San Francisco Off the Beaten Path Tips by vikes_rule84

Definitely one of the highlights of the trip was Carmel. It is a good 100 miles from San Francisco but its the 17 mile drive that will take your breath away. If you don't drive to San Fran there are many tours available in San Francisco that will take you down to Carmel/Montery. The reason I reccomend it is because of "17 mile drive", 17 mile drive is a private toll road that takes you along some of the most beautiful views of the ocean. Also along 17 mile drive are golf courses such as Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill, Poppy Hills and Spanish Bay. Surprisingly these courses are more accessabile than you think. I was able to walk into the pro shops of each and take a score card as a souvenier. I was even able to walk up to the first tees at a couple of them and snap some photos. The views of the ocean include beautiful Cypress trees as well as a lot of wildlife such as birds and harbor seals.

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We booked a wine tour before we left with www.travelsf.com, I was very impressed. I mention the specific company because of the service. Our tourguide Max was extremely knowledgable about Wine, his family has been in the wine business for years. The best part is that the day we went there were only about 7 people so we took a van instead of a bus. The advantage being that we were able to go to some of the smaller vineyards that won't allow buses. We got to go to about 5 winerys, ranging from large Francis Coppola's vinyard that produces about 4 million cases a year to a very small Homewood winery that produces only about 3500.

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Website: www.travelsf.com

Haight Ashbury is a pretty scenic part of San Francisico, located away from the hustle and bustle of the Wharf and other touristy areas it is home to some beautiful Victorians, one of which being the former home of the Greatful Dead (it isn't marked so ask someone at one of the shops). The shops along Haight Ashbury are pretty modestly priced for San Francisco.

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