The following recommendations I have given friends from outside northern California who were planning a vacation here.  I also have a page about living in the Bay Area. When I first created this page I recommended the book, Northern California Best Places because I found it’s recommendations to be excellent, and it didn’t miss any “must visit” locations / or “must do” activities. Alas, it’s out of date now and I haven’t found a good replacement which is as constantly good. I also noted that SF virtual tour could give you a preview of many of the sights. These days you can get a “look” at many places through Google Street View.

Transportation

Your first and last day will most likely involve an airline flight and transportation to/from the airport. The San Jose Airport (SJC) is a smaller airport which I have found typically is the easier to get in and out of. The San Francisco Airport (SFO) is the largest airport and has direct flights from many more locations. Sometimes fares out of Oakland Airport are cheaper than SJC or SFO.  Relative to Mountain View (our home), SJC is 20 minutes, SFO is 45 minutes, and Oakland is around 60 minutes. It is possible to get to Mountain View from SJC via Light Rail (though it’s slow), or from SFO via CalTrain. A taxi/uber/lyft will typically be around $25 from SJC, and around $50 from SFO.

Areas to Explore

Whenever I have friends visiting for a more than a few days I typically recommend: getting up to see Muir Woods, checking out a few of SF neighborhoods like Haight-Ashbury and whatever museums would be loved. While here you need to the see the Red Woods. If Muir Woods isn’t visited, at least see the second grow trees in Henry Cowell State Park. I highly recommend the scenic drive down to Big Sur, checking out Point Lobos State Park, and the town Carmel by the Sea.

More detailed options:

• North of SF: Drive to Muir Woods (need reservations, parking bad), Muir Beach, Marin Headlands, Sausalito, good views of the Golden Gate Bridge. This could full a whole day or be trimmed down and combined with SF.
• San Francisco: culture, museums, unique neighborhoods, food, parks. 1-3 days.
• Santa Cruz and Coastline for redwoods, butterflies, sea lions, beaches
• Monterey Penisula & Big Sur: picturesque coastlines, world class aquarium, good food and art boutiques.
• Other info general SF Bay Area and Mid-Penisula

When people have extra time or specific interests

• Napa Valley & Wine Country: Wine! Food! 1-3 day
• Yosemite: One of the most spectacular parks in the world. You should spend at least three days and visit the Valley floor, Marapoa Grove,  and Tuolumne Meadows. 3-4 days.
• Tahoe: Tahoe is pretty… but unless you have a lot of time, I would skip Tahoe so you have more time as Yosemite. 3-4 days.
• Northern Coast / California Redwoods: If you have another 3-6 days, head north of San Francisco. There are a number of cute towns along the coast, and the wonderful Redwood State & National Parks region just below the Oregon border.