San Francisco revisited

We are planning a return trip to San Fran, 1st visited 10 years ago next year (got married there in 1998). For our 10th wedding anniversary we would like to stay 4/5 days in city then see surrounding area but unsure where to go. Last trip we stayed in city for 7 days then drove to Las Vegas for further 7 days. Any suggestions for alternative destinations??

San Francisco revisited

congratulations.

What time of the year? And what do you like doing? Do you like the urban scene, mountains, beaches, wine country, relaxation, serious workouts, sun, darkness, indoors, outdoors, or what?

San Francisco revisited

You may want to look into the wine region, Sonoma and Napa Valleys are world famous. 1.5 hr drive north east of San Francisco. Another option is to go south down highway 1 and spend a few days in Monterey, Carmel area. Coastal scenery, sea otters, whale watching (depending on time of year) .

We will be in San Francisco end of June, beginning of July next year. Last visit we drove south to Monterey/Carmel %26amp; took Sipping/Shopping trip to Napa Valley. Fancy taking day trips from city or like to see/do less touristy things this trip. We enjoy walks, scenery/views, arts/crafts, good food etc. As we only have 7 days we don%26#39;t want to waste time on places not worth bothering with eg. Pier 39 :)

On your earlier trip, did you see Golden Gate Park? It could occupy you for a day or more. The De Young Museum is newly rebuilt since you were here, and every tourist needs to go to the Japanese Tea Garden. The Conservatory of Flowers is a great collection of exotic plants in a beautiful Victorian domed glass building.

http://www.conservatoryofflowers.org/

GG Park also has a herd of bison, a golf course, and Stow Lake where you can rent bicycles, pedal surreys, or boats (row or foot pedal) or just walk around and feed the ducks.

The Haight Ashbury of hippie ';Summer of Love'; fame is next to the park. It has all sorts of exotic shopping and many restaurants. On Stanyan Street, which separates H-A from the park, you%26#39;ll find a cluster of bicycle rental shops. At the far end of the park (west) is Ocean Beach. There is plenty of public transit to these areas; once you have an idea where you plan to stay, we can pin down the ways for you to get around the City.

end of June-early July...

I%26#39;d second the earlier recommendation of wine country (Sonoma especially), but after a side trip along the Lost Coast %26amp; Mendocino county. That%26#39;s the Hwy 1 stretch from Point Reyes up to about Ft Bragg. There%26#39;s great scenery all along that of rugged coast lines, bluffs, redwood trees, etc. Great places for picnics and peaceful walks through state beaches/parks. June-July should be beautiful in these areas. Bring a jacket anyway because the winds can get chilly along the coast and also at night. As you get inland, it can get quite dry %26amp; hot--shorts, sunglasses, baking weather.

It%26#39;s best during weekdays because weekends can get busy--especially the inland wine regions. It%26#39;s also better if it%26#39;s not a day trip, but at least a night or two. There%26#39;s lots of great B%26amp;B%26#39;s up along the coast. It%26#39;s better bang for the buck than urban SF too. Check out little areas like Gualala and Mendocino.

If you can arrange it, Sonoma locations like Healdsburg, etc have various festivals that occasionally occur on weekends. Those would be fun for arts/crafts. There%26#39;s always great food to be found in Sonoma or Napa (further inland) because you%26#39;ve got these wineries trying to market their wines with the help of great cooks in superb restaurants in the area. Again, it%26#39;s a far better bang for the buck than urban SF%26#39;s offerings. Plus, parking won%26#39;t be such a pain as it is in SF...

Locals go to the aforementioned places every chance we get.

Some fantastic ideas from you guys :) Lots to think about. We are currently deciding on our accommodation, self catering, to give us more freedom. Which will fit in with many of your suggestions, looking forward to seeing more of San Fran %26amp; surrounding areas. Pity we only have one week but the more we see then more to come back for next time! Having been married in San Fran there is even more reason to return for future anniversary celebrations..... Thanks again for all your help x