"1) Are these the right cities for an overnight stop?
2) How long should we stay in each city"

Salinas?? Is there some reason you chose Salinas --except for Steinbeck connections there is absolutely nothing to see/do there.

December can be quite problematic. It can be stormy/foggy anywhere but especially on the coast and in the central Valley. The reason I even mention the central Valley is because if it is too stormy/foggy on the coast, the central valley may not be a good alternative.

Or --the weather can be nice. But San Diego is likely to have the best weather of anyplace on your route.

Do you want to spend any time in SF? If so I'd stay a few days in SD, maybe a night or two in Santa Monica or nearby, a night in Santa Barbara, two nights in Monterey and a night or two in SF.

Hi there. Unless there's a particular reason for Salinas, I'd opt for Carmel instead. Salinas is fine (mostly a farm town), but Carmel is a beautiful place, very kid-friendly, great restaurants, with one of the nicest beaches in California. (And it's probably only about 30 minutes more than Salinas).

One question is the route. You can do 101 or the Pacific Coast Highway -- US1. The latter is amazingly beautiful, although much slower (and some people with motion sickness or fear of heights are not fans). If you're up for taking your time, you could do 1 and stop in Cambria or Big Sur (absolutely beautiful), and again in Carmel, before shooting up to SF. But if you're worried about moving too much, and just want to get there, then probably heading straight up 101 to Carmel is the way to go.

If it were me, I might consider cutting LA from the itinerary and increase your time in San Diego, Santa Barbara, Carmel and San Francisco. I actually love LA, but unless you're doing adult things (nightclubs, etc.) or real kid things, I'm not sure how much it adds (i.e., there are better outdoors and beach opportunities elsewhere). Of course, walking around Santa Monica or cruising through Beverly Hills is very cool, but not sure a toddler would dig it so much.

Only you can judge what the right balance is -- we tend to move a lot when we travel, and our little girl just sleeps when we plop her in the back seat, so no worries. But some kids hate car time. As a rule, I think two nights per stop is better, so you have one interrupted day to explore -- but I personally think one night might be fine in Santa Barbara. (I know people love it, but I always get bored). Take her to the Zoo in San Diego (in a stroller), play on the beach in Carmel, wander SF's waterfront and neighborhoods (and eat great food). You'll have a great trip.

janisj and kenman

Thanks for the super quick response! you have given me a lot to think about!

i agree monterey or carmel make more sense than salinas. i think i meant monterey bay but only remember salinas from a work trip a long time ago.

kenman - your suggestion abt skipping LA with a toddler makes sense. it sounds like you have done this before and it is reassuring. yes ...my little one sleeps well in the car too..so it sounds doable. i also appreciate your advice on things to do with the toddler.

however, i am now in a bit of a quandary given janisj's thoughts on the weather. maybe we should just stick close to San Diego and skip this road trip idea for this time of the year.

what do you think!?

thanks again!

I agree to skip LA and honestly have mapped this out in number of hours of driving and times it by ten because this is what it will be with traffic.. there are few places where you will not have smooth sailing it is wall to wall cars this time of year.. Make sure you bring plenty of supplies in the car for baby at all times because stores are not so easy to find as in you might not actually want to get off in LA. ---
I agree skip this trip and stay in San Diego my god there is weeks worth to do there alone. Try to find some places to chill out there that are laid back away from the area you live in like upper North Beach __ I grew up in San Diego and I knew it well .. Leucadia Encinitas, Solana Beach, Del Mar those are the nice spots to relax with the family... I happen to like Salinas because there is not a lot to do by the way...it is very rural and not as over populated and built up like the rest of the state go see that in another trip though...

Sticking to Southern California wouldn't be a bad idea. You could have an easy week in San Diego, maybe drive up and stay a few days in Laguna Beach or Newport Beach too. That way you could visit the zoo, Legoland, perhaps even Disneyland. You wouldn't have to worry about potential weather issues on a long drive up the coast.

But I'd imagine Christmas time in Carmel would be pretty magical. It'd be great to have a crystal ball for weather, but I'm sure you'll enjoy your California visit whatever you decide.

thanks Laura and curiousgeo.

the info on the traffic and weather make a roadtrip at this time of the year sound a bit challenging.

in case we decide to stick to SD for the entire trip ...i am guessing i am better off renting a condo/house on the beach. any suggestions on locations for a vacation rental?

Also, any advice for day trips from San Diego?

thanks again! all of you have been so helpful!

Staying in one place would certainly be more relaxing, although I personally wouldn't let weather or traffic dissuade you if the road trip otherwise sounds good. While coastal California is always a crapshoot, we've stayed in Carmel for Christmas several times, and largely had beautiful weather, including beach weather. (And it's true, Carmel is magical at Christmas -- it looks like a village built by Santa's elves). And we live in San Francisco, and have had numerous Christmas parties on our patio. Traffic can always be a pain, but if you avoid rush hour periods (particularly passing through LA), I don't think it should be prohibitive at all.

All that being said, San Diego is awfully nice too, and you could easily do that time in Southern Cal. I don't know that area as well, so would defer to others, but the area of La Jolla is awfully charming. (We had a great long weekend with our daughter there when she was about 18 months -- very fun). So it really depends on whether you want to stay in one great place and immerse a bit more, or get to explore a bunch of great places. We tend towards the latter -- life is short, so I want to see as much as possible -- but it's all good. Sure you'll have a great trip.

By the way, for fun jaunts from SD with a young child, the Zoo is obviously a good choice. You might also shoot up to Orange County -- Laguna is a great town. (And if your budget permits a blowout, Montage is amazing and unbelievably kid-friendly for such a high-end resort). Assuming Disney might not be in the plans (although Christmas is the best time -- no crowds). If staying in SoCal, you might shoot up to LA for the day, just to see Santa Monica, Rodeo Drive, etc. Others will have many more ideas in SD itself, I'm sure.