San Francisco Travel Forum

I am visiting SF in November and staying at the Orchard Hotel on Bush Street near Union Square(its got some great reviews). I want to hire a car so that we can take a day trip to Carmel following the 17 mile drive and checking out some of the beaches.
Does anyone know if this is feasable in a day and if there is anyhing we should see along the way. Is the weather good at the beginning of November?
Also where is a good place to park the rental car overnight as we would like to keep it a couple of days and maybe check out the Napa Valley as well (any suggestions would be welcome). The hotel wants $40 per night parking.
Thanks

totally worth a day trip. in november, the coast will be chilly so bring a coat and just enjoy the beauty. the 17 mile drive is nice. good place to bring a picnic and enjoy lunch at one of the many beautiful spots. if you are into aquariums, the monterey one has a good reputation (never been there). if you have time, drive a little further south to enjoy the coast down to big sur.

You will have to take potluck on the weather.

The drive to Carmel is beautiful - take Highway 1 all the way and you will see some of the most beautiful scenery in the state. The beaches are nice for walking, but leave your swimsuit at home - bring jackets instead. The 17-mile drive is pretty, but not really any more so than the rest of the drive along the coast, unless you like golf courses. You might want to save a little money and skip it - it is mostly similar to what you will have already seen. It's feasible in a day, as long as you like driving. Your drive home will probably be partly in the dark, so you can save a little time by cutting over to highway 101 after Monterey.

Sorry about the parking. It's expensive here. If you get in after 6 PM, and get up early the next morning, before the meters start to operate, you can park your car on the street. But don't sleep in - you could get towed.

I'm a lone voice in the wilderness on this, and I'll surely get slammed by my fellow VTers, but I don't really get the Napa Valley, unless you're a big wine fan. There are good restaurants, but no more than in SF and they're more expensive. The shops are cute, but very pricey. Most of the wineries charge for tastings. The valley is pretty, but nothing like the coast. At least in November the traffic won't be so bad.

You can count on a minimum drive time of between 4 (80 mph) and 5 (65 mph) hours round-trip, longer if you take Hwy 1 (50 mph). As for beaches, I recommend Pt. Lobos State Reserve located immediately south of Carmel along Hwy 1. I also highly recomend avoiding "Fisherman's Wharf" and "Cannery Row" in Monterey. Depending upon where you are staying in SF, you might consider parking your car at the Colma BART Station or try the Fifth & Mission Parking Garage (http://www.fifthandmission.com/about.htm).

If you head to Napa you may want to consider the Wine Train or even the hot springs (try www.indianspringscalistoga.com)in Calistoga at the northern end of the valley. Good luck and have a blast.

How long will you be in San Francisco ? What are your specific travel interests ? You appear to be more interested in the areas around San Francisco, than the actual city. If that is the case, you might consider a lodging either in the Half Moon Bay area, to the south of The City, or the Point Reyes, or San Rafael area to the north. If you stay outside The City, that gets you closer to your destinations, with less traffic, and you don't pay forty dollars a night for parking. I do agree with ACprincess that both the 17 mile drive, and the Napa Valley are overrated. For the area to the north of San Francisco, you might wish to visit the following web sites: (1) Point Reyes National Seashores: (www.nps.gov/pore), (2) Point Reyes Lodging Association: (www.ptreyes.com), (3) Muir Woods: (www.nps.gov/muwo), and (4) Panama Hotel, in San Rafael: (www.panamahotel.com). This hotel is quite small, but sits in a residential area, has a walled patio area, and a very good on site restaurant. Gary

A trip to Carmel from SF is a very popular one, and deservingly so. If you have the time it would be worth it to spend the night in Monterey or Carmel. Otherwise it will be a very long day.

I agree with several of the previous post comments:
Skip the 17 mile drive. With all you are doing, you will have plenty of opportunity to see beautiful coastline without paying that fee. I recommend just driving the coast from Monterey, along Pacific Grove and then over to Carmel.
Take highway 101 back. It is considerably faster.
I also would personally skip Napa, like acprincess says. There are many, many good wineries in the Monterey and Santa Cruz areas that, in my opinion, provide a more down to earth tasting experience without the hype and tasting fees. Check out this website for info on the Santa Cruz area wineries: www.scmwa.com/
You could easily make a day in the Santa Cruz area, stopping at Ano Nuevo to see elephant seals, visiting the redwood forests, enjoying the beaches there, and the wineries, and then down to Monterey/Carmel to spend the night. Then the next day to explore the Monterey peninsula. If you go to the world class aquarium, that in itself is two hours.
But, if you only have the day, it will be a rushed one. Don't miss Carmel Beach. It is smaller than the expansive ones all along Monterey Bay from Santa Cruz on south, but it has beautiful sand and is within walking distance of charming, if not somewhat elite, downtown Carmel.

Many thanks to you all. We are staying for 7 nights but will not bother with Napa Valley and just hire the car for the day trip to Carmel which sounds good.
Every day I am fiding more things we would like to do in the city.

If you'd like a couple of suggestions for in-the-city things to do, the Alcatraz tour is great (make reservations ahead of time), hiking around Angel Island is fun if the weather is good, lunch at the Ferry Building, and don't miss our wonderful museums. The Moma is within walking distance of your hotel. I haven't been to the new Natural History Museum (across the plaza from the DeYoung Museum), but it has gotten better-than-rave reviews.

I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time.

A couple of web sites that might be helpful for San Francisco: (1) www.whatsonwhen.com, (2) http://sanfrancisco.menupages.com, which lists restaurants by cuisine, and by neighborhood, (3) www.cafecoppola.com/cafezoetrope. This cafe is owned by Francis Ford Coppola, the movie director, and vintner. The Sentinel Building, where the cafe is located, is quite interesting in its own right, both in its construction and history. Gary

Thanks to you all for your tips. We did Carmel, Muir Woods, Alcaraz, walked the GGB then down to Sausalito and got the ferry back. Plus all the other touristy things. Great city, hope to go back one day.

I'm glad you enjoyed your stay. I accidently left much more undone than I ever saw, Gary

Don't underestimate how long the drive will take you. It's at least 2.5 hours down if you use the coast road- highway one. Very scenic. You don't want to be stuck in Santa Cruz rush hour traffic and you certainly don't want to be coming up 101 from San Jose to San Francisco during commute hours. Anytime between 4-7 p.m. is packed, but you can use the carpool lane.