1

If you have broad-ranging tastes in "nature" there are tons of options not too far from San Francisco. Places like Mt. Tamalpais State Park, Muir Woods National Monument, Point Reyes National Seashore, Mount Diablo State Park, the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, Natural Bridges State Beach, Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, Big Basin Redwoods State Park, to name a few. You can look these up to see if they seem appealing. A car would be extremely useful.

2

OK, so you are visitiing the first 17-days in October, money isn't a problem, you start off with 3- days in San Francisco, and you end the trip in New York City.

Assuming that is correct:

-"like to visit some nature areas eg: Yosemite (any other suggestions relatively close by? for maybe 3 days" Yosemite would be an excellent choice. Death Valley National Park would also be within reach in that amount of time (maybe stretch to 4-days) with the advantage of seeing the desert when the weather isn't hellishly hot. Or, north of San Francisco are magnificent groves or redwoods and dramatic coastline. Many choices here.

-"are there good beach places that would be warm enough in California at this time of year (or we could go elsewhere for the beach part)" In early October you may yet get some sunny days along the coast, maybe even a warmish day or two but certainly not hot, however the the waters of the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of America are cold, so you won't go swimming.

-"we could go to Hawaii for a week and then to NYC on the way home." I would normally say save Hawaii for another trip, but since money isn't a problem and you would devote an entire week to it, well then go for it.

-"we could go elsewhere for the beach part" An alternative would be Florida. Miami, maybe the Florida Keys.

3

Thanks. Money isn't the main issue, but it certainly is in terms of accommodation expenses and daily expenses. Is there a big difference between Hawaii and California? The travel part seems to be affordable.
Florida was another option I thought of, as is Yucatan, but I think it's hurricane season. Would that be an issue in Florida?

But would going to Miami have a benefit over Hawaii?

Edited by: tony_ttt

4

I'd do one of two things if you are willing to rent a car:

1. Drive the beautiful Highway 1, staying in Monterey, Cambria or Pismo Beach and Santa Barbara, then spend the last few days in either LA or San Diego (I think only British Airways flies to the UK from San Diego).

2. Fly to Kauai for a week, lovely, green quiet island, it just screams "Hawaii" and has great hiking, Waimea Canyon and the beautiful North Shore. There are nonstops from SFO, OAK and SJC. I think Hawaiian flies from OAK.

5

The benefit of going to Florida for your beach time is that you are much closer to home and New York. Watch the weather forecasts about significant storms. Another option is Baja Sur California, fly into La Paz and rent a car for a resort on the Sea of Cortez side, Cabo might not be your thing (more Cancunish).

6

Great, Baja California is a fine suggestion. I'll look into towns on the east of the peninsula. Thanks for your help

7

I think it's silly and a waste of time/money to fly all over the place when there is so much to see near San Francisco.

Highway 1 is great. October is probably the best time of year for it - and in fact for many places around California. Other great places include Point Reyes, the Eastern Sierras (e.g., Mammoth Lakes), and Lake Tahoe. You could do an incredible Yosemite-Mammoth-Tahoe road trip, with fall colors at or near peak at that time.

8

Hawaii is considerably more expensive than California.

I'm with stop the bus:

You don't have that much time that you can fly all over.

Chose a beach vacation or a California natural wonders. You can still have a beach vacation in southen California. The water is still warm and the forecasts are for warm weather. The winds and temperatures start to shift in late October or the beginning of November.

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9

I'd vote for Florida over Hawaii. It's much less time in the air, and there is a lot to see and do in Florida. (Not that there isn't in Hawaii.)

If you're worried about hurricanes, keep in mind that Florida is a pretty big place, and major hurricanes are NOT all that common and tend to affect a relatively limited area. If you can be somewhat flexible (and in mid-October you should be able to make hotel reservations with short notice) you can watch the weather reports and pick your beach based on the forcast. (If you plan to fly into, say, Orlando, you could then rent a car and drive to either coast, or even (with a little more time) down to Miami or up to the panhandle for a week on the beach.)