Air travel

The San Francisco Bay Area has three major airports – San Francisco (SFO), San Jose (SJC), and Oakland (OAK). San Jose is closest to the wedding, but San Francisco has more flights (especially direct ones). You can use your favorite travel site to explore the options (we really like kayak.com).

• From the D.C. area, Virgin America operates direct flights between SFO and Dulles. We recommend this airline even if Matthew is still upset he never won the Mah-Jong game on the in-flight entertainment gizmo.
• From the NY area, JetBlue flies direct to San Jose.
• From the South Florida area, there are direct flights from Miami to San Francisco. Connecting flights are offered from the major South Florida airports to the three Bay Area airports. Lot of airlines are possible here.

Hotels

A block of rooms is available at the Fairmont at a special rate. You can book a room using the following website:

https://resweb.passkey.com/go/bielskerabrams

If you prefer to book over the phone, please call the hotel at 1-800-346-5550 and mention the “Bielsker/Abrams Wedding Block”.

The rate is $129 for a regular room and $179 for a one bedroom suite (taxes/fees additional). The special rate only applies on the dates around the wedding.

If you prefer to stay elsewhere, there are numerous other hotels in the area.

Renting a car

You can rent a car at any of the major airports. While you can get around on public transportation, if you want to go anywhere beyond the immediate vicinity of the hotel, a car is the way to go.

Activities

The Bay Area has weeks worth of activities and there are whole books written on what to do as a tourist.   We won’t even try to compete with these, but here are a few suggestions:

Within walking distance of the Fairmont there are several museums, including the Tech Museum, Children’s Museum, and San Jose Museum of Art.   Nearby, but a bit of a long walk walk, is the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum.

Beyond downtown San Jose, the opportunities are huge.  There are lots of parks and pretty places within ten or twenty miles (or more) worth visiting.  If you want to drive farther, you can visit San Francisco, Monterey, Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay, or even Napa/Sonoma.