roadtripsrock

Hoping to celebrate 10 blissfuly wed years with a long overdue kid-free vaca! Scrambling to plan a last minute 7-10 day romantic pacific coastline trip for 2 in late August. Planning to fly in/out of SF, rent car, head north (Healdsburg/Jenner Beach/Bodega Bay/Medocino), pit stop in Half Moon Bay, and head south to Monterey/Carmel/Big Sur/Pacific Grove (maybe Point Lobos). Learning about 2-3 night minimum weekend stays, high season in Napa and the $$$ of lodging in some of these areas. Since we will likely arrive on a Saturday early afternoon and leave 9 days later on a Sunday late evening, I am thinking staying in SF on the weekend nights and driving/touring mid-week might be best. Hoping to stay under $200/night overall (of course want decent and clean but less concerned about upscale or fancy since don't plan on spending much time in the rooms) - looking for lodging suggestions in SF (Marina district for the free parking?), north coast (hoping Healdsburg/Sonoma wineries are less crowded and more affordable than Napa), Half Moon Bay (unless not worth the stop?) and Carmel/Pacific Grove. Also curious about number days/night to stay in each spot (3 days north, 3 days south, 2 days SF on front/back end, 1 day Half Moon Bay in the middle if drive from Healdsburg to Carmel is too long?). Want to cover as much area as we can but don't want to be overwhelmed or drained by all of the driving. Definitely want to bike Golden Gate to Sausalito and hear there is an Arts Festival on Labor Day weekend. Total trip budget is not extravagant (definitely want to recognize the milestone but any trip is a splurge). Only true requirements are to enjoy some "adult time" - relax on some beaches, be inspired by some breathtaking views, stay as active as we can (walk, hike and maybe a kayak tour in Monterey), and enjoy some great wines and bubbly! Thank you in advance for taking the time to make this planning process easier for us west coast virgins!

sf7307

1. The Arts Festival in Sausalito Labor Day weekend is fantastic. Be aware that it costs money (I think $20 or $25 entrance fee).

2. Half Moon Bay is not really a "destination" - it's a very pleasant town to stop in for lunch and a walk, with a nice Main Street.

3. Many will suggest that you ditch the car in San Francisco altogether, but I'm not one of them! I think it's really easy to drive in SF, and cuts the time between sites tremendously. At least on one day to go out to Ocean Beach/Land's End/Cliff House/Golden Gate Park/Twin Peaks, I'd personally want the car. You can easily get around the downtown area (financial district, Union Square, South of Market, Embarcadero, Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, North Beach, Telegraph Hill) on foot or by public transportation.

4. The Cow Hollow/Marina is a good place to stay anyway, because there are two neighborhoods bordering Lombard Street (Union Street to the south, Chestnut Street to the north), both of which are "real" neighborhoods, with plenty of shopping, eating, entertainment, people watching.

tomfuller

Please don't restrict your airport choice to SFO. Oakland, San Jose and even Sacramento would work for you.
How about a night at the Marin Headlands HI Hostel? http://norcalhostels.org/marin/
They do have some private rooms.
Plan on seeing Muir Woods while you are north of the GG bridge.

Suzie

I think for the route you've laid out SFO is the correct choice. Certainly not Sacramento if you want to head to the coast. Talk about unnecessary driving.

Your child free vacay sounds fabulous. Congrats on 10 years!

roadtripsrock

Thank you sf7307 and Suzie. Tom- we're flying from Philly and hoping for direct so options are limited. I forgot about the Muir Woods - thanks for the reminder!

Tomsd

Half Moon Bay is a great place to hang out. If you want to splurge a bit - literally stay at the Ritz. http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Proper...ay/Default.htm

Or stay elsewhere in the area and have brunch/lunch at the Ritz. Double

Tomsd

And with all due respect - from one who lived in Sausalito - in Marin County - and a friend of mine had a house backing up to Muir Woods - I would not make that a focal point of my visit to the Bay Area and points around there.

It's nice but there are so many other places to see/spend time wandering about.

Tomsd

Also - trust you have read the other posts in here about SF lodging. I recommend the Chelsea Motor Inn as it's not only in the Marina - close to both Union St and Chestnut St, has free parking - and is quiet. http://www.chelseamotorinn.com/

And YES, I have stayed there. Even saw it being built when I lived in SF.

easytraveler

If you have 7 to 10 days, I'd suggest a weekly car rental. If it's 10 days, then spend the first three days in SF without a car and then rent a car for the remainder 7 days. If you don't have a car in SF, you won't need to worry about hotel parking fees.

With your budget, you could find better lodging in SF than the Chelsea Motor Inn.

Have you tried Priceline?

roadtripsrock

Thanks Tom. I've heard about the Ritz and a lunch stop should be doable, I'm just not sure we'll have time for an over night stay. Sausilito may just be a lunch stop as well since that was suggested as a rest stop for our bike ride over the bridge. Muir Woods looks nice but wasn't on our original list so may not make the cut.

Easy traveler- thank you. Looking into the car rental a bit more, I agree just a weekly may meet our needs which will expand our options for lodging.

I'm not sure I've reviewed all the posts in SF lodging but will take a closer look. More concerned with limited availability and blind booking in the areas outside of SF. Honestly can't remember if I tried Priceline specifically (been on countless travel sites recently it's sort of a blur) but will check it out for sure. It's been like 7 years since I've planned a trip like this so I'm a bit rusty and truly appreciate all the help I can get!

Grateful to all of you for taking the time.

easytraveler

Hi, roadtripsrock: not a problem. We're all glad to help. This is a wonderful traveler's site. We help others, others help us when we're making trips, so just pay it forward with advice for your home area.

As for Priceline, it's the place where you bid for a room. If you are successful, you pay immediately (your card is debited immediately) and you're pretty much set in concrete with no refunds and no cancellations allowed. So you have to be pretty certain of your dates. The attraction is that prices are very low, somewhere around 50-60% of normal hotel rates.

If you're interested, don't make a bid. Go into biddingtraveler.com and biddingfortravel.com to see what the latest winning bids have been.

Here's the current page from biddingtraveler for San Francisco:

http://www.biddingtraveler.com/price...-san-francisco

You'll have to scroll down a bit to get to the center of the city (you don't want to be located near the airport!), so look at Embarcadero, SOMA, Union Square East (not US West!). For example, the four star Hyatt Regency at the Embarcadero has a retail price of $199, but the average successful bid has been $93. You could save quite a bit if you use Priceline.

However, I would caution you to look first, but don't buy. Then come back here and ask questions. There are any number of savvy Priceline users who can give you good tips on how to bid on Priceline.

Good luck on your planning! Half the fun of a trip is in the planning stage.

roadtripsrock

Any suggestions for home base when north of SF? I'm thinking Healdsburg but struggling to find a decent location under $200 with availability for 2-3 nights. Will definitely play around with biddingtraveler - thanks easytraveler! - and of course pay it forward when you guys come east.

gualalalisa

Hi,

When DH and I have to go to town for doctor's appts. or shopping, we stay in the Dry Creek Inn in Healdsburg.

It's a Best Western, right off Hwy. 101. Though we normally stay in pretty posh digs on vacation, we came to like this place for its convenience when we have to do "not fun" stuff. It does have a pool, a gym, Room Service from the adjacent cafe and free Continental breakfast.

They also have wine tasting several nights a week. The rooms are OK and the staff is super friendly. Again, by no means luxury lodging but would seem fine if you are on a budget. For us, the room rates have ranged from $85 to $120 a night.

Hope this helps.

Best,
Lisa

travelgirl2

Let me second the suggestion to use Priceline bidding. Great option, especially with 2 people. Another possibility is Hotwire. You can guess the listed hotels on Hotwire by looking at the amenities and cross-referencing on better bidding.com.

I helped a friend plan a 10 night trip for 6 people to the San Francisco/Napa area. She came over one day, I showed her the ropes and then we commenced bidding. It was really fun. Each time she won a bid, we jumped up, cheered, and hugged. She probably saved about 40-50 % off the prices, plus she booked much nicer hotels than they had been planning on.

lovestohike

We also like the Best Western Healdsburg - new area where they have the Tuscan rooms. Summer rates are high - however especially on week-ends. The older section is standard BW, but the Tuscan section is right off their dry spa; jacuzzi, have patios; have fireplaces in the room; jacuzzi tub; comfortable beds. We just stayed at the Best Western Rohnert Park as the prices were so high for summer travel and we were only sleeping there (i.e. 9 am start back at 11 p.m. at night). That hotel has very reasonable rates and as long as you do not get the couple of rooms directly by the 101, very quiet. We were very surprised how comfortable it was. We had a lovely room with a king bed and a couch; good continental breakfast in the morning, close to highway 101; and very close to many restaurants. While I definitely prefer Healdsburg area to stay in, this worked for under $100.00 a night on a week-end in July. Check in process was very easy - and you can park very close to your room; so very little time having to move things in from the car.

If you want a motel directly on the beach in Monterey/Carmel area this Best Western is one of the very few in the area with direct beach access
http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwest...ertyCode=05468

If you want a bed and breakfast, the 4 Sisters have wonderful bed and breakfasts in the area
http://www.foursisters.com/inns_monterey.htm

Carmel tends to be small inns; Monterey tends to have more full service hotels (for your information). There is also a lovely state park there with lodging options called Asilomar (no TV but easy walking distance to a gorgeous beach area)
http://www.visitasilomar.com/

When in the carmel/Monterey area be sure to go a few miles south of Carmel to Point Lobos.

lovestohike

For bubbly, in the Healdsburg area, Korbel is a nice place to go
http://www.korbel.com/age_screener.a...2fdefault.aspx

There is a delightful deli on site with a nice deck - so if interested time it to visit at lunch.

If interested, drive a bit further to the coast and see Armstrong Redwoods State Park (gorgeous coastal redwood state park)
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=450

roadtripsrock

THANK YOU all very much!