VERDICT: WE GAVE 4 OUT OF 5 TICKETS AND HERE’S WHY!
Number One Recommendation: Visit Alacatraz
Go to Alcatraz – just do it. We recommend Alcatraz Cruises & do the recorded tour with the headsets… it’s super creepy but very interesting. We met one of the last surviving former inmates of Alcatraz, William Baker, who happened to be there doing a book signing.
We figured we’d better do a wine tour since we were in Wine Country. We highly recommend Green Dream Tours as they were reasonably priced, fun, the bus was air conditioned & it was well organized.
We went to Cline Cellars and Home Wood Winery , two little vineyards that are quaint & good at what they do.
We visited Carmel and within minutes thought we’d seen former Mayor Clint Eastwood... we didn’t, but it was funny. The beach is unreal. The town is adorable. I wish we could have spent more time there or even stayed there.
Anchorage Square Fisherman’s Wharf is a great central place to park (it’s $40-$50 a day but that’s the case in any parkade in SF). Here is a huge tip ✍🏼 shop anywhere in Anchorage Square & get your parking pass validated. We didn’t realize this was the case & paid full price.
Muir Woods is cool, with the massive Redwoods, but set aside more time than you think. There are lots of people & it doesn’t have the best parking situation… there are plenty of places to park but they aren’t close by if it’s busy… bit of a rugged walk from the parking area when busy. Wear comfortable shoes & take lots of water as it’s full of trails (short & easy to longer & more difficult).
With every trip, we offer feedback to travel companies along with honest views for you, the reader. We rate adventures on a scale of one to five tickets, judged on quality, service, memorability, and price. A perfect ‘Ticket Rating’ of a five-ticket score means the experience was flawless and we’d eagerly return. Your desire to go back is the ultimate measure of a trip’s worth. Exclusive to My Return Ticket.
