DIVER

Hi
Well you know how women are I thought we were driving from San Jose on Thur Morning (Labor Day Weekend) to San Francisco for two nights and then north to Bodega Bay, Korbel etc and return to San Jose late Sunday night but I was just informed that she wants to see Big Sur (whoever he is) well I need some help in driving times etc. If possible I would like to be in SF on Friday (but don't want to rush). Any suggestions on a place to stay for Thur night would also be helpful. If there are any Redwoods in that area them I could skip Muir Woods. In SF for Hotels would you suggest the Union area or the Wharf area. Interested in a little night life. There are good rates at most of the hotels regardless of area to choose from. Thanks in advance for your assistance. Ok what do you think about the weather for jackets at night?.Are there any Casino's in the SF area?
Thanks again
DIVER (from Orlando)

cigalechanta

Big Sur is wonderful! I went only once to California, mainly to see Big Sur. Stayed at the beautiful Ventana Inn.
Lunched at Nepanthe.
I'll never forget it.

Yonker

Hey DIVER,

You won't regret driving down to Big Sur, it's one of the most beautiful spots on California's Central Coast. I would suggest the following:

Drive to SF on Thursday as planned however, stay one nigh instead of two so that you can fit Big Sur in. In SF I would recommend the Wharf area as opposed to Union Square.

On Friday afternoon drive to Big Sur. As long as you leave SF by 1 PM you should get to San Jose before the afternoon commute starts. I should take about 3 hours to get to Big Sur from SF. I would recommend 280 south to 101 south to 156 west to route 1 south.

Stay in Big Sur on Friday night. Leave Big Sur on Saturday afternoon for the scenic drive up coastal route 1 to Monterey. You will want to make frequent stops along the way to enjoy the scenery. Stay in Monterey on Saturday night.

Leave Monterey on Sunday morning for Big Basin via route 1 north to 17 north. Take the Mount Herman Road Exit for big Basin. The drive to big Basin from Monterey is about 1,5 hr. Big Basin actually has more impressive coastal redwoods than Muir Woods. From Big Basin get back on 17 north and drive to San Jose.

http://www.bigsuronline.com/

http://bigbasin.org/

I would have a light jacket or sweater for the evenings along the coast.

There are no casinos in the SF area. The closest casino is Cache Creek not far from Vacaville.

http://www.cachecreek.com/

kikahead

There is a casino in Geyserville--about an hour and a half north of San Francisco (in Wino Land). It is nice--good dealers, not too crowded, lots of slots. FYI--this is one of the few Indian casinos that does NOT have coin drop machines. It will spit you out a ticket that you can cash in or insert into another machine.

Bring a jacket for the evening--it can be a little brisk outside and most clubs will have coat check for when you get inside. I would suggest staying in Union Square or South of Market for close proximity to restaurants, bars, etc. Priceline is often a great option for SF--look at biddingfortravel.com. There is little to no nightlife in Fisherman's Wharf although you can walk from there to North Beach and find tons of restaurants, bars, some small clubs, and some strip clubs.

Have a great trip!!

kikahead

I would still stand by my original suggestion. Mileage wise River Rock is closer to San Francisco. In addition, since you mentioned wanting to visit Korbel, Bodega Bay, etc. this is all in the same area as Geyserville--not the direction of Sacramento.

DIVER

Hi
Thank you all for your responce and suggestions, greatly appreciated. Regarding Wharf or Union Hotel area would you please give me you three best in each location. I would really prefer a small Hotel with excellent rooms, service and location. I just don't know what I would do for more than a few hour at the wharf?. Thinking another area may offer more? I will have a car.Help.
DIVER

DIVER

Hi Yonker-kikahead
Thanks
I don't know if you read me under San Francisco/San Jose also. After reading many comments I am wondering if Big Sur is stretching my trip too much?
Thanks again
DIVER

kikahead

Union Square: Hotel Monaco (owned by Kimpton Group). We put my mother up there for a past birthday and the suite was FANTASTIC!!!! The staffing (we were throwing a surprise treasure hunt so we had some weird requests) was EXTREMELY helpful with everything. I have been in the rooms at the W--very nice and have had drinks many a time at the bar in the lobby.
Fisherman's Wharf: I have never stayed been in any of the rooms there (I live is SF and we usually priceline our visitors in Union Square). Check out Tuscan Inn--it is a boutique hotel. Cafe Pescatore right next to it is a pretty good restaurant.

GailLK

Big Sur should be great. Sorry I missed the chance to stay at the Ventana Inn and Post Ranch Inn when I was in California. I love SF and Nob Hill is my favorite place to stay, but can be kind of expensive. I don't think I'd stay in wharf area... Thought is was kind of seedy. We did see Muirwoods before we drove to Napa Valley. I'd give Muirwoods only about 2 hours, but we went on a weekday so we didn't hit any traffic. Only a 2 lane road going in and out so if you're planning to go on a holiday weekend, it may be a bit jammed. Have a nice trip.....

BayArea

Diver,

Sounds like your trip is going to have a lot of driving. It's about 200 miles between your northern and southern points.

If you to to SF on Thursday night, you're going to be doing some considerable back tracking.

I'd suggest hitting Big Basin on Thursday morning on your way to Monterey /Big Sur. Stay thursday night in either Monterey or Big Sur. Friday AM drive up to San Francisco. Do your SF thing.

Saturday, drive up to Bodega Bay area. If you plan to stay the night in that area, you'll have plenty of time to visit either of the two casinos. Cache Creek is further in. There's not much to see in that area, although the drive is nice. Going near Geyserville leaves you some other wine country options, esp if the casino doesn't turn out to be everything you wanted it to be.

If you were planning on just doing Korbel/Bodega Bay as a day trip from SF, you won't have enough time to do that and a casino. The roads are smaller and have lower speed limits enforced by curves.

I really like Kika's hotel recs. Those are nice places. The wharf hotels are nothing special, mostly catering to families. Better places to eat and drink are closer in to the city center, closer to Union Square.

I would have a jacket available as SF can be quite chilly due to wind and fog. It can also be quite balmy, it all depends on whether the fog is in or out. be prepared for either.

JackOneill

I love Big Sur. It's where I want to live when I finally make $10,000,000,000,000 in a single year. It (seriously) is a great spot to unwind.
But, keep in mind, there's not a heck of a lot to do there. I'd spend a day there, maybe have lunch at Ventana or Post Ranch. Take a few photos. Breath a sigh of contentment. Then head back to civilization.

Jean

You don't yet have hotel reservations for Labor Day weekend??? Good luck.

Dawsen

Diver,

Sounds like from your original post that you want to skip Bodega Bay and go to Big Sur instead, which I think is an excellent plan.

Doing Big Basin AND Monterey AND Big Sur on Thursday would be too much. It would amount to 200 miles of driving.

I would stick to your original plan of driving to SF on Thursday morning from San Jose. Maybe take a grayline tour of SF on Thursday, etc. Yonker's plan seem to be the most logical in terms of eliminating the excessive backtracking. By going to Monterey and Big Sur before SF you would have to backtrack to San Jose, up to SF and back again to San Jose.

I really like the Wharf area since there are plenty opf restaurants there and in North Beach. The Holiday Inn, Hilton, and Sheraton Fisherman's Wharf are both nice.

kendu

Can I drive to Big Bason and Big Sur on the way from SF to La? I have to go that route anyway. If I left at about 8 AM, can I see both of these? Or, is either one out of the way SF to LA?
THanks
Ken

jason888

Hi, Kendu!

When you ask about starting out at 8am, it sounds like you want to do this trip in one day.

You could - if you stayed in the car all the time

Big Sur is along the Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1) and, if you are going that way, then it is very easily accessible from the Highway. Big Basin, on the other hand, is along twisty roads about an hour's drive from any major highway (and an hour back out again!).

I am assuming, however, that you want to go to Big Basin to see redwoods. You can see redwoods at Big Sur as well, loads of beautiful redwoods all along that part of the coast. It is not necessary to make a special trip to Big Basin just to see the redwoods.

There are the same kind of hiking trails in the Big Sur parks as there are at Big Basin.

Try the websites for Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park and Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. At the J. Burns Park, there are picnic tables where you can picnic right in the midst of the redwoods. Pfeiffer Big Sur has a number of ranger led hikes. (Both are approximately 25 miles south of Carmel)

Another lesser known park that offer wonderful vistas is Limekiln State Park. It too has ranger led hikes. (Limekiln is about 25 miles south of Pfeiffer)

By the way, the trees with the brilliant red trunks are not redwoods, they are madrone trees and are usually much thinner than the redwoods.

If you want to see the Pacific Coast and stop to enjoy the redwoods AND get from SF to LA - all in one day! - I would suggest the following. Start out from SF as early as possible. Head straight down the Coast Highway (Highway 1) and try to have breakfast in Monterey/Carmel. Then drive to Big Sur and stop at one of the parks. Do a mini-hike, lunch/picnic in the park. Continue on down along the coast highway until past Cambria. Turn off onto Highway 46 and head inland. Catch Interstate 5 all the way down to Los Angeles.

I would not suggest driving the entire length of the Pacific Coast Highway/Highway 101 all the way from SF to LA in one day. You will have to sacrifice the lower part, the 101 part, which is less spectacular than Big Sur, but has its own attractions, such as Santa Barbara, if you want a one day trip. It will be a long day and very exhausting.

You cannot go at maximum speed limit in Big Sur. Go to

http://www.bigsurlandtrust.org

to see a great picture of what the Pacific Coast Highway looks like.

Better if you can break it up into two days and stop off at Big Sur.

On visiting the coastal state parks, PLEASE PLEASE be prepared! This area is not like Muir Woods to the north of SF. Muir Woods is prepared for tourists; the coastal state parks are prepared for outdoors people, particularly hikers and almost all the state parks along the Big Sur coast are properly considered "wilderness".

Visitiing the wilderness is a wonderful experience, but you should be prepared for it.

You should have, minimally, layered clothing (depending on the month, a light jacket would suffice) and sturdy walking/hiking shoes. And thick socks if at all possible. Also some bottled water.

Unless you are going on a ranger led hike, I also recommend a whistle/mirror (or both), a small flashlight, energy bars/trailmix, and, last but not least, a park map of the trails.

If you have done hiking before, then this bit of information is repetitive. If not, and you are hiking without a ranger, then look for the areas where the fallen leaves lie FLATTENED on the ground. This will be the trail. Sometimes the trail is easy to follow, but sometimes not - please don't wander off the beaten track, you will not be able to get to LA in one day!

Enjoy! Have a great trip! And welcome to California!

RSebastian

If I understand your question correctly I think your asking if you can drive to LA from SF in one day and see both Big BAsin and Big Sur. The answer to that question would be no. It will take about 2-2.5 hours to get to Big Basin from SF and at least another 8 hours from there to LA along Route 1. Neither is out of the way to LA from SF.

Big Basin and Big Sur are two of the must sees between SF and LA. My recommendation would be to drive to San Jose, stay overnight and get an early start on Big Basin. Big Basin is about 15 miles from San Jose (25 or 30 minute drive). You could easily see Big Basin in the morning and leave for LA by noon. From Big Basin take 17 north 280 south to 101 then 156 west to route 1 south to get to Big Sur.