My family and I are doing same trip but starting in SD and finishing in SF. Going this Tuesday. We are doing one night in Santa Barbara between LA and Monterey. Staying at a pretty nice Double Tree.

Considering your itinerary, the most logical place for you to see redwoods would be Big Basin Redwoods State Park, which you can visit on your way to Monterey: http://www.bigbasin.org/

Should we consider spending a night somewhere between Monterey and LA, or can we drive through?

Glad you asked. That's a major oversight in your itinerary. Highway 1 from Monterey to Malibu is a beautiful drive and there is much to see and do along the way. (The Hearst Castle at San Simeon and La Purismia Mission are two places I would show to people the ages of your children.)

Beverly Hills is a great place to say in LA.

HTTY

Read my trip report on Santa Barbara. You might want to spend a night there and perhaps see the Mission or the zoo.

Rather than thinking about the redwoods with your SF portion you can stop at Big Basin on your way to MOnterey. It's near Santa Cruz:

http://www.bigbasin.org/

With only 1 night in or near SF - couldn't figure out if you were staying near the airport when you say staying at SFO - when will you be doign GG Bridge? The day after your flight on your getaway day to Monterey?

Spending a night between Monterey and LA is an excellent idea, otherwise you won't have much time to enjoy the most beautiful part of the coastal drive. Big Basin is about 1.5 hour round trip from Santa Cruz but Henry Cowell Redwood State Park is only about a 22 minute round trip from Santa Cruz.

I will check out the Big Basin. Thanks HTTY and Suzie. Suzie, we were planning to do the GG Bridge on the day we arrive in San Fran. We should arrive SF before noon. We are not interested in anything else there. Is that not doable? I haven't booked a hotel there yet, assuming I will find something for one night. (Monterey was the hardest as I learnt later that many hotels do not have air conditioning.)

I like the idea of a stay between Monterey and LA. Should I reduce a day in Monterey or LA? I currently have 2 nights in Monterey and 3 nights in LA.

I just checked the map...Montereybob, Henry Cowell would be better for us. Thanks.

Big Basin is about 1.5 hour round trip from Santa Cruz but Henry Cowell Redwood State Park is only about a 22 minute round trip from Santa Cruz.

We've been to Big Basin but not Henry Cowell. How do they compare?

HTTY

"Monterey was the hardest as I learnt later that many hotels do not have air conditioning."

You don't need a/c in Monterey in summer (Heck - needing heat is more likely - only a slight exaggeration)

Summer is not the warm season on the SF/Monterey coast. If you are lucky you will have lovely weather -- but cool and fog is also possible.

meant to add . . . If a/c was necessary -- the hotels would have it.

If you will have a car in San Francisco, you can drive around SF and see the city. It's not that big a city, then go across the GG Bridge, go to the Vista Point, and then return to SF. After returning to SF on the GG Bridge, keep on Highway 1 which will take you out of the city and down along the coast. It appears you like to stay in the high end hotels. Just south of San Francisco, there is a Ritz Carlton at Half Moon Bay.

If you want to stay in SF itself, there are any number of high end hotels there.

The next day you could drive down to Monterey and go to the Aquarium, drive along 17 Mile Drive, and end up in either Carmel or, a bit further south in Big Sur, there are two luxury hotels: the Post Ranch Inn and the Ventana Inn. (No need to stay in Monterey itself.)

http://www.postranchinn.com/

http://www.ventanainn.com/

If you stay at either one of these places, the next morning backtrack a bit and go to Point Lobos State Reserve, which is just a couple of miles south of Carmel. If there is one place to stop along this stretch of the coast, it would be Point Lobos. If the weather is foggy, you can miss it, but if the weather is good, your children will love the easy hikes and the sound of the "lobos" out at sea.

http://parks.ca.gov/?page_id=571

For redwoods, i would suggest that you miss Big Basin - you don't have the time - and substitute Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. It's on the way for you and right off Highway 1 and you are immediately in the redwoods. There are any number of easy to difficult hikes in Pfeiffer Big Sur. Wear sturdy shoes, a hat, long pants and long-sleeve shirts; also bring some water. I forget which month you're coming, but try not to touch the vegetation if you are not familiar with poison oak. These hikes are beautiful.

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=570

Next stop in Big Sur is Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park (the entrance will be on your left as you drive north to south). There's a beautiful waterfall, McWay Falls, that falls into the Pacific Ocean. It's an easy hike on a wheelchair accessible path, and shouldn't take you more than 1/2 hour to one hour.

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=578

Next stop Hearst Castle. If you feel like visiting, then stay this next night in the town of Cambria. Next morning visit Hearst Castle.

http://www.hearstcastle.org/

Then continue on down Highway 1 and go through Lompoc and the La Purisma Mission (there are only two of the missions that are state parks, the others are all still held by the Catholic Church). La Purisma is one of the two state parks. It has rangers dressed in period costumes and has extensively rebuilt the mission to be as close to what it was under the Spanish, so it's a very authentic experience.

http://www.lapurisimamission.org/

After La Pursma Mission, continue on down to Santa Barbara where you can spend the night.

Next day drive to LA - if you want to stay in Beverly Hills or Century City, it'll be inland but you'll have seen a lot of the coast and probably wouldn't need to be right on the beach in Santa Monica.

Coronado is great for San Diego and it's an easy drive over the bridge to get to and from San Diego.

Have a great trip! And welcome to California!

Thank you easytraveler. Your suggested itinerary is just perfect for us!!!! Seems like you could read our mind

I like the idea of staying in HMB. Would it be better to go to the GG bridge directly from the airport (we will be on a 5 1/2 hours flight) after stopping to eat something and stretching. Or, should we check into the hotel and then go to the GG. From looking at the map, it seems that if we go to the GG directly, then HMB may be a good option, but if we decide to first check in to the hotel, and then go to the GG, then downtown may be better. What do you think?

You were right on with Post Ranch and Ventana. They were on the top of my list, but unfortunately do not allow kids.

Love the idea of visiting the 3 parks on the way from Monterey to Santa Barbara. I am not too inclined to visit the Hearst Castle, but will try to do the La Purisima Mission.

Check back here just before your visit for an update on the awful road construction just north of Santa Barbara as you approach. You might want to exit the 101 north of Buellton to the lovely route 154 down through Los Olivos/Santa Ynez (stop here for lunch or further south on the 154 at Cold Springs Tavern).

With kids that age i would stay in Monterey and visit the Aquarium if you can squeeze it in. A better value for their time than Hearst. Unfortunately your trip is too short to fit everything in or to stay 2 nights in Monterey. I don't think you have time for Purisma either, especially if the road south is still under construction.

In Santa Barbara look at Harbor View Inn, or just south of SB in Montecito Village there is the Four Seasons Biltmore. Tough to get one-nighters in SB in August so don't wait too long to book.

Santa Monica is the place to stay in hot August, or at least westside like Hotel Palomar or W Westwood....but know that you will have quite a traffic nightmare to most of the "sights" so plan full days. Maybe depart Santa Monica 10am after traffic and don't plan to return until after you see the Observatory at sunset.

Agree with tracy regarding Hearst Castle vs the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Most kids are not nearly as impressed with the architecture and history of the Castle as they are with the exhibits in the Aquarium!

After seeing the Golden Gate BRidge, drive 11 more miles into Marin County to Muir Woods National Monument for a quick hike in the Redwoods. If you like it, there are plenty of other places as mentioned above to do it again, but if you just want to "check it off", Muir Woods is really cool.
Santa Monica vs Beverly Hills? The main advantage of SM is the beach, but the disadvantage is that you will be farther from all the tourist places that you listed that are mainly in the Hollywood area, closer to BH. With LA traffic, the closer you stay to your destinations, the better.
I prefer Highway 1 south of Big Sur for a beautiful drive. Highway 1 near Half Moon Bay is just as winding (and car sickness inducing) but with more fog and fewer vistas.
There are so many great things to see, you will have a great time no matter what you decide.

Just a quick note re air conditioning (or lack thereof)

From another thread today >>Be prepared for cold air and water. I was just at Half Moon and people were bundled in long sleeves.<<

Half Moon Bay is just up the coast from Santa Cruz - and this is for a day when it was over 95F in inland California

IMHO, you're better off going into SF first, because if you're in HMB, then you'll already be on your way south the next morning, whereas if you stay in downtown SF, you'll have to fight city traffic the next morning just to get on the road. However, it's your personal call - you know how your family will react if asked to start touring once they've landed. I'm also afraid that once you find yourselves situated in a hotel after a long flight, your inclination will be to just stay put.

OTOH, the dinner choices are so much better and more extensive in San Francisco, which is a foodie city, so if having good food is important, then staying in SF isn't that bad an idea.

Here's what I'd suggest - get the car and, right outside of the airport, there are a few big hotels, like Hyatt or the Marriott, go there and relax in their lounge area. The Marriott has a nice lounge area:

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-photos/sfobg-san-francisco-airport-marriott-waterfront/

Maybe get a bite to eat, rest up, and then head on up to SF for your touring. The food is so-so, but you're just taking a rest break and not trying to find a great foodie restaurant.

For dinner, as you come down from the Golden Gate Bridge, think of the Cliff House. Terrific views out over the Pacific Ocean. I prefer the Bistro side as it's higher up and offers a better view.

http://www.cliffhouse.com/

BTW, I just remembered something. Earlier this year, I made a touring map of SF for some friends of ours. If you want to get a copy, just email me at easytraveler8atgmaildotcom and I'll shoot you a copy. Please make sure your message header identifies you by your username on Fodors, otherwise, it may end up in the trash.

You also don't have time for Muir Woods. It's too out of the way for you. You want to go south, not north. Besides which, the coastal redwoods are pretty much the same, whether you go to Muir Woods or Big Basin or Pfeiffer Big Sur.

Hope this helps your planning a bit.

Thanks for all the lovely suggestions. Tracy2cents, I will surely check out for construction. Thanks for the heads up.

okay, here's another confusion. I booked a night at the Marriott in Buellton. It's right on HWY 101. Am I going out of my way for this? I can't tell from the map. Google shows me taking Hwy 101 after Pismo Beach and then meeting Hwy 1/101 around Gaviota State Park.

When I mapped out Monterey to LA directly, Googlemaps showed me taking Hwy 101 after Pismo Beach, and hence I thought the Marriott was on the way. Looking at the map closely, it seems that Hwy 1 and Hwy 101 run side by side after breaking up at Pismo. What is the standard route after Pismo towards LA?

I certainly don't want to go out of my way. I can look for other accomodations if Marriott is taking me away from the route I SHOULD be on.

The route is fine (and correct) I'm just not sure why you'd want to stay in Buellton. I'd consider driving a little farther and stay in Santa Barbara.

Why Buellton? If you can't get a reservation in Santa Barbara, try one of several in Goleta near the SB airport.

I've stayed at that Marriott several times (although not real recently) and it is just fine but was needing a remodel as the rooms were getting a little tired but you could ask them. It is a good location if you were wanting to do some winery tasting - otherwise I'd head down to Santa Barbara - closer drive to LA from there. Have a great trip.

Here's a map that shows the portion of Highway 101 SOUTH OF SANTA BARBARA that will be under construction until 2015.

http://us101-info.com/

Here's a brief article:

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/mar/10/highway-101-widening-work-set-to-start-north-of/

There's also another smaller project going on right now north of Santa Barbara, but so far as I can see it'll be done by the end of July.

Thank goodness they're doing something about that stretch of 101. Does anyone remember the days when 101 ran through Santa Barbara with all those STOPLIGHTS? Talk about a traffic jam!

Can someone please confirm the route from Pismo Beach to Santa Barbara? Google keeps showing Hwy 101. I see Hwy 1 running all the way south. If it is Hwy 1 then I will change my stay to Santa Barbara.

The reason I chose Bullerton was that it was cheaper than staying in SB by about $400 a night. I thought I could use a little saving here. But, if Bullerton is not the right place to spend the night, I'll look at places in SB.

Highway i joins Highway 101 at San Luis Obispo, runs down to the ocean, and then splits off in the "beach" cities area - Avila Beach, Pismo Beach, etc.

Highway 101 is a four-lane, fairly fast drive. Highway 1 is a two-lane, more "vacationy", slower drive through some really nice agricultural and pasture lands.

If you want to go to Mission Purisma, then take Highway 1 (it is possible to drive down on Highway 101 to Santa Maria and then branch off to Highway 1, but that means negotiating Santa Maria city streets and exiting onto Highway 135 which connects with Highway 1).

If you want to skip Mission La Purisma, then you can go on Highway 101 all the way south to Santa Barbara.

Hotels in and around Santa Barbara are notorious for being expensive, even the Biltmore ain't all that great, IMHO, but the prices are great.

There's a Marriott in Ventura (I've never stayed, just visited) as well as a few other hotels right on the beach in Ventura, which is just south of Santa Barbara.

There's also a resort (forgot its name) in Goleta, which is home to UC Santa Barbara.

Otherwise, I think you're better off in the Marriott in Buellton. It's not that far from Santa Barbara.

HIghway 1 rejoins Highway 101 south of Buellton, so if you want to stay in Buellton, then you have to go by way of 101.

Check google maps. It's not that confusing.