This page contains information about things to do and places to see in the Bay Area.
Our house is about 1 hour drive from San Francisco and 30 minutes from San Jose.
Surfing
Yes California is known for surfing. Best place close by is Santa Cruz for more info see their website But be warned that the water can be cold even in the summer and even though it will be nice and hot and sunny in Sunnyvale (which is why they called it that), the beach can be cold, windy and cloudy in the summer. so bring or rent a wet suit.
Shopping
Milpitas north of San Jose: the great mall (a giant collection of stores) 30 minutes from our house, good for buying not upscale
San Jose: Santana row, upscale good for looking not for buying. 20 minutes from house.
Palo Alto: Stanford mall, upscale good for looking not for buying. 30 minutes from house.
Palo Alto: University Avenue, lots of shops and restaurants, walkable downtown area.
San Francisco: Ghiradelli square, downtown
Sightseeing
San Francisco:
Tours in San Francisco: Â http://www.viator.com/San-Francisco/d651-ttd
Alcatraz you will need to take a ferry boat it leaves from pier 33, in the summer you MUST book in advance for more info see their website http://www.alcatrazcruises.com
Wanna see the giant redwood trees? Then visit Muir woods just 10 miles north of San Francisco
San Jose:
Great America roller coasters only 15 minutes from the house
Santa Cruz a lovely little village on the coast with great beaches and a small roller coaster park right on the board walk. Less than an hour drive from our house. http://www.beachboardwalk.com/
Vallejo:
Six flags, (formerly known as Marine world) roller coasters, dolphins, animals you name it. About 1.5 hour drive from our house
Napa Valley (wine country as we call it), visit some wineries so the younger than 21 crowd can be educated on how they make wine and the non designated driver adults can do some tasting. (21 is the legal age limit for drinking any alcohol in the United States).
Monterey aquarium, they have the world best jelly fish exhibit fun for all ages. About 1.5 hour drive from our house.
If you would like to get some customer reviews for any of this then we suggest using http://www.yelp.com
For special deals with lots of discount on things to do close to our house go and visit the SpecialDeals.com website. I am an advisor to SpecialDeals so I garantee them. Simply click on the picture below to see what kind of deals they have. For cities nearby try San Jose or San Francisco.