Half Moon Bay

Pros: gorgeous scenery; fun activities; unique day trip getaway
Cons: traffic on 92 can be frustrating during day and dangerous at night

We live in the mid-Peninsula area of the San Francisco Bay Area. Half Moon Bay is one of our favorite day or evening getaways with or without the kids. It is a short drive over Highway 92 and suddenly you find yourself in a whole different world – ...

Pros: In good weather, a beautiful drive along the Pacific shore to a working fishing port.
Cons: In summer often foggy, in bad weather dreary, and the road can be treacherous.

If we drive out on the Freeways that encircle the Bay Area, some one has said that all roads lead to San Jose. Not quite true, Highway #1 leads to Half Moon Bay instead -- and Santa Cruz and Monterey beyond.

First of all, however, it is...

Pros: Own airport. Mavericks. Pumpkins. Convenient Bay Area access.
Cons: Difficult access on busy days, and sometimes cold, heavy fog.

Overview Half Moon Bay is in San Mateo County on the San Francisco Peninsula. It consists of different towns, and now subdivisions. But they so blend together, at this point, that it's easy to just think of all development there as - Half Moon ...

Pros: A laid back town to relax in.
Cons: Not too much to do.

Half Moon Bay is a small bay side town with nice beaches, yummy restaurants and a very cute downtown. Whenever I am in the area I like to drive by, stop at my favorite bakery for some chocolate cake and get my ocean fix. Location; Half Moon Bay is ...

Pros: Excellent Town, Adorable Town
Cons: Too much development

Every October the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival draws thousands, maybe millions to that small town on the coast near San Francisco. They go to gawk at the winner of the largest pumpkin contest, collect their own fresh pumpkin for carving, and...

Pros: The Beach...is the biggest pro!
Cons: Price of homes are continually rising!

Review Topic:  Sights & Attractions

I used to work in Half Moon Bay and I felt guilty getting paid. Everyday I would drive down 92 (opposite traffic) and as I arrived into this quaint town I felt so at peace. I took care of...

Pros: natural beauty, Pacific ocean, pleasing houses, near SF
Cons: On busy highway 1, cold winter breezes part of year, becoming more developed

Half Moon Bay is a small coastal village on the Pacific. Having long since been blown away by it's natural beauty and human charm, I am working on a plan to move there. Meanwhile I dream about the magnificent views of the Pacific and the delightful...

Pros: Small, fresh seafood, nice locals
Cons: Crowded surfing, white trash mentality

The first time I came to Half Moon Bay was on my way to Santa Cruz. If you ever have driven from San Francisco to Santa Cruz on Hwy 1 (PCH) then you've driven through Half Moon Bay. You may have not even known it. It's a small fishing town with a...

Pros: Off the beaten path in the SF area
Cons: A bit pricey

Half Moon Bay came to me as a complete surprise. I was hired to speak for a company in the SF area and had an afternoon off. Someone offered me their car and I drove over the hills to this lovely, quaint village by the sea.
It is kind of an...

Pros: wonderful ocean views, clean beaches, peaceful
Cons: leave early or you might hit traffic

When he wrote about the great PUMPKIN! Half Moon Bay is fun, romantic, and just plain relaxing no matter how long your stay is going to be. And don't forget the pumpkin's for the kids.
Even if you just drive down for the day you must stop...

Pros: Beautiful, peaceful, romantic
Cons: Pricey...Becoming too developed

One of my fondest memories of my visit to California is the trip I made with my girlfriend to Half Moon Bay. We stopped in at a lovely restaurant that is supposedly haunted. The restaurant sits on a bluff that overlooks the Pacific Ocean, and the view...

Pros: Pumpkin homemade treats, good quality entertainment
Cons: TRAFFIC! Very crowded

The HMB Pumpkin festival used to be a wonderful down-home event with old fashioned activities and fun pumpkin treats. It's gotten too popular. We visited today and except for some fun moments listening to the bands, it was overall a maddening, irritating, exhausting, and frustrating experience. The traffic to and from was bumper to bumper (5 miles an hour for most of Hwy 92) It's a long walk from parking to the main area of the festival. By about 11:30am it was so crowded that it was difficult to see the exhibits and getting from one point to another was almost dangerous. I don't think this festival is worth the negative experiences. It's exactly the same as any other Bay Area art/wine/crafts fair although the entertainment is a little higher quality and you do get more homemade pumpkin treats. Plus, was it my imagination or were there many more people bulging and rolling out of their too-tight tank tops and dungarees at this festival? Must be heat exhaustion...