Where is the best place to vacation in California?

[corazon]

Tadich Grill! San Fran's oldest restaurant, been around since 1849! I couldn't find a website but here is some info http://dinesite.com/info/rstrnt-299683/??&t=0 I love that place!

 

[Andy M.]

Since you're going in the summertime, I second San Fran and Wine Country. A good way to do it would be to split it up with 3 days in SF, 2 days in the Sonoma Valley region, and 2 days in the Napa Valley region. Also, it depends on how much you guys like wine. If you're not wine drinkers, you wouldn't want to spend as much time in Napa and Sonoma unless you guys wanted to do more outdoors type stuff like hiking. Some things to see (I know some were already mentioned):

San Francisco:

• Chinatown
• Fisherman's Wharf
• Coit Tower
• TransAmerica Pyramid
• North Beach (lots of good Italian restaurants)
• Alcatraz
• Japanese Tea Garden
• Golden Gate Park (nice place for a lunch picnic)
• California Academy of Science
• Lombard Street
• SF Museum of Modern Art

Napa Valley:

• Wineries (of course)
• Calistoga Hot Springs
• Wine Train
• Culinary Institute of America at Greystone
• Napa River Tours
• Petrefied Forrest

Sonoma Valley:

• Wineries
• Champagne Caves
• Hot Air Balloon ride
• Russian River
• Jack London Park
• Tomales Bay (eat some oysters fresh from the water)
• Mendocino (quaint east-coast type fishing town)
• Goat Rock Beach

You've nailed my favorite spots!

Add:

Monterey Peninsula-17-mile drive, Carmel and Pebble Beach.

 

[Chopstix]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the spectacular 17-mile drive from SF to Monterey along the Pacific coast. At Monterey you'll find a great great great aquarium, the old haunts of John Steinbeck (like the Cannery Row), Pebble Beach, and the nearby enchanting town called Carmel-by-the-Sea (Clint Eastwood is ex-mayor) where I thought I stepped into storybook land with quaint cottages a la Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

 

[Andy M.]

The coastal highway north of San Francisco is a beautiful drive. Drive up through Bodega Bay where the movie, "Birds" was filmed to the old Russian settlement a little to the north...

 

[ironchef]

Monterey/Carmel/Pebble Beach/etc. would also be some nice places to visit, but not with only one weeks worth of time. You could do it I guess, but it would be so hectic and fast paced because of all the driving you'd need to do it wouldn't be worth it to venture in that direction unless you had more time. If you did have more time, than one could also check out Big Sur, Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay, etc.

 

[texasgirl]

Well, we may just have to make it 2 weeks!! LOL
I'm excited now.

 

[urmaniac13]

I'd say, go to kadesma's house. You would be well fed with extraordinary food!

That is exactly what I would do if I were ever in California!! With next stop being Jkath's house

 

[mish]

San Fran is a good city if $$$. I lived close by for a year and went to the city every weekend. There is an excellent restaurant on the tip of my tongue but just can't remember it. I'll let you know when I do. Looks like you have some good info already.

Cora pick up a copy (or go on line) to Frommer's. We found some excellent eateries etc. that were not costly. One was a mom & pop type place (not fancy), where we had paella (till it was coming out of our ears) and the dishes kept on coming for about $15. Check out Delancey St., the money goes to a good cause, and you can't beat the prices, food and service. Lunch is inexpensive, if you nibble in the Fisherman's wharf, and save your $ for a few special dinners. Chinatown is inexpensive, and there are some excellent restaurants. All Raven's suggestions are good ones, and I found San Fran one of the least expensive cities I've visited.

Wish chefwill were here. As I recall, he's a chef at one of the best places in Yosemite.

TG, make it a month, lol. So much to see and do here.

 

[corazon]

Cora pick up a copy (or go on line) to Frommer's. We found some excellent eateries etc. that were not costly. One was a mom & pop type place (not fancy), where we had paella (till it was coming out of our ears) and the dishes kept on coming for about $15. Check out Delancey St., the money goes to a good cause, and you can't beat the prices, food and service. Lunch is inexpensive, if you nibble in the Fisherman's wharf, and save your $ for a few special dinners. Chinatown is inexpensive, and there are some excellent restaurants. All Raven's suggestions are good ones, and I found San Fran one of the least expensive cities I've visited.

I suppose I meant cost of living. I agree with you about the restaurants though, you can find good places for relatively cheap. I love the food at fisherman's wharf.

 

[Dove]

I have been to all the above mentioned places and they all are $$$...I grew up in San Diego and that would be my choice. So much to do and so many places to see. It will be quite warm in July but it won't have the Humidity that Florida has. The nights will be cool so a jacket or sweater will be needed. The nights stay warm in Florida..
Marge~Dove

 

[Claire]

California is just too big and diverse to say just one place is best. I think we spend 6 mos there when we were on the road, and still only put a dent in it -- and I was raised partially in California and have relatives all over the state. If I were to have to nail down my favorite, I'd go with that Napa Valley thing -- a tasting lunch at Greystone CIA, the wine train. I'm not a beach person any more, so skipped that, but it would be important to others; certainly everyone in the world wants to at least dabble their toes in both the Atlantic and the Pacific (and, by the way, when I say I skipped the ocean, it's a bit of a lie. I mean going swimming and long days at the beach were not in my agenda. I went to all the beaches of my childhood, but more did winter wading and sightseeing). Hubby and I have always found that when hotel-ing it on a budget, planning one restaurant meal a day, then picking up cheese, meat (i.e., sausages/salamis etc), fruit, bread and a bottle of wine for either the hotel room or a picnic can really boost your budget. Our prediliction for little mom & pop ethnic places also helps -- we don't look for high end, famous places except for real splurges, and even then usually find we enjoyed the mom & pops more. Lunching out rather than dining helps as well. It also makes it so that you can enjoy the spectacular views (for example, the wine train dinner is more expensive, as is the CIA -- but you miss half the beauty of doing it). So go to those high end, beautiful scenery places for lunch. Then be absolutely decadent at the geat gourmet stores -- but the cheese and wine you bring back to your room or to a great little park with be pricey, but still a fraction of what you'd pay for a high end restaurant dinner.

 

[Claire]

Florida is also one of those states that is too large to break down to one thing. First off, in both states you're either a theme park person or not. That narrows it down. The very best kept secret of Florida (like California, I lived there for 6 years) is the series of fresh water springs that go right down the middle of the state. There are old hotels, and parks and restaurants that were all put in in the 20s and 30s that are to die for, and if you want to just sit in a tube and float you can't beat it. Like California, you cannot do it all, so don't try. Prioritize. If you're an old hippie, you want Key West, no doubt about it (Venice in Ca). If you fancy yourself a glamorous 1920s movie actress, then it will be South Beach, Miami. If you want to relive your childhood as it never was to begin with, then you have to do Disney and other theme parks (both coasts). People tend to realize the size of California, but are unaware of the size of Florida. It is huge, and I don't know about you, but 5 hours in the car (the distance from one of my sister's house to my parents' -- and they do not live at the extreme ends of the state) is NOT my idea of a vacation. Both states have a lot to offer, but don't get wrapped up with thinking you want to everything. Pick and choose, and enjoy.

 

[Swann]

If you want to do beaches, San Diego water is about 70° in the summer. The farther you do north the colder the ocean.... Not much swimming and playing in the surf in San Francisco. The gulf off TX is in the 90°s as is the south Atlantic ocean.... bath water temp.