"Carmel, the Monterey Bay and the 17 miles drive" Carmel-by-the-Sea by shivan

Carmel-by-the-Sea Travel Guide: 378 reviews and 1,052 photos

The Carmel beach at sunset - Carmel-by-the-Sea
The Carmel beach at sunset

On that same long day, after the endless route along the Highway 1, the most famous Pacific Coast Highway, Cambria, the Big Sur and God only remembers what else, we finally reached the Monterey Bay area.
The map gladly said that this fabled place called Carmel, Carmel-by-the-sea or whatever, was located immediately south of the Monterey Bay entrance, so we had time for a fast visit before going to sleep at another village called, simply, "Marina".
Eyes wide OPEN, then, we searched for a sign indicating where to turn for Cambria.

The Lonelyplanet, our dependance from it was clear already, simply stated that "Carmel is not a place but a state of mind". How curious.
The facts were that we found no signs and slowly we reached Monterey.
A doubt was forming into our minds.
"Are we all blind because of the Big Sur beauties, the place actually does not exist or these highly-efficient americans simply forgot to put a sign?"
The third answer was right.
Carmel-whatever is indicated on the Highway 1 as "Ocean Avenue, next right". Simple.
Heading back southbound we turned there and finally found this place.
It is a lovely village, mainly frequented by millionaires, evidently.
Light was fading at sunset, but we lost the chance to enjoy it thanks to BRITISH AIRWAYS MEGA-LOST-AND-NEVER-SEEN-AGAIN-BAGGAGE-SERVICE stole us half an hour to say that "everything is ok, the baggage is going to be delivered to San Francisco tomorrow". Great news and great lie, again.
By the time we reached the shore, the magnificent landscape offered to us is in the opening picture above. We saw not much more.

The morning after we decided to have a tour along a scenic road in the Monterey Bay called "17 miles drive" before heading north towards San Francisco.
In this page I'll tell about that road

Pros and Cons
  • Pros:Nice, clean and scenic
  • Cons:absurdly expensive
  • In a nutshell:a nice stop in your tour, not a destination itself
  • Last visit to Carmel-by-the-Sea: Aug 2004
  • Intro Updated Sep 15, 2004
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Reviews (6)

Don't miss this - Carmel-by-the-Sea Warning Things to Do (5)

The warning here is: plan to reserve an appropriate amount of time to explore the area, if you decide to do. The common... more travel advice

Scenic Views - Carmel-by-the-Sea Vista points Things to Do (5)

according the best american tradition of the Scenic Roads (you may find plenty of them in the United States of America),... more travel advice

close encounters - Carmel-by-the-Sea Wildlife Things to Do (5)

It is always a pleasure and a discovery to find wild animals hanging around close to human houses or cars. Ecosystem is... more travel advice

typical Monterey citizen - Carmel-by-the-Sea History of the 17 miles drive Things to Do (5)

This road "runs" (15 miles speed limit) through a forest called Del Monte forest and a lovely rocky beach called the... more travel advice

Comments (8)

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