Staying in and around Big Sur, California? Has anyone done this and can advise me?
I’ve always wanted to go to Big Sur since reading Jack Kerouac’s book. Can someone tell me what it’s like to stay there- are you best to hire a car and travel round yourself, is it realistic (excluding the weather) to camp there, is it as expensive as it seems, what would you suggest? Is it easy and cheap or expensive to hire a camper van? We’d probably be going October/November time- we’re not the type of people who need the sun to shine to enjoy ourselves but if that’s a particularly bad time to go for whatever reason that would be useful to know. We’re not interested in fancy hotels or restaurants (we’d probably just have one or two ‘proper’ dinners out) and need really to keep costs to a minimum once we’re there because we’d be flying from the UK. We just want to go somewhere beautiful to see it, spend as much time in the sea and on the beach and in the forest as we can and just chill out really. Thanks.
Every part of California is a tourist site. You can go camping in the area but hotels are expensive becaue of the setting and being in the Monterey-Carmel area which is high priced real estate.
http://www.bigsurcamp.com/
http://www.bigsurcalifornia.org/camping.html
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=570
http://www.carmelcalifornia.com/
First off – October is when our best weather happens! (Ssssshhh – don’t tell anyone.) You can see our historical weather information on Weather.com; we average 70 degrees during the day and 51 degrees at night in October. Early November is pretty warm, too. You’ll be out of the foggy season and there’s not much rain at that time of year.
October and November are also the low season for our area, so you will be able to get some fabulous discounts on places to stay. It’s a myth that everywhere in Big Sur is expensive; there are some very moderately priced places available.
How inexpensive do you need it to be? Campsites at Pfeiffer Big Sur Campground run about $35/night, and campsites at Big Sur Riverside Campground and Cabins and Big Sur Campground and Cabins are just a little more. If you’re willing to spend a little more money, Fernwood Resort has tent cabins with built-in beds, as does Big Sur Campground and Cabins, and they’re just a little bit more. If you want to stay in an actual room, Deetjen’s and Ripplewood may fit your budget. You can also look at the Specials page on our website around September for some great fall rates.
Whether you need a car depends on how you plan it. Public buses run from downtown Monterey to Big Sur and back twice a day on Saturdays and Sundays only during the off season. However, you’ll be really limited in what you get to see in Big Sur. It’s better to have some sort of vehicle. I’d suggest doing some research and seeing whether it’s cheaper to rent a compact car wherever you land and then stay in a tent cabin or other lodging vs. renting a camper van.
While you’re planning, you should also know that Monterey has an airport (code: MRY) that you could fly into. It’s only an hour away from Big Sur, which would cut several hours off your driving time vs. flying into SFO.
Please let us know if you have any other questions. We’re happy to help!
Sincerely,
Nicole Gustas
Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau.