Advice Sought on Starting Pacific NW Trip

We're moving to the planning stages of our trip through the US Pacific North West for the summer. So far, we know we fly into and out of SFO, and would like to complete the trip with a couple of nights revisiting San Francisco.

We don't intend to pick up a car on arrival - may be tad 'refreshed' - but feel that spending the first night in San Francisco is potentially a bit of double counting. Is there any destination north that we could get to using a limo service (I have enough points to book a CDC) that would be a suitable place to (a) unwind and (b) pick up a hire car?

If not, we'll just bundle into town for the first night and pick up a car there.

Any advice gratefully received.

Thanks

Paul

[Darren Wheeler]

If you plan to stay in San Francisco, I give serious thought about forgetting the car until you head off. Not only is a car pretty useless because taxis, buses etc are cheap and plentiful, but parking is a nightmare. It's not unusual to find $40 for 24 hours with NO in/out privileges even at hotels.

The other option is stay near SFO and in the morning, pick up your car, then load up at the hotel before heading off and do the city at the end.

Santa Rosa - not an earth shattering place, but there's car rentals at the local muni airports, and some terrific restaurants in town. And you're on the right side of at least one set of hills/mountains WRT Napa, though the drive across from mid-Napa to mid-Sonoma county is quite beautiful. Technically the VS Website still says any address in CA, but I'm assuming you don't want to go hours north. Not a whole lot further north than there, IIRC, anyway.

Good spot for heading north from, you can either go 101 (boring) or hit 116 though Forestville/Guerneville and the river road down to Jenner on the coast.

Darren - thanks for the advice on forgetting the car whilst in the city. That's what I hope to do. I guess we could stay by SFO the first night but...we get there mid p.m. so would like to head off, particularly if someone else will do the driving. That said though, what's the transport like into / out of the city of an evening from SFO? Staying out there doesn't have to mean spending the evening stuck in a hotel room, does it?

The plan for the end of the trip is to fly back into SFO from either Seattle or Portland and then head into San Francisco proper for a couple of nights.

MM - Santa Rosa may be the thing. According to Google, an hour and a bit north (so should be within a CDC), restaurants, hotels, car hire and a route to the coast. I'm trying to remember whether we've been before - I'll have to check the scrapbooks.

Thanks

Paul

[honey lamb]

If you stay near SFO (which I did last year as I was flying out a couple of days later) it's very easy to get to the city. Simply take the hotel's complimentary shuttle service back to SFO and then take the BART into the city. Fare is $8.10 each way

I think the BART takes about 30 mins from SFO to the Powell/Market stop and it runs very late.

Have a look on their website http://www.bart.gov/

[Scrooge]

We have family in Santa Rosa, nice little town and a good starting point for heading further north.

To be clear, there's plenty north of Santa Rosa, of course [:)] - just not so much in the way of major car rental company locations for a long while. Try this place for dinner.