We will be going to San Francisco this summer and plan to travel to Monterey & Carmel, staying 1 night. How long will it take to drive there and will we need an extra day or night to see the highlights? We will be in the San Francisco area for 7 days and plan to see all the sights there except for Alcatraz. We appreciate your posts.

If you plan on being in SF for 7 days, you may want to spend a little more time exploring Monterey and Carmel, the Napa or Sonoma areas and the San Jose/Silicon Valley area. I would advise 3 days in SF, with one for a daytrip to either Napa and/or Sonoma. From SF take 280 to 17 to 1 to Monterey and Carmel. On the way to the Monterey area the Filoli Estate is a nice place to stop for a tour. Reservations are a must. It is right off the 280 in the town of Woodside. I'd also plan for one night in San Jose. Some of the key places to see are the Tech Museum, Winchester Mystery House, Rosicrucian Museum, and the Japanese Gardens in Kelley Park. If you are in SJ on a Friday morning, ther's a nice farmer's market in San Pedro Square. The one in Japantown on Sunday mornings is also very good. From San Jose take route 17 to the Santa Cruz mountains and stop off in Big Basin to see the redwoods. From there you can take route 1 down to Monterey and Carmel. To really enjoy the Monterey area, I advise staying two nights there. Highlights include 17 Mile Drive, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Fisherman's Wharf, and quaint Carmel. South of Carmel I'd also stop at point Lobos.

Have a great trip.

http://www.winecountry.com/
www.filoli.org
www.sanjose.org
www.bigbasin.org
www.monterey.com
http://pt-lobos.parks.state.ca.us/

In answer to your actual question, it usually takes me about two hours (in non rush hour traffic ) to drive from SF to Carmel. Of course, I'm not looking at the scenery and I have driven down numerous times, so maybe allow yourselves a mininum of 2 1/2 hours. In terms of days in the area, if you leave early in the morning to go and return in the evening of the next day, you will have almost two days to explore. Personally, I would stay 2 nights but that does not mean you cannot do quite a bit of exploring in 2 days. In my opinion I would skip the 17 mile drive in favor of visiting Point Lobos and I wouldn't spend too much time exploring the shops in Carmel.

You should plan on a 3.5 hour drive from SF to Carmel assuming no real traffic problems. It all depends what time of day you leave SF. If you leave SF after the morning rush it should not be too bad. Definitely take some time along the way to see the sights. I would not recommend driving all the way to Carmel without a few stops in between. I would plan on spending at least one night in bewtween SF and Carmel.

Depending on which route you take, 2.5 hours seems about right for getting down to Monterey. It's certainly not a day-long trip.

I'd also recommend adding in Big Sur or Wine Country or Gold Country.

Big Sur is just a little south of Monterey & Carmel, Wine Country is just a little North of SF., Gold Country is inland.

You might try to define your interests a bit. If you aren't into nature, then the big trees and big sur won't be so interesting.

3 or 3 1/2 hours to Monterey is about right in my experience. Whether it's a weekend or weekday, there is always some traffic tie up due to normal volume or roadwork.

The Monterey Bay Area is so nice. I would stay at least 2 nights. Point Lobos and Big Sure are must sees. I really enjoyed the Aquarium too.