Visiting San Francisco/California- please review&advise on my itinerary
I'm doing my first ever trip to the US. I've been a European all my life, lived in 3 different European countries but thanks to having studied at an international school when I was 7-14, have a bit of a generic North American accent.
I've bought my plane tickets for early October, booked a vehicle and am in the process of setting up a detailed itinerary. Whenever I travel, I have a travel spreadsheet listing out in detail where I'll go and how much time I'll spend somewhere and I'm doing the same for this trip. I've got an outline itinerary below that I'd like some feedback on (things like if the timescales are realistic, if something I've listed is not worth visiting or if there is something I really should check out that I've missed). I've also got a few generic 'USA-101' type questions at the end.
Day 1 (Sunday)
I arrive at San Francisco International at around 20:30. I pick up my rental car and drive c45 min to Vallejo where I'e got a hotel booked near Six Flags. Cheaper there than in San Francisco for a a hotel it seems and I want to miss the big city traffic on day 2.
Day 2: (Monday)
Sacramento day, looking to visit the following. Dependent on how much time I'll take, will see how many I get through:
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Cali State Railroad Museum
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Sutter's Fort
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Old Sacramento Historic District
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Aerospace Museum
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California State Museum and Capitol
Hotel in Auburn. Anything to see there?
Day 3: (Tuesday)
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Tunnel Chute
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Kennedy Mine Museum
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Underground Gold Miners Museum
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Black Chasm Cavern
On the maybe list: Lake Tahoe and Carson City
AirBnB about 1h from Yosemite valley
Day 4: (Wednesday)
Yosemite day.
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Hike part way up Half Dome
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Yosemite valley
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Glacier Point
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Tunnel View
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Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoias
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Tioga Pass
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Olmsted Piont
Hotel in Santa Cruz, but thinking of switching to something closer to Yosemite to reduce driving time on this day.
Day 4: (Thursday)
Santa Cruz/San Jose
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Santa Cruz boardwalk
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Egyptian Museum
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Museum of Innovation
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Japanese friendship garden
Anything else? This day is feeling a bit empty.
Hotel somewhere south of SF, but close enough so that the drive in the next day wouldn't be more than 1-1.5h. Not booked yet.
Day 5/6: (Friday-Saturday)
San Francisco:
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Alcatraz (got my ticket booked for Friday morning)
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Fisherman's wharf
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US Navy fleet week
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Golden Gate Bridge
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Chinatown
What else to add to my San Fran must see list?
Hotel near the Presidio. Flying out on the evening of my last day.
General queries
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I'm used to paying for everything by card, largely contactless payments. I'm struggling to remember the last time I got cash out that wasn't on holiday. How common are card payments in the US, would it be recommended to carry some cash with me?
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In movies (yes a lot of my knowledge of America comes from films) I often see gas station attendants filling up vehicles. Is this the norm or can I fill up the vehicle on my own?
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I know tipping is important in the US. Is it possible to add the tip to when I pay for the meal by card (in Europe you can often type the tip into the card reader before you put in your pin code)? Or do I need to leave a few dollars on the table when I'm done?
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Does Yosemite have any stores/places to eat in it or should I bring my food with me from outside the park? Are there bathrooms (aside from relieving myself in mother nature)?
I might have more to add to this list.
Submitted September 09, 2017 at 11:20AM by snakesnake9 http://ift.tt/2facIKW
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