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We are an elderly couple staying in SAN Fransisco for one week from 3rd November and would like to spend second week in Santa Cruz or somewhere else near a beach.would ataying a week in Santa Cruz be too long there.We have to return to San Fransisco for flight home to UK. thank you.

x

If you have an extra week, I'd suggest renting a car and driving down the coast to the Cambria area. Moonstone Beach is a quiet beach area and the town of Cambria is so nice. You could stop in Carmel and Monterey on your drive back and forth to San Francisco.

kam

I agree---go farther south. I would recommend Pacific Grove, Carmel etc. Cambria must be reached by driving hwy 1 which might be a bit of a challenge on the "other side" of the road. Santa Cruz is an old retro hippy surfer dude place unless you stay someplace like Capitola or Aptos and then I think a week is too long. You could also investigate the Sonoma coast as in Inverness and Bodega Bay. Have a great time.

J Correa

I agree that a drive down to the Cambria/Morro Bay area would be nice for the extra week. It will be winter though, so driving on Hwy 1 from Carmel down to Cambria might not be possible due to winter storms and mud slides. You would probably have to take Hwy 101 down, which is an ok road, but not nearly as scenic as Hwy 1.

You could split your time between Santa Cruz and Monterey if you didn't want to drive as far. I think a week in Santa Cruz would be too long, esspecially in November when there isn't anything going on. Santa Cruz is definitely worth a day or 2 or at least a stop.

While in Santa Cruz, you can drive up into the Santa Cruz mountains and see the redwoods. Big Basin State Park is really nice as is Henry Cowell. Next to Henry Cowell is Roaring Camp Railroad which has a narrow gage steam train you can ride.

Kendra

Another vote for Cambria. Personally Santa Cruz is a little too grungy and hippyish for our taste. Appeals more to a younger crowd. It's unlikely that Hwy 1 would be shut down by November unless it's a real rainy season.

Ted Traveller

I agree to go further south on Highway 1 down to Big Sur. Also head down to San Simeon to tour Hearst Castle. There are places to stay in the town of Cambria which is near San Simeon. Personally I would spend less time in SF(3 days instead of a week), and spend more time exploring the central coast. The part of the coast from Montery south to Santa Barbara is spectacular. SF can get kind of boring after a few days. Also, SF has gotten dirty over the past decade or so. If you have not been there in a while, you may be surprised at how it has changed.