San Fran for a week, 2 days extra, where to stay?
 

Evening, Hubby and I are doing a time share trade to San Fran on March 22. This will be for a week, but than we have 2 extra days until our flight. (used miles, take what you can get!)Our time share is at Fisherman's Wharf area. (not my first choice of places, but, hey it is free!) We plan on doing Alcatraz, roaming the different neighborhoods, and renting a car for Wine country and seeing Point Reyes area. (I love beachcombing, and he has never seen redwoods) Question is, where should we head for the last 2 nights? Stay in the city, go south to Carmel? North? We both are very flexible, love the ocean, wine, history of an area, seafood! Any suggestions would be great! I have scoured these boards and have gotten some excellent dos from you all! Thank you in advance!

Why not drive down HWY 1 and stay in Half Moon Bay? It won't be that bad of a drive from there back to the airport.

I think Carmel/Monterey/Big Sur would be a great complement to the other places you're planning to visit. The only drawback would be getting to the airport during rush hour, if you're leaving on a work day. Perhaps that last night, stay in Half Moon Bay, like TrvlMaven suggested - it's less than 40 mins to the airport from HMB.

Stu Dudley

Thank you for the suggestions. Hubby now thinks we should stay in San Fran as our plane leaves around 2 on Saturday and he is worried of traffic, etc. Plus, we can ditch the car (and the parking fees!) and use Bart and a Muni pass. Any tips on where to stay? I am looking at the Donatello, good reviews on Tripadvisor, and reasonable. Also, restaurants in that area? Thanks again!

OOh, that Half Moon Bay sounds right up my alley. Maybe if I sweet talk the ole' man...

Shouldn't be much trafic between Carmel & SFO on Sat. Plan on a 2 hr drive.

Stu Dudley

I agree with Stu Saturday drive from Carmel to SFO should take around 2 hours, it did for me last Saturday. Also recommend Carmel/Big Sur as a 2 day trip--well worth it in my opinion. Half Moon Bay is very nice, but not as dramatic as Big Sur. BTW great tidepools on the Monterey Penninsula.

If you do decide to stay in S.F., the Donatello is fine. Location is good and the property is very under-rated, in my opinion. I've sent friends and business associates there with no complaints coming back to me.

You could move to one of the motels by the Great Highway, right across from the beach. They are located either at the end of the N-Judah or the L-Taraval line.

About a dozen years ago, I was in the City for a week, and had the weekend for myself. I'd stayed at the Grand Hyatt in Union Square, but I'd scouted things out, and moved to a ratty motel on the Great Highway. I believe it was the first one on the left, south of Cliff House, at an intersection.

My recollection is that it had two floors. I wanted a room on the top floor, from which you could presumably see the ocean. However, they were all booked, so I took one of the lower ones.

It was fairly ratty, and thin-walled--you could hear your neighbors. But I still remember getting up in the morning, making myself a cup of coffee, and going over to Ocean Beach. It is a grand location....

We stay at the Donatello often. The rooms are large and include a sofa, a wet bar, microwave and small fridge as well as the coffee maker. Don't miss the lounge on the top floor with two terraces and a fireplace. They serve a continental breakfast up there which is often included in the room price.