kellygates

Hi! My husband and I are wanting to plan an amazing week-long vacation from Seattle to San Francisco. (Or vice versa) We are hoping to fly in to one of the two locations, then rent a car and drive up or down the coast to the other location, then fly back to Florida from there. We also really want to hit Portland in this trip. We are completely lost as to planning our itenerary! We are from Florida and we've never been to the west coast. We are thinking we will travel for 5-6 nights. For reference, we are both 30, no kids and we love great food and beautiful natural environments and outdoor activities. We are looking to make this trip in the first week of November. We would be so grateful for help in planning our itinerary!!

curiousgeo

With a week, Seattle, Portland and San Francisco sounds really tight. Would you consider Portland and San Francisco? You could do 2 nights in each city giving you 3 to do the redwood highway and coast drive. Just a thought and by the way I love all three cities you are considering.

kellygates

We are open to narrowing the trip down to get the best experience. Which city would you start in?

Kathie

You could fill a week in any of those cities. You idea of the drive plus the cities just doesn't work in a week. You could do it in two weeks. Portland and San Francisco might work, or Seattle and Portland.

If you only have 5-6 nights, choose one of the cities and take a day trip.

happytrailstoyou

November is usually quite wet in the northwest.

HTtY

janisj

Pick one city (my choice would be SF but Seattle or Portland would be great too) and spend your short time touring around that general area. You simply do not have enough time to drive the scenic bits of NorCal, Oregon, Washington.

Something like San Francisco, Monterey/Carmel/Big Sur would totally fill 6 nights

kellygates

I like the idea of San Francisco, Monterey/Carmel/Big Sur. What would a 6-day itinerary for that trip look like?

suze

<5-6 nights> Isn't anywhere near enough time for a leisurely road trip including San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle.

I like the idea of San Francisco only (but then I live in Seattle so it doesn't seem all that exciting to me).

Gardyloo

I like the idea of San Francisco, Monterey/Carmel/Big Sur. What would a 6-day itinerary for that trip look like?

https://goo.gl/maps/6E79nXxAsSG2

I'd spend a couple of nights in SF, then drive to Monterey via the Big Basin redwoods and Santa Cruz (cool beachfront amusement park, probably limited opening in November.)

From Monterey (stay in Monterey, Pacific Grove or Carmel for the rest of the trip) I'd do one or more day trips down the coast, past Big Sur to the Hearst Castle at San Simeon.

There are some very cool things to see around November in the area. In Pacific Grove (also in Santa Cruz and down by Big Sur) the Monarch butterflies will be making their annual appearance - amazing. Then down at Piedras Blancas, just north of the Hearst Castle, the big elephant seal colony will probably have some babies appearing by November - very, very cool. There's also whale watching out of Monterey, pretty active in November, too. And of course Point Lobos (just south of Carmel) is wonderful year-round.

Butterflies - http://gardyloo.us/20130124_187a.JPG
Big Sur coast - http://gardyloo.us/20130119_61H1a.jpg
Elephant seals - http://gardyloo.us/20130119_90a.JPG