nspotz

For nights 5 and 6 do you think we would need to make hotel reservations? Or could we just wing it? I usually make reservations in advance but for the road trip part of this vacation I am partial to the idea of not making them. This would give us some flexibility.

jamie99

Cambria would maybe be a better stop than Paso, it is on the ocean, Paso is only a few miles inland on Route 46, plenty of wineries to visit along there. We have stayed in both, last trip stayed at the Paso Robles Inn. In Cambria look into staying somewhere along Moonstone Beach.
If you do go to Sonoma (visited with my late husband 7 years ago) look into sharing a glass to cut down on tasting fees and the amount of vino consumed. Also you do not have to taste every wine, we preferred reds and would skip all or most of the whites and head straight to tasting the reds.

tomfuller

Please don't only look at flights to SFO. Oakland and San Jose would also work into your latest plan.
If there is a drop off fee involved, drive back up I-5 and turn in where you rented on day 9 and take the red-eye home.
LAX and SFO are among my least favorite airports.
Santa Barbara has a nice airport with good bus service to downtown SB.

StuDudley

>>For nights 5 and 6 do you think we would need to make hotel reservations? <<

You're doing this during Easter vacation - right????

Once you get past Carmel, there are not many places to stay until you get to San Simeon/Cambria. You don't want to roll into Big Sur and find it "sold out" and have to continue on, or backtrack.

Stu Dudley

nspotz

The dates for our trip are April 6-April 14, I believe Easter is March 31st, but this will be spring break for alot of folks. I didn't know what the hotel availability is like along the coast during this time of the year.

Tomsd

Would certainly check ahead on reservations in the Big Sur area - since - as noted - there a limited # of places. You will get a much better feel for availability if you do check ahead at some of the places, and maybe even make a reservation - but just be sure to know their cancellation policy.

And Moonstone Beach in Cambria is just beautiful: http://www.cambriachamber.org/motels-beach.php

Personally - I would leave Sonoma in the early afternoon on say - Tues - heading over to Carmel/Monterrey - and stay the night there - or an hour south somewhere in Big Sur.

Then the next day - really enjoy taking in everything in Big Sur area - and maybe spend the night in Cambria and visit Hearst Castle early the following day - and then finish up as time allows.

nspotz

Ok, so our plans have changed a little bit and we need to fly home on Friday, April 7th (after all of that planning!). This gives us 6 nights and 5 1/2 days of time on the ground. We've decided to fly in and out of SFO and concentrate our time up north. As much as I would love to visit LA, we will have to save that for another trip. We would still like to spend one day in SF, visit Sonoma/Napa and see Big Sur/Monterey if possible. Below is my revised itinerary (again, I know, I'm sorry!!):

Sat: Fly into SFO, pick up rental car and head straight for Sonoma.
Sun: Sonoma
Mon: Drive to Big Sur, stop in Monterey on the way.
Tues: Stay somewhere in Big Sur.
Wed: Head back up to SF.
Thurs: SF
Fri: Fly home in the morning.

What do you think? Too much driving/moving around? I would like to see Muir woods, as we didn't go there the last time we were in SF. Should we see that on Wed before heading into the city and dropping off the rental car?

Tomsd

You could stop by Muir Woods on your way to Sonoma (see map below - it's in Marin county 11 miles from the Golden Gate) - or drive there from SF when you return on Wed.

http://www.nps.gov/muwo/planyourvisit/directions.htm

Tomsd

Actually - you could also drive over on Thursday - assuming you keep the car another day.

StuDudley

That's a lot of driving on Monday - a work/commute day. For many reasons, I think Healdsburg is a lot more interesting/scenic place to stay than the town of Sonoma - but Sonoma is OK.

Anyway, here is what Monday might look like:

- Leave Sonoma early in the morning. Stop & visit Muir Woods. I would not visit Muir Woods on Saturday (your arrival day) at Easter/Spring Break Saturday because it may be "sold out. And if not - certainly crowded. It is a 1 1/4 hr drive from the town of Sonoma to Muir Woods. You may hit some commute traffic through San Rafael. I have not visited Muir Woods in over 35 years, so I don't recall how long a visit will take - perhaps 1 1/2 hrs. So if you leave Sonoma at 9:00 you will finish Muir Woods at 11:30-12:00 or so.

- Drive on to Monterey. Do not take any East Bay route that Mapquest may suggest - ugly, ugly, ugly. Take Hwy 280 from San Francisco (a very scenic drive). It is a 3 hr drive so you should get to Monterey around 2:30-3:00PM. I don't know what you want to visit in Monterey. Almost anything will take several hours - but you don't have several hours.

- Continue on to Big Sur. It is a 3/4 to 1 hr drive from Monterey with minimal stops. If you don't do anything in Monterey you'll get to Big Sur around 3:30-4:00PM.

You will have been in the car driving for 5 to 5 1/2 hrs with perhaps only 1 stop (Muir Woods) along the way. IMO, that's a very high "getting there" to "being there" ratio.

Wednesday, head out of Big Sur & visit Pt Lobos on the way to SF.

Stu Dudley

tomfuller

Looking at the revised schedule, I would do a price comparison of flying to Oakland, San Jose or even Sacramento airports. You don't want to drive through San Francisco twice when you can avoid it and probably pay less for the rental car as well.

nspotz

@Stu Dudley, that is exactly what I needed. It's hard to tell what the drive will be like when you have never done it before.
@romfuller, prices were higher to fly in or out of san jose and oakland last time i checked, which was a few days ago.

Ok, so I guess I can't have it all! I was really hoping to visit Sonoma/Napa and Big Sur. It looks like I may need to pick either one or the other to avoid too much driving.

Tomsd

If you think driving through places you haven't seen is going to be drudgery - than I guess perhaps you should not try it.

If it were me - and you didn't stop by Muir Woods on the way to Sonoma - then I would leave Sonoma after a nice breakfast, and you probably would not hit any real traffic on the way to Muir Woods, then stretch the legs in Muir Woods - and then drive through SF (over the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge) - and on down hiway 280 to head toward Carmel/Monterrey.

You could take a short break many places along the way - or if you continued on through to Cannery Row in Monterrey - it's a great place for a late lunch - or grabbing a Starbucks while walking around - and then finish up driving to your "pad" in Big Sur.

No real big problem as far as I see it.

easytraveler

Five days to do both Sonoma wine country and Big Sur. I don't know. Sounds like a lot of time in the car.

BarbAnn

Have you thought about flying in/out of Sacramento(SMF). It is my home airport and very easy to get to the Napa/Sonoma area. Much smaller airport than SFO. Just a thought.

nspotz

What if we base ourselves in Monterey or Carmel and drive through Big Sur as a daytrip?

nspotz

.... I just would hate to go all that way and not re-visit Monterey and Big Sur. We live in Atlanta and don't make it to the west coast too often.

StuDudley

nspotz.

I would not entirely rule out the Wine Country. I sense that you really want to visit it. Perhaps give up San Francisco - or only visit it for a day since you've already been there.

Consider:
- Sat - Healdsburg
- Sun - Healdsburg & Dry Creek Valley, Russian River
- Monday - drive through the beautiful Alexander Valley on the way to Calistoga and the Napa Valley. Spend much of the day in the Napa Valley. Then on to Muir Woods. Spend the night on Lombard Street in SF in a motel (choose one with free car parking) & explore Union St, Chestnut St, Crissy Field. Have dinner on Union St at Betelnut.
- Tues drive down to Monterey/Carmel/Pacific Grove/Big Sur area & stay.
- Wed Big Sur. Nepenthe, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State park/waterfall
- Thurs Visit Pt Lobos, Carmel, etc Drive along the coast through Santa Cruz, along the San Mateo Coast, and spend the night at a B&B in Half Moon Bay. Consider San Benito house for the B&B & dinner (don't know if it still does this). Explore Main St in Half Moon Bay.
- Fri Drive 45 mins to SFO & fly home

Check the link I gave you for info on Healdsburg/Dry Creek/Alexander Valley/Napa Valley.

Stu Dudley

Tomsd

As far as driving - it all depends on how you travel. I for one find it energizing and like driving and seeing the scenery pass by - and if you had one day with some longer car time out of the six, what's the big deal?

You would probably find more accommodations in the Carmel/Monterrey area than Big Sur - and it's easy to take a nice drive through Big Sur from Carmel/Mont - and return.

Also - you would be a little closer to San Francisco when you returned.

Would also check ahead with Muir Woods and see what they offer on a Sat (as it has been a while since I went through the "front gate" - as a friend of mine lived in the woods by Mill Valley and his place backed right up to Muir Woods) and depending on how much time you have on Sat - stop by on your way to Sonoma.

Then, you could leave Sonoma later on Monday if you wished - just as long as you get through SF before 2 PM or so - and be on your way to Carmel/Monterrey.

You could also add another day to your stay in the Carmel area (or spend a night in Big Sur and then two days in Carmel?) - and head back to SF Thursday morning?

Check out this map of the Big Sur for more information/ideas. http://www.bigsurcalifornia.org/map.html

Tomsd

BTW - just read Stu's last suggestions - and that could work too. Guess I was typing mine while he was posting.

Anywho - it's all up to you as to how you want to do it. You have five and a half to six days on the ground - right? (not counting your departure date) - so it would certainly be doable for moi.