Itinerary Help for CA Honeymoon - SF-Napa-Yosemite-Monteray-SF
 

We are planning our honeymoon in CA from 5/17 through 5/27. SF from Wed-Sat; Sat to Mon am in Napa; Mon early a.m. head to Yosemite; leave Yosemite Wed noon to head to Monteray area; then back to SF on Friday evening before saturday noon flight.

Questions:
Does this sound like a "do-able" trip?
How far is it from Napa to Yosemite?
How far is it from Yosemite to Monteray?
What would be a good mini-itinerary once in monteray area and lodging ideas....

Thanks so much! This is my first post so am anxious

The first thing you have to do is learn how to spell "Monterey". Second, go to Mapquest and check out your driving times. You are trying to cover a lot of ground in a short period. You can do it, but honeymoons are supposed to be fun and relaxing. I would cut out either Yosemite or Napa.

Curious

Ah it's not that much driving. SF to Napa is pretty short drive and you're staying there 2 nights so that should be fine. It's only 4 hours from Napa to Yosemite Valley which is all the way into the park. This would be driving to Manteca and then taking 120 into the park via Groveland and the Big Oak Entrance. If you'd rather take 140 into the park you can drive to Merced and then drive east on 140 along the Merced River. This would take about 30 minutes longer. Less winding though if anyone has a quesy stomach.

After your two nights stay you can leave via 140 and then take 152 heading west and follow the signs to Monterey. This is about 4 hours. There is no reason to stop along the way so if you leave fairly early you can be having lunch in Monterey. On the other hand, I see you will be in Monterey mid Wed until Friday night. I'd actually leave really late from Yosemite getting to Monterey later in the evening then have pretty much 2 full days in Monterey before you head to the SF airport area. Since you plan to go toward SF on a Friday I'd plan to leave Monterey really late on that final day to avoid commute traffic. This would give you plenty of time in Yosemite without being rushed and plenty of time in Monterey too.

What is your lodging for Yosemite? Usually lodging books up early. Yosemite Falls Lodge in the valley is good but so is Yosemite View Lodge just outside the park.

I don't know your budget but in Monterey the Monterey Plaza is nice and nicely located. Good luck.

Here are a couple of suggestions, from someone who honeymooned same area (minus Yosemite) a few years ago.

1 - See if you can change up your itinerary so that you are in Napa on weekdays instead of weekends. On weekends, the crowds are worse, but weekdays, the wineries are pretty empty & you can take better tours, more generous tastings, less traffic. Assuming this is your first time to Napa, I can recommend a great tour company that we enjoyed on our first trip: <http://www.wineshuttle.com/index.html>. The price is good, and they do a nice job of explaining the history and geography of the area while making sure that you taste some great wines, have a nice lunch, and save you from having to drive!

2 - There's a B&B chain that has inns both in Sonoma (right next to Napa) & in Monterey, called "Four Sisters Inns" <http://www.foursisters.com/inns.htm>. Look them up - they often have specials for people who are going to hop from inn to inn, and the service & rooms are fantastic!

3 - For Monterey, don't worry about things to do. If you have a rental car & want to get out of town, you can do the 17-mile drive, go down to Carmel for a few hours. Or you can do our favorite itinerary, which is to just hang out near the wharf & check out the Monterey Aquarium (one of the best in the world!) & have a great seafood dinner overlooking the bay. There is a great tourist office in the town with signs pointing to it, and you can do whale watching or a boat trip around the bay (I don't know whether this is the time of year for whales or not.. someone else would have to answer that).

Hope the above was of some help. Sorry I jumped around a bit, and I really can't help with Yosemite, though I hear it is nice, too.

Stephanie

Sometimes I worry that I'm on a crusade in life to keep people from doing the 17-Mile drive, but I can't help myself!

Since you are already doing so much driving, I urge you to skip the 17-mile drive. I know some people love it, but to me, driving through a golf course, even one with a sea view, is not that great.

The spectacular drive is to Big Sur, but don't exhaust yourselves. I also think it is spectacular just to relax in a nice hotel.

I'm with you nessundora--I visit Carmel at least 7 or 8 times a year and I and no one I know have ever returned to see the 17 mile drive. On the other hand I go to Point Lobos at least once a visit, sometimes twice. I have never understood the fascination with paying to see expensive homes on golf courses, when you can see such spectacular scenery at Point Lobos. However, it is like Fisherman's Wharf in SF, some people believe they have to see it or their trip is incomplete.

For a honeymoon, I'd definately check out Chateau du Sureau (ChateauduSureau.com)in Oakhurst, 1 hour from the South entrance of Yosemite.

When in the Monterey Bay area, if you stay in Carmel, you can save some driving, since everything in this charming village is walkable, including the gorgeous (but cold water) beach. The town is loaded with shops, restaurants, and galleries. Everything low-rise, quaint, not even a neon sign allowed. A lovely quiet old B&B is Vagabonds House (I posted a trip report with photos on tripadvisor.com) Only 2 blocks away is a very romantic restaurant, Casanova. Been one of the top spots in Carmel for some 30 years. If you are leaving from SFO, you can leave early Sat. from Carmel/Monterey and make it to SFO in about 2 hours or a bit more, saving another night of unpacking.

The driving, especially to Yosemite, can be hard, sometimes two-lane driving, and the driving to Napa can be tedious if traffic is rough. While Yosemite is lovely, consider a Monterey-Napa (coastal) route instead.

We don't know your preferred activities or how changeable your plans are. If timings can be changed consider these experiences:

San Francisco is better for tourism on weekends.

Napa (and Sonoma for that matter) is MUCH better on weekdays.

Adding Yosemite to what otherwise is a coastal trip means a total of two extra travel days. Yes, you have been told that a drive from Napa to Yosemite is 4-4.5 hours and Yosemite to Monterey is also about 4 hours, but if you add in the pack-and-leave and check-in processes at each end, more time will be burned, and that assumes you have reservations and no time wasted finding your hotels.

So, consider doing just the three coastal areas: SF, wine country, Monterey-Carmel-Big Sur. Then move the time blocks so you are in wine country during the week, SF around a weekend, and M-C-BS whenever. This will make it easier for you to get reservations at nice places for honeymooning, and more time off the highway.

Some good trip reports on these areas are available at http://tinyurl.com/auxn8 so you may get more ideas on how to make this a fantastic trip.

Good luck and best wishes!