You're gonna need a car big enough for 8 people! Or Or two, but that'll. Either will be murderhard to park in SF. On the other hand, 8 fares for transit, train or airline won't be cheap either. That vs the value of 8 peoples' time.
Beware, USA credit card readers aren't all ready for chip cards. Many still need magnetic stripe, including all gasoline stations. Target shops are all chip, and they sell Mastercard gift cards which have stripes.
A "short drive" that soon turns into 2+ hours with commute trafficcommute traffic. You'll spend more time in SF trying to park than actually seeing anything. (2 spots near each other? forget it unless you use expensive garages.)
Take CalTrainCalTrain. Trains every 30-60 minutes, some are express.
CalTrain requires Proof-of-Payment. Buy a ticket anytimeProof-of-Payment. Activate the ticket by You Validatingmust the ticket atbuy and validate a machineticket at the station whilebefore you are waiting for the trainboard. Hold onto that ticket in case a A fare inspector checksmight appear and check it.
You can fool around with driving to BARTBART if you really want to, but the closest BART gets to San Jose is Fremont, the drive there is long and very congested, and BART parking is nigh impossible. BART uses stored-value cards exactly like Washington DC Metro. It also supports ClipperClipper.
While in the City proper, use taxi/Uber/Lyft, or for best agility, I use the Muni public transit system, which is excellent.** Many drug and liquor stores sell Muni Maps. You pay for Muni one of several ways:
- Cash fares in the $2.50 rangecash fare. You >>MUST<< take a transfer (proof of payment again), good for unlimited additional rides on Muni for 90 minutes (longer if you get it from a human driver). Human drivers can also take a $5 bill and give you 2 transfers. Other than that, human drivers need exact change. Transit works can't give change and local shops don't like to. In the underground, you buy tickets from the machines.
- ClipperClipper. This is a cash-storage smartcard that works on all the systems I'm mentioning.
- Muni PassportMuni Passport. This is for tourists, it's a 1, 3 or 7 day "all-Muni pass" which includes the Historic Cable Cars. You buy it downtown near the Embarcadero or Powell St cable car terminals.
("the City" is an Herb Caen thing. Hecapitalization was a style of a beloved newspaper columnist named Herb Caen. Many will appreciate the reference.)
Just for reference -- Amtrak Capitols doAmtrak Capitol Corridor does that. 15 trains/day (really), hourly-ish. I'm not sure if the Capitols take ClipperAlso stops at Coliseum for OAK airport. Ask if you can use 10-ride discount cards on 8 different riders on the same trip - possibly No Clipper.
Be prepared to think you're in sunny CaliforniaPrepare for big Sierra snow - heavy, turn up a mountain road and suddenly hit a typedeep and volume offluffy, unlike the dreary, icy snow unfamiliar toof the American east. California does not use road salt because it's a lifelongdifferent kind of snow-belt (Maine to Minnesota) driver. You will need to adjust driving methods somewhat.
So many California drivers have zero experience driving in snow at all, that CalTrans is surprisingly draconian about things like chains. Yes, chains on cars. Welcome to CACalifornia.
Fly, period. Not evenDriving: Seems like a questionbad idea unless you do a San Jose - Las Vegas - Los Angeles triangle. This is the worst side of the triangle, don't do it twice if you can avoid it. I hate it, and I don't even do the worst part, Pacheco Pass.
California is "huge like Russia". If youIt's a circuitous route and a 9 hour drive, it's a circuitous routebarring traffic or snow. There are 3 gigantic "freeway gaps" (Pacheco Pass US-101 to I-5, I-5 to CA-99, and Boron/Kramer Jct) and you'll spend half your time behind a slow truck thinking "I thought freeways were a thing here". Also,There will be risk of snow/ice in TehachapiPacheco and those non-freeway gapsTehachapi passes, and in Nevada... but not the crazy Sierra stuff. It's a solid 9-hour drive assuming perfect roads and no traffic. HA.
On the other hand, SJCFlying: SJC is a "737 airport". It's made for regional hops, and the flights to Las VegasLAS are thick and cheap, since it's a huge tourist destination for the natives. Southwest has 9 direct flights, Delta has 3. (warning: Southwest is a great airline but not on the booking sites, deal direct.)
The Las Vegas Strip area is almost walkable, and transit, cabs and Uber etc. are readily available. There's even a monorail (plus 2 more monorails within casinos), most free for any comer.) Casinos do not like under-21 people in the casino proper, but will sometimes turn a blind eye to passersby who are not gambling. The shopping is unbelievablegigantic.
Las Vegas to Los Angeles
Just for reference: Flying: plenty of flights. Driving: easy by comparison, 4 hours all freeway. Possible snow in Nevada and Cajon Pass.
San Jose to Los Angeles
MehMany decent options, no great ones.
Flying,Flying: again SJC is the perfect airport, and flights are thick and cheap to LAX, Burbank, John Wayne, Ontario or the utterly charming Long Beach. (Again, as these are largely commuter hops, the big carriers Southwest, Alaska or Jetblue are not on the booking sites). But then you won't have a car, and that's a problem because L.A. is enormous. Their efforts toward transit are rather impressive, but the sheer size makes it hard, and you need to research transit options in advance if you want to do that.
The Coast StarlightCoast Starlight train is magnificent, intentionally marketed as a "land cruise" and a tourist adventure ofall to itself. But it's rather slow. (and often late, since long trains accumulate delays, and southbound came from Seattle, so if you go one-way, prefer northbound for less delays.) For what it's worth, Amtrak comes into the main transit hub, Union Station. But it's hard for L.A. to have good public transit's main hub is Union Station where Amtrak comes intransit over such a vast area.
DrivingDriving: Again, you can takegetting to I-5 (after theis ugly Gilroy-I-5 non-freeway segment) and hit, but then it's all freeway. Risk of weather therein Pacheco Pass and over the GrapevineGrapevine. You can bypass that by taking US-101 the whole way, which is all 4-lane, prettier, and slower. (one of those not-quite-freeways It may matter where in L.A. you have the occasional cross traffic)are trying to go. Ask your maps app.
Warning: Going north to 680-580You can also reach I-5 via Altamont Pass (Altamont)I-680 to avoid the Gilroy nonI-freeway may seem clever;580 to reach I-5) for a 100% freeway route, but that segment can have murderousvulnerable to crushing traffic jams.
