<p>^^^ It’s funny that Half Moon Bay today reminds you of California in the 70’s. I know what you mean because it still has a fairly small-town feeling, but HMB is so different now than it was in the 70’s! </p>
<p>When I grew up there, the main street didn’t have all those little shops and there were no B&B’s in town, though there was an inn with a noisy bar downstairs. The HMB Feed and Fuel is still there, and so are the HMB bakery and a few bars, but the rest is new. When I was living there, Half Moon Bay was all about fishing and growing peas, artichokes, pumpkins, and strawflowers.</p>
<p>The beaches aren’t as soft and pretty as Carmel’s, but there is a good tidepool area north of town called the Fitzgerald Marine Preserve. It’s best to check the tide tables before going, since it only makes sense to go at low tide.</p>
<p>OP, are you traveling with or without kids?
I will second many posters:
-You do not need a car in SF. Rent one in City for ventures to Wine Country.
-Wharf area, while touristy, also has many transit options: F Line street cars, cable car, Muni, ferries to Marin, Alcatraz, pedi cabs, etc. And SF is a walking City! And close to North Beach (Little Italy) and Chinatown…
-Get Alcatraz tix in advance; take tour with headphones…and then rent Escape to Alcatraz that night!
-See Museum Mechanique [Welcome</a> to the Musee Mecanique - The Mechanical Musuem](<a href=“http://www.museemechanique.org/]Welcome”>http://www.museemechanique.org/) near ferries for Alcatraz…
-Pier 39…don’t miss sea lions (you’ll hear them) btw, starting at Ferry Building, odd numbered piers go north (or towards GG Bridge) and even #'d
piers to South towards Bay Bridge, ATT Park.
-AT&T Park for Giants Baseball- beautiful
-Ferry Plaza & near Farmers Markets a must
-You could easily spend a day in Golden Gate Park…
-At night, Beach Blanket Babylon! ([Beach</a> Blanket Babylon](<a href=“http://beachblanketbabylon.com%5DBeach”>http://beachblanketbabylon.com)) a 34 yr. institution in SF–musical revue of pop culture…nothing and no one is sacred…A fav of many of my oos guests…
-Wine country: opt for Sonoma Valley over Napa…
-There’s a shuttle for Muir Woods…</p>
<p>One note on timing… this June, many hotels already booked due to ruling on gay marriage (many weddings starting June 17) …also, if you are here on June 29, the SF gay pride parade happens…second only to Rose Parade, size wise. Whatever your persuasion, it’s one of those things you should see in your lifetime!</p>
<p>-And also…BRING layers! It can be 65 at Wharf and 90 degrees where I live…11 miles away!</p>
<p>The OP is traveliing sans kids. The other few CC posters who are also visiting SF didn’t say.</p>
<p>Some other recommendations…
-Beach Blanket Babylon is good, but note kids can go only to matin</p>
<p>My dining treat recc for visitors is Boulevard’s . Must get reservations and try to reserve a table by the window, looking at the bridge. If you are intpo it, a table at the bar lets you watch the cooking. If it’s early enough, and especially on a Saturday, you can walk over to ferry plaza, and stroll the embarcadero. One Market is another restaurant nearby, but not nearly as much a favorite. Check out opentable.com for reservations and reviews.</p>
<p>What is the best time of year to visit for good weather and no crowds?</p>
<p>If you had to choose between Napa and Sonoma which would you choose and why? </p>
<p>I’m in the planning stage for our first vacation without kids - emptynester celebration!</p>
<p>Late September/October, April/May. Have fun!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I couldn’t agree with this more.</p>
<p>lizchup…
best weather is definitely September & October…warm days, no fog, mild nights, rarely rains…This is also grape crush time in Wine Country…
I prefer Sonoma over Napa…smaller, not as touristy, a little more quaint, casual and scenic…closer to City.
If you are celebrating, check out Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa!</p>
<p>If you come the first weekend in October (and October has the best weather), don’t miss Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in Golden Gate Park. It is 3 days of FREE bluegrass music (<a href=“http://www.strictlybluegrass.com/)%5B/url%5D”>http://www.strictlybluegrass.com/)</a>. Warren Hellman sponsors (and pays) for the event and he always books top notch musicians.</p>
<p>I cast another vote for Sonoma County over Napa; but not limited to the city of Sonoma. Healdsburg is the biggest ‘destination’ spot. <a href=“Explore Sonoma County - Sonoma.com”>Explore Sonoma County - Sonoma.com;
and [Sonoma</a> County Wine Country - Lodging, Wineries, Dining, Current Events](<a href=“http://www.sonoma.com%5DSonoma”>http://www.sonoma.com) have info</p>
<p>Some other suggestions not mentioned above.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Wine country. I definitely prefer Sonoma to Napa. Two areas - Dry Creek Valley and Russian River. Lots of small wineries in both; great reds.</p></li>
<li><p>If you are driving to Muir Woods, go back to where you turned off the main road and take the road up to the top of Mt. Tamalpais. If it’s not in the fog or clouds, park and walk around the top. Best views of the Bay Area.</p></li>
<li><p>If you are driving north, to Muir Woods, wine country, whatever, on your way back, juuuuust before you go onto the Golden Gate Bridge, there is a brown sign on your right directing you to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. That road goes along the hills across from San Francisco. The best views of the city. At the top you have two choices - go back down or keep going down a beautiful winding one-way road. Look for signs to Rodeo Lagoon/Beach. You will be on a typical Northern California beach (no swimming - water is too cold). If you drive back down the main road, about halfway down there’s a left turn that will also take you there.</p></li>
<li><p>I recommend a day trip to Santa Cruz. It’s an old beach resort with a boardwalk, opersting fishermen’s pier, and one of the oldest roller coasters in the country. To get there, don’t take the most direct route but insted head south along Int. 280. Stop at Ridge Vineyards near Cupertino to taste great zinfandels. Theh take Highway 9 through the woods to Santa Cruz. There are a couple of small towns along the way and the drive is fantastic - lots of redwods. Come back the main way, Highway 17.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>PM me if you need more.</p>
<p>I liked staying in Napa but be aware that it’s very difficult to book for just one night on the weekend for B&B’s. Sonoma is less touristy than Napa, but Napa is also more organized, with most of the wineries being on Hwy 29 or Silverado Trail or on the crossroads between. There aren’t that many wineries in Sonoma proper, so you go west to get to the Valley of the Moon or Kenwood. Past Santa Rosa there’s more wineries.
Hearst Castle is great but it feels more than 3 hours south. Save that for another trip. Shrinkrap’s comments about driving times to Tahoe are right on.
I would second the caution about the hotels downtown; the Hilton is on the edge of the Tenderloin (BAD!). The up-scale hotels right on Union Square are quite expensive, as are the ones on California St. (Nob Hill). From that standpoint, staying near the Wharf is actually easier in our experience (when we were back on home leave). Also, driving in San Francisco can be a challenge, but if you’re used to driving in NYC, you’d do just fine. There are a lot of one-way streets Downtown and in the Financial District.</p>
<p>
I was actually quite disappointed with Santa Cruz the last time I was there (ago 5 years ago). Compared to when I went there previously when I lived in the bay area (about 25 years ago), it seems to have gone downhill quite a bit. It seemed full of burnt out druggies, vagrants, etc. and the town itself was run down looking. I’d recommend going someplace other than Santa Cruz. Monterey/Carmel is a bit further south but much nicer.</p>
<p>ugh… I’ve been reading this thread for several days now and couldn’t remember the name of the neighborhood that is a shouldn’t miss, but it just came to me - Haight Ashbury, the birthplace of the hippie culture. I think it would be a lot of fun to walk around there one afternoon.</p>
<p>Need to resurrect thread:</p>
<p>A couple of questions: (FYI: traveling with young adults: 17 and 19 years old)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>We come from Fl. – the land of flip-flops and casual shorts at most restaurants you walk into … what’s dress code in SF. Assuming fisherman’s wharf (or other touristy areas) are fairly casual?</p></li>
<li><p>We’re driving down to Monterey for several days after SF, from there visiting Hearst Castle and other sites. With the fires … is there trouble getting to San Simeon from Monterey? Should I wait to book my Castle tickets after seeing what happens with the fires?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Zebes, putting on the finishing touches <g></g></p>
<p>zebes:</p>
<p>My regular mode of dress is flip-flops, shorts, and a T-Shirt and I’ve never had an issue visiting restaurants. Of course, I’m talking about more casual restaurants which are the majority. If you go to upscale restaurants then the dress will need to be appropriate. For the more normal eateries in the Fishermans wharf and Pier 39 area (another place to visit), casual is fine.</p>
<p>Regarding the fires - I suggest you check the latest road closure status just before you head south since with brush fires things can change by the hour.
However, if you delay getting your Hearst Castle tickets you might find that the popular tours of it are booked. You might want to contact them and ask what they do if the road gets closed - i.e. do they refund.</p>
<p>zebes: yes, flips/shorts/t’s acceptable in most of this touristy town…jeans and a tshirt appear often at nicer restaurants, too… .but again, if you are coming in June/July even parts of August, BRING LAYERS or you will be contributing to economy here…there’s a reason why you see so many sweatshirt shops!</p>
<p>gosmom has a good point - it can easily be socked-in and cold in SF and Monterey as well as along the coast even though it’ll likely be sunny and warm/hot just a couple of miles inland.</p>
<p>zebes - will you make it as far as San Louis Obispo or will you turn around at Hearst Castle?</p>
<p>Actually, Ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad, we’re staying in Monterey, and we’ll probably only drive as far south as the Hearst Castle for a visit one day, assuming the brush fires let us through. Thanks all … for the excellent help. We’ll make sure to pack in layers. </p>
<p>zebes</p>