First time visitors to SF who want to see some redwoods as part of the overall trip.
Thinking of the initial options listed below. Would welcome comments on them and possible other ones as well.
Would like to know driving distances and times from SF airport to Pfeiffer Big Sur SP.
A. rent a car at SF airport on our arrival day (1330 on a weekday afternoon) and drive down to Pfeiffer Big Sur SP and spend a night or two doing a loop back to SF. Drop the car off and stay four more nights.
B. Rent a car in SF and drive down to Pfeiffer Big Sur SP and spend the last night or two of our trip. Drop the car off at the airport on our departure day (noon on a weekday).
C. Rent a car in SF and do a daytrip to Muir Woods National Monument.
D. Take a commerical tour to Muir Woods National Monument
Assumption: No public transportation is availible from SF to Muir Woods.
Thinking of the initial options listed below. Would welcome comments on them and possible other ones as well.
Would like to know driving distances and times from SF airport to Pfeiffer Big Sur SP.
A. rent a car at SF airport on our arrival day (1330 on a weekday afternoon) and drive down to Pfeiffer Big Sur SP and spend a night or two doing a loop back to SF. Drop the car off and stay four more nights.
B. Rent a car in SF and drive down to Pfeiffer Big Sur SP and spend the last night or two of our trip. Drop the car off at the airport on our departure day (noon on a weekday).
C. Rent a car in SF and do a daytrip to Muir Woods National Monument.
D. Take a commerical tour to Muir Woods National Monument
Assumption: No public transportation is availible from SF to Muir Woods.
From SFO to Monterey via Highway 101 -- taking the cutoff to Monterey -- will take you approximately 2 hours drive time.
From Monterey to Big Sur (via Highway 1) will take you 45 minutes or so.
If all you want to see is redwoods, then Option C would do that for you, and save you considerable drive time too.
From Monterey to Big Sur (via Highway 1) will take you 45 minutes or so.
If all you want to see is redwoods, then Option C would do that for you, and save you considerable drive time too.
Chatnoir: The answers to your questions depend on several things:
a) Where are you flying into?
b) How long is your flight?
c) What time will you be departing?
d) Are you into hiking? Or are you a big city person?
e) How long do you plan to be in California?
Monterey is about 1 1/2 - 2 hours drive from San Francisco Airport. Will you feel like driving that distance when you arrive?
Big Sur is another 1/2 hour from Monterey. Most people prefer to stay in Monterey/Pacific Grove/Carmel. There is a greater choice of lodgings in those three towns.
If you feel like driving upon arrival, you could drive to Monterey, overnight there, visit Big Sur coastline that afternoon as well as the next day, and then head up north and end up in San Francisco for the second night.
If you go to Big Sur, do not miss Point Lobos, which is only about 2 miles south of Carmel.
There are several websites for Big Sur including pelicannetwork.com.
If you are not into hiking, then a one-day car rental that takes you north to Muir Woods would probably be the best option. The trails in Muir Woods are very easy and you will be able to see the same redwoods as you would at Big Sur. Muir Woods is especially good for people who don't have much time to go to Carmel. It can be done in 1/2 day and you could spend the rest of the day in Sausalito/Tiburon and maybe even enjoy some of the wine country.
The choice between going south or going north of San Francisco is - broadly - scenery and hiking in Big Sur vs quick trip to redwoods in Muir Woods + wine country.
Hope this helps! Happy Mother's Day! Gotta go!
a) Where are you flying into?
b) How long is your flight?
c) What time will you be departing?
d) Are you into hiking? Or are you a big city person?
e) How long do you plan to be in California?
Monterey is about 1 1/2 - 2 hours drive from San Francisco Airport. Will you feel like driving that distance when you arrive?
Big Sur is another 1/2 hour from Monterey. Most people prefer to stay in Monterey/Pacific Grove/Carmel. There is a greater choice of lodgings in those three towns.
If you feel like driving upon arrival, you could drive to Monterey, overnight there, visit Big Sur coastline that afternoon as well as the next day, and then head up north and end up in San Francisco for the second night.
If you go to Big Sur, do not miss Point Lobos, which is only about 2 miles south of Carmel.
There are several websites for Big Sur including pelicannetwork.com.
If you are not into hiking, then a one-day car rental that takes you north to Muir Woods would probably be the best option. The trails in Muir Woods are very easy and you will be able to see the same redwoods as you would at Big Sur. Muir Woods is especially good for people who don't have much time to go to Carmel. It can be done in 1/2 day and you could spend the rest of the day in Sausalito/Tiburon and maybe even enjoy some of the wine country.
The choice between going south or going north of San Francisco is - broadly - scenery and hiking in Big Sur vs quick trip to redwoods in Muir Woods + wine country.
Hope this helps! Happy Mother's Day! Gotta go!
Thanks auntiemaria, option C was my orginal choice, but ..... .
Easytravler, this started as a simple 6 night trip to just SF proper. Then we started researching and soon the powerful itch to see more and more good stuff started creeping in.
Airline tickets are already bought at a super cheap rate, but if I had to do it over again, I'd do an open jaw and extend the stay to see SF, plus Napa and the areas south to Big Sur.
Still, leaving some things for a later trip is not the worst thing that could happen.
Easytravler, this started as a simple 6 night trip to just SF proper. Then we started researching and soon the powerful itch to see more and more good stuff started creeping in.
Airline tickets are already bought at a super cheap rate, but if I had to do it over again, I'd do an open jaw and extend the stay to see SF, plus Napa and the areas south to Big Sur.
Still, leaving some things for a later trip is not the worst thing that could happen.
There are so many things to see in this area - you will HAVE to come back again. That's all there is to it 
Whether or not to go down to the Monterey/Big Sur on this trip is really a matter of choice. You could spend your entire vacation there if you chose. With 6 nights, you could easily split your time between SF and the Monterey area. If you take the coast route down to Monterey, it's very scenic too with several places to stop along the way.
If you are just interested in seeing the redwoods, Muir Woods is an easy and relatively quick trip from SF. If you go, do it in the morning on a weekday because this place fills up. We stopped by at 11am on a Thursday in October and couldn't find a place to park.
The Santa Cruz mountains are another option. Big Basin SP is great if you want to do some hiking and picnicing and you get to drive through some incredible forest on the way and can stop in a couple interesting little towns. Henry Cowel is closer to the main highway than Big Basin and is also a good choice.
Whether or not to go down to the Monterey/Big Sur on this trip is really a matter of choice. You could spend your entire vacation there if you chose. With 6 nights, you could easily split your time between SF and the Monterey area. If you take the coast route down to Monterey, it's very scenic too with several places to stop along the way.
If you are just interested in seeing the redwoods, Muir Woods is an easy and relatively quick trip from SF. If you go, do it in the morning on a weekday because this place fills up. We stopped by at 11am on a Thursday in October and couldn't find a place to park.
The Santa Cruz mountains are another option. Big Basin SP is great if you want to do some hiking and picnicing and you get to drive through some incredible forest on the way and can stop in a couple interesting little towns. Henry Cowel is closer to the main highway than Big Basin and is also a good choice.
