Is a budget trip from Phila. to San Fran even possible?

[pennymom]

Any help would be appreciated! DH just learned that he is going on a business trip from Phila to San Francisco Aug. 29 to Sept. 2. The boys and I have never been there, and we can stay at his hotel with him and pay the difference for an extra adult and two children in the room. The kids and I could do the tourist stuff while DH is at the conference, then do something together at night.

But when I looked at airfare from Phila. to San Fran, it is running $1200-$1500 for the three of us

Do any of you have experience/information about last-minute discount flights, or any advice? Is it better to fly at night when the kids might sleep? I've never flown farther than WDW with two children.

I was hoping that this could be a great way to see some of California, but it may be just too much $$$$.

Thanks!

 

[eliza61]

You do have to be realistic about it. I mean $400 per rt ticket to the west coast is not outrageous.
Once in a while I do see super cheap fares but they usually have tons of restrictions and connections.

I would start the same way you may start at disney. Begin researching. Where do you want to stay? What are some of the things you want to do? If you're going to Cali, how are you going to get around? West Coast is set up differently than Florida, there is definitely no free transportation and catching a cab to where you want to go may not be easy. So do you may have to investigate car rentals.

What about hotels? We sstayed at a really nice hotel in the Fishermans wharf area, it ran about $170/night and that was 7 years ago. like most big cities hotel prices can be high. Look into hotels.com

After you've got some type of game plan check out prices. that will give you a realistic budget.

 

[pennymom]

Thanks for the recommendations. The hotel reservation was already made by his office for DH, as was car rental, so this is a last-minute idea for the kids and me. I have never looked at airfares to San Fran, and was just hoping that the boys and I might be able to take advantage of the opportunity if we can find airfare low enough. I'm not really surprised at the current prices, but would only consider going if we can do it for much less than that.

Thanks!

 

[bellman]

You can check airfare to Oakland or San Jose they tend to be cheaper than San Fran. It will cost some money for a taxi to your destination but the difference in airfare could be substantial.

 

[mnrose]

Once you get to SF, there are many low cost (or even free) options for things to do. Golden Gate Park is largely free...although a couple of the museums (the Natural History Museum is wonderful) have nominal entry fees. The Exploratorium is great for kids, and again has only a nominal fee. Fisherman's Wharf (not my personal cup of tea...but lots of tourists like it) is free. You can use public transit to get to most things, and again, it's fairly reasonably priced. In fact, I wouldn't recommend having a rental car in SF as parking is OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive pretty much anywhere you go. And, unless you are planning to go to attractions outside the city, unnecessary.

SF has great dining, and is known for being expensive. But, there are options there as well. For example, in Chinatown, do not eat anywhere on Grant Street. Instead, follow a side street, and eat 1/2 block off in either direction. Great restaurants at lesser prices.

Also, skip the pricey boat tours of the bay. Get a good guidebook so you know what you are looking at, and take one of the commuter ferries over to Marin County (either Tiburon or Sausalito). You see the same thing, without the narration, and it costs a fraction of what you pay for a tourist boat. The commuter ferries leave from the Ferry Terminal at the base of Embarcadero Street, instead of Fisherman's Wharf.

Definitely check the Oakland airport. It's just across the Bay and an easy BART ride away from San Francisco. Skip San Jose. The cab fare and/or rental car cost would chew up any air fare savings. It's a haul to San Francisco from San Jose, and usually with hideous traffic.

HTH.

Rose

 

[PlutoPony]

$400 pp cross country, 3 weeks out and the week before a summer holiday weekend is a pretty good price. This market is definitely more expensive than going into MCO as it's 3x the distance and and not as dominated by leisure travel (and thus lower fares). You might try the New York airports and see if you can do better, and the suggestions for Oakland were good. Also might try San Jose but that's a long shot. Going out of Philly pretty much puts you at the mercy of UsAir, which isn't particularly strong in the SFO market. How much were you hoping to spend?

 

[pennymom]

Since this is a spur of the moment idea, I really had no idea what to expect as far as cost. So if those of you who who are familiar with a Philly to San Fran flight say the price is not bad, I'll take your word for it. I thought it would be great if we could keep transport costs below $1000 or even better, then just meals to consider. DH's hotel is right on Union Square with a cable car/trolley stop outside, and a three day pass is $20, so transportation is very convenient. I'll check into Oakland, thanks!

I just love the idea of a last-minute trip to CA, as the kids have never been there. I may be getting laid off in the fall, so we're postponing our Nov. WDW trip, and I thought this might be a much less expensive alternative.

 

[badblackpug]

Did you look into flying out of Newark?

 

[PlutoPony]

I thought it would be great if we could keep transport costs below $1000 or even better, then just meals to consider.

The $1000 is likely doable, but maybe not 3 weeks out and coming back just before Labor Day weekend. I would keep checking every day just in case there's low bookings on one of those flights and the flight drops down. Do you have any flexibility on your return date? A Saturday return might be cheaper.

 

[pennymom]

Did you look into flying out of Newark?

Thanks, I did there isn't that much difference as we would have to pay for long-term parking at Newark but not at Philly!

Do you have any flexibility on your return date? A Saturday return might be cheaper.

DH's employer paid for the hotel and his airfare on set dates, so I think adding dates & additional hotel costs would make it more expensive. But worth a look, thanks!

 

[drcmk]

I also fly out of PHL and considered taking a family trip to San Francisco this summer. I ended up making different plans primarily because I couldn't find airfare for much less than $400 pp. I checked daily for a few months in the beginning of 2010. I also found very little difference in price to fly into another airport in the bay area. I will say that the last time I flew to SF (90's) I spent more than $1000 for just my ticket (I was young and in love).

I do still want to go there, but, for me, if I was going to spend that much just to arrive in SFO, I'd want to take advantage of it by staying more than a few days. Of course, since you are having other costs offset, it might be worth it to you. You should decide on the full cost of what you'll expect to spend there. I agree that there are MANY free or inexpensive things to do in SF, particularly with young kids.

 

[quentina]

Any help would be appreciated! DH just learned that he is going on a business trip from Phila to San Francisco Aug. 29 to Sept. 2. The boys and I have never been there, and we can stay at his hotel with him and pay the difference for an extra adult and two children in the room. The kids and I could do the tourist stuff while DH is at the conference, then do something together at night.

But when I looked at airfare from Phila. to San Fran, it is running $1200-$1500 for the three of us

Do any of you have experience/information about last-minute discount flights, or any advice? Is it better to fly at night when the kids might sleep? I've never flown farther than WDW with two children.

I was hoping that this could be a great way to see some of California, but it may be just too much $$$$.

Thanks!

Did you check Jet Blue out of Newark? We flew to California on them for $89 each way!!!

 

[pennymom]

drcmk, thanks for the input. I think it may turn out to be too expensive at such short notice, but will keep checking.

quentina, I've never flown Jet Blue and didn't think to look at their rates. Right now they're comparable to the others, but I'll keep checking back.

Thanks, everyone, I'll just keep an eye out for bargains as the dates get closer! I appreciate everyone's help !

 

[Glenn]

For a small savings check on line under san francisco tourism bureau & San Francisco coupons. Last time i went found some coupons for a couple bucks off a number of things including boat tours. You will also find news boxes in the tourist areas with simular coupons. Also check restraunt.com for possible coupons. Its a great city hope you find good airfare.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

For an interesting trip you could look at Amtrak. Without applying any discounts (such as AAA) round trip for one adult and two children is $1,060. Of course it is about 3.5 days each way, but why not a small adventure and see the country.

From Philadelphia at 11:08am you would change trains in Washington to the Capital Limited (with a three hour layover in DC) and have five hours in Chicago to transfer to the California Zephyr to Emeryville, a suburb of San Francisco arriving at 4:10pm.

Returning from Emeryville departing at 9:05am with a three hour layover in Chicago and a two hour layover in DC you would end up back at 30th Street Station at 5:15pm.

 

[pennymom]

For an interesting trip you could look at Amtrak. Without applying any discounts (such as AAA) round trip for one adult and two children is $1,060. Of course it is about 3.5 days each way, but why not a small adventure and see the country.

From Philadelphia at 11:08am you would change trains in Washington to the Capital Limited (with a three hour layover in DC) and have five hours in Chicago to transfer to the California Zephyr to Emeryville, a suburb of San Francisco arriving at 4:10pm.

Returning from Emeryville departing at 9:05am with a three hour layover in Chicago and a two hour layover in DC you would end up back at 30th Street Station at 5:15pm.

We do plan on doing some train travel in the next few years, but since DH is flying, I think it would be hard at their ages (8 and 5) for me to do such a long train trip alone...but thanks for the idea!