My husbnd and I will be arriving in San Francisco the first week in may to visit friend about an hour and half south for two days and need help with the 3 days we have left to explore northern california. We will be heading north Sat morning and have until Tues morning to catch our flight home. Any suggestions of must sees, quaint cafe's reasonable B and B's. Wine tasting is not high on priority list. We relly want to see some beautiful scenery but dont want to spend the entire time in the car. We also want to spend monday afternoon and eve in San Fran and would like suggestions for great seafood at reasonable price. Thanks in advance

You have a number of choices, obviously-----I think you shoud decide whether to go south or north from sf--south is carmel/big sur/monterey---which many people like a lot--north, once you get away from th sf suburbs there also are some nice coastal towns

highlands inn and ticl pick inn are great, but pricey

Hi Christine,
After driving to California twice from Illinois, I can tell you your best bet is Monterey. There is nice beaches, Seventeen Mile Drive, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium(perfect,if you have kids). There are alot of neat shops there. Also check out Big Sur. The view is great and there is nothing else like it!!Hope you have fun there and enjoy...

I agree with other posters who say, "Stay south of SF." Monterey, Carmel, Big Sur are all spectacular.

If you're looking for a reasonably priced, nothing fancy, place, I'd suggest Asilamar Conference Center in Pacific Grove. It's close to the beach, and we did day trips out from there. Sure your friends can make lots of suggestions, too.

Small restaurant in PG, The Fishwife has great seafood, and we enjoyed lunch at Mission Ranch in Carmel (nice view over the sheep in the meadow..."

I am a true lover of Big Sur. It's a magical and wondrous place. Post Ranch inn and Ventana are great places to stay, and Nepenthe is a truly wonderful dining experience, overlooking the ocean with a view that lasts forwever. But Carmel is a little haughty and Monterey is a little too touristy. To break with the pack here, I can highly recommend the drive NORTH of SF. It rivals the drive south through Big Sur. And Mendocino is a great little town to stay in. There are some great restaurants and shops there. And it's beautiful.

I love Carmel/Pacific Grove/Big Sur and it would shorten your driving time to go there since you are already 1 1/2 hours south of the city. That said, the Sonoma Coast as in Inverness, Pt. Reyes Seashore and Bodega Bay are also great destinations. Highly recommend the Inn at the Tides in Bodega Bay or 10 Inverness Way in Inverness. The restaurant at the Inn at the Tides makes delicious crabcakes and the Tomales Bay oysters are great. Be aware that you might encounter fog at either destination. The two top seafood restaurants in SF are Farallon and Aqua, but both are far from reasonably priced! I wouldn't recommend eating at Fisherman's Wharf except at Cafe Pescatore, a reasonably priced Italian/seafood restaurant. Can second the recommendation for the Fishwife in Pacific Grove and suggest also Ablionetti's on Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey and Flaherty's Oyster House in Carmel. A wonderful little Californian in Carmel is Grasings.

I should have been more clear on our stay . We will be seeing the carmel area with friends for two days before leaving to go up to wine country. Just really need help with course to take with the 3 days left to see the north area. Thanks so much1

In that case, I would head up 101 to 280 and merge back into 101 south of SF, over the GG Bridge, follow signs for Hwy 1 and then follow my suggestion for the Sonoma Coast. One place I love is Pt. Reyes National Seashore and you can even go for a picnic with a llama there. Plan to spend the greater part of a day in the park, with stops at Drake's Beach, Bolinas for birdwatching and Stinson Beach for a picnic. I've also heard good things about the Tomales Country Inn but have never stayed there. Eat also at the Station House in Pt. Reyes Station--fresh oysters and always good fish dishes. Going all the way to Mendocino would be beautiful, but is pretty rugged driving and will take a lot of time. I would stick to Sonoma coast and then you can easily get back to the city for a night afternoon and night before your flight out. For additional B&B recommendations, there's probably a B&B referral service for Sonoma County and I know there's one called coastal lodging of West Marin Co. Try a search. And, if you want to see the old town of Sonoma, cut back onto 101 to return to SF, stopping to see the mission and the plaza and the Sonoma Cheese Factory--you don't have to taste wine! Enjoy!