coryandcarissa

So with the help and advice of everyone, I’ve reworked our itinerary a bit to come up with the following on our agenda. We decided to purchase a SF City Pass since that will include all of the places we wanted to see anyways, and also include a 7-day Muni Pass, which we will use throughout our visit. And to revisit, Mom, Dad, & 2 kids, 7 & 4.5 yrs. old will be making the trip.

Monday – arrive in the a.m. via Amtrak – check into hotel. See the Golden Gate Bridge, Crissy Field, Palace of the Fine Arts and Yoda Fountain

Tuesday – Alcatraz, Pier 39, In-N-Out, Lombard Street, Alamo Square

Wednesday – Golden Gate Park (to see as much as we can see), California Academy of the Sciences, Tower of De Young Museum for views

Thursday – Exploratorium, Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market for Lunch, Cable Car Museum and Fortune Cookie Company

Friday – Pick up rental car, spend the day hiking, exploring Mt. Tam, Muir Woods, and Sausalito – will end this day in Half Moon Bay where we will stay the night.

Saturday – tour around HMB, then make a leisurely and scenic drive down Hwy 1 to stop at any point that may interest us, and will end this day in Monterey, and at some point in our Monterey stay take in the fabulous Dennis the Menace Park.

Question: We will definitely be going to the Monterey Bay Aquarium when in Monterey. The question is if we do this on Sunday or Monday. My personal preference is to try to avoid the crowds and go on Monday. If we do this what kind of traffic might we need to account for to have the rental car back in downtown SF by 7pm? Google maps says it’s a 2 hour 9 min. drive (taking the 101), but what would you suggest for a “we should be leaving Monterey by…” time if we do the Aquarium on Monday?

So, that leaves Sunday. Should we take in Monterey and see things like Point Lobos and other beautiful beach trails or should we take a trip down the coast to include Big Sur and a visit to Julia Pfeiffer State Park? The pictures are so captivating! Is this time well spent for an approx. 1-hour one-way trip, or is Monterey and surrounding areas are just as beautiful and stay put?

Either way, Mon. we will return the rental car and board the train late in the evening to make our way up north to home in the Pacific Northwest…

Does it look like I've got things grouped about right? Thanks in advance for your suggestions and critiques!

Tabernash2

You have an awful lot packed into your city days. I can't imagine that pace with two kids in two. The Exploratorium alone wore out my kids. And me! I found that young ones like yours are happy at half that pace. Slow down and enjoy being in SF.

"Friday – Pick up rental car, spend the day hiking, exploring Mt. Tam, Muir Woods, and Sausalito – will end this day in Half Moon Bay where we will stay the night."
You know you would be driving up across the GG Bridge to Mt Tam, then back down, over the GG Bridge and south to Half Moon Bay? That doesn't make sense.

richmond706

I didn't see anything very pretty in Monterey when we were there. I would be miserable just staying there so I would definitely vote for a more scenic beach. We missed Point Lobos (though photos of it look nice)but loved Julia Pfeiffer. Just driving to it was beautiful and we pulled over several times for photos. Monterey doesn't have the big cliffs and expansive mountain views but it does have accessible beach areas unlike further south. But with such cold water, that probably isn't a plus. I did a trip report mentioning 4 or 5 places we stopped between Monterey and McWay Falls/Julia Pfeiffer State Park. I felt the area south of Monterey gave us the "driving the coast highway" feel.

richmond706

You may already know this but the Alcatraz tours end fairly early. The last tour gets cut short-too short to see the island before you have to head back. Make sure you buy your tickets in advance. We could have spent 3 hours there walking around outside if we didn't have the last tour, but younger kids may get bored with scenery.

If something messes up your Muir Woods plan, Big Basin Redwoods Park isn't too far from Half Moon Bay. The drive from the coast isn't bad (unlike coming from the northeast side near San Fran to the park which is a curvy one-lane road). It only took us an hour to get from Big Basin to the edge of Santa Cruz and it was a nice easy road. They have a lot of Redwoods like Muir does. I talk about it and Monterey in my trip reports.
Have fun!
PS I found a website online with info about parking garages and their rates with a map. I needed it because it was July 4th but you may not. Parking is tricky though. There is nowhere to park and see Lombard ST. My husband dropped me off and circled back around so I could take photos and walk down it.

richmond706

Sorry I just remembered the Alcatraz tours stopped earlier on July 4th, which was when we were there, not other days.

StuDudley

The 2 hrs 9 mins is with no cars on the road, no construction deviations in downtown SF (there's a ton of it going on), and no grid-lock because of the construction. I've lived in the SF area since '75, & the best I've made the trek is about 2 hrs 15 mins early on a Sunday morning. On a Monday during commute traffic (starts around 3:30 & could end after 7) I would budget around 3 1/2 to 4 hrs if you leave the Monterey area after 2pm. Also, take 280 back to SF - it is wwaaaaayyyy more scenic than the ugly 101 - and could be faster because 280 is wider & probably has less traffic than 101.

Why are you spending time in Monterey? I think Monterey is quite boring - unless you are Calif History buffs. Spend your time in Carmel, Carmel Beach, Pacific Grove, and Spanish Bay. DO NOT miss Pt Lobos. IMO, you really haven't allocated enough time for the Carmel/Big Sur area. You'll see enough of Half Moon Bay the day you arrive. I would head out early on Saturday for Carmel. Also, I would skip the Monterey Bay Aquarium. If you visit the Academy of Science, you'll pretty much see the same stuff. The Monterey Bay Aquariun may be a little better for sea life things - but with your tight schedule in the Carmel/Big Sur area, I would try to spend as much time outside as possible. I've never head of the Dennis the Menace Park - but it would be a shame to miss Pt Lobos or the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State park because you spent so much time indoors at the Aquarium & Dennis Park. Notice the full name of the JPBSP - there are three Pfeiffer places down there, and the JPBSP is the last one heading south - it is actually past Big Sur.

On Friday, after doing the Mt Tam/Sausalito thing, visit the Marin Headlands/Golden Gate National Recreation Area. IMO, these are the best views in the Bay Area. Your kids & you will love exploring all the WWII bunkers & forts. Also spend some time at the Marin Mammal Center area. See the following post for details about this area - a MUST SEE, in my opinion. Look for a references to "Conzelman" to find the section in my post. Make sure you do this AFTER the Mt Tam/Sausalito things, because the views are best in the late afternoon.
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...mendations.cfm

Stu Dudley

jent103

Agree with Stu - Point Lobos was one of the highlights of my trip last year! We did that and hiked at Pfeiffer Big Sur in one day. We had wanted to go to Nepenthe and JPBSP, but the weather was gray and foggy when we left Point Lobos, so we headed inland instead. The Nepenthe web cam was very helpful in making that decision, even if you don't want to go to the cafe! The day we were traveling you basically couldn't see anything on the webcam.

http://www.nepenthebigsur.com/

We went to Big Basin as well. If I'd known we were going to go to Pfeiffer Big Sur, I probably wouldn't have gone out of our way to go to Big Basin, since our primary goal was just to see redwoods and we got that at Pfeiffer Big Sur. But it's a great park if you have the time and inclination.

cabovacation

I would leave Monterey by 2pm. Just gives you a chance to have not terrible traffic and spend some extra time in SF if you are lucky and get there early. If you wait until 3 or later you will just hit the worst of the traffic anyway.

Your kids are very young. Although JFBSP is super cool - it might be way too much driving to be worth your effort. A very boring ride for the kiddos.

Half Moon Bay does have the Fitzgerald Tide Pools - and that beach is absolutely the most fabulous fun for kids your age. Otherwise HMB is a decent place to stop for a sandwich and a look at the ocean but pretty boring for a tourist. I spend a fair amount of time there and I love it - but it isn't exciting.

I agree. Unless your kids adore aquariums - skip one of them. In Monterey you are better to be at a beach anyway. Point Lobos is terrific. And the public beaches in Carmel are so accessible and fun.

Why would little kids like Alcatraz? I'm just asking other readers....

coryandcarissa

Thank you all for your suggestions and guidance. I will be sure not to miss seeing Point Lobos - happy to hear so many love it! StuDudley - thank you for the alternate route suggestion heading back to SF. Your comment came about the same time as a friend's advice to do the very same! I've copy and pasted quite a bit of your SF recommendations post to take along with us on our trip.

Half Moon Bay ended up making it into our itinerary because it was somewhere we knew we wanted to stop (my husband is a surfer (Maverick's) and although the waves won't be breaking when we're there, we'd still like to go there, and DH would like to make a stop at Jeff Clark's surf shop for a shirt). Seemed like a nice place that wouldn't be a long drive after our day of touring the area N of SF, but on our way south.

Since we have the SF City Passes, the Monterey Aquarium will essentially be free for us, so I figure why not go. I'm sure the kids will love it (and us too). Will do a bit more googling for Carmel as has been suggested. We did do the 17 mile drive about 5 years ago when we were there last.

Thanks again - really looking forward to our Spring Break adventure!

StuDudley

>>Since we have the SF City Passes, the Monterey Aquarium will essentially be free for us, so I figure why not go.

Tabernash2

I agree. When the ocean is right there, why not skip the glass-enclosed aquarium version? Unless the weather is horrid.

paula1470

Stu and Tabernash - I would normally agree with you about the aquariums but they are traveling with relatively young children at ages 7 and 4.5 and all that driving might be too much for them without a break. I think cabovacation mentioned the same thing about going to JFBSP as cool but a lot of driving to get there. My kids when they were young loved aquariums.

I've been at the beach in Carmel different times of the year and it was pretty chilly so good to have a back-up in case of less than good weather.

I don't think little kids would like Alcatraz that much and again it can be pretty cold out there. Going to Alcatraz can take up at least half a day.

spirobulldog

Monterey Bay Aquarium is fantastic and we enjoyed our stay in Monterey as well.

StuDudley

Yes - kids would love aquariums - but two different aquariums in 4 days??? Plus the seals at Pier 39.

Save the Monterey aquarium for last, and if the kids get bored or fidgety with roaming around Carmel Beach, Pfeiffer Beach, Pacific Grove, the drive & getting out & admiring Bixby Bridge, or the weather is bad - THEN go to the aquarium. Just don't go there first.

We have not had much bad weather this year, BTW.

Stu Dudley

paula1470

I agree about saving the Monterey aquarium for last but lots of kids would probably like to visit both. I guess it depends on what the OP's kids enjoy and how antsy they get on long rides.

Yes I know the weather has been nice not only here in So. Cal but in SF also. My DD lives in the city, Nob Hill, she has had some great pics in the last few days of the sunsets, warm weather sitting up on her roof after work and no fog crossing the bridge. I told her that the SF winter would be there this summer. lol As for down south, when the day only reaches 70, it's a cold one!!

coryandcarissa

Your suggestions are duly noted StuDudley! I already have your "Places to visit along the coast south of San Francisco" in my travel folder, and will google the above listed items specifically. I think we will plan on the Monterey Aquarium for Monday, so that as you suggested, we have an extra full day on Sunday to explore the beautiful beaches and coastline, and finish off our part day Monday with the Aquarium. Crossing fingers for some excellent weather, but I read on the board once that, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing!” – Sir Ranulph Fiennes. The quote really resonated with this girl! We'll come prepared and make the very best of whatever we get!

MichelleY

With children that age, the aquariums will be easier for you and more fun for them.

paula1470

I'd just keep an eye on the weather and change things accordingly if it looks like one day is better than the other. The way things have been this winter/spring, it should be beautiful.

bdokeefe

C&C- I just returned yesterday from a similar trip with my 15 and 22 year old daughter and wife. The folks above have covered a lot, so here's all I have as far as advice.

Slow down and dramamine. All that moving from site to site wears you and the kids out. I had 8 days to plan, half in San Fran and half driving down the coast. The second half of the plan eroded as both kids were getting sick before we got to half moon bay. We had plenty of Dramamine, so you look into the back seat and they are sleeping when you're going past these gorgeous coast views.

So we scaled back the drive and settled into a slower pace, staying longer at the Embassy Suites in Monterey. Definitely go to Point Lobos, we saw migrating whales, seals and sea otters. Carmel is great for walking and wandering, gorgeous houses along 'Scenic Road', which is downhill from downtown. Have your kids spot the nifty tree house along the way.

I'm guessing your kids will be amused by the smaller things, and not so wowed by museums. The place with all the old amusements games @ Fisherman's Wharf would be fun.

Have a great trip.

StuDudley

>>The place with all the old amusements games @ Fisherman's Wharf would be fun.