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ATP: Help! Need an alternate vacation destination...#firstworldproblems

scooter84

Jack Campbell
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My wife and I and three other couples were scheduled to go to St. John two weeks from now. We have re-scheduled that trip to next year due to the terrible time they are going through down there recovering from the hurricanes. We were able to re-schedule the house rental at no extra charge. For the plan tickets the airline said we could re-schedule without fee. So we all decided to go somewhere else that same week since we had all already planned to be away. After much consideration, we decided to do a trip to Napa Valley - flying into SanFran and staying in Glen Ellen for a few days and SanFran for a couple of days at the end. Whoops...

Now what? We have pre-paid for a couple of nights in a hotel in SanFran at the end of the week so we are going to lose that money unless we go there anyway. We are considering flying into San Francisco anyway and going somewhere else for the first part of the trip before returning to San Francisco and using the hotel rooms at the end. Any suggestions as to where that somewhere else should be?

Or should we forget the whole area and go somewhere else - and just write off the hotel rooms?

All suggestions welcome.
 
Fly into SFO and head south along the coast - Monterrey, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Cambria, etc. Enjoy some time on the coast and head back into SFO for a few days in the city as previously planned.
 
Yosemite is about 4 hours from the airport.
 
If you're hell bent on wineries then you can do Paso Robles. Only a 3-4 hour drive.

Firestone-Walker is also there.
 
Have you considered Cuba? Some major cruise line options as well that are often decently priced when booking with short notice.

Also, I'm surprised you can't get a refund on your hotel nights. What'd they say when you tried?
 
Have you considered Cuba? Some major cruise line options as well that are often decently priced when booking with short notice.

Also, I'm surprised you can't get a refund on your hotel nights. What'd they say when you tried?
+1 on the Cuba idea. I had a cruise planned and ready to book but couldn't get the week off that I wanted to go.

You may also be able to find some cheap flights from San Francisco (possibly Las Vegas or Seattle) if you wanted to do something out west that's not driveable by car.
 
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Fly into SFO and head south along the coast - Monterrey, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Cambria, etc. Enjoy some time on the coast and head back into SFO for a few days in the city as previously planned.

This is a great idea. But keep in mind there are still bridges out on Hwy 1, so you'd have to go to Paso Robles on 101 to get to Cambria from Carmel. And a lot of Big Sur is still inaccessible. There are several wineries in Carmel Valley if that's a priority.
 
My wife and I and three other couples were scheduled to go to St. John two weeks from now. We have re-scheduled that trip to next year due to the terrible time they are going through down there recovering from the hurricanes. We were able to re-schedule the house rental at no extra charge. For the plan tickets the airline said we could re-schedule without fee. So we all decided to go somewhere else that same week since we had all already planned to be away. After much consideration, we decided to do a trip to Napa Valley - flying into SanFran and staying in Glen Ellen for a few days and SanFran for a couple of days at the end. Whoops...

Now what? We have pre-paid for a couple of nights in a hotel in SanFran at the end of the week so we are going to lose that money unless we go there anyway. We are considering flying into San Francisco anyway and going somewhere else for the first part of the trip before returning to San Francisco and using the hotel rooms at the end. Any suggestions as to where that somewhere else should be?

Or should we forget the whole area and go somewhere else - and just write off the hotel rooms?

All suggestions welcome.

How about Cameron Indoor?
 
Thanks for the responses. It looks like we found an awesome house near San Benancio just south of Salinas - so that is going to be our home base. It appears to be close to Carmel valley and someone mentioned wineries there so we will be exploring that option. I'm sure we'll head over to Monterrey one day and do 17 mile drive, etc.

Would love any more recommendations you have for that specific area - we're willing to drive some for adventure and fun but don't want to spend large chunks of the day in our rented 12 person van...
 
Thanks for the responses. It looks like we found an awesome house near San Benancio just south of Salinas - so that is going to be our home base. It appears to be close to Carmel valley and someone mentioned wineries there so we will be exploring that option. I'm sure we'll head over to Monterrey one day and do 17 mile drive, etc.

Would love any more recommendations you have for that specific area - we're willing to drive some for adventure and fun but don't want to spend large chunks of the day in our rented 12 person van...

Do you play golf? Will you have kids with you or just adults?
 
Do you play golf? Will you have kids with you or just adults?

A couple of us play golf but not sure that will be on the agenda. I wouldn't mind at least going over and walking around Pebble Beach - I have played it once but my wife appreciates golf and beauty enough that I think she would appreciate at least seeing it.

No kids - just a bunch of 50-somethings looking for trouble...
 
A couple of us play golf but not sure that will be on the agenda. I wouldn't mind at least going over and walking around Pebble Beach - I have played it once but my wife appreciates golf and beauty enough that I think she would appreciate at least seeing it.

No kids - just a bunch of 50-somethings looking for trouble...

They let us rent a cart for like $25 at the clubhouse & we drove the whole course, watching some duffers along the way. This was a few years back, so not sure if that's still an option.
 
A couple of us play golf but not sure that will be on the agenda. I wouldn't mind at least going over and walking around Pebble Beach - I have played it once but my wife appreciates golf and beauty enough that I think she would appreciate at least seeing it.

No kids - just a bunch of 50-somethings looking for trouble...

-Go for a hike at Point Lobos, just South of Carmel.
-Drive down to Big Sur. The Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge just reopened today, so you should be able to get to most parks and businesses. McWay Falls and Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park are amazing. Nepenthe and the restaurant at Ventana are both really cool places. They're both up high on hills overlooking the ocean. The River Inn is pretty neat, too. You can get food or drinks and go out back and hang out in the woods by the Big Sur River. You might want to make sure that places are open before you head down there. If they are, they could definitely use the business; Big Sur has been almost completely isolated for the last year.
-When you go do the 17 mile drive, stop at either The Bench at The Lodge or Roy's at Spanish Bay for drinks by the firepits on the patio. And please pull over on 17 mile drive when you want to check something out rather than creeping along slowly. And watch for runners and cyclists.
-You'll be right next to Laguna Seca, which is an amazing track, if it happens to be a racing weekend.
-The Monterey Bay Aquarium is worth seeing, even without kids.
-Walk around Carmel. You can also walk down Ocean to the beach.
-It's been years since I've been to the vineyards in Carmel Valley, but I think Folktale is supposed to fun. There are also probably 15+ tasting rooms in Carmel.
-Play golf anyway.

This is the clearest and warmest part of the year on the Monterey Peninsula, but it will still be cold.
 
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