I have looked at various sites to stay , but have 20 friends coming with me from Australia. Most are only in San Fran for week. Wedding on weekend beginning of October.
Do I look at busing them in from San Fran and back after wedding,
or 1 night at Stinson? Most places seem to rent out for whole weekend.
As we are spoilt for beached here do I look at somewhere inland that is interesting?
We also need to do the rehersal dinner.somewhere
Any help appreciated

Are you looking at renting a house or at hotels? There really isn't much right at Stinson Beach -- it isn't that kind of beach (i.e. not a "resort"). You can certainly stay in Marin County, and bus over to the beach just for the wedding. A little more information would be helpful.

Yes a little more information please.

Are you getting married in Stinson Beach? There's only a couple of motels in the small village and they are not on the beach. But, you could rent a house and at least one of them cater to weddings. Here's a link:

http://www.hwyoneprop.com/rentals/rentals-l.html

You have to realize that the area right around San Francisco doesn't have the beach scene that say Sydney has. The water is cold, the weather is often foggy, and there are mean sharks in the water.

Most people looking for a beach holiday head up north to Sonoma County or south to San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties. Or, they might do a day trip out to Point Reyes if the weather is nice. You have chosen a good time to come since October is often the nicest month of the year on the coast.

I agree with Supercilious - Compared with Aussie beaches, Stinson just doesn't. It also has dirty looking sand, though the whole area is quite pretty.

I think that the mountains in California are the attractions for us peak-deprived people. Yosemite is awesome! A quick google found this.. http://www.touryosemite.com/tours/yo...ncredible.html

Or you could stay in Sonoma and bus to the beach. The northern entrance (closer to Sonoma) is a tad less frightening in a bus than the first exit north of san fran. - at least, that is my opinion.

I take it you are coming to a Stinson Beach wedding. Has the groom offered any suggestions? I believe you might go to VRBO and find a couple of rental houses, but there isn't much, for sure.

Give us more details if you can.

I am Mother of the Groom, and I am sure he will send suggestions. Just tryng to get a little organized and probably not stay at Stinson.

Oct 3rd wedding Marque Stinson Beach. Mother and Bride very organized,but I imgaine I will be helping so want to send the aussie team doing somthing.
Questions
How close is Sonoma to Stinson?

We have friend who can drive bus, should we hire one?

We have to do Rehearsal dinner so maybe that could be in wine country and then wedding next day. Is that how it goes?

I am looking at 2 days before and 1 after to organize.

With everyone trying to pickup cheap fares and not wanting to rush the new in laws and high achieving son , I am trying to get as much info to the Aussies as possible.
Those coming in a 2 week before I am looking at Yosemite and suggesting they do their own thing.

I am aware of VRBO but it will only be for a weekend, so I thought a more interesting place for base would be nice and maybe not as expensive.
Is this too confusing?
Thanks for any suggestions.

You might take a look at Point Reyes Seashore Lodge in Olema--which is N of Stinson on Route 1. I can't speak to its merits, I do know that a friend of a friend had her wedding near there and her family and friends stayed there because it had something like 20 rooms. I can't tell you more than that about the place; however Olema and the Point Reyes area is quite lovely and not far from Stinson.

If you are looking to keep the lodging lower-cost, you could stay in a motel in Novato or San Rafael. These towns are a bit north of the route to Stinson Beach but are conveniently located for almost anywhere you want to go (Wine Country, Sausalito, SF, etc.) If a few of you are comfortable with right-side-of-the-road driving, you can carpool over to Stinson for the wedding. The roads are very windy, though.

Stinson Beach is a tiny, very beautiful village surrounded by mountains. You must have a driver who has a permit to ride a bus, and hopefully he has experience of driving in the mountains. Going there to/from San Francisco you will be saying a prayer at every turn of the zig-zag road

Go to Google Earth to get a sense of the geography of Stinson Beach.

Thanks so much I will look up these suggestions.