Need help with california vacation plans!?
my husband and i are going to california next year for almost 3 weeks. our schedule goes like this so far:
flight- 1 day
san francisco- 4 days
ocean beach- 1 day
monterey, big sur, carmel area- 4 days
just driving along the coast on hwy 1- 1 day
napa valley- 4 days
yosemite- 4 days
flight- 1 day
my question is, do i really need that 1 whole day of just driving on Hwy 1? or will i get enough of that on the way from san fran to monterey and monterey to big sur, etc.? should i use that day for something else, like possibly going to see the ghost town of Bodie after yosemite for the day or maybe going to santa cruz for the day? or is just driving down the coast really worth it? i can’t decide. i am very much into photography, especially black and white and infrared and my husband is too and i think we could take some amazing photos in bodie, plus it would be a neat change of scenery, to see the old west and the desert. but i also have this feeling that i will regret not spending more time on the beautiful coast, seeing the cliffs and the ocean on the road. if you have experience with any of these places let me know. thanks!
6 Responses
timetravler
18 Apr 2010
Katydid25
18 Apr 2010
highway 1 is cool, but a whole day driving it, you’ll be carsick it winds around and around so much! drive highway 1 and go to "Goat Rock Beach" its soooo cool! i have some pics up on my myspace of it if you wanna look. they’re in the "Cali road trip" album.
myspace.com/sexykt25
yeah, i live in Ohio and we drove all the way to cali. (2500 miles) in two days!!
highway 1 was cool and theres like fort bragg there and stuff and the coast is beautiful but i highly reccomend goat rock beach. we seen a whale there!
mataharirules
18 Apr 2010
Hwy 1 is going to take a whole day… for one thing you will get stuck behind 1 if not 15 motorhomes, none of which will be able to go over 25 miles an hour.. not that you want to speed because the views are amazing.. make sure you stop in Half Moon Bay, and along some of the beaches on the way… and I wouldn’t be soo ready to stick to a schedule when it comes to Cal.. places have away of sucking you in, and you never want to leave… I was stayed for a month and it wasn’t enough..
Have a great trip sounds like fun!
Kathy H
18 Apr 2010
You have a nice trip planned.
The Central Coast of California is beautiful…The Monterey area is the most beautiful section of the coast (my personal opinion).
Were you thinking of driving Hwy, 1 north or south of San Francisco?
1 is generally a 1 lane in each direction, winding road…but beautiful scenery.
I’m glad you planned 4 days for Yosemite. I’ve lived all my life in California and it is the most beautiful place. The scenery is breathtaking. There were be all tops of photography choices at Yosemite.
If you want info on Napa wineries or free wine tasting coupons, visit http://www.cheers2wine.com.
Have a wonderful time!
Common Sense in
18 Apr 2010
Unless you’re into lots of hiking, camping or just hanging out and doing nothing, you’re planning way too much time for certain areas. Maybe you should cut these plans in half, and head down the coast. No lengthy trip to California should skip Santa Barbara, Hearst Castle, and SoCal.
4 days in SF is 1 too many.
Monterey area…2-3 days tops
napa valley is a 1-2day side trip, and sonoma
valley is prettier and more romantic.
After Monterey, spend a few days traveling down to Heast Castle and Santa Barbara, at least
or-
visit Lake Tahoe…that’s a good 2-3 days of fun.
Yosemite is 3 days.
What’s gonna happen by planning too many days in certain areas is boredom. There is nothing in Napa that is worth 4 days unless you have relatives there or a drinking problem.;)
The best part of California is that there’s so much to do in a relatively small area of the planet. If need be, you can travel to most areas of this state in under a day, north to south, east to west. Yosemite and san Francisco are just 2.5 hours from each other. LA and SF, 7hours.
White Lotus
18 Apr 2010
Your proposed itinerary would require a lot of driving, planning, and time because the places you want to visit are at extreme ends of the north, south, and east of SF. I have visited all the places you have listed and if I had 3 weeks I would definitely not try to visit all those cities in 20 days. You are biting off more than you can chew and putting yourself in a situation where you’ll be moving around so much, you’ll need a vacation from your vacation.
The 4 days in SF is not bad, there’s lots to see and do, but 1 whole day in Ocean Beach? Are you talking about the Ocean Beach located on the west side of San Francisco (in the Sunset district)? That beach is kind of nasty, it’s cold, windy, and barren. I wouldn’t spend half a day at that beach, let alone a whole day. The southern end might be interesting on a weekend when you can see the hang-gliders soaring in the air at Fort Funston. Spend that day in Golden Gate Park and see the new Science Observatory, it’s state-of-the-art and really cool.
Monterey, Big Sur, Carmel, are beautiful areas. Very charming and great for photography. I’ve never seen an entire street where each house has a name for it. It’s the neatest thing, so charming! The sand and beaches here are nice, forget about Ocean Beach altogether. You’ll be seeing plenty of beaches driving to this area as well as many quaint shops and restaurants. It would only take you half a day to drive from SF to Monterey (even if took Highway 1). If you spend 4 days here, try the campgrounds. These aren’t really places to camp, rather, to crash. There are bbq’s and places to setup a firepit to roast marshmallows. They are everywhere along Highway 1. You will meet lots of nice people at the campgrounds who can tell you things to see and do. I would only do 3 days here personally, that should be plenty.
From here you can drive to Yosemite where it will only take about 5 hours. What you are proposing here is quite a trip in itself depending on the time of year. If it’s late Spring and the Tioga Pass is open, you can take it to get to Bodie. However, you can’t get to Bodie (via the Tioga Pass) without passing by Mono Lake and Mono Lake is a spectacle unto itself. It’s the saltiest lake on the planet and there are free ranger talks as well as kayak excursions onto the lake. Very cool stuff. If you do your homework, you know that Mono Lake is a photographers absolute dream come true because of the tufa formations that are highly visible. Many photographers around the world come to photograph these strange looking structures (you will see them in the morning and afternoon). The lake is often still, and beach access is easy. Personally I think the photo ops here are much better than Bodie which brings me to the next stop…
Bodie is a ghost town located maybe 30 minutes north of Mono Lake/Lee Vining. You have a choice of self guided tour (around $11) or you can do the guided tour (around $20+) which not only hires a guide to do the talking, but you get access to the mining equipment area which is off limits otherwise. Don’t miss the free movie on the history of Bodie during it’s heyday around 1pm. If you go during Spring weather will be nice, not too cold, not too hot (summer will be hot, no A/C anywhere here! Be prepared!). Bodie to me was an old abandoned ghost town. You can find some nice shots here, but it can get busy during summer (lots of people – possibly making it harder to get your shot since you’ll be looking to frame your shot sans the people).
If you have a little bit of extra time, you can also visit June Lake which is only 12 min drive south of Mono Lake. The June Lake Loop consists of several lakes and makes for some nice photo taking ops as well. I told you a trip to this area was a vacation unto itself! Don’t forget to stop and eat the gourmet sandwiches at the Woah Nellie Deli which is located inside a 76 gas station right where the Tioga Pass Road meets Highway 395 in Lee Vining.
From Bodie back to SF will take a good 5 to 6 hours, you’ll be tired upon getting back. From here you can do Napa Valley and wallow in all it’s wine tasting glory. 4 days is a bit much here, there isn’t much to see or do. There is a nice train ride, and a tram-like ride up to a small mountain. You can see pretty much everything in 2 days. Personally I was very much put off by the wineries in Napa. Very arrogant, very commercialized, and very touristy. All the big wineries like Mondavi charge $5 or more to taste like 4 or 5 wines. Be prepared to spend $$$ in Napa.
If you just want to taste wine and have a nice time, I’d goto Santa Rosa – a mere 30 minute drive north of SF. Most of these wineries are smaller, but they are almost all free and unlike the wineries in Napa, your server will actually engage you in conversation and discuss the finer points of wine and life with you. It’s a much more intimate setting and won’t require you to drive too far away either. Do a google seach for "wineries in Santa Rosa", I think you’ll be surprised at the quality of the wineries here (I recommend Hook & Ladder winery).
If you have any further questions feel free to email me at: mahadragon@hotmail.com
You will be on highway 1 after you get to Monterrey, big sur, and carmel. That most likely would be enough. I would go to Bodie, especially if your into photography. It is a very cool place and I spent much of a whole day there. Just so you know, the high country in Yosemite and Tioga pass road is not open until around Memorial day, sometimes a little after that. You will want to exit the park going up Tioga pass to get to Bodie. Sounds like a great trip. Your cameras will be very busy indeed.