As you make your way from San Francisco down the coast to Carmel, you might consider:

Sausalito - European-like town just a short ferry ride from SF. Visit: ci.sausalito.ca.us

Half Moon Bay - A beautiful beach town on Highway 1 as shown in the photo above. I'm partial because I'm from there! Visit: halfmoonbaychamber.org

Palo Alto - Start-ups, Stanford University, birth place of Silicon Valley. Visit: CityofPaloAlto.org

Los Gatos -Beautiful town with shopping and restaurants. Visit: town.los-gatos.ca.us 

Santa Cruz - Surfing, restaurants, night life, it's a little hippie and a lot of awesome: Visit: SantaCruz.org