Printer friendly format - Pack Your Bags for Carmel and the Big Sur Coast

By David Hanson

Pack Your Bags for Carmel and the Big Sur Coast

Visit California's gateway to the Big Sur coast.

Get There

Fly into any of the Bay Area airports and drive south about three hours. It's one of the world's best seaside drives.

Weather

Winter months can have surprisingly balmy days on the temperate Central California coast, but averages are around 60 for highs and just above 40 for lows.

Sleep

photography: Roger Davies
The dining room at Deetjen's Big Sur Inn fires up one of the best breakfasts on the Big Sur Coast. Comstock would approve of the innÕs cozy little cottage rentals.

Carmel has dozens of little bed-and-breakfasts and roadside motels tucked into the tight grid of streets and within walking distance of downtown and the beach. But if you're this close to Big Sur, we suggest driving south to it at least for a night. It's a serene half-hour drive.

Deetjen's Big Sur Inn, 831/667-2377 or deetjens.com. Redwoods tower over the hidden little cabins that puff a thin line of smoke from their chimneys. You sleep like a forest fairy and wake up to one of the coast's best breakfasts served in the relaxed, wood-beamed dining room.
Treebones Resort, 877/424-4787 or treebonesresort.com. The yurt: a circular, canvas walled tent native to the nomadic people of Mongolia. Sounds exotic. Scatter a few on a grassy hillside above the Big Sur coastline, include a well-dressed bed and sink and a skylight peeking into pine boughs. Now call it a resort. This place just might be the best coastal-view deal in California. If you can share a clean bathroom/shower for a night, get yurtin'.
Mission Ranch Resort, 800/538-8221 or missionranchcarmel.com. On the southern edge of Carmel where the Carmel River meets the ocean, Clint Eastwood's ranch resort has the refined rustic appeal that infuses Carmel. Old farmhouses, barns, and ranch buildings surround common spaces and The Restaurant, perhaps Carmel's best cocktail-hour spot.

Eat

The Tuck Box, 831/624-6365 or tuckbox.com. This Carmel tradition, located in a Comstock original, cooks up many of the same recipes that early British owners John and Elsie Grandfield served almost 60 years ago. If you can't get there in the near future for its famous hot breakfast, try re-creating it at homeÑyou can buy the Scone Mix and Olallieberry Spread by mail order.
Nepenthe, 831/667-2345 or nepenthebigsur.com. Eight hundred feet above the Pacific Ocean, both terraces at Nepenthe seem to point over the blue expanse like the prow of a ship. The family-owned Nepenthe Restaurant and Café Kevah provide the classic Big Sur dining experience, even if you just grab a quick breakfast or a sunset Chardonnay.
Post Ranch Inn, 831/667-2800 or postranchinn.com. The crème-de-la-crème of the Big Sur coast, Post Ranch has the best lodging and the best food. It's also oddly exclusive for this laid-back, inclusive coastline. So make a reservation and splurge on a meal in one of the most elegant, breathtaking spots on earth.
Cielo, 831/667-4242 or ventanainn.com. The third of the Big Sur eats-with-a-view, Cielo is part of the beautiful Ventana Inn. Chef Anthony Calamari calls it California-Mediterranean cuisine, and he uses fresh produce from Cielo's own garden, local farmers, and even harvests of mushrooms from nearby redwood forests. But let's be honest, it's still all about the view from the terrace.

Editor's Favorite

Big Sur Center, At mile marker 45 on Highway 1, this little cluster of bakery, deli, gas station, and post office begs a stop. My idea of the perfect Big Sur lunch is picking up a gourmet deli sandwich here and finding one of the many tucked-away beaches along the coast. Walk to a secluded cove, plop down in sand, eat, daydream, nap. Repeat.