SingSangSung

Hi everyone,

About a week ago, I asked for help planning my trip to California. I've heeded everyone's advice and need a final run down (I go on Saturday) before leaving. The major change I made was getting rid of LA. I'm also considering getting rid of a day in SD (look below) since there isn't much to do there according to others in the last post. If so, I would spend 1.5 days there. I will try to go to the zoo/balboa/cabrillo monument in the morning and squeeze in kayaking/snornekiling in the evening in La Jolla (they have one around 5).

If I do this, I would have an extra day on the coast up or in SF. Do you think this is a better option?

I would appreciate your feedback. And of course, if I'm missing something, please let me know. Also, if I don't have a description next to an "item" along the coast, it's because I don't plan on stopping there for a considerable amt of time. I will just drive by quickly. FYI, I am traveling alone and will have a car.

23 Day 1:
Arrive at SAN around noon and check in
I want to drive down the coast on Pacific, Mission, Ocean Beaches and Sunset Cliffs..Then maybe hang out in Hillcrest, Gaslmap, or Seaport. (I will stay in Hillcrest)

24 Day 2:
Balboa Park and SD Zoo. Hangout in Hillcrest/Gaslamp Quarter/Seaport Village/Northpark again if I can.

25 Day 3:
Cabrillo Tide Pool and Cabrillo National Monument in the morning.
Kayak and snorkel tour and Marine Street at La Jolla.


26 Day 4:
Leave San Diego at dawn
Head to San Simeon via Highway 1 to see Elephant Seal Beach
Head to Cambria via Highway 1 to see Hearst Castle and Nittwitt

*Stay at Cambria*

27 Day 5:
Leave Cambria in the morning
Head to Morro Bay
Head to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park/Waterfall
Head to Pfeiffer Beach (eat a Nepenthe)
Head to Big Sur
Head to Redwoods and over Bixby Bridge
Spend 2 hours at Pt Lobos
Head to Carmel/Monterey

*Stay at Carmel/Monterey*

28 Day 6:
Spend the day in Carmel/Monterey
Aquarium
Carmel Beach (walk along scenic road from parking lot)
Carmel
17 Mile Drive
Spanish Bay
Pacific Grove (drive along Ocean View Blvd, shops, beaches, cottages)
Santa Cruz (boardwalk/downtown)
Half Moon Bay (Main St and walk on beach end of Kelly or Poplar St)

*Spend the night at Half Moon Bay*

29 Day 7:
Drive early to San Francisco..stop bySams Chowder house..Devils slide on hwy1

30 Day 8:
San Francisco

31 Day 9:
San Francisco

1 Day 10:
Depart SFO in the morning

clarkgriswold

Morro Bay is south of Cambria so you are backtracking.

"Drive to San Francisco Early"....watch the traffic near the Silicon Valley, horrible until 10am.

Day 4: Leaving San Diego at dawn. This will put you through terrible Los Angeles traffic which is jammed until 10am. Think about leaving San Diego at 7:30pm the night before...making it as far as Woodland Hills/Westlake Village by 9:30pm. In the morning you can sleep a bit later, drive through the canyon to see Malibu, then north to Cambria. If you leave Westlake at 9am you can make photo stops in Malibu, Summerland or Santa Barbara, Shell Beach and Morro Bay and be in Cambria before sunset.

SingSangSung

Awesome. I think I can make leaving SD at night work. That way I can go to the Cabrillio Monument when it opens, get to the zoo/balboa park, do a kayak thing in the evening, and then head out to Woodland Hills/Westlake Village.

That means I get an extra day in SF (making it about 4 days) or an extra day on the coast (making it 4 days). Which do you think is worth spending more time on?

clarkgriswold

I think I would stay another night in Carmel/Monterey( since you arrive there so late on night one), and then spend the following day visiting Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay but maybe stay in San Francisco that night (once again with the idea of not wasting time in morning traffic.)

sf7307

You could easily spend the whole Day 6 at the Aquarium, Carmel downtown and beach and 17-mile drive. It would be difficult to also add Pacific Grove, Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay to that same day. So if you want to do those, stay in Monterey on night 6, and the next morning, drive to Santa Cruz and then through Half Moon Bay (if Sam's Chowder House is an important stop, have lunch there), then onto San Francsico to arrive mid-afternoon. That will give you half of Day 7 on the coast and half in San Francisco.

Patty

Stop at Piedras Blancas elephant seal rookery on Day 5 on your way up the Big Sur coast and stop at Morro Bay on Day 4 on your way to Cambria. Otherwise you're doing more backtracking than necessary.

Big Sur isn't really one destination or town. It's more of an entire coastline. There is an area where some lodgings, restaurants, etc are clustered but this area isn't really a focal point.

If you have an extra night, I'd add it to the Monterey Peninsula. 17 Mile Drive isn't necessary if you've been through Big Sur, Point Lobos, etc. unless you want to see the homes and golf courses. Keep going along Scenic from Carmel city beach around Carmel Point to Carmel state river beach. Similarly, I'd also continue your Pacific Grove drive along Ocean View around the peninsula where it turns into Sunset and drive the stretch along Asilomar state park where you can park along the road and walk. This is if you have time to fit it all in! The aquarium will be busy at this time of year. I'd go early or late or drop the aquarium if you're short on time.

If you do manage to squeeze in an extra day here, consider a kayak or whale watch trip in the bay. These depart from either Monterey or Moss Landing (about half an hour north on the way to Santa Cruz). At this time of year kayak rentals are also available from Lover's Point in Pacific Grove. You could also stop at Moss Landing state beach on your way to Santa Cruz and just drive to the end of Jetty Road and look for sea lions and otters in the estuary. There's abundant marine wildlife here so any time you're near shore be on the lookout for whale spouts, otters and you may still be in time to catch a few harbor seal pups at either Point Lobos or Hopkins beach near the aquarium. Some photos from last month http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...t-wildlife.cfm

jamie99

I'd not stay in Half Moon Bay nice as it is, but drive on to San Francisco. 17 Mile Drive is OK once if you have time but if you have to drop something, this is it. Otherwise sounds like a nice trip, have fun.

SingSangSung

Thank you everyone. After much planning, I think I'm pretty much done. I managed to reduce my stay in SD to 1.5 days, Stay on the coast 3.5 days (2 whole days in the MOnterey/Carmel area), and stay in SF about 3.5 days.

Patty, I just need some final advice on my 2 days in Carmel/Monterey. Because I'm not familar with the geography of the place, trying to get as much in during the two days without going in circles is difficult. If you may, could you point out anything that seems redunant or suggest rearranging some things?

May 27 D5
-Monterey Aquarium
-Carmel City Beach (walk along scenic road from parking lot around Carmel Point to Carmel State River Beach)
-Carmel Downtown/City
-17 Mile Drive (drop if no time; not necessary if I see Big Sur, Point Lobos, etc.)
-continue your Pacific Grove drive along Ocean View around the peninsula where it turns into Sunset and drive the stretch along Asilomar state park where you can park along the road and walk. This is if you have time to fit it all in
-Spanish Bay
-Pacific Grove (drive along Ocean View Blvd, shops, beaches, cottages)

*Stay at Carmel/Monterey*

May 28 D6
-Consider a kayak or whale watch trip in the bay. These depart from either Monterey or Moss Landing (about half an hour north on the way to Santa Cruz). At this time of year kayak rentals are also available from Lover's Point in Pacific Grove.
-Stop at Moss Landing State Beach on the way to Santa Cruz and drive to end of Jetty Road to look for wildlife in the estuary (may still have time to catch harbor seal pups at Point Lobos or Hopkins)
-Santa Cruz (boardwalk/downtown)
-Half Moon Bay (Main St and walk on beach end of Kelly or Poplar St; Sam’s Chowder House)
-Drive by Devil’s Slide on Hgwy 1
-Drive to San Francisco at midafternoon or night

*Stay in San Francisco*

StuDudley

I agree about not staying in Half Moon Bay. You are so close to San Francisco, that you should be able to end that day in SF. I would try to see as much as you can in the Monterey/Carmel area. After the Big Sur Coast, Pt Lobos, Carmel shops, Pacific Grove/Spanish Bay - you may not even want to stop in Half Moon Bay. You could just enjoy the drive up the coast from Santa Cruz, swing onto Main St to see if that "grabs" you, then turn left after Main St ends & drive a block on 92 & pick up Hwy 1 again & on to SF. I would consider skipping Santa Cruz also, in favor of more time in Carmel/Monterey & San Francisco - but you can "adjust" as you go, based on what you feel like doing at the time. Also you won't see any Silicone Valley traffic driving from Santa Cruz to Half Moon Bay to San Francisco on Hwy 1.

Stu Dudley

Patty

D5 - It might make sense to go Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach/17 Mile Drive and end in Carmel after the aquarium. You can enter Pebble Beach at the Pacific Grove gate and just drive the scenic coastal portion and exit at Carmel gate which is very close to Carmel city beach. No need to drive the whole 17 miles.

You could start at the aquarium and head west on Ocean View Blvd. Maybe stop at Hopkins beach which is just past the marine station/boatworks to see if there are still some harbor seals around in case you missed them at Point Lobos (they were still at Point Lobos this morning but just a few mom and pup pairs left). Continue to Lover's Point, Asilomar, etc. There's a lighthouse at Point Pinos but it's not open on Wednesday. Sunset Dr will eventually lead you to a right turn to the Pebble Beach gate.

Spanish Bay is inside Pebble Beach/17 Mile Drive and this is one of the first areas you'll come to if you enter from the PG gate. The $10 gate fee is refunded if you spend $30 at any of the restaurants at the Lodge at Pebble Beach or Inn at Spanish Bay in case you want to have lunch here. When you exit at Carmel gate, continue south on San Antonio and you'll come to Carmel city beach parking lot (you can also park farther down along Scenic Rd).

From the beach parking lot, around Carmel Point to river beach is about a mile and a half one way so you could also consider driving it. You'll see the Frank Lloyd Wright house on your right (ocean side, not open to the public but you can get a good view of it from the road) and then the stone Tor House and Hawk Tower on your left (only open for tours Friday and Saturday). You could even continue to Mission Ranch (old dairy now converted to inn and restaurant by Clint Eastwood) at the end of Dolores St for a view river beach from the other side (restaurant patio opens at 4pm) and then to the Carmel Mission on Rio Rd.

That's already a lot to do in one day and you'll want to squeeze in downtown Carmel some time!

D6 - Whale watching or kayaking is a good morning activity as the water is usually calmer and it's less windy. Kayaking from Moss Landing is in a protected estuary/slough in case the open bay is rough. You'll typically see sea lions and otters at Moss Landing (don't think there are harbor seals around).

Don't really know much about Santa Cruz and farther north!

SingSangSung

Awesome! All set now!

Thank you so much everyone. Your advice really helped me out especially since I'm from NYC/stayed here all my life and I've pretty much navigated on subways without ever looking at roadmaps.

SingSangSung

Hi guys,

So I am in Sf right now. The trips been a lot of fun so far.

On the way to the woodland hills/Westlake village area (Simi Valley to be exact) from San Diego, I passed a cashless toll. I have to pay online but don't know the website. Does anyone know what site I must use?

Patty

Was it one of these? https://www.metroexpresslanes.net/en/about/map.shtml

clarkgriswold

thetollroads.com, it was probably route 73

SingSangSung

The url by Clark sounds more familiar but I don't know which route I was on or anything...only detail I have is the date

SingSangSung

May have been the i5 but that's not an option...

dbdurand

I'm guessing it was the 73, as suggested by clarkgriswold. It's pretty easy to divert yourself onto the 73 coming north on the 5. Here's their web site.

https://www.thetollroads.com/violation/oneTimeToll.do

clarkgriswold

If you were using a GPS it probably diverted you off the 5 and onto the 73. I don't know why it does that, unless the 5 is jammed solid it only saves one minute, for $7.85.

You do have to pay it within a few days, otherwise the car rental company will charge you a fee.

elizzie4000

Hi SSS -

>

Not much to do in San Diego???? Seriously. I need to go find that other thread.

>

I'm sorry but this isn't going to happen. You are short changing San Diego. Frankly, I'd skip coming here if you are really planning on trying to do this. It doesn't make any sense. You might as well fly into LA and start your trip from there if you really think there's not much to do here and you are only spending 1.5 days. You'll not be able to do what you have planned.

>

Those beach towns are NORTH of the airport and Hillcrest. So, you'll be driving Up the coast to them. Then drive back South to Hillcrest. Seaport Village is in Downtown San Diego South of tha Airport.

>
The Toll Road, 73, is absolutely not necessary unless you want to take it. If the traffic is flowing just stay on the 5 Freeway.

https://goo.gl/maps/3Cx03

Although I would probably take the 5 to the 405.
https://goo.gl/maps/FWdOB

janisj

elizzie4000: Too late. The trip ended today - the OP flew out of SFO this morning.