kgb727

My husband and I are looking to spend our first anniversary in California this July. We have 10 days and would love to see SFO, Napa, Lake Tahoe, and drive some of the Pacific Coast to Big Sur. Is this too much in 10 days or if not, what order/itinerary do you think we should follow? We were thinking of starting at Tahoe ( thinking of staying in the north since it sounds like it is less crowded and more romantic), moving to Napa/SFO, then down to Big Sur and back up to SFO to fly back to the east coast. Any recommendations for sights/itineraries for this trip? Thank you so much!

MmePerdu

It's doable but, unless driving is romantic too, I'd consider eliminating 1 location for a more relaxed trip. I suggest saving Tahoe for another trip.

Are you flying into SFO also? If so, you can choose north to south, heading for wine country first and working your way south to Big Sur. Or do it in reverse.

If Tahoe is a must for you then you could opt to make it a circle, Tahoe, wine country and end in The City. But I would choose either Big Sur or Tahoe, not both, to avoid it feeling like a rush.

Tomsd

A lot depends on how much time you want to spend/where - and does 10 days mean you also have 10 nights?

I like to see a lot when I first travel to a new area - so if it was me - when you arrive (hopefully late morning - early afternoon) - I would beeline for Tahoe (4 hours+ if you don't hit traffic) - and stay there for a couple of nights. If you get in to SFX late afternoon - maybe just spend a night in/around SF - and take off the next am for Tahoe.

From Tahoe come back to Napa for a night? (a couple hours+ from Tahoe - again - if you try to time it right - mid-day -and not hit traffic - as in/through Sacramento).

From Napa - after a nice lunch/visit to a winery or two - early afternoon - head down to Carmel/Monterrey/Big Sur for say three nights - and end up back in SF - more or less a 3 hour drive from the Carmel area.

kgb727

Thanks so much, this is very helpful. We are just starting the planning stages and were planning on flying in and out of SFO, but this is not a necessity. We just wanted to utilize 10 days in the best way to see California. We are open to different options than the ones listed and will probably have to drop Big Sur or Tahoe.

My husband has never been to California; I have done SFO and Big Sur before when I was younger and loved it. Lake Tahoe looks absolutely gorgeous, but if it is not worth the trip then we can scratch it.

We are both in our 20's and love beaches, outdoors, exploring cities, etc. For example, in SFO I definitely want to ride bikes over to Sausalito and we love wineries too! hat would be your ideal 10 day itinerary? Should we stick to SFO/Big Sur, or are there other must see places that we should be considering?

SeeHag

I agree about skipping Tahoe. Too much time driving!

kgb727

We would be flying in on a Friday afternoon around 3/4pm, then leaving the following Sunday morning. So we have a total of 10 days and 9 nights.

Tomsd, your itinerary was very similar to what we were thinking...I was just trying to determine the best way to get the rental car and travel between all of these places since a car is not really a necessity in San Francisco.

Thanks for your help, this is making our planning much easier!

kgb727

So if we skip Tahoe, do you think we could do more of hwy 1 and go a bit further south than Big Sur then fly home from another city? Or should we just do Big Sur and come back to SFO?

janisj

Toms plan falls apart in the first leg - you WILL hit traffic. Can't be avoided really. Unless you fly into Reno and out of SFO (or Oakland or San Jose) you really don't have enough time for Lake Tahoe.

Even SF, Napa/Sonoma, Carmel/Monterey/Big Sur is a tiny bit hectic w/ 9 nights but certainly doable. Flying out of the Bay Area is you best option.

Perigrinator

I applaud your ambitious itinerary! but would agree that you might want to cut out Tahoe - no offense, it is beautiful, but... given you only have ten days - I would start by spending maybe three days exploring the coast going to Big Sur; then I would head to Napa for three days; then maybe three days in San Francisco - one day riding to Sausalito; and two days exploring the City (you could spend 10 days exploring San Francisco - and still wouldn't run out of things to do) and wrap up in the City so you will be close to SFO for your departure.

Would add that you need to book some lodging reservations as July is tourist season - things in the City, Napa, and the coast will be pretty pricey and start to book up quickly.

MichelleY

Tahoe is beautiful that time of year, the best time to visit. The coast could be cold, foggy and miserable. I would combine Tahoe and SF. The best of both worlds.

StuDudley

I would skip Tahoe also. Just too much driving involved & you REALLY only have 8 days available if you arrive late on Friday & leave Sunday morning. Can you fly into Monterey easily??? If so:

- Fly to Monterey and spend Fri night, Sat, and Sunday nights in Carmel and visit all the stuff around there. Usually 2 nights 1 3/4 days is enough to get a reasonable look/see of this area - but if you arrive late Friday, you'll only have 1 good day there - especially if you arrive at SFO and have to drive through Friday "get-away day" traffic. You could fly to San Jose to avoid some of the traffic.

- On Monday, head south from Carmel and visit Pt Lobos (breathtaking). Then continue south and spend the night at the Big Sur Lodge in Big Sur, have dinner at Nepenthe, and visit Pfeiffer Beach and Pfeiffer Stage Park (redwoods). We went to Nepenthe on our honeymoon - and consider it a very romantic restaurant (views/ambiance A+, food . Unless there is unusually sunny/warm weather & calm winds, Carmel Beach & Pfeiffer Beach will not be good for "Baywatch" type beach activities (both are beautiful beaches, however).

- On Tuesday, continue heading south & visit Julia Pfeiffer Burns State park (nice waterfall), and end the day around Cambria. Visit Hearst Castle (reserve ahead).

- On Wednesday, head east to Paso Robles & visit some of the many wineries in this area. Napa isn't the only place with wineries - and I'm not a fan of the seemingly "Disneyland" atmosphere there on summer weekends. After the wineries, head to San Francisco via 101. Spend Wednesday night in San Francisco (not much time available in SF today).

- Spend Thursday day/night, Friday day/night, and Saturday day/night in San Francisco. Only 3 day's worth of sightseeing. That's really a short amount of time for SF. Here are some things to do & see - plus info about Carmel, Big Sur, and the Sonoma/Napa wine country:
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...mendations.cfm

- Fly home on Sunday.

I would wait until Saturday to determine if you want to visit the Napa area. If so - try to find some kind of tour, or keep your car (actually, quite useful in SF for destinations west of Van Ness - but not necessary), stay at a hotel that has inexpensive parking, and drive to Napa for a day-trip (1 to 1 1/2 hrs to get from the GG Bridge to St Helena).

Stu Dudley

MmePerdu

Michelle, I wouldn't go so far as to say "miserable". Wine Country will be warm and the fog is to cool us off. And haven't you heard, God heard Mark Twain's complaints about summer coastal fog and gave us fleece.

StuDudley

IMO, Napa may be QUITE HOT in July if the OP is not from a hot weather area. Temps may be over 100.

Also, Mark Twain never made that statement about "the coldest day I ever spent" - but he often gets credit for it.

Stu Dudley

MmePerdu

"...Mark Twain never made that statement..."

If only knowing everything was sexy.

janisj

Napa can be warm or bloody HOT, Tahoe will be gorgeous - and crowded, San Francisco will be great - but cool and foggy, and the coast most likely cool and foggy.

Shar

Napa will be HOT and so will Tahoe but very different sceneries. Tahoe is great but a long drive so for me it would have to be at least 3 whole days and 4 nights in Tahoe. traffic is a zoo going up that way so I would have to make it worth my time and frustration. North Shore for sure if you planning on tahoe. I would spend it around SF, wine country and muir woods for the redwoods. Healdsburg area, Alexander valley are my favorites for wine tasting and it is a bit less crowded than Napa or Sonoma proper. some people don't mind the 2 day here and 2 days there thing so if that is you, then go for it all but it is a lot of driving time..Happy Anniversary and enjoy your trip.
..

kgb727

Wow, thank you all so much for the replies! I am so glad I have asked, as now we are completely rearranging our trip. This is very helpful because I am still getting a grasp on the summers and how to spend 10 days in California. It sounds like Tahoe is a bit overcrowded and Napa could be too hot, so we were thinking of skipping both and just doing the pacific coast. This is what I have so far, let me know if you have any hotel recommendations or adjustments on what we should do!

- Friday: Fly to SFO and land by 11am (Monterey is way too expensive from Atlanta). Spend the rest of the day in SFO. We would explore San Francisco Friday day/night, Saturday day/night, Sunday day/night, and then leave for Carmel on Monday morning.

- Spend Monday and Tuesday nights in Carmel and visit all of the stuff around there.

- On Wednesday, head south from Carmel and visit Pt Lobos. Then continue south and spend the night at the Big Sur Lodge in Big Sur. (This is optional- we could continue on and stay in Santa Barbara, but it sounds like there is a lot to see along the route that we won't want to rush.)

- On Thursday, continue heading south & visit Julia Pfeiffer Burns State park and end the day around Santa Barbara.

- On Friday, we would drive to either LA or San Diego (which is the best bet?) and spend Friday night/Saturday day/night there and fly home on Sunday. We don't need much time in either of these cities and we would probably just have beach days. I have been to both and my husband has no interest in exploring LA so we were considering San Diego where we have relatives, but that is another couple of hours of driving. We just thought that this might be easier than flying to SFO round trip because we could do a big chunk of the coast.

What are some good places to stay/things to do in these areas?

MichelleY

I just love Tahoe. A little crowded on weekends. We go for a week every July(not the 4th).

janisj

I'd maybe consider leaving SF for Monterey by around 6 or 7 PM Sunday evening instead of Monday morning. Weekday morning commute traffic is horrendous in the Bay Area and it would still be daylight for the whole evening drive down to Monterey/Carmel

Tomsd

From Santa Barbara - or close (check out staying in/around Danish Themed Solvang 45 minuites above SB - and watch the funny movie Sideways before you do http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375063/ - it's fairly easy to get to San Diego. About 4 hours a straight shot - without hitting any traffic.

Try to time it to miss the Santa Barbara morning traffic commute and get through LA by say 3 PM.

A couple of beautiful driving options south of SB - say about Oxnard? - take the Coast road/PCH/Hiway 1 - down/through Malibu and then take a short jaunt on freeway 10 back to the 405 heading down to here in San Diego.

When you get to Carlsbad - just south of Camp Pendelton/Oceanside - take PCH again (5? blocks away from the freeway) - from there down to La Jolla (or wherever you are staying) for another great beachview.

It's so much easier to get around here in SD than LA - so that would be my recommendation as a place to kick back while winding up your trip.

Check out other posts in here for things to do/see in SanDiego - and/or come back with more Qs.