We are flying to San Francisco in the end of March. We have 8 day. We were thinkng of spending 3 days in San Francisco and then travel South and spend couple of days in Carmel.
Questions:
Should we stop in Santa Cruz overnight to explore red woods or just a stop over for a half a day will be fine?

Should we make a base in Carmel and make day trips to Big Sur or staying there overnight is better?

Thank you in advance

A half day in Santa Cruz is enough time to see the redwoods. Carmel is the perfect place to spend a few days and drive from there to Big Sur and other sights like Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Monterey, Point Lobos, and the aquarium.

If there is more you would like to see in Santa Cruz, then an overnight would be preferable, or if you are planning to do some hiking - but for just a reasonably quick visit to see the redwoods, a stop en route to Monterey/Carmel is fine.

Regarding whether to overnight in Big Sur or use Carmel as a base, it just depends on what you want to do and what type of experience you are looking for. Big Sur is pretty remote with long stretches of no civilization, so if you want to spend a night or two and commune with nature, etc., then that would be a good choice. Carmel and Monterey are better suited if you want to have a choice of restaurants, perhaps some nightlife, shopping, and other attractions.

With 5 days, you have a good amount of time, so you could overnight in SC, spend time in Monterey/Carmel, and overnight in Big Sur if you wanted to.

Hi Walter_S,

What types of activities are you looking to do on your trip?

From Carmel one can visit the redwoods in Big Sur State Park. A more impressive forest would be Big Basin State Park, although not on a direct route, planning a picnic stop on the way to Carmel might be the thing to do. Closer to Santa Cruz and CA1 or CA17 (depending on which route you take) is Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park.

I agree with others, skip Santa Cruz, spend your time around Carmel and Big Sur.
The Monterey aquarium is a must. In Big Sur a meal at the Post Ranch is expensive but if it fits in your budget its spectacular.

Close by above the Post Ranch but less expensive and with a beautiful view over the Pacific is the Ventana Inn.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7624512998387/