mrmarky

I will be traveling to Monterey in July with my wife and 2 (15/16)teen boys. We'll be in Monterey for three days and then plan on going to San Francisco. We have 4 days and are looking for some tips,i.e. hotel, sights, other towns near, etc. Should we drive south and see what's there? Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks!

Mark

easytraveler

Definitely you should drive south to Big Sur. Check out all the threads here on Fodors, plenty written on Big Sur.

Also stay one night in Carmel, if you don't mind moving around a bit.

Do you have four days in total? Or 3 days for Monterey and 4 for San Francisco? It'll help to know how much time you have so we can give you more suggestions. You could spend a week in San Francisco and environs!

Welcome to California!

mrmarky

We will be in Monterey for 3 days and then have an additional 4 days to do something else.

SAB

Hey ET!!!!--Marky are you intending to go to SF or are you looking for an alternative? You could easily spend 4 days in SF and barely scratch the surface. Put Stu Dudley's name in the search box and take a look at his postings on SF.

I never understand posters who say SF can be seen in a couple of days, I've lived here for over 30 years and I'm still finding new things. BTW I feel the same way about NYC, London, Paris, Rome.

J_Correa

With teenagers, make sure to include time for at least an afternoon in Santa Cruz. Go to the Boardwalk, hang out on the beach a bit, maybe go downtown.

In Monterey, you might want to rent kayaks and go out on the water. Renting bikes and riding along the paved path past the Aquarium and along the water in Pacific Grove is fun too.

Make sure to at least drive as far south as Point Lobos state park - the state park has some gorgeous coastline. It will give you a nice flavor for Big Sur. Driving down the coast further is better, but if you are pressed to fit things in, it is a good alternative.

If your boys are outdoorsy, spend a day or an afternoon at Big Basin in the Santa Cruz mountains. Good hiking there and some very large trees.

curmudgeon

Teens generally enjoy SF for a day or two; Alcatraz, cable cars, chinatown etc. Heading further south from Monterey, Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo etc are nice areas, but somewhat similar in character to Monterey.

An alternative to consider would be heading over to Yosemite. A significant drive (4 hours?), but lots to do and see at that time of year. You can use the search box here on Fodors to find lots of threads for reference.

buzymom3

Hi!
WOW I actually have a chance to help someone on the California board...nice work for a Midwesterner!

We did Monterey and San Francisco a couple of years ago w/ our teens...

Here is what worked for us in the area...
First and foremost they LOVED Monterey! We spent hours at the Aquarium. Then we walked from the Aquarium to the downtown area...had lunch, walked thru some shops and then walked to the Monterey Kayak store. we rented 3 kayaks...my son (14) went in one, me and my daughter (13) and then my hubby and little one (11). We had a blast!

They gave us a quick lesson and we were off. My dd and I went into a cove and watched a sea otter eat his lunch...we were only about 10 feet from him...he popped up by us & you cannot approach them since they are endangered. We had a seal bump ourkayak and scare us to death...thought we were gonna get eaten by JAWS! Then he came up right next to my dd and we saw it was a big old seal.

My hubby and other dd went out into the kelp beds, they had seals, huge sea lions and saw some fish, but no other otters. It was a good experience. We are going to California next week and are going to try out La Jolla Cove.

We also highly recommend the night tour of Alcatraz. The ride over to the island is just before dusk so you have a great view. But inside, the shadows just keep getting longer and longer. It really highlights the spookyness of the jail. The kids loved it.

AND right down the street from the dock is an IN n OUT Burger...you have not lived until you have had one. We spent the next 2 weeks looking for them.

We drove to see the Redwoods and they really enjoyed that. It was amazing how quiet and still the forest is around them.

The kids and I toured the submarine that is anchored at Fisherman's wharf...we got the audio tour and it was very informative. They really enjoyed talking to the servicemen who were working on the sub.

We spent an hour in china town doing a real dim sum for lunch. The hotel recommended a wonderful one, but I don't remember the name. We walked around and went into some of the shops. Then we took a cable car back to the hotel.

We went to Giradellis square and the park that is right outside of it and looked at all the street vendors.

At night it was amazing...there were 100's of kids, all ages and ethenticity, on skates! They were very polite...they just skated through downtown, some stopped and talked in groups, but it was truly amazing to see all of them moving thru the area. My kids were talking to some of them and they enjoyed that.

Well I think that is it right now. Hope it helps & have a wonderful trip!!
janet

easytraveler

Hi, Hi, SAB!

mrmarky: There's so much for kids to do in SF: I'd add the Exploratorium and the Metreon. The Metreon has a Sony center with all kinds of tech gadgets; also has an electronics games area (This week I just had a ball playing the electronic bowling game with a couple of teens!) Your boys will enjoy the evening tour of Alcatraz as J-Correa has suggested.

All in all, you've gotten some excellent suggestions from some of the best Bay Area residents! (and even one Midwesterner!)

Enjoy!