Jill

Hi. My husband and I are going to California in April for a much needed vacation. we have about 8 days and wanted to sstart up north (Napa) and drive down through the cities to San Diego. Any suggestions what we must see, stay, eat??? Would appreciate any and all advice. Thanks!

lisa

If you do a search using the words "California coast" you will bring up a trip report I posted from last July with lots of advice on hotels, restaurants, and sightseeing. I recommend staying overnight in Pacific Grove, Big Sur (highly recommend Ventana Inn & Spa if money's no object, and have also heard good things about Post Ranch Inn), and Cambria (check out www.cambria-online. com for advice on accommodations -- I recommend trying to stay on Moonstone Beach Drive across from the ocean, and I highly recommend dinner at Robin's). In terms of sightseeing, the Monterey Aquarium is fantastic, as is Point Lobos State Park south of Carmel, Ragged Point for a great view of the coast, Hearst Castle (take a tour -- go to www.hearstcastle.org for more info), and the Santa Barbara Mission (and lunch in Santa Barbara at a little taco stand called La Super-Rica Taqueria). Our favorite part of the trip was the Big Sur coastline. We saw lots of wildlife, including elephant seals, sea otters, etc. Make sure you allow lots of time -- much of it it is a slow drive, and there's lots to see along the way.

Paul Rabe

Both San Francisco and Los Angeles BY THEMSELVES could use up your entire eight days. I might suggest you skip the thought of really getting to see these places until a later trip. On this one, just see the coast. Take Hiway One south from San Francisco, stop at Cowell Woods if you've never seen redwoods (not the best but better than nothing), continue south on Hiway One, visit the various missions along the way, spend a day on a beach, visit any of the quaint (but touristy) south California coast towns.

Kate

Eight days isn't really enough to cover that entire territory. You'll be spending so much time driving that you won't have time to get out and enjoy the wonderful communities along the way. Consider maybe only going as far as Orange County and saving San Diego for another visit. The central coast is beautiful that time of year - green rolling hills and wonderful wineries in the Paso Robles and Santa Barbara areas. I agree that Cambria is a wonderful stop on the journey.

loved it

You MUST eat at the world renown Mustards in Napa Valley! Sail in Sausilito. Watch the sunset and sip a glass of wine on the 79ft racing sailboat. Tony Clark's adventures in Sausilito is who we used for a "3 hour tour".

We drove to Carmel - and saw the beautiful people. There is a great Mediteranean eatery there. All the shops are in walking distance.

Santa Barbara is really beautiful too. I would spend a few days there. The cobblestone streets are neat and the farmers market is really cool too.

LA I would go to the Griffith Observatory at night and see the whole city lit up. The Hollywood sign is there too.

On down of course is Mahatten Beach, Huntington Beach. It's neat to see the houses.

There is so much to do. You will have to priortize. My recommendation is to take the PCH1 from SF down to LA. It's really a long drive, but beautiful.

Then take I-5 on down to San diego.

Good luck and have fun!

Christina

I agree with the suggestion to stop at Los Angeles (even before Orange County IMO, I don't think there's anything special there). Furthermore, given you included Napa, I would probably agree that eight days would be better spent simply in northern California, maybe a few days Napa, 3-4 in San Fran and then maybe Big Sur, Monterey, Carmel, and that would be it. Or, you could just spend that time in Southern Calif (LA and San Diego). Maybe you don't realize how big California is, there are a lot of miles between Napa and San Diego. Of course, you didn't really mention the cities, so maybe you didn't really want to spend time in them at all, which would make your trip possible (some time in Napa then drive down the coast), but then why even bother going to San Diego, except maybe for an airport, the drive between LA and San Diego is nothing special.

jim

Just one little piece of advice about Napa. If you're touring wine country, make usre to visit Moet Chandon. They charge a few bucks (just about everyone else is free), but it's worth it. You get a glass of good chamapgne and cheese and crackers, and sit on a patio overlooking the vineyard. Then you can tour the operation. The other places practically throw the wine at you.

Melissa

I highly recommend the Chandon Winery!~!

Ruth

Since it's our first trip to California, I join those recommending that you not drive the whole distance from Napa to San Diego. I love the San Francisco area and would highly recommend concentrating your visit there. You can visit/stay in Napa or Sonoma Valleys for the wine experience, to Monterey and Carmel, see the redwoods in Muir Woods and last but not at all least spend several days in San Francisco. Yosemite is even an option from there (overnight). I've driven San Diego to San Francisco, spending two nights with friends in Orange County, two nights in Santa Barbara, a night each in Morro Bay and Monterey. It is beautiful but you spend a lot of time in the car. If it's a "much-needed vacation" you might not want that much driving time.

Debi

Two years my (now) husband and I did the same thing - but we took 2 full weeks. We spent 2 days in San Francisco - I'm the only person on earth that wouldn't want to spend more time than that there - but 2 days was good. We went to Muir Woods - loved it, Napa Valley - loved it (we took the Napa Valley Train - very cool. Ate a delicious lunch, drank lots of wine - highly recommend it). We then went down the coast, spent a couple days in Carmel - went down to Hearst Castle - liked that, the drive was beautiful. Lots of great art galleries in Carmel. Then we went on down the coast. Spent a day or so in the LA area - I just love Spagos..... Also went to a couple surrounding towns that were pretty cool. Then we drove down to San Diego - my personal favorite. Went to all the SD places - Wild Animal Park, SD Zoo, Sea World, Old Town. Loved it. Great time to go - enjoy!!!! Each part of California has a different feel to it.

kam

Agree that you have to choose north or south if you only have 8 days. Be aware that it can still be raining in April in Northern CA but weather from Santa Barbara south should be ideal.