Carmel on a Shoestring
It's been voted number one for ambiance in the Condé Nast Traveler 2008 Reader's Choice Poll, and ranks number seven of all United States destinations in the TripAdvisor 2008 Travelers' Choice Destination Awards. Just because Carmel is much-lauded, however, doesn't mean you have to break the bank to see it.
Spend a weekend in Carmel without spending your life savings! Here's just a few ways to have fun on a limited budget.
- Take a hike at Garland Ranch Regional Park. Walk along the banks of the Carmel River, through a canyon of redwoods, and among the traces left behind by Rumsen Indians and later homesteaders.
- Admire the art at the over 100 galleries in Carmel-by-the-Sea. (Some of the art may be expensive, but looking is free!)
- Go wine tasting in Carmel Valley. Most tasting rooms charge only $5, and the scenic setting is just as good as the wine you'll be drinking.
- Play 18 holes of golf along the Carmel River at Rancho Cañada, which has some of the lowest green fees on the Monterey Peninsula.
- Take a tour with Carmel Walks, and learn where all the secret pathways and hidden gardens are located.
- Catch a play at the Pacific Repertory Theatre.
- Go on a flower walk, a bug walk, a harvest walk or a chef walk at Earthbound Farm, then have lunch at their organic kitchen.
- Check out the stunning coastline and an old whaler's cabin at the Point Lobos State Reserve, which painter Francis McComas called "the greatest meeting of land and sea in the world."
- Admire the handiwork at Tor House and Hawk Tower, stone dwellings hand-built by poet Robinson Jeffers.
- Get in touch with history at the Carmel Mission Basilica, one of the oldest missions in California.
- Cap the day off with a martini during happy hour at film legend Doris Day's Cypress Inn.
- Build a bonfire on the beach in Carmel and enjoy an evening under the stars.
