Hello all!! I am new to this forum and seeking advice. I have been reading the other postings on this subject but neded to post my own. Any help would be appreciated. My husband & I are flying out of Hartford on 9/27 to attend a wedding in Big Sur on 10/1. We have a room booked at the Monterey Bay Lodge on the advice on the engaged couple because they thought it was the nicest for the price. We are planning on spending 9/27 thru 10/1 in the Monterey Carmel area, with a drive a little south, and then heading to San Fran. I am torn between staying at the Chancellor or the Cartwright. Being from Springfield, MA homeless people and panhandlers are seen in almost parts of the city so that doesn't bother me. However, I would like to feel safe and be comfortable. We don't need bells & whistles. Just somewhere to sleep. I am concerned about getting out of the city to catch my plane on 10/4. I think we should be ok since our plane leaves from San Jose @ 6:40 and we would need to be at the airport by 5ish to drop off the car and I am assuming there would be no traffic in SF at that time of the morning. Also is there anywhere besides the Monterey Bay Lodge to stay in that price range? We are paying $110/night. Sorry for the lengthiness. Thanx again!!

That early in the morning, you wont encounter traffic between SF and SJ. I take a 6:30 am flight from SJ more often than I care to and there is hardly anybody out at that time of the morning. If it were me though, I would probably stay near the SJ airport the night before just so I didn't have to get up at an even more ungodly hour of the morning to catch my flight.

We stayed in Motel 6 when we were in Monterrey. It's not far from the fisqhermans wharf were you can eat wonderful seafood. The clam chowder is out of this world. Have a nice cup of coffee in Carmel after doing the 17 mile drive.Paul

tovarich, can you provide names of the restaurants for the great seafood and clam chowder? So many choices

Thanx for the quick replies. I think you're right about staying near SJ and the ungodly hour which is why we didn't want to drive from Monterey to the airport in SJ. How far is the airport in SJ from let's say Union Square in SF?

The drive takes about an hour. Can you fly out of SFO? You would drive right past it on your way to SJC.

Well... we're already booked to fly out of SJ. I would have to cancel and rebook w/another airline. Southwest doesn't fly into Hartford from SF.