Maria

My husband and I will be in SF in early November. Rough itinerary so far is we fly in to SFO at noon on Tuesday, Nov 6th, rent a car and depart south towards Carmel/Monterey. What is the best/most scenic route and sights along the way that we should not miss? What is the drive time if we do the whole route on Hwy 1 from Pacifica to Monterey?

We plan to spend Tuesday night in Carmel or Monterey...any lodging suggestions with ocean views, etc...??

Wednesday morning we thought we would get an early start to San Simeon and see the Hearst Castle. Again, I am assuming scenic drive along Hwy 1 is slow but fabulous. Drive time if we enjoy the sights is how long? What are the best places to stop along the way for not to miss places? How much time and which tour(s) at the Hearst castle are best? Then we plan to return to the same lodgings in carmel on Wed night. Is this too much for one day?

Thursday morning assuming we are in Carmel from the night before we would take the drive back to SF INLAND on Hwy 9 to Saratoga and then just catch 280 into SF where we have lodgings for 3 nights at Fisherman's Wharf.

Would it be better to do the inland drive to Carmel when we arrive on Tuesday since we have a shorter day and then return to SF on Thursday via scenic Hwy 1 when we have a full day to do it?

Any other ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance, Maria

maria

Maria,

I wrote up my report to SF, Carmel and Napa last week (went in mid august) which you may be interested in reading. Anyway, we stayed in Carmel for two nights at La Playa. I believe the one side of the hotel has views of the ocean. The grounds are very pretty, but we were not impressed w/ the rooms. We walked by the Cypress Inn which looked very nice and I have read and heard good things about it. We walked around Carmel on the day we arrived and ate dinner there. The next day we woke up early and drove to Pfieffer State Park which is along the highway and hiked. Some people suggest to eat lunch at one of the restaurants along the coast to enjoy the view. We did a spur of the moment trip and drove down to Hearst Castle for a 4 15 tour. (Make reservations in advance). I would definitely recommend the tour. It was crowded there, but the tours are broken into about 20 people. We did the experience tour which is suggested for first timers. Great tour and great guides. The tour is one hr and 45 min. Instead of eating lunch along the coast we drove a little south of the Castle and stopped in Cambria. I would probably recommend eating a nicer lunch at one of the restaurants along the coast. Cambria did not seem to have very good food options. After the tour, we then drove back up to Carmel and was able to eat at 8 30 pm. (However, we drove like crazy people on the way back. I think it took a little under two hours). It was cloudy along the coast and we had already seen it going down. We wanted to make it back for dinner in Carmel. Comments: I would take the scenic route on the way back up to SF (like you said..your day is shorter when you arrive at SFO). I wouldn't stay in Monterey. We drove through there on the way to Carmel and did not like it. Nothing seemed appealing at all. Carmel is a very cute town and we enjoyed just walking around it and looking at the super cute houses. Let me know if you have more specific questions (and you can read my post for more info if you would like).

David

As far as lodging goes, our favorite place to stay in Carmel is the Carmel Bay View Inn. It's at the back of town but still within walking distance of everything. The rooms are roomy and clean with HUGE feather beds (we have a very expensive and comfortable bed at home but we both agreed that this was the best we'd EVER slept in). The rooms have fire places and the fifth floor rooms offer views of the beach, ocean and Point Lobos reserve.

Many people in Carmel will tell you that none of the hotels have five floors--much less ocean view--but this place definitely does. The first two floors are in one building and the last three floors are in a separate building higher up on the hill. BTW, these upper floor rooms have balconies as well. Be forewarned, though, one night in beautiful Carmel is not enough! Enjoy!

Maria

Weldy76 (is your name Maria, too?)

I did see your posting on the forum and copied it for my file. I was planning on writing you directly if I did not get any good info here but I never know if people are using their real e-mail addresses so I usually hold off. Thanks for the information. If I think of anything more specific I may write you directly, if you don't mind.

Maria

C

Cambria has plenty of good restaurant choices. A few of my favorites in town are Sow's Ear and Robin's. Cambria is actually a much more charming town than San Simeon. But the castle is definitely worth a visit. The evening tour is by far my favorite, but it's only offered on Saturdays during certain months and some evenings during the Christmas season when it's all decorated for the holidays.

I'd recommend taking a more direct route down to Cambria on Tuesday and spend the night there. Then on Wednesday get up and head to the castle and then drive up the coast that afternoon. Big Sur is a perfect place to stop for an early dinner where you can watch the sunset.

Marian

Big Sur is unforgettable! Such wild, natural beauty is seen nowhere else in the USA. Best park is Andrew Molera State Park....hike to the beach there (more like a stroll as it's not long and very even path) is wonderful. Carmel BTW is much niocer than Monterey.

garyt

Maria- we had the same situation on our trip in early August and the solution worked well. When arriving on Tuesday, our luggage and rental car pick-up took much longer than expected... SFO is large and more confusing than most airports and all rental car pickup is a ten to twenty minute shuttle from the airport(depending on traffic and the shuttle arrival). We decided to take the inland route from SFO because it cuts in a more direct southwestern path toward Santa Cruz where you pick up HWY 1 south toward Monterey.
In Santa Cruz, I would recommend a stop at the pier for an old-fashioned walk through the beach boardwalk amusement park and a quick lunch. Its also neat to walk down to the ocean along the beach.
On our trip we selected the MarinaDunes Resort which is 10 minutes north of Monterey, right on the ocean, and very, very, romantic (except for our kids). The beach bungalows are first class accomodations, have fireplaces and private hottubs and spa availability. From Marina, we were only 15 minutes from Carmel along HWY 1.
We had dinner in Carmel and a late night ocean walk.
The next day we experienced the most amazing drive South along HWY 1 with fresh legs, several photo stops, and a picnic on the ocean. Although our turnaround ended at Big Sur, no one felt cheated by the experience.
I would recommend that you change your plans for the return to SF and stay on HWY 1 all the way into the city. The distance is only 120 miles, but the scenery is unforgettable! There is an added security to driving north on the inside lane of traffic(you will know what I mean)and you can enjoy it more than southbound drive....have fun!