6 Days to see the Coast
 

The last week of March we will be leaving Las Vegas and flying into CA for our honeymoon. We will have about 5-6 days. I know I've got too many places and not enough time so I need help.

Where do we start/fly into from Vegas?
Overnight stay or just for the day?

Santa Barbara
San Simeon
Big Sur
Monterey
San Francisco
Point Reyes
Sonoma/Healdsburg/Armstrong Redwoods
Yosemite

I've been reading a lot of posts and realize that the most desireable lodging will be hard to find but I can work around that. Everyone gives such great advice and I really appreciate all your help!

Thanks!

Wow... I have a few questions for you. Since it's your honeymoon, I assume you want to relax and spend time enjoying the area you go to, as opposed to zooming arouns the state.

I would pick Santa Barbara, taste wine, enjoy the atmosphere, shop,and relax. There are lots of great restaurants and lodging options at reasonable rates in March.

Or, fly North and head to Sonoma etc.. and spend the week there.

Or San Francisco.

Big Sur/Carmel could also be a nice trip but Monterey is a tiny airport and it may cost a bundle.

Do you golf, do you like to wine taste? I need more information to help you choose a location.
You'll get lots of help on this board.

I wish we could see everything but I knew we'd have to pick only a couple of sites.

I'd have to say that we're more interested in wine, food and seeing one of the parks. No shopping or golf. Perhaps a little time at a spa.

I think we're going to have to choose between Santa Barbara and Sonoma.

What would you say makes these areas different from one another?

Well, Sonoma is an historic town built around an 11-acre plaza from the Mexican days, with some of the original adobes still standing and housing specialty shops. Across from one corner of the Plaza is the last and most northerly mission to be built in California by the Franciscan fathers.

It is situated in a lovely 18-mile long valley "The Valley of the Moon", where Jack London built his Wolf House, which burned down before it was finished and where there is a state park now.

The Valley has many fine wineries, and the Benziger winery in Glen Ellen has an outstanding tour. A mile or so outside the town of Sonoma is the historic Buena Vista Winery, where the Hungarian count, whose name I can never spell, brought the first European wine grapes to California.

In March a drive through the Valley to visit the wineries will be beautiful. The hills turn emerald green.

Three spas I can recommend are at the famous Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn, at MacArthur Place in Sonoma and the Lodge at Sonoma Renaissance Resort which is just a mile south of the Plaza. These also have lodgings, pretty pricey, howeveer. For a less expensive but very nice place near the Plaza, google The Inn at Sonoma.

Santa Barbara is very nice, but if it were my honeymoon I would fly into San Francisco for part of the days and spend the rest in Sonoma. Maybe a 3/2 split.

For what it's worth.

Weather is something to consider. March could still be rainy in Sonoma. In Santa Barbara area, you'd have a better chance of nicer weather. In that region, don't forget the Santa Ynez valley, Los olivos, and Solvang. If you saw the movie Sideways, you'll recognize places. that's a pretty time of year there as it'll be green. :-)

Thanks for all the help! Just when I had decided on Santa Barbara...now you've made Sonoma sound very enticing. We have seen Sideways and I have to admit it did have something to do with us picking S.B. Mostly because we’d have something of a game plan to follow. I’m going to have to check into Sonoma now to get an idea of what we’d like best.

Thanks again

well let me confuse you. My wife and i went on our honeymoon to carmel and yosemite--about 3 days in each place. Pretty magnificent. IF you have never seen yosemite valley, give yourself that gift. WE even stayed in the ahwanee, which I think is worth it if you are able to get one of the rooms with the big porch over the front door. (it will cost a fortune.)

my favorite honeymoon-ish place in carmel is the highlands inn in carmel highlands. very nice and not as expensive as some of the very nice places in big sur, which are also great..

I don't know how much you want to spdnd on all this adventure. it coud be done cheaper--there are motel-ish rooms in yosemite in the valley that wouldnt cost much more than $100 i would think, and there are hotels you can get on priceline for $55 in monterey.

I would have to say that the weather in March is decidedly in Santa Barbara's favor. Although I would rather stay near the wine country than Santa Barbara city, except for a day trip.

Alisal Ranch is nice for honeymoons and near the winetasting.

Weather in Sonoma in March is not generally nasty. The rainy season is pretty much over and if it does rain it won't last more than a day. As I said, the valley is absolutely gorgeous that time of year.

I am now looking at places to stay around the Santa Barbara area. I think we would like to stay in the wine country as well. We are more interested in eating, drinking, relaxing vs. shopping and the beach.

Do you have any suggestions regarding places to stay in the wine county?

We would like to find a place that is less than $200/night. The lower the better, more to spend on food and wine, but we would like the place to have some character.

Thanks!

It will still be winter in Yosemite in March. Considering that it's a 4-5hr drive from SF, and you only have 5-6 days, I would put off Yosemite to another trip. I've been to Yosemite in April, May, and June (different years), and I found May and June to be far better than the April visit, and still not crowded like it will be in Summer. Warm enough, flowers in bloom, snow gone from the valley (high country still closed in May), waterfalls roaring (even in April).

Sonoma/Russian River will allow you to see redwoods at Armstrong and/or Muir Woods. Also San Francisco, and the Sonoma coast and the wine country of course. The coast there is not Baywatch, but then it won't be Baywatch lying on the beach in a bikini weather anywhere in California in March.

Skip Yosemite, it's too long a drive with no scenery on the way--driving from San Francisco up to the Russian River is not as long and does have some very nice scenery, both along the coast and along local roads a bit inland, although the 101 freeway is the fastest way to get up there.

Santa Barbara coast is more beachy, but as I said, it will not be sunbathing weather even there. No redwoods or really any kind of forest in that area.

Big Sur would be my choice for a honeymoon if you can afford to spend a few thousand dollars on lodging and food.

For SB you'd have to fly into LA, then drive up to SB. For Sonoma you'd have a day or two in San Francisco then you could head up to the wine country. For Big Sur, you could fly into SFO or San Jose, go directly to Monterey for a day or two then head down to Big Sur.

Whatever, I'd make a choice between those three options, you can see a lot of a given area in 6 days even on your honeymoon, but you can't see a lot of a lot of different areas in 6 days, especially on your honeymoon, if you know what I mean.