Help needed: Planning a trip to California

[hmwnick]

My family of 5 is beginning to plan a trip to California. Found great air fare to San Jose. Want to go to Monterey then up through San Fran. & then north from there. Plan to spend 6 nights. I'm looking for suggestions of what to see in addition to Monterey Bay Aquarium. & need advice on places to stay that won't break our budget. Any and all help is greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Rebecca

 

[LuvTigger]

What a beautiful area to spend your vacation. I can't really help you with where to stay in the Monterey area, but when I've done internet searches, the prices were kind of high (average $125-$150 per night), especially near the beach. Look for places in Carmel too.

When we were in Monterey, we spent about half the day at the aquarium, and several hours on the 17-mile drive. (Way back when, the cost was $6 per car, but well worth it, IMHO.) We also spent a couple hours at a mall right down the street from the aqarium. If I had to do it again, I would start the 17-mile drive in the morning. We started mid-afternoon, and by evening, the fog rolled in and we could hardly see anything.

Are you also looking for suggestions on things to do in San Francisco? (Which is about 1 1/2 to 2 hour drive from Monterey, btw.) There's Golden Gate Park, the Presidio, Pier 39, Ghiradelli Square, Fisherman's Wharf, boats to Alcatraz or just around the bay, Lombard Street (crookedest street in the world), Union Square, shopping, etc...

Happy planning, sounds like a great trip!

 

[teri]

I already responded on the CB, but just to repeat, be sure to look at the thread above on Other Things to Do In California. About 3/4 of the way down, I go into SF, SJ, Gilroy, Santa Cruz and Monterey.

 

[JenniferW]

I love Ano Nuevo, it's a state park where you can see elephant seals, really cool!


Also, love San Simeon with Hearst Castle.

Jenn

 

[Amusement Park Junkie]

We've taken two short vacations to the bay area (can't afford to go to WDW every year). We stayed near pier 39 one year to visit the SF attractions for a few days and took a day trip to Great America. The next trip, we stayed near Great America and spent two days in the park while taking two day trips up to SF. Great America is a great amusement park if you like coasters, and still pretty good even if you don't.

 

[teri]

Please consider a visit to Bonfante Gardens if it is open - it is such a lovely little theme park. It is in Gilroy, right on the way between San Jose and Monterey.

This place is struggling financially, they lack advertising, and it really must be seen by all of you -- this place is what I sincerely wish DCA had been like. It is more of an authentic Central California Adventure. A real labor of love, a gem. I hope they survive.

 

[hmwnick]

Thanks for the tips. We aren't going to see DL this trip, maybe next!
Any other advice is welcome!

 

[Judy from Boise]

As a chain I have had good luck with Best Westerns all throughout that area. Get a AAA guide, look at the pictures and map your route, then do all the ressies with 1 phone call.

 

[DawnCt]

We flew into San Francisco in 1998 and did a wonderful nine day trip. We spent two nights in San Francisco, visiting all of the highlights in the previous posts. Had breakfast in Sausilito on the 3rd day, on to Muir woods for the morning, the Mondavi winery in Napa Valley for the afternoon, three nights in Lake Tahoe, on to Yosemite through the East Gate which took us past Bodi, the ghost town and Mono lake. We spent two night in the Yosemite area, visited the Mariposa Grove of tall trees en route to Cambria. Spent one night across from Moonstone Beach at the Pelican Suites. The next morning we left for Monterey, visiting San Simeon and the Heart Castle along the way. In Monterey we visited the Aquarium and a few scenic sites that I can't recall the names of. On the way back to San Francisco for our flight home, we stopped in Santa Cruz to ride the roller coaster. I wished that we had time to visit the Winchester House in San Jose but it was Sunday and closed early. We logged 1600 miles but even my teens, who hate car rides said that they never dreamed they could see so much of California in such a short time.

 

[Snow Brite]

I left about 2 years ago, so sorry if anything is outdated, but these were some of my favorite things. All the things mentioned above are good ideas and here are a few more...

For lodging on the Monterey Peninsula I would reccomend calling either Resort to Me or Monterey Peninsula Reservations (if they are both still in business). They are "leftover room clearing houses" and we used to work with them alot. They don't charge the guests anything, work like a travel agent. If you don't want to do that I would reccomend staying away from Seaside which has mostly gross, heap motels and looking in Pacific Grove near Asilomar. There are some campy, fun mom and pop places there. And the Quality Inn there is quite nice. For mid-priced accmoodations I would say the ones in downtown Monterey are a good bet. There is a doubletree and marriott. And of course the Monterey Peninsula has one of the highest concentrations of a classy hotels for its size.

For things to do in Monterey I would reccomend a trip to Lovers Point in Pacific Grove. It is a littel crescent beach and a lovely park and place for a picnic. It is fun to walk around on the surrounding blocks and look at all the dollhouse-like teeny tiny victorian homes. You can continue driving away from Monterey here and stay right on the ocean. It has incredible crashing waves on the rocks and is much of the same ocean view you would get on 17 mile drve without the multimillion dollar homes blocking your view! You end up at Asilomar which was designed by the same arcitect as Hearst Castle.

Downtown Monterey has a Farmers market I think on Tuesdays that was many blocks long. It was wonderful to stroll and munch on fresh fruit and listen to the music. There are many historic buildings in Monterey and I would reccomend the downtown walking tour. The buildings in Monterey are stucco and have a completely different feel from Pacific Groves victorian buildings. Also in Monterey is the Dennis the Menace Park. It is off of Del Monte Blvd. It was designed by longtime resident Hank Ketchum. It is on a lake and you can rent paddle boats from there. You can also walk to the pier from there and look at the boats and take one of the glass bottom sight seeing cruises.

In Carmel it is fun to park and walk their streets too. The buildings here all look like ones out of Tasha Tudor drawings. There are tons of quait, odd little shops here and the beach is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. The Monterey Mission is in Carmel and is actually where Father Serra is buried. Clint Eastwoods Mission Ranch Inn is here and is the new spot to go to spot him. Carmel Valley is where the vineyards are and is quite beautiful and almost guaranteed sunny. Many of the small motels here allow people to come out and pay to use their pool for the say during the week and this is a good option to find some sun if it is fogged in on the coast.

North of the Peninsula is Castroville, Artichoke Capitol of the World. Not much to see here excpet a giant building shaped like n artichoke. Continuing North towards Santa Crus is one of my FAVORITE places. It is in Watsonville and called Gzdich Ranch. They are a U-Pick farm and you can go with your own bucket and pick gobs and gobs of fresh strawberries, boysenberries and raspberries in the early summer and apples in the late summer and fall. It is a working farm so your kids can see how it all works and they have a great picnic/play area and pies! Yummy!

Also, in Gilroy is a HUGE outlet mall that is great fun for shopping.

Have a great time. It is a wonderful place to visit!

Jennifer