Expert: Ernest Tufft - 6/16/2009

Question
My son (15) and I are flying into San Francisco in late July and plan to drive down to San Diego, flying back to Kansas City after that drive.

We want to spend 2 days in San Francisco, spend some time in Monterey, Big Sur, and then 2 days in San Diego.  We will be gone from July 25th to August 1st.   My concern is that this "not be a driving marathon", with enough time spent each place to enjoy the beauty of these areas.  I definitely want to take the scenic route - will avoid really costly lodging, with the exception of the last two nights when we hope to stay in Coronado, California.

We would like to have your suggestions.

dee

Answer
Hi Dee,

Sorry for the late reply.  I thought my answer had already been processed.

In seven days, you will be driving a lot, and not really seeing too much except out the window.  I recommend that you take two days to drive between San Francisco and San Diego, and then spend a 3rd day in San Francisco.

I assume that your son can walk all day, and that this would be good for you too, so put on good walking shoes and roam around San Francisco.  It's a very safe city during the daytime, at least, and in most tourist areas quite safe at night.  If you get tired of walking, you have the best choice of public transit in the nation--cable cars, antique trolleys, underground rapid transit, and electric bus.

Beside the usual Ferry boat rides to Alcatraz and walk through Chinatown, there are several recently opened musuems that will interest you and your son!  The recently reopened Academy of Sciences and DeYoung Museums in Golden Gate Park at the top of the list, but the Exploratorium and Asian Art Museum (the largest collection outside of Asia) are also new and exciting museums to visit--and there are numerous other great museums in the city as well.  But, in the end, San Francisco's hilly landscape and lovely architecture make it a wonderland just for walking.  You will pay handsomely for a hotel stay, but daily life can be done on the cheap, eating in perhaps the world's best collection of ethnic restaurants.

I have previously written many times about the drive down the coast, so I assume you already have read these comments, but for a visit to the redwood forests, I recommend driving down Hwy 9, from Saratoga to Santa Cruz.  Big Basin State Park is the oldest Calif state park and has an excellent grove of old growth coastal redwoods.  The beach action at Santa Cruz, with its boardwalk roller coaster and pier (where seal lions hang out) will be very popular for you son.  Santa Cruz is a "hippy town" of sorts with lots of street excitement, and actually I prefer this space to the drab and affluent Monterey.  However, the Monterey Bay Aquarium may be the finest such aquarium in the United States, if not the world, and it's possible to consider a whale watching ride in a boat out over the Monterey Bay National Marine Reserve.  The old Mission and a walk around central Carmel is also worth a couple hours.

The drive from Carmel to Santa Barbara will take longer than one might think due to the windy coastal cliff road and stunning scenic pull-outs.  You might choose to stay in San Simeon and visit Hearst Castle, before proceeding through to San Diego.  I recommend trying to time your drive so that you go through LA at night.  Although you may well end up arriving quite late at night in San Diego, there's nothing more time wasting than LA freeway traffic.

I hope this helps...