Offbeat San Francisco and NorCal: 6 Days

Six days turns the coast loop into a proper Northern California circuit: two city days, Muir Woods and Sausalito, Half Moon Bay, wine country, and now a full day down to Monterey and Carmel. This extends the 5-day itinerary with the longest single drive in the whole family; the 7-day version adds Point Reyes on top of this.

Book these before you go:

Stop Distance Drive time
Muir Woods ~12 miles ~45 min
Half Moon Bay ~30 miles ~45 min
Napa / Sonoma ~45-50 miles ~60-90 min
Monterey / Carmel ~120 miles ~2 hours

Day 1: The bridge, the wharf, the cable car

Walk the Golden Gate Bridge from the San Francisco side early, free the entire span, with the Presidio’s old barracks and Crissy Field’s shoreline path giving you somewhere calmer once the crowds arrive. By afternoon, drift to Fisherman’s Wharf to watch the sea lions that took over Pier 39’s K-dock uninvited in 1990 and never left, then walk 10 minutes into North Beach for lunch. Ride the Powell-Hyde cable car, $9 in 2026, boarding mid-route to avoid the worst of the Powell turnaround queue, and let it drop you near Lombard Street’s crooked block. North Beach again for dinner.

Day 2: Muir Woods and Sausalito

Muir Woods requires an advance parking or shuttle reservation year-round, booked at gomuirwoods.com before you leave; standard parking runs about $10, or take the weekend and holiday shuttle from Larkspur Landing for about $4 round trip. The redwoods, some close to 250 feet, are worth the paperwork. Spend the afternoon in Sausalito, then either drive back over the bridge or leave the car at the dock and take the Golden Gate Ferry instead, about 30 minutes and $14 one-way, a better way to close the day since the skyline arrives from the water rather than a windshield.

Day 3: Alcatraz and the neighborhoods

This day only works if Alcatraz was booked weeks ahead through Alcatraz City Cruises, the sole operator, tickets releasing roughly 90 days out with summer dates gone early. The Day Tour runs $47.95 for an adult in 2026 and fills a solid morning. Back on land, a burrito in the Mission at La Taqueria or Taqueria Cancun, $12 to $16, quietly outclasses anything near the water, followed by the Balmy Alley murals. Pick Twin Peaks for the steep citywide view or Alamo Square for the Victorian postcard, leaving nothing visible if parked at either, both known smash-and-grab spots despite the city’s break-in rate sitting at a 22-year low overall. Evening in Chinatown, dim sum for $15 to $25 a person.

Day 4: Highway 1 to Half Moon Bay

Keep the car and head south. Half Moon Bay is about 45 minutes down Highway 1 past Devil’s Slide’s cliffside curves, a car-only trip with no useful transit alternative. Pillar Point Harbor is home to Mavericks, one of the world’s biggest big-wave surf breaks, though the formal contest has sat on indefinite hold since 2016 for lack of a sponsor, so don’t plan around catching it live. Tide pools, a solid stretch of beach, and roadside farm stands round out the afternoon, with fresh seafood for a late lunch before heading back before the coastal fog thickens.

Day 5: Napa or Sonoma wine country

No BART or train covers this one; it’s car, tour, or car service only, so designate a driver first. Standard Napa tastings run $40 to $75 a person, reserve pours $85 to $125-plus; Sonoma runs cheaper, roughly $30 to $50 standard and $55 to $80 premium. Pick 2 or 3 wineries, not 5, since the driving between them eats more of the day than the tastings do. Both valleys sit 60 to 90 minutes from the city, so leave earlier than feels necessary and plan the return before Highway 37 and the 101 clog up for the evening commute.

Day 6: Monterey, Carmel, and 17-Mile Drive

The longest day of the trip, and worth every mile of it. Monterey is a genuine 2 hours south via 101/156/1 (about 120 miles), so leave by 7am if you want more than a rushed afternoon down there. The Monterey Bay Aquarium runs $65 for an adult ticket in 2026, booked online in advance only, and will permanently recalibrate your opinion of sea otters, who spend the day cracking shellfish on their stomachs like it’s a full-time job. From there, drive 17-Mile Drive through Pebble Beach, a private, gated scenic road with a toll around $12.50 per vehicle, reimbursed with a $35-plus purchase at a Pebble Beach restaurant, worth knowing before you pay twice. The Lone Cypress, clinging to its rock for centuries now, is the postcard moment, but the empty coves along the way are the actual reason to slow down. Finish in Carmel-by-the-Sea, a town with no street addresses, for an early dinner before the drive back, or consider staying the night if six days has quietly become seven by this point.

Is Monterey worth 4 hours of driving for one afternoon there?

Yes, if the aquarium and 17-Mile Drive are both on the list; skip it if you’d only do one or the other. The combination of sea otters at close range and the Lone Cypress in the same day justifies the drive in a way that either alone doesn’t quite manage.

Do you need a rental car for this 6 day version?

Yes, from Day 4 through Day 6. Muir Woods, Sausalito, and Alcatraz on Days 2 and 3 run fine without one, but Half Moon Bay, Wine Country, and Monterey all sit beyond useful transit range. Pick the car up the morning of Day 4 and keep it through the Carmel drive home on Day 6.

Getting around across all six days

Muni runs the city itself, buses and cable cars on the same Clipper card loaded on Day 1; BART only matters for the SFO run. Once the car takes over from Day 4, Marin, the coast, and the Monterey Peninsula all ignore San Francisco’s grid logic entirely, so build in more buffer than the map suggests, especially heading back from Carmel at rush hour.

What catches people out

Summer, June through August, is the cold, foggy season here, nicknamed Karl by locals who’ve stopped fighting it, so pack a jacket no matter the month. September and October are the actual sunny window, worth remembering for next time. Parking runs $50 to $75 a day in the city before the car earns its keep, and Muir Woods turns away anyone without a reservation at the gate, no exceptions for a good excuse.