jent103

To summarize, I'll be in San Francisco (with a friend, without a car) late Tuesday 6/4 through sometime Saturday 6/8. At some point on Saturday we'll rent a car and head to Carmel, where we'll base until we drive back to SFO Tuesday morning to fly home. My friend has been to San Francisco briefly, several years ago; I've never been. Neither of us have been to the Carmel area, and neither of us have driven in SF.

We've gotten numerous recommendations to visit Muir Woods, and it sounds like something we'd really like to do. However, I'm struggling to figure out the best way to do it. Our options as I understand them:

1) Take a guided tour like this one - well reviewed on TA. $70 per person, includes pickup at hotel, transport, tolls and parking, and a guided tour through Muir Woods. Could be done any day (though we already have lunch reservations Thursday and Alcatraz booked on Friday). http://muirwoodstour.com/ Easiest solution by far; also most expensive.

2) Public transport, as mentioned in Dayenu's post and on the NPS site for Muir Woods: http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...-easy-way-.cfm Limits us to Saturday, I believe. $5 for the shuttle plus $20 each for the ferry rides.

3) Rent a Zipcar (normally $25 + $60 to join plus hourly rental, but they have a 30-day trial where we could just pay the $25 plus hourly fee, I think - no Zipcar in our cities, so it wouldn't make sense to join otherwise). This was an option recommended by a friend, and gives us flexibility in terms of the day we go.

4) Renting our car early-ish on Saturday, then driving ourselves to Muir Woods and then through or around SF to Carmel. Gives us the most flexibility to stop at Marin Headlands or Muir Beach. Probably puts us in Carmel kind of late Saturday, but has us driving downtown and paying tolls on the GG Bridge twice.

If we *don't* do option 3, I was thinking of just taking BART out to SFO and renting our car round trip from there, avoiding driving in the city.

It's entirely possible I'm overanalyzing this. Any thoughts would be great!

sf7307

>>

You only pay on the way into the city -- there's no "outbound" toll. I personally don't like this plan, because you're driving north when you want to end up south. If you must go to Muir Woods (I haven't been in at least 30 years), I'd opt for the car rental idea (note that a one-day car rental might still be cheaper than zip car + $25).

jent103

sf7307, that's my biggest objection too - the only reason it makes any sense because we're already renting the car that day. Good to know about the tolls!

emalloy

I did enjoy Muir woods, but it is in the opposite direction and if it is large trees you want to see, there are plenty down the coast. Look at Julia Pfifer State park for example.

jent103

emalloy, that's the other thing I was wondering - whether it's worth going to Muir Woods when we're headed down the coast anyway. I'm not sure how similar the areas are.

aprillilacs

Don't go to Muir Woods on a weekend--it's mobbed and you might not be able to find a parking spot if you go later in the morning. In fact, as much as I like Muir Woods on quieter days/times, I would skip it this time and visit Big Basin instead--it's in the direction of Carmel, and it has lovely redwoods.

http://www.bigbasin.org/

tomfuller

There is a great place to see large Coast Redwoods south of San Francisco at Butano State Park you should also check out Big Basin. http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=536
There are also 2 HI hostels next to lighthouses along 101- Pigeon Point and Pescadero.
There may be a car rental available in downtown SF that lets you return the car to SFO if you are flying out-check on this.

starrs

I love Muir Woods. I also love the wine country. If you have a day to carve out of your trip, I highly recommend that combination for one of your days. If you don't have time to do that, skip Muir Woods.

Do a google map of San Francisco > Muir Woods > Napa > Carmel
The routing is 200 miles and 4 hours but IMO it's worth it.
You don't have to come back through SF and you get to see Muir Woods, try a couple of wineries and still get to Carmel.

NewbE

I agree with starrs, only I'd substitute Sonoma (Valley, or the town) for Napa. Or skip Muir Woods if time is tight. You'll see loads of gorgeous scenery on your way to and in and around Carmel. enjoy!

MonicaRichards

Muir Woods and Big Basin have the same type of redwoods (coastal redwoods, not the sequoias) so considering that Big Basin is on the way to Carmel I'd just go there and skip Muir Woods.

MonicaRichards

Oh, and if you really want to save time, you could see the redwoods at Henry Cowell State Park, right in Scotts Valley so not out of the way at all. They have a nice visitor center and a short walking loop trail of the redwoods.

jent103

Thanks, y'all - this is really helpful! There is so much to do in San Francisco that I think if we skip Muir Woods, we'd just stay later in the city that day. Wineries are of mild to little interest depending on which of us you talk to, and I'm hoping for fantastic scenery on the coast, so Napa/Sonoma aren't top of the list for this time.

SAB

If your friend or you have some interest in wineries, there are plenty to visit in the Central Coast, such as those in Carmel Valley or in the Santa Cruz mountains near Big Basin. California's wine regions are not just limited to Napa and Sonoma.