Is San Francisco worth the trip?

My husband and I are planning a California trip, but we only have 9 days. We are starting in San Diego (for a wedding), but can leave from anywhere. So far, I%26#39;m most interested in wine country (not set on which region), Yosemite National Park, Lake Tahoe, Palm Springs, and San Francisco. We can%26#39;t do everything in a week...any suggestions? We love wine, laid back, scenic drives, cute towns, etc.

Is San Francisco worth the trip?

in a word.............YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is San Francisco worth the trip?

Don%26#39;t kill yourself trying to do it all. Come back and see Northern California. If that wedding is coming up from now through summer, you can safely skip Palm Springs... unless you just like baking to death in the heat. Not my idea of fun.

You can do San Diego, ';Sideways'; country and perhaps Yosemite. That might be about it.

9 days.....

Day 1:

Fly in to San Diego for the wedding, however stay in Temecula so you%26#39;re within 5 minutes of the wineries there. Its a little over an hour drive to/from San Diego.

Drive from San Diego to Temecula; enjoy the wineries there.

Stay at Pechanga - the rooms are really nice.

http://www.temeculawines.org/

http://www.pechanga.com/home.asp

Day 2:

Wedding

Day 3:

Drive to Palm Springs and see it; about 90 minute drive from Temecula.Perhaps take the aerial train and then drive from Palm Springs to Mammoth Lakes - this will be your longest day driving. 343 miles Stay in Mammoth Lakes ( or if too long you could drive to say Lone Pine instead.)

Day 4:

Drive from Mammoth Lakes to Yosemite. This is about a 2 hour drive. Enjoy the full day in Yosemite.

Day 5:

Morning in Yosemite, then drive to Lake Tahoe. It will take about 3 hours. Depends in part where you are staying in Yosemite as lodging can get full. Book early for Yosemite

Day 6:

Lake Tahoe till late afternoon, take Ms. Dixie Lunch Cruise;

and then drive to Old Sacramento for dinner and the evening.

Or drive to Napa and check in for a night.

Day 7:

Full day in Napa; drive one hour to San Francisco.

Day 8/9:

Enjoy San Francisco, till you fly home.

Personally I would skip Palm Springs, especially if you are coming in the summer. I would suggest starting in Sand Diego and heading up the coast to San Francisco - ending in San Francisco. It is an amazing scenic drive, with lots of cute towns to stop at along the way. You also have Santa Barbara wine country and Paso Robles. You can cut into Yosemite from Paso Robles and back over to San Francisco.

I agree with juxie that you could skip Palm Springs on this trip. I kind of like to focus on one area at time when I travel so if you have nevet been to SanDiego before then you might takke a little time to get to know our city. Then go on up the coast for your laid back scenic drive. Therea re wine regions in the hills near SanTaBarbara and around PasoRobles which is inland form Cambria(below Monterey.)i%26#39;d explore those areas and perhaps go as far north as Monterey. YOu can fly home from SanJose without going up to sanFrancisco. I think SanFrancisco.Tahoe,napa/sonoma deserve their own trip. It is late to make reservations for Yosemit alos since many peopel book there a year in advance Perhpas consider coming back to ';do '; more in northern california on another trip.

f you want laid back, cute towns, scenic drives and wine... I have just the place for you.

Central California coast!

Specifically, Cambria %26amp; Paso Robles.

Cambria is a quaint coastal town with lots of charm, excellent restaurants, and neat little shops. There are several wonderful inns along Moonstone Beach Drive with the ocean right across the street with a lovely boardwalk for sunset walks.

The best part for wine lovers is the fact that Cambria is a short drive east into Paso Robles wine country. Paso wines are world class, like Napa, but without the heavy commercialism you find in Napa. In fact, many Napa wineries purchase their grapes from Paso area wine grape growers to make their wines. Paso Robles also has a quaint downtown area and the nearby town of Templeton is also worth a look.

I think you%26#39;ll enjoy the wineries located on the west side of Paso Robles, since they%26#39;re located in rural areas and provide many scenic drives you%26#39;re looking for.

And, you can head east on Hwy 46 and pick up Hwy 41 east for Yosemite right in Paso Robles! From there, you can hit Tahoe and then over to San Francisco, if you wish.

mini%26#39;s itinerary exhausts me.....sorry, mini. 9 days to see San Diego, Palm Springs, Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco?

No, thank you. Skip Palm Springs. Not worth the drive for a short time.

With the wedding and all, I would leave Yosemite and Lake Tahoe for a more leisurely trip. You will be driving and driving and not see very much at all.

I would perhaps take the scenic coast route up to San Francisco...maybe three days from San Diego, stopping at Cambria and Monterey/Carmel, then to San Francisco with a day trip or two to the Napa or Sonoma Valley for the wine. San Francisco is worth many days, don%26#39;t skimp on it.

philosophy