Suggestions for Our Vacation in San Francisco, Monterrey Bay, Napa Valley CA

To expand on my tweet. I grew up in Northern California and just went to Santa Cruz for vacation.

The Santa Cruz area is just north of Monterey and there are plenty of things to do. Downtown Santa Cruz, mainly along Pacific and Front Streets, has really good restaurants and unique shops. Many of the restaurants have patio seating and it is really nice in that climate.

For a beach just south of Santa Cruz, New Brighton State Park is a great beach. We were just there during the week and there wasn’t too many people there and it is somewhat isolated. You’ll see fishing boats and some private homes to the south and on the cliffs to the north.

Other places to visit in the Monterey area are Carmel and 17 mile drive. Both beautiful areas and Carmel has some unique shops.

From the Monterey area to San Francisco, drive up Highway 1. It will take you all the way up the coast. A good place to stop is Half Moon Bay. It is an old fishing village that has maintained its small town charm not too far from S.F. Also along this drive there are many places to stop and get out to explore tide pools that are up-and-down the California coast.

San Francisco has many places to explore. If you are adventurous, you can head out to eat in Chinatown. Other neighborhoods have good restaurants too. North Beach is an Italian neighborhood in S.F. and has some great restaurants. You could also find some good gelato. Golden Gate Park, the Exploratorium, the Presidio, and Fisherman’s wharf are nice. If the Giants are in town, AT&T Park is beautiful. A trip across the bay to Berkeley is an experience. Think Boulder times 10.

Since you like wine, you may want to drive out to the valley and go to Lodi. It is about 60 miles from San Francisco and there are many great small wineries. Vino con Brio is one of the good ones and they have a nice bed and breakfast there. If you are there in September/October they will even be harvesting the grapes. This region, from Modesto to Lodi, grows a lot of grapes that the wineries in Napa use in their blended wines. Delicato Winery in Manteca would be on your way and is really nice also.

The wine country is quite vast. St. Helena and Calistoga are my favorite areas. Calistoga has some nice hot springs. It has been awhile since I have been there so don’t know quite what is there now.

Have a fun trip.
.-= Peter S (milehighsoapbox)´s last blog ..The latest Harry Potter movie entertaining, but misses the mark =-.

These are all suggestions from my twitter tribe. Keep um coming.. this is awesome!

@elizweiland Best thing to do in SF – take a sail on the Adventure Cat, under the Golden Gate Bridge at sunset. Beautiful!

@KarenKMMonroy Those are my stompn’ grounds: Elk Horn Sleu, Swanton Berry farm, Half Moon bay, Mont. Bay Aqu (see horses!), Lover’s point….

@Monica2point0 What time of year are you going? The state park is great for hiking, tidepools & I have a special beach cove to tell you about
@Monica2point0 Fall is a great time-I think whales are in Spring though. I did a hot air balloon ride over wine country-that’d be romantic! I guess it depends on the type of whale http://www.montereybaywhalewatch.com/trips.htm
For North Beach San Fran Italian restaurant, I’ve enjoyed http://www.thestinkingrose….
In the Napa area-you must go to V.Sattui Winery http://www.vsattui.com/ Buy food from their deli & have a picnic on grounds
in Monterey area, you must spend time at Point Lobos State Park http://bit.ly/14jRTh

milehighsoapbox for your trip, Monterey Bay Aquarium, downtown Santa Cruz (great food & shops), lots to do in SF, hot springs in Calistoga.

Napa is so beautiful! If you are interested in a very local breakfast you may want to consider Napa General Store.

If you are looking for a winery tour where you do not have to drive you may consider Platypus Tours, Beau Wine Tours $99.00 tour. Both of these companies offer a selection of boutique wineries. They do not visit the larger wineries.

Of course I am biased and believe the Napa Valley Wine Train may suit your needs for a romantic dinner of fresh local ingredients. A fine dining restaurant on a moving train.

Fall is an excellent time to visit as it is California Wine Month and this is harvest. Grgich Hills and St. Supery both celebrate with grape stompings and harvest classes.

Regarding spaces to stay, you may be interested

Hello! Thanks for following me on Twitter! I love your site! Oh my gosh, I love napa and san fran. My aunt works in Napa and does wine tours. She started doing a tour that actually goes to san fran, but I don’t know the name of it. I’ll have to ask her. Also you have to go to Pride Winery if you can make reservations, the view is spectacular! In san fran you have to go to the top of the Mark Hopkins hotel and get a glass of wine. There’s a great view of the city and they give you the ‘top of the mark’ pour hehe I’m sooo jealous, it’ll be so much fun
-kristen
.-= EatingRD´s last blog ..hunger-obesity paradox and beer can chicken =-.

Chrissy.

napa was such a fun trip! I think my wife would disagree though. we booked the trip 6 months in advance. 3 months later, she found out she was pregnant! same story with the couple that went with us!

we stayed in calistoga at the top of the valley (kinda between the two). worth the stop is Ledson in sonoma valley. omg! such amazing wine. the guy serving hooked us up, but I think tasting there has a fee. so incredible though. alcatraz was cool too (from a guys perspective).

we didn’t do Lombard st (line several blocks long) in sf. fisherman’s wharf was underwhelming (really touristy). jelly belly is targeted to kids, so not so much fun for us. watch when you go. they shut equipment down one day a week (the day we went).

we also hit the coast and the Armstrong redwood forest. sequoia is probably better.

don’t forget to hit in-n-out if that’s your thing