I'm planning a trip to No. California the end of Sept. and I'm wondering if my itinerary will be too aggressive. My tentative plans are 3 nights San Francisco
1 night Mendocino (visiting relatives)
1 night Sonoma Valley (Glen Ellen area)
1 night Calistoga in Napa Valley
2 nights Lake Tahoe
1 night Yosemite Nat'l Park area
1 night Cambria (Heast Castle next am)
1 night Ventana Inn, Big Sur
2 nights Monterey/Carmel area

Is it more advisable to go to Cambria from Yosemite National Park and spend the night to visit Hearst Castle early next morning or travel to Ventana Inn and then drive down U.S. 1 to Hearst Castle and return via U.S. 101 to Monterey/Carmel area?

If I had to cut out any part of this itinerary to allow more time in other areas, it would probably be either/or Lake Tahoe and Yosemite Nat'l Park.

We want to see as much as possible since we do not know when or if we will be able to get
back to this area. Please advise.

Frankly, just READING your itinerary made me tired! Not that it isn't great, it sounds about perfect!! Just stretch it out into TWICE the amount of time and you've got the perfect trip!!

WOW! You love to drive, right?

The drive from SF to Mendocino is 5 hours or so without stops. The drive from Mendocino to Sonoma is about 4 hours.
The drive from Calistoga to Lake Tahoe is about 3.5-4 hours. Add another hour if you go through Sacramento at rush hour.
It's about 3 hours to the East Yosemite entrance from Lake Tahoe. It could take you as long as seven hours to get from Yosemite to Cambria.

I can thnk of two ways to streamline your trip.
1) Stay your 2 nights in wine country at the same place. You won't waste time, packing and unpacking, and the two valleys are close enough to each other to explore one as a day trip from the other.
2) I would cut the trip to Hearst castle for several reasons. The drive is very long. If your are coming from the mountains, it will be non too scenic. If you want to see as much as possible, you will see redwoods, wine country, mountains and coast. If you cut the Lake Tahoe/ Yosemite portion of your trip you will only see redwoods, wine county and the coast.

I just got back from a trip from LA up to Monterey and the gold country near Sacramento, and I've been to San Francisco before. You are in for a great trip! Here's what I would do if I were you:

First, I agree with the earlier poster who recommended choosing either Sonoma or Napa, not both. Given the amount of time you have this just makes sense.

Second, I think I would choose either Lake Tahoe or Yosemite and not do both -- there's no way you can get a sense for what Yosemite has to offer with only one night.

Third, I would only spend one night on the Monterey Peninsula if I were you. The part of my trip I was most disappointed in was Carmel and Monterey (except for the Monterey Aquarium, which we loved, especially the jellyfish exhibit). The towns themselves are not that great, especially Monterey, which is really touristy. We walked around Carmel for an hour or two and didn't think it was anything special. Pacific Grove is a good, less expensive, less touristy place to stay on the Monterey peninsula -- but again, I would only spend one night there if I were you. Point Lobos State Park south of Carmel is a good daytime stop if you have time -- it is beautiful and you will see lots of wildlife (we saw seals, elephant seals, sea otters, and lots of birds and wildflowers).

Ventana is really nice -- we stayed there one night too!

And do NOT miss Hearst Castle -- it was wonderful and we were glad we went there. Cambria is great too. A great place for dinner there is Robin's -- we loved it (especially the garlic mashed potatoes and the chocolate mousse)! And also make sure you stop on Moonstone Beach Drive in Cambria -- the morning we were there we saw lots of seals and the tidepools were full of life.

Yes you will be doing a lot of driving on your trip, but it will be gorgeous. Have a great time.

Whoa! It appears that you have a two week vacation in mind. A couple of important points you didn't mention; are children involved? What are your interests, just tourism, scenery, places to pass through. Because you are planning Ventana I would think you will not have any children with you. I also sounds like you are seeking scenery or vistas. OK, besides the fact that you will be totally worn out from all the driving I would divide your plans in half and leave something to look forward to.

1 night in Mendocino - plenty "grins"
1 night in Sonoma &
1 night in Napa/Calistoga - not nearly enough.
2 nights in Tahoe - not nearly enough.
1 night, Yosemite, weeeeellllll, maybe if you spend the whole day in the park.
From there on - not nearly enough.
Being easterners that have adopted the west coast we might have a little more laid back attitude. Best of all, you are chosing one of the best times to take in the coastline itself. Late Sept and Oct are great.

If you started in Cambria, which is a very pleasant experience for both eating and leisurely strolls (and please try and do things in a leasurely manner for best enjoyment). It puts you in a good position to run down to Morro Bay to stoll the beach and then just a short run up to San Simeon to visit Hearst Castle. Once school starts it becomes easier to be a walk-in for tickets since in prime season most people make reservations. You need to allow a few hours for a tour. (There are actually four different tours, I believe.)

From there you can head north on the Coast Highway and take your time so as to see all the wonderful scenery. I'm not sure of the distance from Hearst Castle to Ventana (just guessing about 70-75 miles, maybe a little more) but in any case it will be in your direction of travel. After your overnight there you can continue on up to and possibly stop at Point Lobos State Reserve. It has been described as the most beautiful meeting of land and ocean. Try looking at www.pointlobos.org or ptlobos.org. (It's on my home machine, sorry, you might have to do a search to confirm that.) There are miles of walking trails and amazingly enough you don't get winded or tired taking them.

The Carmel Mission, which no one seems to have mentioned is also a very pleasant stop right there just past Pt Lobos west of Rt.1 on Rio Rd.

Heading on up Rt. 1 you can find Carmel. No offense, Lisa, but you have to travel the back streets in Carmel to see what it is all about. Ocean Ave is for the tourists. Stop and have lunch at The Hog's Breath (Clint Eastwood's place) or maybe Bully's III. There are so many! A good place to park is down at the end of Ocean Ave at the beach. It's free and unlimited. You do have to walk up the hill though but I guarantee you'll never mind a bit. Spend some time wiggling your toes in the white sands at the beach. Walk in the water (brrrrr!) and look north . . . that's Pebble Beach!

Next comes the Seventeen Mile Drive between Carmel and Pacific Grove. There is a charge to take this drive but it is good for the whole day so you can take it as many times as you like. So much to see and so many places to stop.

Pacific Grove. This would be a good place to base yourself for a few days if you wanted, since it is convenient to points south or north. Rosedale Inn on Rt. 68 near Asilomar is excellent. The Pacific Grove Motel and The Wilkies are both inexpensive and pleasant. Breakfast at Toasties on Lighthouse Ave or First Awakenings in the American Can Co Outlet (which is just across the street, or so, from the Monterey Bay Aquarium (www.mbayaq.org). Cannery Row with Bubba Gumps or TGI Friday's and several others.

Monterey, yes, touristy, however there is the Old Fisherman's Wharf which can be done in 30 minutes or so. Not exciting but interesting.

So you see, it seems like it would take two weeks to lay out all the things you can do and see. Hey, throw away the plans, do what we did, make plans to go out there once a year. We did that 16 years ago and have been going each year in the fall, seeing something new each time and using PG as the base or starting point. If I can help in any other way for things to see or whatnot feel free to drop me a line. Less time travelling and more time viewing, that's the way to enjoy it.

All the best,
Ron

From a Northern Californian---Ron's advice is excellent. Only thing I would do would be to skip Heart Castle. I find it very strange, although I appreciate a lot of people like it. It's like Disney Europe! I think I might skip Lake Tahoe also and spend the extra time at gorgeous Yosemite. There's no place in the world quite like it. Enjoy and have a wonderful trip. Take some time to smell the flowers and wade in the ocean!

if you are planning to stay near glen ellen, either dine at the girl and the fig or at mes trois filles, both really nice quaint little restaurants where the food is memorable and very relaxing!! dont try to do too much with little time then it wont be a vacation!! unless you like to see it all then i totally understand sometimes you just have to get it all in!!!good luck and have fun

All of the advice has been good. Of all the posters though, I'm with Kam all the way. Yosemite should be at the top of your list. One day there is a tease.
Also, heed the advice Ron and find a way to go back again in the future. There's just too much to see in one trip.

Thanks for all your wonderful replies. My husband and I decided to extend our stay at Yosemite to two nights. We will be in northern California for 14 days now. Does anyone have any recommendations for hotel or B&B in the south Lake Tahoe area and also the Yosemite area? Would appreciate any suggestions. One last request, if anyone has stayed at the following bed and breakfasts, I'd also like your input. They are Agate Cove Inn in Mendocino, The Elms in Calistoga and Seven Gables in Pacific Grove.