SF/Monterey/San Simeon/LA ...some questions
Aug 19th, 2004, 02:34 PM
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SF/Monterey/San Simeon/LA ...some questions
I've got our trip narrowed down, and have a couple of questions.
We will be arriving in Oakland at 9:30 am on Sat. What is the best way to get into SF, as we are not renting a car until we leave for Monterey?
We plan on getting to the hotel (Monaco) around 11:00am, checking our bags, and heading for Fisherman's Pier to catch a 2:15 ferry to Alcatraz. After that we thought we would check into the hotel and relax. Any suggestions for dinner? Has anyone eaten at Enrico's in North Beach?
On Sun I planned a walking tour from the Union Sq. area to Chinatown, North Beach, Coit Tower area, and then to Fisherman's Warf to catch a ferry to Sausalito for the afternoon. Any suggestions for restaurants in Sausalito that are not to far to walk to?
On Mon. we pick up a rental car and plan to drive to Montery. We hope to do the aquarium, walk around a little, have lunch and check into our hotel, (Hotel Pacific). My husband is a golf nut so 17 mile drive is a must. Do you think we have enough time to do this in the late afternoon (3ish) and watch the sunset and have dinner there? How long is the drive roundtrip?
On Tues we will leave after breakfast to head to Point Lobos , possibly Julia Pfeiffer, and then to Big Sur with lunch at Nepenthe.I am thinking this will bring us to about 3:00PM. How far is it from this point to San Simeon? We are staying at The Sea Coast Lodge. Are we missing anything we must see between Big Sur and San Simeon. I would love to see some beautiful beaches along the way. Any dinner suggestions in San Simeon?
Wed. morning we have a Hearst Castle tour. This is as far as I've gotten. How far is it from Hearst Castle to LA, and what should we see on the way? I don't want to get to LA during rush hour! We will be in LA for 2 nights, leaving around 4PM on Fri.
We will be arriving in Oakland at 9:30 am on Sat. What is the best way to get into SF, as we are not renting a car until we leave for Monterey?
We plan on getting to the hotel (Monaco) around 11:00am, checking our bags, and heading for Fisherman's Pier to catch a 2:15 ferry to Alcatraz. After that we thought we would check into the hotel and relax. Any suggestions for dinner? Has anyone eaten at Enrico's in North Beach?
On Sun I planned a walking tour from the Union Sq. area to Chinatown, North Beach, Coit Tower area, and then to Fisherman's Warf to catch a ferry to Sausalito for the afternoon. Any suggestions for restaurants in Sausalito that are not to far to walk to?
On Mon. we pick up a rental car and plan to drive to Montery. We hope to do the aquarium, walk around a little, have lunch and check into our hotel, (Hotel Pacific). My husband is a golf nut so 17 mile drive is a must. Do you think we have enough time to do this in the late afternoon (3ish) and watch the sunset and have dinner there? How long is the drive roundtrip?
On Tues we will leave after breakfast to head to Point Lobos , possibly Julia Pfeiffer, and then to Big Sur with lunch at Nepenthe.I am thinking this will bring us to about 3:00PM. How far is it from this point to San Simeon? We are staying at The Sea Coast Lodge. Are we missing anything we must see between Big Sur and San Simeon. I would love to see some beautiful beaches along the way. Any dinner suggestions in San Simeon?
Wed. morning we have a Hearst Castle tour. This is as far as I've gotten. How far is it from Hearst Castle to LA, and what should we see on the way? I don't want to get to LA during rush hour! We will be in LA for 2 nights, leaving around 4PM on Fri.
Aug 19th, 2004, 02:55 PM
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as for the last question, Santa Barbara would make for a nice afternoon, it's about 2.5 hrs from Hearst Castle and 1.5 hours from LA. Lots of restaurants, shopping, the beach and the pier. The sunset drive down the coast (not sure what time of year you're traveling, but right now sunset is between 7:30 - 8)...is very nice. An early dinner in Santa Barbara (Brophy Brothers Wharf for seafood maybe...or The Bay Cafe) and leaving SB around 7:30pm would be nice....you'd miss most traffic and would get into LA around 9-9:30pm
Aug 19th, 2004, 06:34 PM
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Regarding your first question about how to get from the Oakland airport to SF, my suggestion is a TAXI.
Taxi from OAK to downtown SF is $40 + tip = about $50 total.
Shuttle is $30 or so per person + tip.
Your other option is taking a bus to the BART station ($2 a person/15 minutes), BART to Powell Street Station($4-5 a person?), and a taxi to the Monaco ($10+ including tip). This might save you a little money, but is a lot more time-consuming. You didn't say how many were traveling, but this method might be worth it if there are only 2 of you.
By the way, have you checked to see if the Hotel Monaco has a shuttle?
Donna
Taxi from OAK to downtown SF is $40 + tip = about $50 total.
Shuttle is $30 or so per person + tip.
Your other option is taking a bus to the BART station ($2 a person/15 minutes), BART to Powell Street Station($4-5 a person?), and a taxi to the Monaco ($10+ including tip). This might save you a little money, but is a lot more time-consuming. You didn't say how many were traveling, but this method might be worth it if there are only 2 of you.
By the way, have you checked to see if the Hotel Monaco has a shuttle?
Donna
Aug 19th, 2004, 07:02 PM
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Monterey is about 100 miles from SF. Factoring rental pickup time, driving time, and parking near the Aquarium, you will need to start pretty early to have enough time to see the great exhibits there before lunch. Well, maybe if you go for a late lunch. So, get up early and you could do it.
Aug 20th, 2004, 09:58 AM
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I usually make the drive to Monterey in around 2 hours -driving 280 , 17 to 1 from the heart of SF. So if you leave early you should have plenty of time for what you have planned.
Is there any special reason why you picked Enrico's? SF has so many wonderful restaurants that it would be a shame to settle for the mediocre food at Enrico's.
I know there are places with better food in Sausalito but we usually go to the Spinnaker because to food is good enough and it has a great view. BTW I believe the ferry to Sausalito leaves from the Ferry building not the Wharf.
Is there any special reason why you picked Enrico's? SF has so many wonderful restaurants that it would be a shame to settle for the mediocre food at Enrico's.
I know there are places with better food in Sausalito but we usually go to the Spinnaker because to food is good enough and it has a great view. BTW I believe the ferry to Sausalito leaves from the Ferry building not the Wharf.
Aug 20th, 2004, 12:14 PM
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dear SAB
Thanks for the suggestion in Sausalito.
We were also interested in Palio d'Sati, Alioto, and Kuleto's, but they were booked. Any suggestions? There will be 2 adults and a 16 year old. We like almost all types of food.
Thanks for the suggestion in Sausalito.
We were also interested in Palio d'Sati, Alioto, and Kuleto's, but they were booked. Any suggestions? There will be 2 adults and a 16 year old. We like almost all types of food.
Aug 20th, 2004, 03:16 PM
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There was a recent article in the SF Chronicle in which the authors did a search for the best Italian pasta restaurant in N. Beach . They came up with BEST OVERALL: Albona Ristorante Istriano. 545 Francisco St. (at Mason), Caffe Puccini. 411 Columbus Ave. (near Vallejo), Da Flora. 701 Columbus (at Filbert), Ristorante Ideale. 1309 Grant (near Vallejo) and Rose Pistola. 532 Columbus (near Green).
The next BEST : Franchino. 347 Columbus Ave. (near Vallejo); Macaroni Sciue Sciue. 124 Columbus Ave. (near Jackson);
Panta Rei. 431 Columbus Ave. (at Stockton); Pinocchio. 401 Columbus Ave. (at Vallejo); and Washington Square Bar and Grill.1707 Powell St. (near Union).
The next BEST : Franchino. 347 Columbus Ave. (near Vallejo); Macaroni Sciue Sciue. 124 Columbus Ave. (near Jackson);
Panta Rei. 431 Columbus Ave. (at Stockton); Pinocchio. 401 Columbus Ave. (at Vallejo); and Washington Square Bar and Grill.1707 Powell St. (near Union).
Aug 20th, 2004, 03:51 PM
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Lots of questions. Starting from the top:
Take a taxi to Hotel Monaco unless you are the Super Shuttle type - public transit takes too long with too many transfers. Monaco is a great hotel, but be careful walking in the SW direction - the street life gets very unpleasant. Head east for the theaters, restaurants, and shopping around Union Square. Enrico's is wonderful for people watching but the food isn't the best. Rose Pistola might be a better bet in the area, but I can recommend several much better Italian places. Acquarello is an amazing high-end spot with wonderful Frenchified-Italian food, perfect service and decor, and the best value for money high end wine list in the city. Albona Ristorante was mentioned above - you have never had Istrian cuisine (think Italian with middle eastern spices) and you certainly have never met a host like Bruno before. The room is small with no windows in a deserted corner of North Beach but just put yourself in Bruno's hands and he will treat you honored family guests at your own personal banquet. For a modern small plate take on Italian you can't beat Merenda on Union St (not to be confused with the Union Sq near your hotel but another fine shopping location in its own right). If you didn't want Italian, well...I've given away too many secrets in this email already. Okay, one more - for your trip to Sausalito make a beeline for Sushi Ran.
I don't have any worthwhile advice for Monterey and Big Sur, but you did mention being worried about traffic as you get into LA. Can I ask where in LA you plan to stay? The best drive would be to stay on the PCH all the way through Santa Barbara and Malibu until you hit Santa Monica, but if your hotel is further inland like downtown LA then you would save lots of time by turning onto the 101 at Ventura.
Take a taxi to Hotel Monaco unless you are the Super Shuttle type - public transit takes too long with too many transfers. Monaco is a great hotel, but be careful walking in the SW direction - the street life gets very unpleasant. Head east for the theaters, restaurants, and shopping around Union Square. Enrico's is wonderful for people watching but the food isn't the best. Rose Pistola might be a better bet in the area, but I can recommend several much better Italian places. Acquarello is an amazing high-end spot with wonderful Frenchified-Italian food, perfect service and decor, and the best value for money high end wine list in the city. Albona Ristorante was mentioned above - you have never had Istrian cuisine (think Italian with middle eastern spices) and you certainly have never met a host like Bruno before. The room is small with no windows in a deserted corner of North Beach but just put yourself in Bruno's hands and he will treat you honored family guests at your own personal banquet. For a modern small plate take on Italian you can't beat Merenda on Union St (not to be confused with the Union Sq near your hotel but another fine shopping location in its own right). If you didn't want Italian, well...I've given away too many secrets in this email already. Okay, one more - for your trip to Sausalito make a beeline for Sushi Ran.
I don't have any worthwhile advice for Monterey and Big Sur, but you did mention being worried about traffic as you get into LA. Can I ask where in LA you plan to stay? The best drive would be to stay on the PCH all the way through Santa Barbara and Malibu until you hit Santa Monica, but if your hotel is further inland like downtown LA then you would save lots of time by turning onto the 101 at Ventura.
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