San Jose, California, home to Silicone Valley, doesn’t necessarily inspire crazy nights of partying. But, it’s not to say we can’t jet off and find some trouble.

Today, I just happened to find a very cheap fair you can do if you’re in Los Angeles and need a quick jet setting adventure for a day, or even for the night.

Hear me out. Even though San Jose California might not be a crazy party city, there is fun stuff we can do for the day that will make us feel like the jet setter we are.

Let’s start with flights

The one thing about cheap flights is that they go fast, so if you’re reading this a few days from when this was written, chances are the fare might not be available anymore. But, I also saw this rate throughout the month of Jan (and Feb).

If you’re in Los Angeles, you can do this a couple of different ways.

Wednesday, Jan 22, JetBlue Airlines has some incredible fares from Long Beach (LGB) to San Jose (SJC). The ticket is $60 each way.

The only issue with coming back to LGB is that the return flight is the next day, Thursday morning Jan 23. In other words, it can become a two-day trip. But that’s not a big deal. We can always find cheap accommodation or a cheap hostel for the night.

If you’re trying to come back the same day (Wed, Jan 22) your best bet is to fly back to Los Angeles International (LAX.) 

At the moment, American Airlines Basic Economy tickets are matching JetBlue prices. Therefore coming back from SJC to LAX is $60 as well.

Google Flights is showing the same results.

Okay. I Bought My Ticket! Now What???

The great thing about a day trip is that you don’t really need a bag. Depending on what you’re thinking of doing, you can take a small backpack, but that’s about it. Needless to say, packing is simple.

Now that you have your ticket, let’s find some awesome things to do in the city of San Jose, California, for the day.

The flights I picked are actually pretty early. You get into San Jose, California, at around 8 am. 

It’s early. What now? Let’s grab some breakfast at a cute, hip breakfast-only restaurant.

If you haven’t heard of The Breakfast Club, it’s okay because we’re here for the experience. This restaurant opens at 7 am and closes at 3 pm. So you’re in time to head over and get your fix of breakfast, Brunch, or Lunch.

They have a lot of tasty breakfast staples to try.

The SJC Jet Setting Experience Continues

After breakfast, a little walking around might be good for digestion. So let’s do something uniquely San Jose. In this case, let’s go take a tour of the Winchester Mystery House.

The Winchester Mansion is an incredible and weird architectural marvel that has a dark and twisted history of ghosts and mental disorders. Hollywood even made a movie of how it may have all happened.

The story suggests that Winchester’s bride went crazy living in that house.

Haunted by her deceased husband’s ghost, she’s told to continue to build or die.

She starts to build but creates rooms upon rooms, stairs that lead to dead ends and passages behind walls.

The Winchester Mansion is a haunted spectacle. So let’s find our own story and take a tour.

The Winchester Mansion has more than its mystery tour. While you’re in town, consider their ax-throwing class. It’s only $5 for 5 throws, which might be worth it if you want to do something different. I should probably let you know that ax throwing is not permitted if it’s raining.

On Valentine’s day, they have a theatrical tour with actors dressed in fun century-old attire. They’re calling it the Ghosts of Valentines. But it’s only Feb 14 and 15. Either way, the Winchester Mystery House is a unique experience you can only do in San Jose.

Let’s Get Our Gay-on at a Gay Spa or Gay Bar

Depending on how tired you might be after the Winchester Mystery House tour, you may want to either chill for the day or head on a shopping spree. Let’s consider both for now.

At one end, you have the gay sauna Watergarden located at 1010 The Alameda, San Jose, California.

Every Tuesday and Thursday is buddy night, which means rooms and lockers are half price. It gets busy!

However, in our case, we’re here on Wednesday. Therefore today is about chilling and relaxing in the hot tub or pool.

Nothing compares to treating yourself right in a spa for a few hours.

If you happen to get laid, that’s a win! For sure!

If you’re not into gay spas and prefer a drink, there are several gay bars to choose from.

Mac’s Club is located at 39 post st, San Jose Ca. It’s in the heard of Downtown. This place is a cozy gay bar. It opens at noon, which means you can venture here after our frightful experience at the Winchester Mystery House.

Renegades is a gay billiards bar, but it opens at 3 pm. Depending on how much time you have or if you’re staying the night, you can check out this establishment.

There’s also a gay club called Splash Bar Inc. It’s a gay club with two levels of dance floors. It opens at 4 pm.

An Alternative

Perhaps you’re not into drinking or gay bathhouses? That’s not an issue because San Jose is a big city with many exciting things to do.

If that’s the case, lets “wind and dine” ourselves. We can head over to a beautiful plaza that’s modeled after the streets of Milan. They call it Santana Row.

Santana Row has become a large venue with many stores, restaurants, pubs, and even a movie theater.

You’ll find H&M an Amazon Store and even Gwen Stefani’s Harajuku is here. 

The interesting thing about Santana Row is the mix of condos and shops around. It really makes you feel like you’re in a faraway land. I always chase after that feeling when I travel. The more unique, the better!

Its also down the street from the Winchester Mystery House.

If you’re interested in an international experience you can only find in Seoul or Hong Kong, well, now you can find it here. They have a Hello Kitty Cafe!

Even if you’re not into Hello Kitty, this cafe is so cute and different its a must for everyone. 

Apart from cafes, there are plenty of restaurants to choose from. I ate at Maggiano’s Little Italy last time I was here. 

Santana Row has become a bustling organism with a mind of its own. More and more stores continue to open.

There is something to be said about gorgeous urban design where modern living meets modern shopping. Even though places like New York City and many cities in Europe already have these types of thriving cultures, it’s nice to see it happening here as well.

Where to Stay

Here’s the big question: are you staying the night? If you purchased the two one way tickets (one from LGB to SJC and one from SJC to LAX), then that means you’re headed back home the same day, and there is no need for you to stay the night.

However, if you purchase the round trip ticket heading back to LGB, then you probably need accommodation for the night.

Let’s find some accommodation.

Although I love hostels, now that I’m getting older, I find that hotels are better for me. So let’s find some great hotels.

The Caravelle Inn & Suites is in a central location. It’s in between all of the sites we mentioned above. It’s also very affordable. Prices start at around $95 for the night. Also, it’s not a motel. There are plenty of Motel 6 around, but let’s not go there just yet.

If you don’t mind paying a little more for something sleek, modern, and more beautiful, you can check out the Pacific Motor Inn. I know the name sounds like I’m telling you to sleep at your local mechanic’s shop, but trust me, this hotel is nice.

The whole place is sleek with a modern touch. Also, it’s not that much more expensive. The room starts at around $140.

The Pacific Motor hotel is in the Downtown San Jose area, which means its located within the gay bars we talked about earlier. Its also near the airport. It’s a win-win situation.

So what do you think? Let’s Jet!

Let’s break down your itinerary:

LGB to SJC is about a $120 round trip right now multiple days. I checked the day of Jan 22 and coming back the next day, Jan 23.

You can also make a same-day getaway and return if you book two separate tickets. The first ticket would be from LGB to SJC. The return ticket is from SJC to LAX. Its the same price.

The round trip ticket is from JetBlue. 

Same day return is JetBlue one way and American Airlines the way back.

Check out Google Flights to book your ticket. Or JetBlue to book it for the night.

Activities

Check out The Breakfast Club for an excellent breakfast or brunch.

Head to the Winchester Mystery House for a good old fashion haunted tour of the mansion.

The Winchester House is also down the street from Santana Row, a beautiful shopping area with incredible urban design made to look like European streets. You can wine and dine yourself before heading back home.

Or you can head to a couple of Gay bars for a drink or even treat yourself to the gay spa. Who knows, you might also get some while you’re lounging in the jacuzzi.

The gay bathhouse is called the Watergarden.

Other gay bars include Renegade and Mac’s Bar and Splash Bar Inc.

Call it a day and head your way back to the airport. If you’re staying the night, keep on reading.

Lodging

If you decide to stay the night you can stay at the following:

Stay at a budget-conscious hotel for the night: Caravelle Inn & Suites. Head over to Booking.com to book it.

Or stay at a slightly more expensive sleek and modern hotel in the center of the city: Pacific Motor Inn. You can book it on Booking.com if you’re interested.

Wake up in the early morning and grab that uber back to the SJC. The morning flight gets you into the Los Angeles area in time for lunch.

Let me know how your Jet Setting experience goes! I would love to hear about it. Email me on my Contact page.

Booking.com links are affiliate links. That means if you book the hotel I get a commission at no additional cost to you and you’re supporting my website. Let’s get spooky!