UPDATE POST 29 Driving this summer from PHOENIX TO YOSEMITE TO SF

[zoo2tycoon]

We are a family of 4....2 adults a 18 and 17 year old.
We are flying to Phoenix to visit family and would like to drive to Yosemite then to San Francisco and down the coast back to Phoenix.
I am usually good at planning trips but this is a new one for me...
Recommendations on how many days in Yosemite and San Francisco
In San Francisco we'd like to do Alcatraz...other recommendations
How long should I plan on this part taking
Any recommendations on where to stay (I can look up prices, etc if people just give names)
We are not hotel 'snobs' but don't want to camp out or really rough it either.
Think in SF were looking at Union Square or Fisherman's Wharf area to stay in unless there is someplace better
We will have a car but don't want to drive in SF unless absolute necessity
Know parking at hotels expensive there
Had thought of flying to SF from Indy
Then getting car at end of trip but the one way rental from SF to PHX was $1000 more than flying to Phoenix and driving

 

[RSWA2]

Recommendations on how many days in Yosemite and San Francisco

At least a full day in Yosemite, maybe a day and a half. Get there early in the morning at sunrise, then the next day you can leave around lunch and get to SF. You'll probably want a few days at SF.

In San Francisco we'd like to do Alcatraz...other recommendations
How long should I plan on this part taking

Plenty of sights to see in SF. You can buy a SF City Pass, it'll list what sights you'll get to see for a week. Good deal if you want to see the things there. California Academy of Sciences is great, Fisherman's Wharf is a nice tourist area. Chinatown. Exploratorium just moved and rebuilt along the wharf. The beach, golden gate and golden gate park.

Any recommendations on where to stay (I can look up prices, etc if people just give names)
We are not hotel 'snobs' but don't want to camp out or really rough it either.
Think in SF were looking at Union Square or Fisherman's Wharf area to stay in unless there is someplace better

You will be paying a lot to stay in SF. Sometimes you will find a good deal though, Union Square has better hotels than at the Wharf. SF is pretty small, so you can walk from your hotel to whereever, most of the time, or you can take the Muni. Personally, I would stay outside maybe at Walnut Creek and bart in. It'll take about 30 mins to travel, but you'll be a hotel that's worth the price.

We will have a car but don't want to drive in SF unless absolute necessity
Know parking at hotels expensive there

Parking everywhere in SF will be expensive, parking overnight at the hotel will be a lot more than just parking on the street or in a garage while you are there visiting. You may want to consider this when deciding on a hotel.

 

[usnuzuloose]

If you want to visit Alcatraz, you should buy your tickets before hand. They are usually sold out the same day. You can purchase them online.

 

[Camonkeygirl]

I second buying the Alcatraz tickets ahead of time, as the walk up purchasing was closed the day we went out to the island. Another place to visit I the Disney a Family Museum in the presidio area. Pretty neat to see, and only took a couple of hours

 

[bcla]

Plenty of sights to see in SF. You can buy a SF City Pass, it'll list what sights you'll get to see for a week. Good deal if you want to see the things there. California Academy of Sciences is great, Fisherman's Wharf is a nice tourist area. Chinatown. Exploratorium just moved and rebuilt along the wharf. The beach, golden gate and golden gate park.

You will be paying a lot to stay in SF. Sometimes you will find a good deal though, Union Square has better hotels than at the Wharf. SF is pretty small, so you can walk from your hotel to whereever, most of the time, or you can take the Muni. Personally, I would stay outside maybe at Walnut Creek and bart in. It'll take about 30 mins to travel, but you'll be a hotel that's worth the price.

Just to clarify, CityPass gives one admission to each venue along with a 7-day pass to take MUNI, including cable cars. Some of the choices are also options. They have Monterey Bay Aquarium or Aquarium of the Bay at Pier 39. The [correction] former is clearly the superior option and charges more for admission, but it's 80 miles away. I think some choose Aquarium of the Bay because it's in San Francisco. The other one is the Exploratorium or the De Young Museum. That's kind of a tough one, because they're both interesting in their own ways.

And I wouldn't say walking around in San Francisco is a great idea. You run into a little something called hills, and lots of them. There are also places that are best avoided on foot for longer than you have to be there, and this includes areas near the fancy hotels. Personally I think BART around Millbrae to Daly City would be a better option, but there isn't that much lodging within close walking distance to BART. I did find one place in Millbrae though.

http://dylansfo.com

https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=...OsHePgDFxdT7MPAqsMw&dirflg=w&mra=ltm&t=h&z=17

It also can work pretty well because the Millbrae station serves both BART and Caltrain. If you like trains, Caltrain can take you into San Francisco as well as down south.

 

[CPT Tripss]

How much time do you have for the trip?

Look at Columbus Motor Inn . . . OK location, near cable car and public transit and parking included and in and out privileges. Look at a map.

Things to do . . . Since you have a car, 49 Mile Drive or at least chunks of it like Twin Peaks, Painted Ladies, Haight. Rent a bike (from Blazing Saddles) and ride across the Golden Gate to Sausalito and take the ferry back.

If you have the time, allow at least two full days, more if you can, in Yosemite so you can get some hikes in and not do a rush through just hitting the E Ticket stuff.

 

[CPT Tripss]

Did you price the trip flying To Phoenix, renting a car there, drop off in SF and flying home? You might find that for less than the reverse. You never know

 

[zoo2tycoon]

Thanks for the ideas and suggestions.
Will look into all the advice and places given.
Didn't price flying back home from San Fran because we do want to drive back to Phoenix down the coast....
We have two weeks total...few days in Phoenix to visit family then head off for about a week of the other two places and driving ...
Just waiting for SNOW to stop and snow days to quit adding up to plan exact dates.
I appreciate the advice and will look into everything!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Sounds like a wonderful trip.

 

[Huff]

Personally, I would stay outside maybe at Walnut Creek and bart in. It'll take about 30 mins to travel, but you'll be a hotel that's worth the price.

We had tried to do this on our last visit. Stayed in Pleasanton area at a very nice hotel for a fraction of the price of SF. We wanted to ride BART from there but quickly found that all parking spots at the Bart stations are long gone by 8am M-F. Talked to others and were told thats pretty common at almost all east bay stations.

We ended up driving into SF each day with was easy enough. Very easy drive across the Bay Bridge and over to Fishermans Wharf. From there we road the old street car to Union Square, shopped and then road the Cable Car back to Fishermans Wharf.

Staying on the east side worked out for us as we also drove to Six Flags, Santa Cruz and down to Monterrey and did some wine tasting in Livermore.

 

[Fantaluminishes]

You might consider staying in Alameda. It's an island town right next to Oakland, and across the bay from SF. From there, you can take a ferry to SF, or bus, or bus & BART.

Also, Oakland has a pretty bad rep. But there are a couple of nice hotels in Jack London Square or on Oakland's Embarcadero that are conveniently located to the ferry.

 

[bcla]

You might consider staying in Alameda. It's an island town right next to Oakland, and across the bay from SF. From there, you can take a ferry to SF, or bus, or bus & BART.

Also, Oakland has a pretty bad rep. But there are a couple of nice hotels in Jack London Square or on Oakland's Embarcadero that are conveniently located to the ferry.

I think the Marriott is the nicest hotel in Oakland close to public transportation. It's a very short walk to the 12th St BART station. The area around Broadway has heavy traffic and is general OK even at night. However, the side streets can be iffy because of the lack of foot traffic.

Probably the nicest hotel in Oakland is the Claremont. They use a Berkeley address (their front gate is in Berkeley), but the entire hotel itself is in Oakland.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

Just booked everything!
We are going to Yosemite and right now I have the Best Western Yosemite Gateway Inn...booked through Costco and have 2 nights for $379 for a 2 bed king room. Got decent reviews online....any experiences or advice for that area that might be better.

In San Francisco I booked the Hilton Union Square for $407 (2 nights) for a classic room. Know parking is expensive but found people recommend a parking garage for $20 or so daily. The garage has gotten good reviews online that I found. We will have the rental car starting and ending in Phoenix (I got 11 days for $366 with National at the PHX airport and we will get fuel efficient car). I booked Alcatraz tickets already. My one son wants to go to the Disney family museum (any advice there). Any better hotel ideas (I will check out the Marriott listed in post above this).

In LA area I am going to get the Warner Brothers Studio tours in the next day or so. I booked the Embassy Suites Los Angeles-Glendale for $322 (2 nights). We always like Embassy Suites with the breakfast and cocktail hour! Any other must sees in this area or better hotel locations ideas. Wanted to try and see a tv show taping BUT going mid-June and that seems to be 'off' time for everything.

For our Hilton/Embassy Suites I used the MVP code for the HH program.

 

[bcla]

Just booked everything!
We are going to Yosemite and right now I have the Best Western Yosemite Gateway Inn...booked through Costco and have 2 nights for $379 for a 2 bed king room. Got decent reviews online....any experiences or advice for that area that might be better.

That's in Oakhurst. It's close to Wawona and maybe 90 minutes to get to the main attractions in Yosemite Valley. Never stayed there, but have friends who did. It's easier to get a reservation there than Mariposa, which is a bit closer to Yosemite Valley.

There is Yosemite West. It's a private community just outside the boundary of the park, but the only road in/out is through the park just about at Chiquapin. They've got vacation homes and condos there. Some prefer it because the big homes accommodate large groups. Even the smaller units have an advantage that they allow cooking. It takes about a half hour to get to Yosemite Valley from there.

 

[kacaju]

Just booked everything!
We are going to Yosemite and right now I have the Best Western Yosemite Gateway Inn...booked through Costco and have 2 nights for $379 for a 2 bed king room. Got decent reviews online....any experiences or advice for that area that might be better.

In San Francisco I booked the Hilton Union Square for $407 (2 nights) for a classic room. Know parking is expensive but found people recommend a parking garage for $20 or so daily. The garage has gotten good reviews online that I found. We will have the rental car starting and ending in Phoenix (I got 11 days for $366 with National at the PHX airport and we will get fuel efficient car). I booked Alcatraz tickets already. My one son wants to go to the Disney family museum (any advice there). Any better hotel ideas (I will check out the Marriott listed in post above this).

In LA area I am going to get the Warner Brothers Studio tours in the next day or so. I booked the Embassy Suites Los Angeles-Glendale for $322 (2 nights). We always like Embassy Suites with the breakfast and cocktail hour! Any other must sees in this area or better hotel locations ideas. Wanted to try and see a tv show taping BUT going mid-June and that seems to be 'off' time for everything.

For our Hilton/Embassy Suites I used the MVP code for the HH program.

Enjoy!! that will be a lot of time in the car!!!

 

[MMCD]

I highly recommend Travelodge by the Presidio!!! My budget was under $150/night and free parking. We did Alcatraz 2nd boat time instead of the 1st boat ride. We walked over to the CVS or Walgreen drug store to get a day bus pass. We took trolley over to closest corner to walk to Alcatraz. After Alcatraz we walked over to pier and ate seafood. We did the walking/trolley tour of SF that day.

If you do a search of Travelodge and my name, I wrote what we did for that trip.

We loved Disney Family museum but my kids are teens. We did it in 2.5 hours and read 80% of the plaques. I even cried!!!!

Also, I have been on the computer all morning and my minivan prices are $490-$600. The taxes and add-ons are ridiculous for minivans!!

 

[zoo2tycoon]

I highly recommend Travelodge by the Presidio!!! My budget was under $150/night and free parking. We did Alcatraz 2nd boat time instead of the 1st boat ride. We walked over to the CVS or Walgreen drug store to get a day bus pass. We took trolley over to closest corner to walk to Alcatraz. After Alcatraz we walked over to pier and ate seafood. We did the walking/trolley tour of SF that day.

If you do a search of Travelodge and my name, I wrote what we did for that trip.

We loved Disney Family museum but my kids are teens. We did it in 2.5 hours and read 80% of the plaques. I even cried!!!!

Also, I have been on the computer all morning and my minivan prices are $490-$600. The taxes and add-ons are ridiculous for minivans!!

Thanks! Will look at that hotel. I appreciate it. I have also been on computer half the day checking prices again and again. Never know when you can save a few $$$.

 

[Tommy_B]

Going from a well located, full service hotel like the Hilton to a budget motel well away from the main shopping and sightseeing areas doesn't make much sense.

While the Hilton isn't my favorite hotel in Union Square, the location is good.

Did you ever address staying in Oakhurst? As others said, it is at least an hour and a half from the Yosemite Valley. It is at the South Entrance of the park.

Also, are you driving PHX to LA to Yosemite to SF?

 

[zoo2tycoon]

In SF we are now booked at the Courtyard Fisherman's Wharf- price is more than I wanted to pay but my sister was in SF this week. She stayed there but they went to Union Square and said there is a lot of construction around the area (I also didn't realize it was a 2 mile walk to Fisherman's Wharf area).

I have checked other areas near Yosemite and the other idea is Best Western in Mariposa...would that be better than Oakhurst?


Plan as of now is picking up rental car in Phoenix.

Sunday- driving to Yosemite (yes I know it is a long drive and we are used to long car trips)
Monday- spend day at Yosemite
Tuesday- head to SF (saw its about a 4 hour drive from Oakhurst to SF), would like to get early start and get to SF so we can do Disney Museum on Tuesday
Wednesday- Alcatraz (tickets purchased for 8:45 AM tour), then other sight seeing (not sure what we will do)
Thursday (get moving early again and I mean early) and head to LA. Need to be down there as we have Conan tickets and need to get down there
Friday- Universal Studios first thing and hopefully some other LA/Hollywood sites
Saturday- head back to Phoenix for a few days with family

Yes, its a lot. Anybody have any suggestions on if it is too ambitious? We don't mind walking, don't mind the car rides and have learned to leave early or late to avoid the traffic.

In LA staying at Embassy Suites Glendale-- got a good rate there and 15 minutes to Universal and where Conan is taped.

 

[Tommy_B]

The Best Western Mariposa is 30 minutes closer in theory, but it depends on how the crowds are at the entrances as to which is really faster. I think I'd stick with Oakhurst and take advantage of the Mariposa Grove (Wawona), Glacier Point and stopping at the Wawona Tunnel.

Overall the trip is completely nuts though. You do realize that right? Most people do a trip like this in 14 days, not 7. You are traveling through vast swatches of nothing.

You don't say where you are from in your profile, but everyone thinks CA is this state full of people. Actually CA is full of nothingness. 85% of the population is with 100 miles of coast. When the big one hits and LA, SF & SD slip into the ocean, CA will have a population like Delaware.

Are you a TripAdvisor member? There are lots of topics there on trips like this.