Suggestions on Nor Cal drive?

vegasX5 · #1 03-02-2010, 06:04 PM

Next month my girlfriend and I will be going to a wedding in Monterey. We're flying into San Francisco early Thursday morning to go to Sonoma with a friends who will be in town from Germany. I'm sure we will spend most of the day in Sonoma then back to SF for dinner, and then we're goign to the Academy of Sciences for a "Night Life" event.

Friday we will be renting a car in SF and driving down to Monterey. I was planning on taking the Pacific Coast Highway for scenic value. I wanted to try to do something fun along the way and maybe surprise her a little. I was thinking of stopping somewhere to do a horseback ride on the beach, find a zipline/something exciting, stop somewhere unique/scenic/historic and walk around, or something along those lines. I am unfamiliar with the area and the drive, so do any of you guys have suggestions?

I found a couple of places that offer horseback rides which was the first thing that came to mind, but I am open to suggestions. We have to be in Monterey by around 6pm to meet everyone else in the wedding party, but we can leave SF relatively early that morning to make it in time. We are renting a cool cottage two blocks from the wedding which will be on the beach in Pacific Grove, and although we're busy Saturday and Sunday morning with wedding stuff, we're going to drive back to SF Sunday night and not heading back home until Monday night. So, we could even do something on the drive back from Monterey to SF on Sunday afternoon as well.

Any guidance is much appreciated!

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Quicksilver · #2 03-03-2010, 04:19 AM

Make sure you allow time for Carmel by the Sea (OCEAN AVE)
Boutiques, wonderful restaurants, and the Ocean at the end
of Ocean Ave. We do it at least once a year.

The 17 mile drive is breath taking (There is admission though)
but we do it any way.

Gotta be honest though, just these two excursions will make
the clock spin. (Time flies when your having fun)

RoadHazard · #3 03-03-2010, 12:40 PM

I can't recommend any horseback-riding places between San Francisco and here, but I think you will enjoy the drive along Highway 1. Plan on about 3 hours. The first (northernmost) bit isn't all that exciting, but it gets more scenic as you go along. Don't rush; it spoils the effect. Stop for strawberries, cherries, or whatever at the roadside stands. This area is where your produce comes from.

Once you reach Monterey/Pacific Grove/Carmel you might consider continuing on farther south to Big Sur. That extra hour really adds to the scenery quotient.

For historic interest, there's the Carmel Mission (in Carmel, obviously). There's also downtown Pacific Grove, which is cute, walkable, and full of old Victorian houses. Downtown Carmel is also like that, but more expensive and with more art galleries.

Pebble Beach is right here, too. To be honest, it doesn't look much different from the other nearby towns, but has the brand-name appeal. Taking the 17-Mile Drive (which is really 10 miles long) costs $9. Driving along Ocean View Boulevard in Pacific Grove looks just the same and it's free.

For an adventure, tour the lighthouse at Big Sur. It's a three-hour tour and requires some planning, but it's very pretty out there. Less strenuously, there's Lover's Point Park in Pacific Grove (which is probably just a few blocks from where you're staying) and the beach at the foot of Ocean Avenue in Carmel.

Along the drive down from SF but before you reach Monterey, is Santa Cruz, a fairly large town on the coast. It's a left-coast funky university town with a boardwalk and amusement park on the beach. Might be worth a stop.

vegasX5 · #4 03-03-2010, 01:26 PM

Great replies guys thanks! I'm really looking forward to it, and anything we can't do on the way day down Friday we can do on the way back up on Sunday. I normallly do the fly into SF late Friday fly home Sunday morning when I visit friends there, so it's nice to have basically 5 days to explore a little more.

I will definitely be taking my time on the drive, especially since I'll be in a boring rental SUV

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