San Francisco side trips

[littlemia]

DH and I are taking a trip to San Francisco shortly, arriving on day 1 at 11am and departing on day 7 at 1PM. While I'm sure there is plenty to do in SF for 6 days, we've never been to that part of the country and would like to spend a little bit of time exploring the general area.

I was thinking about going down to the Carmel/Monterey area. It looks like it's about 2-3 hours from SFO? Would we have enough time if we went directly there on day 1 and came back sometime on day 3?

The days are getting shorter and I want to make sure we have enough time for both the city and wherever else we go. I'm pregnant and my energy level is not that great these days so I don't want to overdo anything.

If Carmel/Monterey doesn't seem like it would work out well, do you have other suggestions? I know a lot of people go to Sonoma, but as a pregnant, non wine drinker, it's probably not the best choice for this trip.

[laura]

I think you could do an easy side trip to Monterey/Carmel from SF. We went there for the weekend and that was just about enough time (we live near SFO). I would guesstimate 2-3 hours depending on day of the week, traffic, etc. It's a beautiful drive down Hwy 1/Pacific Coast Highway (we did this on the way back), but it will add probably another hour or so to the trip. However, you will go through some cute seaside towns like Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay, etc. - plus the scenery is great. In Carmel there is the 17 mile drive, which is pretty, and there is a cute little downtown there. Monterey is also cute, and there is the aquarium there. FWIW, we liked Monterey and Carmel, but they weren't what we were expecting. We went the 4th of July weekend and Monterey was foggy/overcast 80% of the time and a little chilly. The sun did come out in the afternoon for about 2 hours and then it was beautiful, sunny and warm, but otherwise it was pretty gloomy. We actually didn't mind that, but we were surprised by it, so just a heads up.

[justHB]

Truthfully, I think 2 days is too much time in Monterey/Carmel. Sure, it's a relaxing place to go and just hang out, but there's not much to do beyond golfing, the acquarium, and driving 17-mile drive. Our first trip down there was a day trip (left around 8am and got home to Oakland around 9pm) and I felt that was a fine introduction.

Another recommendation I would make is to go to Napa or Sonoma. It's about 70 minutes in the opposite direction, but a much better time and unique to the area. You can also arrange private tours/cars so that you don't have to wander the area on your own.

[TazLuv]

ITA with the two pp's. Carmel/Monterey is easily done in a day or two.

Napa/Sonoma could be a six day trip within itself if you like wine but can also easily be a fun one or two day trip. I agree on the cars if you plan to taste test a lot. Just make sure you get one that will take you where you want, not where they want. If they push certain wineries they're probably being paid to take you there. There is a great Napa thread on here if you go that route.

In San Francisco you can go down to the piers, Coit tower, Golden Gate Park.

Have fun!

[laura]

But she's pg so she doesn't want to drink, so I don't think Napa/Sonoma is worth it just for the area. I would rather 1 day in Monterey/Carmel and drive back Hwy 1 and maybe stop somewhere along the way and stay overnight. I think we drove down after work (bad traffic) on a Friday night, stayed over, hung around Sat did Aquarium, etc, went to Roy's for dinner, stayed over, did 17-mile drive Sun, downtown Carmel and then headed out. Not totally taxing, could be condensed to 1 day or not depending on what you want. But I think Napa/Sonoma w/o wineries is not worth it.

[pocket]

First of all you don't drink wine when you taste. Second of all surely DH shouldn't have to miss out on wine country! After all, he doesn't even have to drive! Sonoma and Napa also have amazing restaurants, spas, beautiful scenery, and it's really worth it. That would be my top choice for a Day1 - 3. I agree that Carmel and Monterey are really more of a day trip than a few day trip. So if you choose that maybe include whale watching or depending on what time of year you come either butterflies or elephant seals.

[TazLuv]

Ok, I missed the pregnant part but you can still "taste" without swallowing - I know many pregnant friends that have done it!

The aquarium is a must IMO if you go to Carmel - have fun! :D

[littlemia]

Thanks so much, ladies. I'm still leaning towards going to Monterey/Carmel. It's actually probably better that it only warrants a day or so trip. I figure the first day's probably going to be pretty shot after a 5.5 hour flight and a couple hours car ride, I'll probably not want to do much that day. We're pretty slow travelers, so I'm sure we can fill up a whole day and a half or so.

Sonoma would probably appeal to me a lot more if I drank wine, but I just haven't been able to get into it. DH doesn't like wine either.
(Yes, we've probably never had good wine and might like it better if we did but I think we'll wait for another trip to try to acquire the taste.) :)

[justHB]

Sorry, I missed the part about being PG.

Another suggestion is Big Sur if you're an outdoorsy type.