My husband and I are celebrating our 50th anniversary in San Francisco. We are planning on staying 3 nights in San Francisco, get a rental car and driving to Heraldsburg, staying a night and drive to Carmel, stay 3 nights and 1-2 nights around Herst Castle. Does this sound like a feasible itinerary? If not, please make suggestions. Also, we would appreciate suggestions for hotels in each of these areas.

We are considering:
Hotel G San Francisco in San Francisco
The Best Western in Heraldsburg
The Cypress Inn in Carmel
Paso Roble near Herst Castle

Any comments on these hotels will be appreciated. Please help me plan this trip.

>> Does this sound like a feasible itinerary?

Congratulations on your anniversary.

I would never drive up to Healdsburg only to turn around the next morning and drive through all the horrendous Bay Area traffic to Carmel. Just doesn't make sense IMO. Either do as stu suggests and stay two nights in Healdsburg . . . or skip it all together and drive from SF south (that would be my choice)

3 or 4 nights in SF and 5 or 6 along the coast south would be a wonderful

Thanks for your responses. How about 3 nights SF, 2 nights Healdsburg, 3 nights Carmel and drive back to Airport on 9th day? Can you drive from Carmel to Hearst Castle for a day or would it make more sense to stay 1 night near the Castle? We are flying from Florida into San Francisco. Not sure about the flights into San Jose. I'll check that out, and if fares are good, we could reverse the trip. Thanks again for your input.

So - you really only have 8 nights & 7 1/2 days.

If SF, Healdsburg, Carmel is the sequence - you still have the 4 to 4 1/2 hr drive through traffic in Santa Rosa, San Rafael, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley (take Hwy 280, not 101) to contend with if you do this on a work day.

If you arrive from Florida mid-morning or later, you really only have 2 1/2 days or less in San Francisco. That isn't much time at all. I don't know how late you will be able to stay up & awake that first day.

You didn't say what time your flight back to Florida departs SFO. If you drive back from Carmel is on a work day, budget 3 1/2 hrs for the drive with heavy commute traffic and to return the car and get to the terminal.

I think you could do a day trip to Hearst Castle from Carmel if you get an early start & plan to be in Carmel for 3 "good" days. But you only have 2 1/4 days if you drive from Healdsburg, and that's not enough time to see the major sites in Carmel, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pt Lobos, Carmel Beach, Hwy 1, lunch at Nepenthe, and Hearst Castle.

I suggest that you think about only San Francisco, Carmel, and 1 night in Paso Robles/Hearst Castle (for the wine stuff). Start in Carmel/PR and end in San Francisco to make getting to SFO easier for your flight home and without the stress of having to contend with our horrid work-day commute traffic - with a flight you can't miss.

Stu Dudley

Stu, this sounds like a much better itinerary. Thanks for your help. Any suggestions on hotels in these areas?

Not sure of your budget, but for the Hearst Castle portion, look at staying in Cambria on Moonstone Beach.

Yes, what is your budget?

around $200/night

Hotel G appears to be new, so I don't know much about it.

In Cambria, check out the hotels belonging to the Pacifica group. They may have some deals going on. Also, weekends in Carmel and along the coast will most likely require a 2 night stay.

http://www.pacificahotels.com

Stay in Cambria or San Simeon for Hearst Castle - we stayed awhile back at the Best Western Cavalier Inn, right on the beach and we paid a bit extra for a room with a fireplace. In Cambria I think it was Sand Pebbles Inn we stayed at.

Do not stay at the Best Western in Healdsburg!

My husband and I stay there several times a year when we have business, i.e., doctor's appts., shopping, etc. in "town." Though it is not the Four Seasons, we always found it clean, convenient and with a friendly staff.

But in our most recent visit last week, it was a completely different place - dirty, unfriendly - just awful. It was so bad in every way that we came home a day early even though we had paid for a second night. I believe they are under new management and I'm sorry I wrote a positive trip review on Yelp.

Anyway, agree with the suggestions that you go south. I think you'll have a much less stressful and better time.

Best,
Lisa

Lisa, good to know. We have also stayed there on business in the area. Will avoid!

Stu gave good advice. Doesn't make sense to drive north to Healdsburg (although I love this small town) and then south thru lots of traffic. Healdsburg and other wine country cities are a destination in itself. After SF I would stay in Monterrey/carmel where you could visit both Big Sur area and Carmel and the Valley (great wineries there) then drive down to Hearst castle on your way to LA. Stay in Cambria for your tour of Hearst Castle or down in Morro Bay depending on timimg for your tour. Tix in advance for Hearst Castle are a must if you want to make sure you get in.

Oh my goodness, I'm not sure what I'm doing now. Alright, all of you have helped me so much, but I'm confused. Should I arrive at San Francisco and drive to Carmel/Monterrey/Big Sur and Hearst castle first and then drive to SF and drop off car or go the opposite way? How many days do I need in SF - 4 nights? How many in the other areas - 4 nights? Where do I stay in between SF & Hearst Castle - Pacific Coast, Big Sur or Monterey or Carmel? Would like to keep hotel nightly cost $200 & under if possible. What hotels are recommended?

Thanks again for being patient.

I'm no help with hotels because I have no need of them in SF, and some close friends have a 3 bedroom condo overlooking the golf course and ocean at Spanish Bay - where we mooch a room. We stay almost every year at the Big Sur Lodge in Big Sur - but you are not planning on staying overnight there.

So - here is a suggested itinerary

- Arrive at SFO, rent a car, and drive south 2 1/4 hrs to Carmel (longer if earlier than 10AM or after 3:30PM). For the most scenic way there, head north from the car rental place & take Hwy 380 west, and then hwy 280 south (very scenic) where it eventually connects with Hwy 101. Stay in Carmel for 3 nights. Visit Pt Lobos one of those days.

- Drive south down Hwy 1. Photos of Bixby Bridge. Have an early lunch at Nepenthe in Big Sur (or just admire the views from the top terrace if you arrive before lunch). Admire the redwood trees in Big Sur. Continue south and visit Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park (about a 1 hr visit) & see the waterfall there. There are many Pfeiffer places in the Big Sur area - make sure you visit the Julie Pfeiffer Burns one. If you want to explore a wonderful beach - visit Pfeiffer Beach too. Continue down Hwy 1 and visit Hearst Castle (make a reservation a month? or so ahead). Stay 1 night in Cambria if you want to stay in the coast, or in Paso Robles if you would like to visit a winery. We stayed at the Cavalier Inn at San Simeon on our honeymoon in 1971.

- Next morning, do another tour of Hearst Castle or visit a winery in Paso Robles. Then return to San Francisco on US 101. Just south of San Jose, connect from 101 to the scenic 280 into San Francisco. It's about a 3 1/4 hr drive from Paso Robles to SF. Leave Paso Robles by 1PM to avoid commute traffic (less traffic on 280 than 101). Return the car downtown and stay 4 nights in San Francisco. If you MUST return the car at SFO, after you spot the airport to your right, take 380 from 280 and follow the signs to SFO.

In SFO, if I was a visitor, I would stay near the Embarcadero/Ferry Bldg. I hate the Wharf for may reasons, and the vagrants/homeless in the Union Square area are either increasing in number, or are bothering me more than they did 20 years ago.

Stu Dudley

>>In SFO, if I was a visitor

Dont miss Hearst Castle...have been there twice (travelling from Australia) and have driven the coast from San Fran to LA...drive is great, but sorry guys, doesn't compare with our 'Great Ocean Road' in Victoria....Hearst Castle is amazing, loved the tours, 2nd visit stayed 2 nights so that we could spend whole day doing back to back tours of castle, dont miss it!

Just stay in a cheap motel on the highway at St Simeon, (there isn't much else) the draw card is Hearst Castle...Carmel is so-so, a couple of hours browsing the shops is enough...

I don't think I've ever heard Carmel described as 'so so'. My goodness (?)

Art galleries, restaurants, pubs, the beach, the mission, and as a base for all the amazing places w/I a few miles.