Day Trips From the Bay Area
 

Two young at heart senior couples visiting the Bay Area the week of 6/14. Will be based in Sausalito and have plans for two Giants' games and a practice day at Pebble Beach for the U.S. Open. One game will be combined with a day in the city. Seven days total, and looking for suggestions for day trips. We will mostly be driving, but not adverse to tours and wondering if the "Go Card" is worthwhile. Walking will be somewhat restricted to short stretches. Open to all suggestions.

1. You could do a drive through the Napa Wine Country. It is really pretty this time of the year.
2. Drive on Highway 1 has great ocean views.
3. Overnight stay in East Brothers Light House is very nice but requires climbing the ladder from boat to the dock. The care-takers are great hosts & excellent cooks.
4. Carmel is a nice town to stroll in & try different restaurants.

I'm not sure how much walking is ok for you so a few of these may involve too much walking.

1. Angel Island (http://angelisland.org/visitor-information/)
2. Alcatraz (although I think you have to go there via San Francisco)
3. Armstrong Woods (http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=450)
The shortest hike is just under a mile. Muir Woods is closer but that means that it's also a lot more crowded.
4. Sonoma Coast State Park (http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=451). There's also some lovely beaches in Marin which would be closer.
5. An overnight trip to Yosemite - You could take the tram so you wouldn't have to walk much at all, but the only way you'd be able to get a reservation there is if someone canceled, but that does happen.

Have a great time.

Carmel will be about 2 1/2 hours each way from Sausalito assuming non rush hour traveling. Do you want to do this much driving every day? Otherwise, explore Marin (especially West Marin) and Sonoma Counties--Muir Woods, Stinson Beach, Point Reyes, Olema, Bolinas, Mount Tam, are all worth a visit.

Carmel more like 3 1/2-4 hrs from Sausalito - its 3 hrs from SF.

Agreed, there is so much in Marin County right in your backyard--Point Reyes, a drive up Hwy 1, a drive to the top of Mt Tam...

2hrs25 min. from Sausalito to Carmel according to Google Maps (I concur...I live about 45 minutes south of Sausalito, and from my house to Carmel is definitely under 2 hours)

A lot of help here. We'll probably only spend a couple of hours at Pebble just to see it and will try to combine that with some time in Monterrey. A second trip to Carmel has been discussed. Muir Woods, Pt. Reyes, Stinson Beach all look doable as well. Not sure we really need to do a tour/tasting, but will probably check out the wine country in Sonoma. Any suggestions on a day trip that might combine some of the above? Wondering about Napa and Tiburon as well. We'll probably settle on seeing Alcatraz from a boat, though I understand the tour is great. How about the Go Card? I notice some of the cruise tours are on it...but apparently not the best ones. We've got a week to finalize everything, so all info greatly appreciated.

P.S. It's a given we'll spend some time on Highway 1...also go up to the Fort, though I understand via Stu Dudley that the best road is closed.

If you're going to go down to Pebble Beach, then I would suggest that you overnight in Carmel at least one night.

There's lots more to the Monterey/Carmel area than just Pebble Beach. To really do justice to the 17-Mile Drive (I'm assuming you're going to see the golf course at Pebble Beach) you need to drive its entire length and stop off at any number of stops along the way.

Also the view from the terrace of the Pebble Beach Lodge is drop dead gorgeous. At the north end, at Spanish Bay, there are a number of good restaurants, we tend to favor Roy's.

Carmel itself has a wonderful strollable downtown with plenty of choices for lunch or dinner.

Then there's Point Lobos which has a great walking trail right along the ridge and it's wheelchair friendly, so should not be much of a rough walk. Point Lobos in full sun is one of the most beautiful spots along the California coast. Point Lobos is just a couple of miles south of Carmel.


North of San Francisco, Muir Woods would also have an easy walking trail where you can enjoy the redwoods.

Although Napa has more fame as "wine country", Sonoma is much more pleasant to drive through and its wines are just as good as Napa's, IMHO.

<<<Tiburon>>>

Tiburon is a nice upscale suburb with some great views of the city, but I can't really see a tourist spending any time there.

<<<Alcatraz>>>

Alcatraz is not the Statue of Liberty. If you're not going to the island to take the tour, then whether you see it or not is kind of irrelevant. It doesn't have the same heart-thumping impact as the SOL. Plus you can see it from shore.

When we go to Pebble Beach, we'll be using the shuttle service provided for the U.S. Open so we won't have the option of making any stops on 17-mile drive. We're probably going to have to sacrifice something here but the Carmel/Monterey/Point Lobos suggestions sound great. Whether we do an overnighter or night I think we'll have a second day in the area. Thanks for the Alcatraz/Sonoma/Tiburon advice...as well as Muir Woods. Still curious about the "Go Card"...anyone have any experience with it -- good or bad? Lots of good stuff here so far...Fodor Forums are the best!