Mall/Outlet Road Trip

Hi All

Coming over to US from UK in May for a shopping trip with my brother. I normally go to either Nevada/Arizona/Florida twice a year so know all the malls/outlets there however he wants to stock up on his winter wardrobe such as long sleeve shirts/jackets and coats etc and so we%26#39;re looking to go somewhere further North!

I really have no idea where to go but am looking at flying to either San Fran, Chicago, Washington, Boston or basically anywhere on the British Airways network. We%26#39;ll be there for 5-7 days and will have a car so can drive from mall to mall and stay at different hotels or base ourselves somewhere and drive to different malls.

If we have a spare day then we may do some sightseeing however that is not a priority on this trip so any info advice would be greatly appreciated.

thanks Rod

I%26#39;ll post this on a few of the forums for different US states

Mall/Outlet Road Trip

The outlets here are run by the same company, Premium Outlets:

www.premiumoutlets.com/centers/index.asp

The website also lists stores available at each outlet so that can help you decide which ones you want to go to.

There aren%26#39;t any outlet malls IN San Francisco but the outlets are located 45 mins-1 hr either south or north of the city. All of them are right off the freeway.

SF does have alot of malls and shopping areas (Union Square, Embarcadero), the Westfield shopping mall being the newest one. You may also want to visit Valley Fair mall in San Jose and/or Santana Row.

Mall/Outlet Road Trip

In Calfornia/San Francisco area its easy to combine shopping with sightseeing. However, do note, that the warm weather gear is much lighter than you would find in Chicago. Our lows normally are much higher by about 20 to 30 degrees than Chicago%26#39;s and we have some pretty nice sunny warm days even in the winter. As such, if you%26#39;re looking for very heavy weather gear, you%26#39;d be better in Chicago, Washington, Boston. However if you are looking just for good coats and outdoor gear, California is a good choice.

For Outlet shopping close to San Francisco, you can combine it with wine tasting in Napa and dinner there also. There are two outlet malls very close to that area. One is Napa Premium malls and another is a short drive away in Vacaville.

www.premiumoutlets.com/centers/index.asp

Then you can move over to Sonoma and enjoy wine/outdoors there and enjoy shopping at: Petaluma Village Premium Outlets. This is also very close to San Francisco.

After that I woud spend a day in San Francisco and enjoy shopping at the Union Square area -its your normal shopping district for San Francisco, but stores there can include bargains. Here%26#39;s a description of some of the various shopping areas in San Francisco:

www.sanfrancisco.com/shopping/index.shtml

I would then drive South to San Jose area. Here I%26#39;d go to some of the major discount stores such as Target, Walmart, Great Mall (Milpitas area), and also go to the San Jose Flea Market.

http://www.sjfm.com/

In this area, you might enjoy later in the day sightseeing at Winchester Mystery House and also have dinner on Santana Row - fancy shopping area of San Jose (and a nice mall across the street as well - Westfield Mall).

After being in San Jose, drive south to Gilroy and go to Gilroy Premium Outlets. This has lots of stores. After that its a short drive to Monterey area for the evening and enjoy the Monterey/Carmel area.

If into electronics shopping, be sure to go to Fry%26#39;s Electronics while in the area for some good deals on electronics goods.

So for 5-7 days you might find the following itinerary:

Napa 2 days (enjoying the Napa and Vacaville Malls, and other stoers in the area). Sightseeing the wineries and other sights in Napa Valley.

Sonoma 1 day - Petaluma Mall; enjoying Sonoma Town Square, wineries, and state parks in the area.

San Francisco 2 days - On the way to san Francisco stop by Muir Woods to se the redwoods; base yourself in Union square Shopping district perhaps at the Chancellor Hotel. Enjoy shopping there.

Drive to San Jose - 1 day

Great Mall, Santana Row, San Jose Flea Market, Fry%26#39;s Electronics, Target, Walmart, Westfield Mall and other stores int he area.

Drive to Gilroy and enjoy Gilroy Premium Outlets; afterwards drive to Monterey/Carmel for the dau/ = 1 day.

(Note: There are some limited discount stores in downtown Monterey cannery wharf area; and lots of charming (but more pricey goods in Carmel and throughout the Monterey area.)

Lots and lots of shopping opportunities everywhere you look; as well as enjoying touristy things at the end of the day.

Don%26#39;t you love Mini%26#39;s itineraries? Welcome back, Mini, we%26#39;ve missed you.

I%26#39;ll second many of Mini%26#39;s recommendations. I love the Petaluma outlets just because I feel more like I%26#39;m on a little vacation up there, compared to the Vacaville or Gilroy outlets (or maybe it%26#39;s because I found so many bargains on one day when I had no intention of shopping there).

Thanks guys for your replies.

Mini - Thank you very much as this is exactly what I was looking for!!

It%26#39;s not too cold nowadays during winter in London so I%26#39;m sure the clothes in California will be fine.

As per your suggested itinerary, is it worth keeping my rental car for the days in San Fran city centre or should I maybe do San Fran first without a car then go north to Napa and then go back down to San Jose?

It%26#39;s just that I%26#39;ve been told you don%26#39;t need a car in San Fran as it%26#39;s difficult and expensive to park.

rodpat wondered «is it worth keeping my rental car for the days in San Fran[cisco] city centre or should I maybe do San Fran[cisco] first without a car then go north to Napa and then go back down to San Jose?»

Yes.

«I really have no idea where to go . . . we may do some sightseeing»

The ';Don%26#39;t-miss SIGHTS in San Francisco'; page geocities.com/iconoc/Articles/Sights.html has enough to keep you busy for nine twelve-hour days. It includes links to your best source of advice on WHERE TO EAT here, the UseNet Group ba.food, and the quite-good sfSurvey. It also has a WEATHER CHART with a link to current conditions.

The best on-line MAP of San Francisco is an inter-active PDF created for the San Francisco Municipal Railway: geocities.com/iconoc/Grafix/CityWide.pdf. I recommend 150% or greater magnification. There%26#39;s also a link that will tell you HOW TO GET THERE FROM HERE. Other links on the page, geocities.com/iconoc/Grafix/FlagMaps.html are a map of our CABLE CAR ROUTES and a superb map of GOLDEN GATE PARK.

The frequently-updated SPECIAL EVENTS page has irregularly-scheduled music and dances as well as links to seven calendars of regularly-scheduled dances, a composite of five of them, and one of dance cruises and events around the world: http://geocities.com/dancefest/Specials.html

One option would be be to do San Francisco First.

Then rent the car for the rest of the trip.

In San Francisco the steep hills makes it a challenge driving, parking is difficult; and parking can be quite expensive. Its easier to take public transportation. Lots of locals use public transporation to get around and use their cars only when they are leaving San Francisco.

Ah, cars in the city... Parking is a pain in the butt, and navigating streets is also a pain in the butt. Our recommendation in most cases is: Don%26#39;t Do it.

In your case, in particular, don%26#39;t do it. If you%26#39;re going to be shopping, everything can be had via foot, a short bus ride or a cab ride.

Consider flying to Newark NJ (or New York City, which is nearby). There is an immense outlet mall called Woodbury Common in Central Valley, New York State, where you will find 220 outlet stores. It%26#39;s just north of New Jersey. You%26#39;ll find it at www.premiumoutlets.com. This is bigger than any of the outlet malls in the San Francisco area.

And, if you don%26#39;t find what you want at Woodbury Common, there are plenty of stores in the full-price malls in northern New Jersey. Garden State Plaza in Paramus has a huge selection, and you%26#39;ll find upscale full-price stores at the Short Hills Mall (in Short Hills, betewen Summit and Livingston). There are also large full-price malls in Woodbridge and Menlo Park.

And there are free-standing discount chain stores which have good buys, such as Kohl%26#39;s and Target. They are all over northern New Jersey.

For men%26#39;s shirts, the Van Heusen outlet stores are excellent. Jackets and coats can be found at the London Fog outlet stores.

The other advantage of New Jersey is that there is very little sightseeing to divert you from shopping!

Thanks again all.

Bargainhunter - I had not even considered NJ however having looked at your recommendations I am definitely interested.

I have only ever flown to JFK before and stayed in Manhattan where I would never want to have a rental car.

Is it easy to drive have a car in NJ and drive from Newark?

Where in NJ would you recommend staying that%26#39;s safe?

Any help would be appreciated