John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints

Recommended First Night Accommodation for San Francisco, California

Introductory Comments

The towns listed on this page, which we have used ourselves, are recommended for a first night stop. There are of course numerous other possibilities and these are only suggestions.

We usually like to head out of the airport city as rapidly as possible on the morning after the flight so these towns are located some considerable distance from the city. They would not be a convenient bases for visiting the city itself.

Vacaville

Vacaville is northeast of the city of San Francisco, on I-80 just west of its junction with I-505. The town has a good range of motels, shops and restaurants. Vacaville would be an ideal choice if you are heading out of the San Francisco area on I-80 east or I-5 north.

The freeway from the airport through the city (US101) is likely to be crowded and slow especially during rush hours. The Oakland Bay Bridge which carries I-80 over the bay and through Treasure Island is interesting. After the Carquinez bridge across San Pablo Bay the traffic on I-80 tends to thin out considerably.

Petaluma

Petaluma is on US101 north of the Golden Gate Bridge, south of Santa Rosa. The town has a good range of motels, shops and restaurants. Petaluma would be an ideal choice if you are heading out of the San Francisco area on US101 North or California State Highway 1 North. It is also an ideal choice as a base for visiting Marin County and the Marin Peninsula including the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Point Reyes National Seashore, Muir Woods National Monument and Mount Tamalpais.

The freeway from the airport through the city (US101) is likely to be crowded and slow during rush hours, as is the same road north of the Golden Gate Bridge because it is a major commuter route. For this reason Petaluma is probably not ideal as a base for visiting the city of San Francisco.

The nearby towns of Rohnert Park and Santa Rosa are also well worth considering. Rohnert Park is a similar sized town to Petaluma while Santa Rosa is rather larger.

The above are only ideas - there are of course a vast number of other possibilities.

California

First Night Accommodation

San Francisco International Airport

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As with all the other pages on this personal web site, all the information on this page is solely the opinion of the author, who has no connection whatsoever with any of the companies and organisations mentioned other than as an actual or potential customer.
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Most recently modified 14-Jul-00