Monterey Bay & Carmel
Feb 11th, 1999 | 02:29 AM
#2
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Definitely, stay over in Carmel! Just because it is worth taking time to absorb the area. We are staying one night in Carmel in April. Have a good rate for $49 at he Carmel Resort. The town is a wonderful strolling town with great restaurants...especially at dark...lighting is beautiful. But, the reaon we are staying over, os to drive down to see Big Sur and eat lunch at the Nepethe...located in Big Sur with fantastic views. Try NOT to miss Big Sur. Frankly, I would skip the 17 mile drive and take time to go to Big Sur, which isn't oo much further. Have fun!
Feb 11th, 1999 | 05:26 AM
#3
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The drive from San Fran to Monterey is a lot longer than it appears to be on the map, though it is a beautiful drive. I would also recommend spending the night in Carmel or Monterey or you'll be spending all day in the car. The 17 mile drive is nice, but it's expensive.
Feb 11th, 1999 | 06:49 AM
#4
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I live in the San Francsico Bay area. I agree with the others that it would be advisable to stay the night in Carmel/Monterey. However it is possible to do it as a day trip. We often do it as a day trip to take visitors. We did it last October and were able to see most everything. We visited the acquarium in Monterey, took 17 mile drive, spent several hours walking in Carmel. We left the Bay area at approx. 11:00 am and arrived back home about 9:00 pm. We ate dinner in Carmel. As I said, it would be better to stay the night in Carmel but a day trip is definitely not unreasonable as I illustrated. BTW, I did the last trip on Saturday and it was a beautiful day.
The length of the drive from San Francisco to Monterey bay depends on the route. There are a 4 routes that come to mind with some duplication.
1. Hwy 1 along the coast from San Francisco to Monterey. I do not recommend hwy 1 from SF to Santa Cruz. Adds too much time and not particularly outstanding. Can be very foggy especially in the morning and late afternoon/evening.
2. Hwy 101 from San Francisco - San Jose - Gilroy south to cutover to hwy 1. I don't recommend this as it is not very scenic.
3. Hwy 280 from San Francisco - Hwy 85 ( exit by Mountain View ) - Hwy 101 and then follow route # 3. Another alternative would be to cut across the mountains from Gilroy to Watsonville and down hwy 1. This route is OK for one direction assuming that it is not dark. The alternative will add some time but not much.
4. Same route as #3 as far as hwy 85. Exit hwy 85 on hwy 17 south to Santa Cruz. Pick up hwy 1 south just as you are entering Santa Cruz. Continue south on hwy 1 to Monterey. This is the best route for a combination of scenery and time. You could take hwy 101 south to 85 but hwy 280 is quite scenic and a much better way to go. If time permits, take an extra 20 minutes or so and drive out on the pier at Santa Cruz. It is well worth it and you get an excellent view.
Driving time from San Francisco to Monterey is going to be approximately 2.5 - 3.0 hours depending on route and driving conditions.
The 17 mile drive is well worth it. It costs $8.25 per car which is NOT expensive in my book. Allow a couple hours for the drive. Can be done in an hour if you don't stop.
The length of the drive from San Francisco to Monterey bay depends on the route. There are a 4 routes that come to mind with some duplication.
1. Hwy 1 along the coast from San Francisco to Monterey. I do not recommend hwy 1 from SF to Santa Cruz. Adds too much time and not particularly outstanding. Can be very foggy especially in the morning and late afternoon/evening.
2. Hwy 101 from San Francisco - San Jose - Gilroy south to cutover to hwy 1. I don't recommend this as it is not very scenic.
3. Hwy 280 from San Francisco - Hwy 85 ( exit by Mountain View ) - Hwy 101 and then follow route # 3. Another alternative would be to cut across the mountains from Gilroy to Watsonville and down hwy 1. This route is OK for one direction assuming that it is not dark. The alternative will add some time but not much.
4. Same route as #3 as far as hwy 85. Exit hwy 85 on hwy 17 south to Santa Cruz. Pick up hwy 1 south just as you are entering Santa Cruz. Continue south on hwy 1 to Monterey. This is the best route for a combination of scenery and time. You could take hwy 101 south to 85 but hwy 280 is quite scenic and a much better way to go. If time permits, take an extra 20 minutes or so and drive out on the pier at Santa Cruz. It is well worth it and you get an excellent view.
Driving time from San Francisco to Monterey is going to be approximately 2.5 - 3.0 hours depending on route and driving conditions.
The 17 mile drive is well worth it. It costs $8.25 per car which is NOT expensive in my book. Allow a couple hours for the drive. Can be done in an hour if you don't stop.
Feb 12th, 1999 | 09:05 AM
#5
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If you are thinknig of doing this as a day trip as Cal suggests, I propose leaving SF much earlier than 11:00 AM.
It's not that the distances are so great as that you'll be constantly stopping at scenic overlooks to admire the view. That adds considerable time to the journey. Trust me, you'll regret it if you don't allow time to get out of the car and walk around!
The seventeen mile drive is well worth it in my opinion. You will be popping out of the car at each scenic overlook to admire waves. I can't imagine doing the 17 mile drive without plenty of stops.
You could head further south towards Big Sur. I like to stop at Pt Lobos State Park and take the mild little hike out to the point, worth it for the view alone, not to mention the terrific sea air and pine wood atmosphere.
Sometimes it is so foggy you don't see much. For a day trip, Big Sur is probably farther south than you want to head. In either case, you might as well stick around Carmel; there's a lot to do.
Monterrey/Carmel itself is a cute little town to walk through. Potted plants grow spectacularly and it's cool just to see what potted plants people put out front their houses.
The Carmel mission is a must see. The mission has a very nice garden full of hummingbirds if you are into that. Of course there's Junipero Serra and the mission history. Don't forget to drop some coins in the poor box, although you may well wonder whether the friars can find any poor in Carmel to spend it on. Take a deep breath as you stand in downtown Carmel. You smell that? That's the smell of money.
Carmel practically invented the coffee shop/bookstore concept, and there's a cool one there which puts the big chains to shame. Sorry I can't remember the name of it, but it's not hard to find; ask any local.
If you plan to go tide pooling, visit the Aquarium first. Then you'll amaze yourself identifying all the fauna you see.
Danger, danger East Coasters! If you get a seafood meal, you may well be disappointed by it. It's very different from what you are used to. A lot of East Coasters think it is not as good as East Coast seafood. Once I got used to it (took about a year), I liked it well enough (but it isn't as good as East Coast seafood). Another caveat about Carmel restaurants is they don't understand the concept of 'fast service'. Any time we've ever fine dined in Carmel, it took forever to get our food. We just get fast food anymore; save your fine dining for San Fransisco.
And that is plenty for one day. I suggest taking the scenic route down, and the fastest route back.
It's not that the distances are so great as that you'll be constantly stopping at scenic overlooks to admire the view. That adds considerable time to the journey. Trust me, you'll regret it if you don't allow time to get out of the car and walk around!
The seventeen mile drive is well worth it in my opinion. You will be popping out of the car at each scenic overlook to admire waves. I can't imagine doing the 17 mile drive without plenty of stops.
You could head further south towards Big Sur. I like to stop at Pt Lobos State Park and take the mild little hike out to the point, worth it for the view alone, not to mention the terrific sea air and pine wood atmosphere.
Sometimes it is so foggy you don't see much. For a day trip, Big Sur is probably farther south than you want to head. In either case, you might as well stick around Carmel; there's a lot to do.
Monterrey/Carmel itself is a cute little town to walk through. Potted plants grow spectacularly and it's cool just to see what potted plants people put out front their houses.
The Carmel mission is a must see. The mission has a very nice garden full of hummingbirds if you are into that. Of course there's Junipero Serra and the mission history. Don't forget to drop some coins in the poor box, although you may well wonder whether the friars can find any poor in Carmel to spend it on. Take a deep breath as you stand in downtown Carmel. You smell that? That's the smell of money.
Carmel practically invented the coffee shop/bookstore concept, and there's a cool one there which puts the big chains to shame. Sorry I can't remember the name of it, but it's not hard to find; ask any local.
If you plan to go tide pooling, visit the Aquarium first. Then you'll amaze yourself identifying all the fauna you see.
Danger, danger East Coasters! If you get a seafood meal, you may well be disappointed by it. It's very different from what you are used to. A lot of East Coasters think it is not as good as East Coast seafood. Once I got used to it (took about a year), I liked it well enough (but it isn't as good as East Coast seafood). Another caveat about Carmel restaurants is they don't understand the concept of 'fast service'. Any time we've ever fine dined in Carmel, it took forever to get our food. We just get fast food anymore; save your fine dining for San Fransisco.
And that is plenty for one day. I suggest taking the scenic route down, and the fastest route back.
Feb 17th, 1999 | 12:49 AM
#6
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I wasn't suggesting that you leave SF at 11:00 am. It was simply the time that we left last trip there but we left from Los Gatos which is about an hour closer than San Francisco. I would personally leave as early as you can. BTW, Bully's III in Carmel is an excellent restaurant and I highly recommend it. The prime rib is superb.
