After spending the week in Lake Tahoe for your wedding you may be looking for a honeymoon location that is close by, where you can relax and really get away from it all. In this case I must suggest the Big Sur coastline.

WHERE TO STAY

Hyatt Carmel Highlands: The Hyatt Carmel Highlands, located in beautiful Carmel, California, is a picturesque retreat that offers high quality amenities, a variety of accommodations, and access to the best of the California coast. There are many features that attract visitors to this resort, including the view of the Big Sur coast. The natural environment, combined with a peaceful atmosphere, is enough to put your mind at ease. Hyatt Carmel Highlands is not the only seaside hotel in California; however, it is one of the best, inside and out.

Even though there is a lot to keep you busy in Big Sur, there will come a time when you need to rest your head. The luxurious accommodations offer full kitchens, jacuzzi tubs, and patios overlooking the rocky cliffs. I seriously could have lived in one of the rooms.

WHERE TO DINE

Big Sur Bakery: Behind the Shell station, this warmly lit, funky house has seasonally changing menus, on which wood-fired pizzas share space with more refined dishes like butter-braised halibut. Fronted by a pretty patio, the bakery makes addictive fruit-and-ginger scones and super-stuffed sandwiches. And the bacon-and-egg topped breakfast pizza, available on weekends, is worth the drive from anywhere.

Big Sur Roadhouse: The Big Sur Roadhouse features Chef Brendan Esons delicious California cuisine with fresh, local ingredients, using a variety of house made products . The seasonal menu is filled with locally sourced organic ingredients. Also, not to be missed, San Francisco designer Steve Justrich’s homegrown modernism has transformed the Roadhouse into a truly unique and fitting environment for dining in Big Sur.

Pacific’s Edge Restaurant: With the most spectacular views of the Big Sur coastline, Pacific’s Edge is a sensory overload. The California Coastal cuisine is prepared with the freshest locally sourced ingredients. A couple menu items you must try include fresh Monterey Bay abalone and the braised short ribs.

WHAT TO SEE

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park: It’s not every day that you get to see a waterfall dropping 80 feet over a cliff and into the Pacific Ocean unless you live in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. Combine that with 300 foot redwoods, some over 2,500 years old, and you have yourself quite a magical place. The coastal trails at this park are some of the best in the state and provide dramatic coastal views. Really you can’t go wrong here!

Henry Miller Library: The Henry Miller Memorial Library is in fact a Big Sur art hub and book store focused on promoting the literary and artistic works of Henry Miller. Miller was not just a fiction writer but also wrote some excellent travel books, particularly about Greece. The library was founded a year after Miller’s death by close friend Emeil White, who decided to maintain his property as a memorial to his friend and as a gallery for local artists. Over the years it has also come to serve as a cultural experience for both visitors and residents alike.