NorCal : San Francisco Bay area, Sacramento, Sierra Nevada, etc.

[mama squeak!]

^Hi sis, my suggestion lang if you want to maximize your 5 extra days I would do the following itinerary:

San Francisco to Yosemite (instead of Tahoe) 3.5 hrs drive east
Yosemite - 2 nights (I'm sure your kids will love it here)
Yosemite to Los Angeles (4-5 hours drive south)
Los Angeles area (remaining days)

I purposely omitted Vacaville and replaced Tahoe with Yosemite for the ff reasons:

1.) Vacaville is out of the way if you plan to visit the theme parks in the LA area.
2.) Yosemite has more interesting activities for you and the kids plus it won't take you so much out of the way on to LA.

Unless you really want to see your friend in Vacaville and visit Tahoe, you can do your initial IT pero parang nakakapagod lang with all the driving.

[pbrg]

Thanks so much Mama Squeak!

Favor please, help me with our IT.  I think we can skip Vacaville naman, pero I would love to bring the kids sa Tahoe since request ng son ko.  Tapos siguro passby Gilroy na lang for outlet shopping on the way to LA... Possible ba?

Sorry medyo makulit ako and puro question, im stressed na coz until now sf pa lang may hotel booking ako  =/

[mama squeak!]

^From San Francisco you can head out to Lake Tahoe via Sacramento. Which part of the lake do you plan to visit? What does your son want to see/do there?

If you want to go outlet shopping sa Camarillo Premium Outlet ka na lang near Los Angeles para hindi ka na magba-back track to Gilroy if coming from Lake Tahoe (south). Although I love Gilroy outlet shopping!

So suggested IT would be:

Day 1  San Francisco to Lake Tahoe (south) 3.5hrs drive
          Overnight Lake Tahoe
Day 2  Lake Tahoe to LA drive  7-8 hrs depending on the traffic and location of your hotel.
Day 3  DL / CA Adventure
Day 4  LA hotel to Camarillo  1-1.5 hrs depending on your hotel's location
Day 5  Extra day 

[pbrg]

Thank you so much Mama Squeak!

Was able to talk to a friend, her cousin went to Tahoe daw and wala na snow, "icy" na  :/  she's going there next week so update nya ko if worth pa ba na dayuhin namin...  If that's the case, we might omit Tahoe as well, from Sfo, straight to LA na (passby Gilroy for outlet shopping muna)

Di kami mahilig sa nature/ park so wala talaga sa plan namin to visit Yosemite.  mas prefer ng kids mag beach

[mama squeak!]

^Oh! So it's snow yung gusto ng kids mo. I doubt though meron pa kayong maabutan na snow when you get there kasi pa-spring na late March. Unless you hike up to the mountains meron pang snow (I did a train ride ride late in May along the Sierra Nevada and marami pa snow sa mga mountain tops).

If you omit Tahoe, you can drop by Gilroy for shopping. If you can manage it, you can do Highway 1 para along the Pacific coast daan nyo. Very scenic drive plus you get to pass by some nice beach towns/cities.

Here's a good article on how the drive is: Road Trip San Francisco to Los Angeles

 

[pbrg]

Okay, so final na, we're not going to Tahoe...

Thank you so much for your replies.  Will be posting at Los Angeles thread na for tips for our LA trip  =)

[byutijunkie]

Just came back from San Francisco.  Grabeh, I so love it there.  The hotel we stayed at was perfect.  Herbert Hotel is along Powell St which is where the cable cars, muni and the Bart stations are.  Very very good location.  Pinoys are everywhere too haha.  Yun nga lang madaming homeless. 

[bonzaigirl]

The homeless are a growing problem esp.in major cities. There's even a growing number of them in Hawaii, and they are not locals.

[byutijunkie]

Yup, that's what I heard too.  It's very disconcerting to be in a first world country tapos ang daming homeless.    Wala akong masyadong nakita in LA, pero in SF super dami talaga. 

Anyway, on our way here we passed by Yosemite and although it's beautiful there and all, nalula ako on the way up.  Very bad experience buti nalang masarap yung burger dun sa lounge and I also had ginger ale.  We even saw squirrels there. 

The weather was very shizo though.  One day super lamig, the next day parang Pilipinas sa init hehe. 

I tried Trish's Donuts at Pier 39 and also the clam chowder, parehong hindi ko masyadong nagustuhan.  I loved the food in Burma Superstar though, sobrang must-try.  John's Grill for steaks is also good, pila nga lang tuwing gabi.

[j_in_tokyo]

Just got back from our NY and SFO trip.
First time ko sa Sanfo and super nainlove ako sa City.
I will definitely go back...

[byutijunkie]

^so you liked SF better than NYC? .

Currently planning our next trip kasi and wondering if we'll just stick to the West Coast na lang and explore more of SF, NorCal instead of going to East pa. 

I wanna go to NAPA kasi and just do a more leisurely trip next time around...

[bonzaigirl]

^I highly recommend a trip to Napa Valley. We stayed there for only 2 nights and 2 days and we felt as if we needed more time. It's just a small quiet town and if you're looking for wild nights then this is not the place for you. But if you want a relaxing holiday, a good drive, wine and dine nights then this is place for you.  We loved it so much.

[soulflygirl]

Hello mga sis!

I would like to ask for your suggestions sana. Gusto ko na sana mag budget ng trip para sa birthday ng asawa ko, next year pa naman sa march hehe Gusto niya either Nyc or SF. Meron kayo massuggest na hotels na atleast $100 or less a night? Pero malinis and safe. And how much kaya budget excluding air fares? Na check ko na airfare $400 each kami. Whew!

[mama squeak!]

^Try airbnb or hotwire to fit your budget. The usual price range of 3-star hotels near the tourist attractions start at $180-200/night.

[soulflygirl]

^which area po kaya massuggest niyo na madali ang transportation? Powell St yung isa sa nabasa ko na pag labas may transpo na agad. Cable car, bart or bus accessible po sana.

We might go there on Feb or March for 4 days. Magbbook na sana kami ng flight and hotel pero hindi ko pa alam which area talaga kukunin namin kasi gusto ko sana wag kami mag rent ng car.

[mama squeak!]

^Powell st bandang Union Square is okay but be aware na it will be more expensive getting a hotel there. The city naman has a very good public transpo system so no need to rent a car if within the city ka lang iikot.  Plus parking is so expensive there. Swerte ka na if you can find parking for less than $30/day.

[jetsetgo]

Hows the weather in sfo around christmas / new year season? and i heard plane fares are really expensive during the holidays. would it possible to get rt ticket below $1k december 2016 to january 2017

[mama squeak!]

^Cold. Try to visit the upcoming travel expo at SMX this coming Feb 5-7 for good deals. Just be aware that the promo deals are book and buy so you should have definite travel plans.

[jtansanco]

^^ Weather is around 20 degrees and below. As for plane ticket, the cheapest I could get was $1,100 for multiple stops. Direct flight would be at least $1,500. If you book way in advance, maybe you can get cheaper fares.

[Vera]

Hello mga sis!

I would like to ask for your suggestions sana. Gusto ko na sana mag budget ng trip para sa birthday ng asawa ko, next year pa naman sa march hehe Gusto niya either Nyc or SF. Meron kayo massuggest na hotels na atleast $100 or less a night? Pero malinis and safe. And how much kaya budget excluding air fares? Na check ko na airfare $400 each kami. Whew!

I live in San Francisco and there are no hotels below $100, not even airBNB. You can post on craigslist under temporary sublets.

The good news is there are so many free tours around SF that happen every day. Google "San Francisco city guides".