Hello again. Just wondering if someone might give me some suggestions or a sample itinerary for a coastal drive south from San Francisco(and back). We will be there mid-March for college tours with our 17 yo daughter & she has expressed an interest in doing this. Any ideas for scenic stops along the way & places with great food would be appreciated.

One of my favorite places to stay south of San Francisco is the hostel at Pigeon Point lighthouse. http://www.norcalhostels.org/pigeon/ It is about 50 miles south of SF. There is another lighthouse hostel 25 miles south of SF at Point Montera.
We did not sample any restaurants south of SF-sorry.
My DW and I made our own dinner and breakfast at the hostel before heading to Monterey. You should visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Carmel-by-the-Sea.
On the way back north you can play "Do you know the way to San Jose?"

We just went to Pigeon Point lighthouse on Sunday

How long do you have for the drive and how far are you thinking of going? Is this a day trip or a multi-day sidetrip? Which colleges are on your itinerary? This will help people make suggestions.

Some info a few years back
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...santa-cruz.cfm

I'd add the elephant seals at Año Nuevo SP and Duarte's Tavern in Pescadero. Although I wouldn't necessarily go swimming along that coastline (great white shark territory and cold water) there are some scenic spots.

Thanks for the ideas guys.

november, this will just be a day trip, unfortunately. We are touring UC Berkeley & Stanford on different days & have one free day to do fun things. We have done some of the "touristy" things on an earlier trip so daughter thought a drive might be fun this time. How far would we be able to venture along the coast in one day & make it back to SF before too late?

Consider going north across the GG bridge and seeing Muir Woods.
You get to see some huge trees and the ocean less than an hour from the Golden Gate.

Well it depends. Do you want to drive to a destination or take a drive with stops? For example its about a 2 hour + drive to Monterey/Carmel, a 1 hour drive to Santa Cruz, (not taking Highway 1) Or you could take Highway 1 and drive as for as long as you want and and come back on 101 in a day. Or you could drive to Carmel (again not on 1) and then drive down 1 to Big Sur. Or drive to Point Lobos just south of Carmel. There are numerous variations, it depends on how long you stop in various places, what you want to see.

You'd have to leave San Francisco VERY early in the morning, the traffic south of the city is terrible from 7am to 10:00am. Maybe if you left at 6am you could avoid it, and then have breakfast a couple of hours down the road.

Trying to do the up and back all in one day however would not be much of a "coastal drive". You could get pretty far but wouldn't have time to stop and see anything, or you could take your time and not get very far.

Here's a trip report for a day trip we took, starting on the Peninsula (mid-way between San Francisco and Palo Alto):

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...t-part-way.cfm

if i were you id stay in Palo alto the day you go to Satnford--be forewarned thoug, once your daughter sees Satnford.if she gets in that where shes going to go.I went there as did my daughter--great school.Anyway if yoy stay in PA,id take 101 down to Santa Cruz, then head down to Monterrey and take eth 7 mile drive.Then when you come back you can just take the coastal highwy to Half moon bay,and head back to PA--ive done that many times in a day when we lived in PA.If it gets late you can just take 101 back--if you do that stop at San Juan Baptista, its neat ole mission church

I second the notion that you consider driving north across the Golden Gate, check out Muir Woods and environs, do lunch in Sausalito, etc.

Take a look at sf's report, there is a lot you can do in a day. We've gone to Carmel from SF, visited Point Lobos, had drinks at Nepenthe and come back to SF in one day. Yes, we are locals and yes, we don't stop at every vista, but it is possible.

bigbomho has a good suggestion about doing the day trip from Palo Alto.

You guys are the best! I appreciate all of the ideas & will let my child decide how much she would like to see.

bigbomoho-you have a good point about Stanford! It has been my daughter's dream school(along with Cornell)since she began high school & think we are prepared for it to just blow her away! And we are actually staying in Palo Alto that day. Can you tell me what & where the "7 mile drive" is?

Maybe she's talking about taking 40% of the 17 mile drive?

17 Mile Drive in in Carmel - a route along the coast past Pebble Beach golf course, some great coastline, and a bunch of mansions.

If it were me, I'd head south to Santa Cruz and/or Monterey. I think that area has more to interest a 17 year old than Muir Woods and Sausalito. If you want to see redwoods, a few miles from Santa Cruz is the town of Felton - Henry Cowell Redwoods state park is there, very convinient when visiting SC.

as mentioned above it just a few miles south of Monterry--its a gorgeous trip,probably would take you an hour--is in Carmel. With your time constraints dont think youd have time to visit the aqaurium too, but it is a world class deal. If you do stay in PA, there are some great restuarnts along Univresity ave,and on the sidestreets. Check chowhound.com for sites that appeal to you. Stanford also has an excellent Rodin museum,just on the West side of the quadrangle.The best thing about your daughter going there is you get to visit a couple times a year.have lunch in whites plaza where all the students eat,thers a reall buzz there at lunchtime

Easily to Point Lobos /Carmel/ Santa Cruz in a day trip.

Point Lobos, Carmel Mission, the coastline at Asilomar State beach. Thrift stores in Pacific Grove. I like the Red House restaurant in Pacific Grove. If it's Monarch season, the butterfly trees.

Less a fan of Monterey although if she has an interest in history then there is a walking trail and various historic buildings, I like the Larkin House.
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=954

tracys2cents, well, my bad. I am not from CA so didn't know 7 mile dr from 17 mi dr. I could have used some advice instead of a snarky comment though.

november-thanks so much for the heads up about HC Redwoods park! And thanks to the rest of you who have offered advice-you have been a great help!

One last question-would it be faster in morning traffic to take 101 down to Santa Cruz from Palo Alto & then take the coastal highway back(depending on the time)?

bigbomoho-we may just have to leave some of the other things for another trip, maybe when we come to visit our girl at Stanford(if she is fortunate enough to get in that is). Thanks for the help with the restaurants too!

your welcome--i made a typo with the 7 instead fo 17--stil an unneceessry comment.BTW,dont know where yu live but Stanford has a geogroahic diespersion startegy thats part of the entering class,ie they want all states represent.My daughter was the only 1 from ga to go to Stanford that year, and she still had incredible scores.So if youre from a small,rural state she'd stand a better chance

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We all read things differently - I thought tracy's reply was funny.