Hi
My partner and I(30's) are driving from San Fran to LA in August. This is the itinerary we have come up with. Please provide suggestions/comments on whether we are staying in the right places (ie. beautiful town, well spread out on the route) or if there are other places we should stay at instead? We love beaches, beautiful scenery, cute towns and good food.
Day 1: San Fran-Carmel with stop over for lunch in Santa Cruz. Overnight in Carmel
Day 2: Carmel - SLO with stops along the way including Big Sur (suggestions welcome!) Overnight in SLO
Day 3: SLO - Santa Barbara with stop in Solvang. Overnight in Santa Barbara
Day 4: Santa Barbara to LA.
Have we spread it out too much? Any suggestions for better towns to stay in?
Thanks!
Drive from San Francisco to LA - suggested stop overs
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You seem to have forgotten Monterey and the nice aquarium and Cannery Row. If you have more time available, 6 days is not too much to poke around some of the other great towns.
Must sees are: Point Lobos State Reserve, Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Pacific Grove coastal trail walk, 17 Mile Drive, the elephant seals.
I recommend lunch at Nepenthe in Big Sur. Food is ok, not the greatest, but oh, the views: http://www.nepenthebigsur.com/
Meant to also say that we love Heart Castle, near Cambria.
Thanks. We can't extend our trip. Do you think the drive is spread correctly? Will definitely make a point of stopping off at the recommendations mentioned? Thanks!
Recommend 2 nights in the Carmel/Monterey area, Then more highlights are (IMO) Big Sur, Hearst Castle and Morro Bay on the way down. Instead of SLO, look into Pismo Beach (Or at least stop there for lunch minimum) Lovely Pismo Beach area towns for some nice ocean views also are Shell Beach and Avila Beach. Solvang for a look around and lunch and on to Santa Barbara. Just some thoughts.
For the airports you have chosen and the days you have available, your spread is good. You definitely have planned a road trip and not a relaxing vacation, so I hope this was your intent.
Since you love beaches and scenery, here's another vote for Shell Beach instead of SLO. Not sure you could find a room there for just one night in August, but you could also try Pismo Beach or the little Shell Beach Inn. Get an Ollalieberry Crisp at the Avila Valley Barn, great with your morning coffee!
I only went as far south as San Simeon but the north part of your plan looks right. The highlight for me was McWay Falls in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, and Pfeiffer Beach, and Point Lobos.
Here is my trip report - I give distances and times between places. There's a link to my photos plus another poster gave a link to a video shot in the area that is very good (about half way through my report is his post).
We like staying in Shell Beach at this place:
http://www.cottage-inn.com/
Nice location, great breakfast, restaurants nearby. If you have time, you could check out the Nipomo Dunes. We did a humm-vee tour of the dunes which was very fun!
There are so many sites to visit between San Francisco and LA-- you will be overwhelmed with ideas.
For instance, we love San Luis Obispo's old mission in the center of town and there's a great restaurant right next to it.
There are just so many places like that, you will need to understand you can't see them all!
If you preferences are more outdoorsy, then Hearst Castle is probably a pass for you. It takes a half day or so to do the place justice. Maybe do it next time.
I was in Solvang over Easter weekend. Not a big deal to me, really. And overrun with visitors and Danish pastry shops. Not a spot I'd go out of my way to visit again.
If you need a place to stay in Santa Barbara, I just posted a mini trip report on this great little place:
"I made a last-minute trip to Santa Barbara for Easter weekend. Found this jewel of an inn, just 1/2 block from the waterfront:
http://www.sbcastilloinn.com/
The rooms are newly renovated, so have granite countertops, new furniture, etc. I booked Easter Sunday for just $119/night plus tax, for a king bed suite (with extra space and pullout sofa) including a continental breakfast, free wi-fi, and free parking.
It really is the cutest little place. Set up like a motel, where you drive right up to your room."
There is a great restaurant/bar right on the beach close to this motel. I don't remember it's name, but if you walk from the Castillo Inn to the marina, head to the right on the beach walk, and you will shortly come to the restaurant sitting on the left. You can actually sit at a table right on the sand, but we opted for the covered patio seating with full ocean views.