The wine country, The Central Coast/N.CA
 

I am going on my honeymoon in November of this year. We are considering doing some sort of a road trip to Half Moon Bay, Carmel, Monterey, the wine country, and San Francisco; maybe even Lake Tahoe.

We are interested in a romantic location that offers activities such as horse-back riding, fine-dining, great spas, upscale accomodations, etc.

Another option, is Barbados and St. Lucia. We are not an extreme active couple, but we don't want to spend seven days surrounded by just water and sand.

Any ideas on Monterey and San Fran and also a good itinerary to follow (for seven days) would be very helpful.

In addition, feedback on Barbados and St. Lucia would be great. Thanks for your help.

Lain

The CA coast can be a great honeymoon. The most important part of the honeymoon is to be able to relax so I would not do every site you mentioned or else you will just be driving and checking into hotels with no down time.

You mention upscale hotels. With that maybe something like this might work...

Start your honeymoon in Carmel at the Carmel Valley Ranch www.carmelvalleyranch.com. This place has it all (golf, spa, dining, horseback riding). Spend three nights so that you can really unwind.

Head up to SF. Dozens of hotel options. Check out the Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, Vitale (I just stayed there), Campton Place, Ritz, or any number of other places. Go out to a first class dinner at Gary Danko or Boulevard, or someplace else that suits you. Stay two nights and visit the tea gardens, walk through pacific heights, dance at the Starlight Room or Top of the Mark.

Head up to Wine Country. Somebody else will have to help you out here as I'm don't go up there too much. Find a bed and breakfast and hit some of the smaller less crowded wineries.

Those are just some quick thoughts. Don't try to do 5 places in 7 days or you will just wear yourself and your wife out.

Congrats.

I love the coast of California. What a perfect place for a honeymoon. My particular favorite place is Cambria. No horseback riding or spas (that I've experienced), but it is beautiful, relaxing, has beautiful scenery, and has great accommodations and dining.

Carmel is also wonderful, but I am less familiar with what it has to offer.

With regard to saps' post, I can second the vote for Campton Place in SF. It is a charming boutique hotel, centrally located. We've also stayed at the Westin St. Francis (room overlooking Union Square) which we enjoyed. We weren't so impressed with the Hyatt, just across the street from Campton Place.. My brother stayed at the Mark Hopkins, which he liked. We've also stayed at other SF hotels, which were nice, but not honeymoon material. San Francisco is a great "home base" for all kinds of day trips.

I suspect that I am of a different generation, since my honeymoon was exactly 38 years ago (your taste may be very different than mine), but Barbados does not seem like a perfect place. Our daughter got married in Barbados 3 years ago. We liked it, but there was not really that much to do beyond lying around the beach or pool -- and it is very hot/humid.

I also love Lake Tahoe. In fact that is where we had our honeymoon (and where we had lunch today!!) The weather in November can be "iffy", however. Sometimes it is beautiful, sometimes it rains, and occasionally it snows...

By the way, where are you coming from? You mention a road trip.

Thank you for your suggestions.

We are leaving from New Orleans.

When looking at airfare check prices into all three Bay Area airports: San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose.

They are all within 30 miles of each other.

Well, given your preferences, I would nix St Lucia. If you want romance and fine dining in Caribbean, choose Little Dix or Bitter End Yacht Club in the British Virgin Islands or Caneel Bay in St John, USVI. St Lucia is a nightmare to drive and not the nicest island by any means. We love the entire coast of California, especially up in Mendocino. We went horseback riding at Ricochet Ranch in Ft Bragg and went on the beach and through a redwood forest. They are good horsemen there and will give you a ride based on your ability.(I was experienced, and I had a great time/horse/ride) There is no place more romantic than Mendocino, IMO. Fly into Sacramento, drive there stay 2 nights.Then, drive south through Sonoma County staying in beautiful Healdsburg for a couple days at the Healdsburg Hotel. Great wineries, scenery, food, etc. Then head to San Francisco for 3 nights. That would give you exquisite ocean views, redwoods, wine, gourmet dining and some glitz.

and you can get great prices from New Orleans to Sacramento on Southwest. Really easy airport to negotiate without all the traffic probs of SF and Oakland.

San Francisco would be a perfect place to start. You might then consider heading north to Mendocino which has some fine b & bs, stunning scenery, good restaurants, access to wineries in the Anderson Valley, and even an excellent stable just a bit north of Fort Bragg, at Richochet Ranch, www.horse-vacation.com.

well, bon voyage, that was weird. We must have been posting at the same time!

What a coincidence! Agree that Healdsburg is also a very nice town and a good stopping point to or from Mendocino.

What immediately popped into my mind after reading your post was the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur. If ever I get married, that is where I will honeymoon. Spectacular in every way.

-Bill

All the recommendations given thus far are spot on. Here are my picks:

- Big Sur: Post Ranch Inn, a definite honeymoon spot. Extremely luxurious (with prices to match!) and very romantic.
- SF: the Four Seasons. The service there is truly unbeatable and you will feel like royalty.
- Napa/Wine Country: Auberge du Soleil. Again, excellent service and very luxurious accomodations. If you are looking into more B&B types, 1801 First is nice (definitely book the Carriage House, it's beautiful).
-Pt.Reyes: Olema Druids Hall (Either the Grand Suite or the Cottage) . Great for pure nature enjoyment, hiking, kayaking.

Mendocino is beautiful and such a cute town but I prefer any of the above for a honeymoon. Good luck, you will love NorCal!